Great Zimbabwe University Research Articles

Academia’s engagement with Sustainable Development Goals: status quo and barriers at Great Zimbabwe University

PurposeThis study aims to examine academic staff’s engagement with sustainable development goals (SDGs) in higher education institutions.Design/methodology/approachThe triangulation, convergence model of the mixed methods research design was adopted as the strategy for inquiry. A total of 56 questionnaires and 25 interviews were used to collect the data, and this was buttressed by document review and use of secondary data obtained from Scival.FindingsThe results show moderate levels of engagement of academic staff with the SDGs. However, SDGs familiarisation is not correlated with the rate of localisation. The lack of funding deflated political will by university management, demotivated academia and shrinking government support are the leading impediments to SDGs localisation.Research limitations/implicationsThe results could be improved by using a larger sample size equally distributed across disciplines. Triangulation of academics’ views with those of students and non-academic staff could have improved the understanding of other dynamics involved in the localisation of SDGs by university teaching staff.Practical implicationsThe results point towards the need for a university-based framework that interweaves national, institutional, thematic, structural and personal aspects into the SDGs implementation matrix. The underlying determinants of successful localisation of SDGs by academia need to be addressed through a bottom-up approach.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first attempt in Zimbabwe to exclusively look at University teaching staff’s engagement with SDGs.

Academic pursuits in the study of music: Reflections on artificial intelligence

This article explores current and emerging trends in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the academic study of music amidst the ever-changing technologies. Through the technology determinism theory, technology-mediated learning, and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology the researcher engaged a qualitative research to examine the experiences of 10 lecturers and 40 students randomly sampled from Great Zimbabwe University (GZU), Midlands State University (MSU) and the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) on how they engaged in teaching, learning and research using AI. The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) brought novel ways of teaching-learning and research. Different AI has disrupted traditional models of education. Education now rides on AI hence the need to embrace them. There are AI resources to detect plagiarism, find answers to essay questions, provide meanings to terms, referencing systems to sources of information, analyse data, engage in music programming, mixing and mastering of music. Lecturers used Bard, Bing AI, ChatGPT, Gemini, Google Scholar, and WhatsApp to engage in teaching. Students used AI to write assignments, and acquire knowledge in teaching-learning and research. Some institutions have a dilemma in accepting AI resources. The research informs that AI resources are both useful and destructive however, mature academics capitalise on the positive aspects of AI in the academic study of music. The involvement of humans in AI guarantees to verification of ideas, support to knowledge acquisition, and reinforcement of key concepts.

Localization of sustainable development goals among non-teaching staff in higher education: the status quo dynamics at great Zimbabwe university

Localization of sustainable development goals among non-teaching staff in higher education: the status quo dynamics at great Zimbabwe university

Understanding female students’ risk perceptions of developing breast cancer at Great Zimbabwe University

This article focuses on breast cancer as the second most prevalent cancer in Zimbabwe. However, despite several local studies on breast cancer and its risk factors, the incidence rate of the disease in the country is increasing. This article sought to establish the level of awareness of the risk factors of breast cancer among female students. The study was carried out at Great Zimbabwe University, an institution of higher learning in Masvingo province, Zimbabwe. A mixed methods approach was employed involving a focus group discussion comprising eight key informants and online individual questionnaires with open and closed questions used to capture attitudes of female students towards breast cancer. Risk factors were categorised into age, family history, reproductive factors, oestrogen, and lifestyle. There were also some cultural beliefs like bewitchment and myths about black brassieres causing breast cancer. Thus, there is need for educative campaigns to disseminate breast cancer information, especially promoting regular screening and awareness of predisposing factors. Additionally, more regular and in-depth studies on breast cancer in Zimbabwe are imperative as our results show a higher prevalence rate than current official statistics. The research provides relevant information for pastoral caretakers handling trauma in the discipline of practical theology.Contribution: This article represents an intersection between practical theology and basic health care. Insights resulted from this study provide a baseline upon which to develop ways to reduce prevalence of breast cancer. The research can also be utilised by specialists in pastoral care and women theologies.

