Students In Botswana Research Articles

The Influence of School on the Choice of Language Learning Strategies in Botswana

This research seeks to examine the role that context or learning situation plays in strategy choice by comparing the strategy patterns of a private English medium secondary and a government secondary school in Botswana. More specifically, the main objectives of this study are to, firstly, investigate whether the ‘type of school' influences the choice of language learning strategies of its students: secondly, to find out whether private English medium secondary school students use more strategies than government secondary school students in Botswana; and, thirdly, to explore the role played by gender on the choice of language learning strategies. Form four students from one private English medium senior secondary school and one government senior secondary completed the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SIILL). The data was analysed using descriptive statistics to calculate means and standard deviations of strategies and inferential statistics such as ANOVA to establish the relationships between group and individual strategies. The findings of this study showed that the choice of strategies was not greatly influenced by the type of school from which the student came. However, this study found that government school students relied more on the use of dictionaries. On the other hand, private English medium students volunteered to look for conversation partners in order to get practice in speaking English. In relation to gender, the findings of this study confirmed other previous findings that female students use more language learning strategies than do male students. Keywords: language, learning, context, strategies, gender, influence MARANG Vol. 18 2008 pp. 15-28

The University in Botswana and the liberation struggle in southern Africa (1973–1980)

This article documents key aspects of the role played by University students in Botswana in the liberation struggle, from the early years of the University in the mid‐1960s to the year of Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980. Three demonstrations by University students are analysed, and the article concludes that, contrary to the received literature, the University contributed to the liberation struggle in a meaningful way. Although students at the University continued to play a part in the liberation struggle after 1980, this period is not discussed as the liberation struggle became just one of the key agenda items in a broadened political programme that focussed on local concerns of the students such as fees, allowances, institutional governance and democratisation.

Aggressive and Antisocial Behaviours Among Secondary School Students in Botswana: The Influence of Family and School Based Factors

This study examined the relationship between family factors and secondary school students’ aggressive and antisocial behaviours. Participants were 1,478 junior and senior secondary school students from four major urban centres in Botswana, aged 12-20. Results showed significant prevalence of self-reported aggressive tendencies and antisocial behaviours among secondary school students in Botswana. Boys rated themselves higher on aggression, use of alcohol and drugs and carrying and using dangerous weapons compared to girls. High scores on antisocial and aggressive behaviours were significantly related to poor parent-child relations and low parental monitoring. The results are consistent with findings from previous studies. The findings have important implications to violence prevention programs for children and adolescents. Suggestions for future research and the development of intervention programs are made.

An Analysis Of The Reasons Offered By Post-Graduate Diploma In Education Students In Botswana For Opting For A Teaching Career

The purpose of this paper was to investigate and analyze the reasons advanced by Post Grade Diploma in Education students (PGDE) for choosing teaching as a career. The subjects of the study were 102 students of which 58 were females and 44 were males. The average age for this group of students was 23. Data were collected using a questionnaire in which a quantitative approach was employed using closed and open-ended questions. The findings of the study revealed that, PGDE students choose the teaching profession mainly for extrinsic reasons such as job security and economic advancement. The paper also indicated that student teachers chose teaching as a career because they wanted to serve the community.

Consumer education: creating consumer awareness among adolescents in Botswana

AbstractSenior secondary schools’ students in Botswana were studied to determine their awareness of consumer rights and responsibilities and their perceptions of consumer behaviour and consumer education. Recommendations will inform the refinement of consumer education teaching in Botswana as well as other secondary education programmes. A questionnaire suitable for this study was used to collect data. Responses from 3107 students were received. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to determine frequencies and central tendencies. Chi‐square tests were computed to examine relationships among variables by gender, class level, and school location. Two‐thirds of the students correctly identified consumer rights and responsibilities. Female students were more likely to identify consumer rights and responsibilities than males. Students agreed that they were informed on consumer issues and females were more likely to be informed than males. Topics identified to be taught in consumer education included consumer rights and responsibilities, purchasing decisions, advertising and others. The delivery methods identified were classes in school, workshops, radio and television programmes, and consumer youth clubs. Consumer education programmes were found to have an impact on adolescents because most of them were aware of consumer rights and responsibilities and acted as informed consumers on most consumer issues.