Dress and Identity: A Case of Great Zimbabwe University Students: Zimbabwe

Dress and Identity: A Case of Great Zimbabwe University Students: Zimbabwe

Contributor biographies

Contributor biographies

Exercise Paucity and Sedentary Routines: Genocide Conduits to Health Impairments in Adult Academics at Great Zimbabwe University

Obesogenic disorders have become a global spotlight that presents manifold challenges on healthcare systems. This study explored sedentary and obesity-oriented trends among Great Zimbabwe University staff in Masvingo. The Human Movement Conceptual Framework underpinned this descriptive study which hinged on the quantitative approach. Its population comprised 100 participants from which 30 male and female academic adults from Great Zimbabwe University School of Education Department were drawn through stratified random sampling. A questionnaire characteristic of WHO s' Global Physical Activity was used to collect data that is presented on tables. Emerging findings revealed overweight and obesity as problematic issues with high prevalence rates of physical redundancy among the adult population. Sedentary lifestyle tendencies significantly affected adult staff members’ physiological health aspects. Emerging findings revealed deficiencies of habitual training frequencies with aerobic-orientations among members, hence a physically latent workforce. The study recommends adults to develop habitual health and fitness training routines and behaviors to abate obesity-overweight trends. Sedentary and high calorific patterns subjugating adults to cardiovascular and atherosclerotic risks and disorders need substantial reductions through multi-systemic and multi-modal fitness regimes to promote health and exercise habits. Re-purposed high intensity progressive aerobic-oriented training dosages are necessary to reduce intramuscular fat levels, physiological frailty, oesteo-articulature impairments and to enhance intra-motor unit efficiencies.

About The Author

About The Author

Education Delivery in Higher Learning Institutions during the Times of Covid-19: A Case Study of the Great Zimbabwe University

This study examined the pedagogic or teaching and learning experiences of institutions of higher learning during the COVID-19 period, with particular emphasis on the Great Zimbabwe University in Zimbabwe. The study was guided by the case study research design. The study involved 37 students and 13 lecturers. Results showed that some respondents missed part of their lectures and submission of assignments some were apprehensive about missing their graduation while others struggled to pay the tuition. Further, it was revealed that while the WhatsApp platform proved cheapest and most popular amongst students and lecturers, a number of challenges were faced, including lack of orientation on the adopted learning platforms, unpredictable power supply and garget breakdowns which might have affected student grades. Results also showed that GZU provided limited data bundles, masks and sanitizers to lecturers during COVID-19. The recommendations of the study include the establishment on an institutional policy that addresses and curbs the negative impact of emergency periods. It is further recommended that loans, bursaries and scholarships be introduced. The study finally recommends that there be a concerted effort of stakeholders towards ensuring adequate provision of resources to curb the impact of lockdowns and other emergencies.

An assessment of knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of great Zimbabwe university students towards COVID-19 vaccination-Zimbabwe

<p><strong>Background</strong>: Vaccination is one of the most effective measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of the intended population towards vaccination is important for successful implementation of the exercise. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of Great Zimbabwe University students towards COVID-19 vaccination.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> An online survey was conducted from 01 November to 17 December 2021 by requesting students to complete a questionnaire which was set up using Google forms. The generated link was shared on student portals.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The most common source of information on COVID-19 vaccination was social media. The majority of the respondents demonstrated their knowledge of how COVID-19 is transmitted and indicated that they would take the COVID-19 vaccine if it is available. Most respondents indicated that they would encourage family/ friends/relatives to get vaccinated. About 87% were worried about being infected with COVID-19 and 26.4% were hesitant to get COVID-19 vaccine. Over 68 % perceived that vaccination would stop the spread of COVID-19. About 81% feared that there was a high risk of getting infected with COVID-19 at the university.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The majority of university students intended to get the COVID-19 vaccine; The sources of information cited by the students should be prioritized in disseminating COVID 19 vaccination information. These findings can help the Ministry of Health plan for future efforts to increase vaccine uptake that may eventually lead to herd immunity against COVID-19.</p>

Experiences and Challenges in Pioneering the Teaching and Learning of Formerly Marginalised Indigenous Languages: The Case of Nambya at the Great Zimbabwe University

This research article explores the experiences and challenges encountered by pioneer Bachelor of Education Degree students and lecturers of the Nambya language at the Great Zimbabwe University. The introduction of Nambya at the great Zimbabwe University was like navigating uncharted territory since this was the first time ever the language was being offered by any institution of higher learning and more interestingly, the Nambya language was used as the language of instruction. The research adopts qualitative research methods. The data were collected from a sample of graduates who majored in the Nambya language as well as their lecturers. The data were grouped into themes for ease of analysis. The major themes that emerged from the study relate to the availability of literary material, terminology, the language of instruction, lecturer qualification and competence as well as the relevance of modules.

Transcending gender dichotomy through art teacher education in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a patriarchal society characterized by gender dichotomy and male domination that permeates through social, educational and domestic spheres resulting in numerous challenges for art teacher education students. Expanding critical consciousness within art teacher education programmes is an imperative step towards developing art teachers who are self-aware and reflexive concerning the intersections of gender, art and education. This study investigated how engagement with visual art can provoke a heightened critical awareness about gender bias, stereotyping and equity among Zimbabwean art teacher education students. Sixteen selected art teacher education students (eight males and females) at the Great Zimbabwe University participated in the study. Participants were guided by researcher-constructed prompts for purposes of image making, interpretation and dialogue. Visual discourse analysis of the students’ visual narratives and discourse analysis of focus group transcriptions revealed several themes as well as evidence of critical reflection and expanded critical awareness related to gender issues. Visual and dialogic methods offer promise for critical engagement and reconciliation of tensions surrounding issues of gender amongst art teacher education candidates.

The effects of COVID -19 on higher education: Experiences of Family and Religious Studies final year students at Great Zimbabwe University

An unprecedented amount of disruption to life in general and higher education in particular resulted from the unexpected onset of the Coronavirus pandemic in late 2019. In Zimbabwe, cases of infection and the first victim of the pandemic were reported when the first semester of the 2020 academic year had just started in March. There is paucity of literature, at the time of writing this article, on Zimbabwe higher education students’ experiences of COVID-19 induced online education. To fill this lacuna, this article explored the effects of COVID-19 on higher education, with special focus on Family and Religious Studies (FRS) final year students at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU). The aim was to explore level 4.2 FRS students’ experiences when they were suddenly confronted with a COVID-19 induced online education. Adopting a qualitative research design where online interviews and a questionnaire were carried out with a sample of 20 male and 22 female students, we collected the students’ experiences of the COVID-19 induced online education in the teaching and learning of FRS online, identified the students’ coping strategies in dealing with COVID-19 induced online education, and solicited from the students their recommendations for a user-friendly online education. Employing the Just-In-Time Learning theory as the lens to analyse data, the students revealed that COVID-19 has had both negative and positive impacts on higher education in a developing country set up. We argue that while students and lecturers were confronted with numerous challenges in embracing COVID-19 induced-online education, they equally benefitted from the undertaking. We recommend that the University provides an enabling online teaching and learning environment and should prioritise robust training of academic staff and students on the use of online teaching and learning platforms.

Contested Conceptual Foundations and Practical Challenges: Shaping Law and Development Curriculum for Legal Education in Africa

This contribution serves as a primer, identifying critical challenges to the teaching of Law and Development in Africa. It details landmarks in the African development trajectory, highlighting the vacuum which its omission from the scope of law and development studies creates. Using the lens of law and development teaching at the Great Zimbabwe University, it explores how some of the identified challenges can be addressed and offers some ideas for the design of law and development courses in Africa.

EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION - A CASE OF GREAT ZIMBABWE UNIVERSITY (GZU)

This study explored the effects of COVID-19 on higher and tertiary education in Zimbabwe. The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic (SARS-COV-2) in December 2019 disrupted traditional forms of teaching and learning centred on face-to-face and in-class instruction. Governments enforced social distancing measures characterised by stay-at-home strategies and the closure of schools and other learning facilities. This study discusses the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on higher and tertiary education in Zimbabwe, especially the varied approaches and its pedagogical future. The study explores the challenges and innovations brought out by the pandemic in relation to provision of higher learning at Great Zimbabwe University. The challenges of access to the internet for both lecturers and students, lack of essential learning gadgets such as laptops and smartphones for both students and lecturers, the capacity of the university to keep its learning sites working flawless, the challenges of non-submission and or late submission of assignments by students resulting to the aforementioned challenges and other challenges will be under scope in this study. The study also consider innovations that the university did amidst the pandemic that promoted higher learning. These various interactive forces transformed learning at Great Zimbabwe University. This study is thus an interpretive assessment of the various changes that took place in higher learning institutions. 
 
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Challenges Faced by Student Affairs Practitioners in Embedding Indigenous Knowledge into Student Leadership Development Pedagogy. A Case for Zimbabwe

The drive to mainstream indigenous knowledge into student leadership development in Zimbabwean higher education has recently gained currency. Student leadership development has a Eurocentric historical background and it has continued on this paradigm in the post-independence era. Framed on decolonial theoretical framework this study interrogates the challenges that are faced by student affairs practitioners in their efforts to include indigenous epistemologies into student leadership development programmes. The research was designed as a case study that employed qualitative methods of data collection and analysis focussing on student development practice at three state universities in Zimbabwe namely Bindura University of Science Education, Chinhoyi University of Science Education and Great Zimbabwe University. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with student Affairs practitioners and analysed through NVivo qualitative data analysis software. Research findings indicate that student affairs practitioners face a myriad of problems which hinder the mainstreaming of the knowledge of the local indigenous people into leadership development. These problems include lack of training to empower them with skills to include indigenous epistemologies into student leadership training, lack of funding and policy guidelines. Theorising on this complexity the research recommends the designing of leadership programmes that imbue indigenous epistemologies of the local people in student development such as hunhu/ubuntu values.

A DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE ON UNIVERSITY LECTURERS’ USE OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING

The study sought to establish the use of information technology in literacy instruction by university lecturers. The focus was on the main demographic factors which significantly impact on the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in literacy instruction. The following variables were of interest: age, gender, highest qualification attained, work experience, tenure and employment status. The research was carried out at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU), a university in Masvingo Town, Zimbabwe. A descriptive survey was used as research design. Interviews and questionnaires were used as data collection instruments to eighty (80) lecturers from the Robert Mugabe School of Education and Culture based at GZU. The current study rides on the knowledge gap that previous studies had a tendency to look at primary and secondary school practitioners’ use of ICT and yet the problem could be at institutions of higher learning. The research looked at GZU’s perspective or policy to the use of ICT, teaching /learning outcomes for both students and lecturers, impediments to the use of technology and uses of technology by both lecturers and students. Quite significant therefore, is the fact that the research empowers all stakeholders to redirect their efforts to address the use of technology to enhance literacy instruction in institutions of higher learning. The results of the study revealed that there is less use of ICTs by lecturers in teaching and learning at the Robert Mugabe School of Education and Culture, Great Zimbabwe University. Variables such as age and gender were seen to affect the use of ICTs. Educational and academic qualifications and use of ICTs had an inverse relationship whereby an increase in one’s educational/academic qualifications showed a decrease in the use of ICTs. It is recommended that the university has to come up with a clear policy to guide lecturers on the use of ICTs in research, lecture preparation and presentation and assessment. Members of staff (Lecturers) were to frequently attend refresher workshops and seminars on the use of ICTs in education. It is also envisaged that personal computers and laptops are availed to teaching members’ offices and computer laboratories. This would result in effective teaching and research.
 
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Biopesticidal Properties of Aqueous Crude Extracts of Tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum L.) Against Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda J.E Smith) on Maize Foliage (Zea Mays L.) Diets

Pesticidal plants offer valuable and sustainable options for managing Lepidopteran pests with considerable health, environmental and economic benefits in smallholder agro-ecosystem. This study Biopesticidal properties of aqueous crude extracts of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) against fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E Smith) on maize foliage (Zea mays L.) diets. Bio-efficacy of aqueous crude N. tabacum leaf extracts was evaluated under average room temperature at Great Zimbabwe University, Biology laboratory. The treatments were tobacco leaf extracts at four dosage levels (25 %, 33.33%, 41.67 % and 50% W/V ) and a negative control of untreated maize leaf foliage (distilled water) was used. A positive control of Carbaryl 85% WP was also used at label rates. The experiment was arranged in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) replicated three times. Five larvae were placed into each of the experimental jars with maize foliage diets drenched into 10ml of distilled water in each treatment extract to keep the maize leaf foliage moist. Mortality for each treatment was recorded at 2 hourly intervals for 20 hours. Results showed that tobacco crude aqueous leaf extracts had Antifeedent activities against FAW larvae. The highest dose of 50% had significantly higher mean FAW larval mortalities (p< 0.05) than lower dosage (25%) and the negative control after 20 hours. However, 50% concentration was not significantly different (p>0.05) from the positive control and that of 33.33% and 41.67% dosages. The bioassay indicated that the 33.33% extract was superior in toxicity to 25% dose and the negative control but similar to higher extract doses though inferior to positive control. However, the mean mortality of 50% extract was not significantly different (p<0.05) from that of the positive control. This study recommends that 50% tobacco aqueous crude leaf extract dose to be used when controlling FAW in maize in the smallholder sector.

Place and pedagogy: using space and materiality in teaching social science in Southern Africa

ABSTRACT This article responds to recent perspectives from the Global South calling for the decolonisation of universities. Drawing on examples from two post-independence universities in Southern Africa – Sol Plaatje University in South Africa, and Great Zimbabwe University in Zimbabwe – we examine pedagogic innovation in undergraduate social science teaching. In particular, we examine the use of space and materiality as teaching tools in social anthropology. We argue for the promotion of what we call emplacement: such that materiality is not only used to relativise and deconstruct inherited world views about the Global South, in order that views from within the Global South are given centrality, but also such that students can situate themselves as embodied persons within concrete spaces and communities which carry particular social, economic and political histories. We see such a move as a decolonial one, that allows for the creation and maintenance of students as embodied, knowledge-making persons situated within communities, rather than as abstracted individuals to whom academia imparts knowledge created by others.

Decolonising sociology: perspectives from two Zimbabwean universities

ABSTRACT The decolonisation of sociology continues to be characterised by debates on what it constitutes, in both theory and practice. While such debates are centred on a ‘radical decolonisation’, we argue that the decolonisation of sociological curricula is never final, but should be driven by and with ‘hybridised’ thinking on the knowledge which underpins the discipline. While the canonical thinking in sociology has come under serious critique, there ought to be ‘knowledge accommodation’ combining Eurocentric and localised thinking. We focus on the ways in which sociology and sociological theory in particular have been criticised for being Eurocentric and androcentric, and the debates about decolonising it. This article draws on ethnographic research with sociologists and sociology students based at two Zimbabwean universities, the University of Zimbabwe and Great Zimbabwe University. This contributes to a growing body of research on decoloniality, by focusing both on attempts by some Zimbabwean sociologists to decolonise and localise the discipline, and on the ways in which academics and students advance and resist this practice. We argue that the decolonisation of sociology curricula and pedagogy should embrace transmodernity, blended knowledge systems, and border thinking. Following this, we further argue that decolonising sociology is never final and that there ought to be a ‘hybridised sociology’, which accommodates both canonical thinking and localised knowledge of the discipline.