The Effect of Literature-Based Reading on Gifted Students in Botswana

The Effect of Literature-Based Reading on Gifted Students in Botswana

The correlates of the socio-cultural background of Botswana junior secondary school students with their attitudes towards and achievements in science

The study was undertaken to find out whether there is a significant relationship between the socio-cultural beliefs held by beginning junior secondary school (JSS) students in Botswana and their attitudes towards school science on one hand and their achievement in school science on the other hand. Seven research questions were formulated. The nature of the study dictated the employment of descriptive research (survey) design. The sample for the study consisted of 395 JSS students randomly selected from eleven junior secondary schools within 120-kilometre radius of Gaborone, the state capital of Botswana. The collection of the data for the study was accomplished by the use of three constructed and validated research instruments. The findings of the study include the fact that Setswana1 (Botswana) mythology has a telling effect, to a large extent, on the thought processes of the average Botswana JSS student. This resulted in significant negative relationships between the students' socio-cultural background and their attitudes towards school science on one hand and their achievement in school science on the other hand. But in spite of the negative effect of the elements of the students' culture on the ease with which they learn school science, Botswana JSS students are found to be positively disposed towards school science in general.

Somatotypes of Physical Education Students in Botswana

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in English; abstract also in Chinese.In the present study the somatotype characteristics of Physical Education students at the University of Botswana were evaluated. A second purpose of the study was to compare the physical characteristics of students across academic years of study. A total of 125 Physical Education students (52 males and 73 females) at the University of Botswana were measured. The students were attending certificate course, Diploma (year 1 and 2)，Bachelor's degree in Education (B. Ed) (year 1 to 4) in Physical Education. All the students were measured by one of the authors and their mean ages ranged from 23.8 to 28.6 years for males and 25.8 to 30.8 years for females. Anthropometric measurements were taken according to the protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). These included body mass, stature, two breadths (humerus and femur), arm girths flexed and tense, calf girth and four skinfolds (triceps, subscapular, supraspinal and iliac crest). All the subjects were somatotyped using the Heath-Carter anthropometric somatotype method. Among the study group, the SAM values ranged from 1.2 to 2.1. The present sample is clustered in the mesomorph endomorph and mesomorphic endomorph categories with male students being more endomophic than female students. It is important in future studies to investigate the cultural diversity of the Botswana population as that might shed more light on the preponderance of endomorphy in the male group.本文旨在分析波斯尼亞大學體育本科生的體型結構，利用ISAK國際量度體型標準，量度了125名年齡由23至30歲學生的體型，結果顯示學生體型的分佈狀況，與文化背境的因素可能有關。

Teaching Conflict Resolution to Social Studies Students in Botswana

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsMichael Bamidele AdeyemiMICHAEL BAMIDELE ADEYEMI is a senior lecturer in the Department of Languages and Social Sciences Education at the University of Botswana in Gaborone.

Students' Perceptions of Science and Technology in Botswana and Lesotho

Master's students were involved in the design, and later the administration, of a questionnaire for 500 junior secondary students in Botswana and Lesotho, to buildup a picture of student perceptions of science and technology. Responses to mainly open‐ended questions were categorised according to key phrases mentioned by the students. There was some confusion over the differences between science and technology, but they were overwhelmingly perceived as subjects appropriate to both sexes. Science and technology were seen in broad socio‐economic terms, enabling people to cope in the modern world, gain employment in both the formal and informal sectors, and contribute towards national development. Although science and technology were judged to have enhanced the quality of life, they had introduced conflicts into traditional beliefs and cultures, in part as a result of increasing female emancipation. The attitudes of the students towards the two subjects, and to the impact they have had on everyday life, were congruent with the philosophical aims of the science and technology syllabuses of both countries and with global initiatives such as Project 2000 +.

Remedial classroom teaching and computer-assisted learning with science students in Botswana

The mathematical background of new science students in Botswana and the effectiveness of teaching is investigated through a series of test instruments. It is found that many mathematical concepts and techniques, theoretically covered in the school curriculum, are not well established. Further research shows that teaching remedial mathematics in class improves student results, but also that several misconceptions remain. Material for computer-assisted learning, specifically developed to promote conceptual change is shown to have a positive effect. Research data are analysed for different student ability groups.

The Effects of a Social Studies Course on the Philosophic Orientations of History and Geography Graduate Students in Botswana

Summary This investigation was concerned with the effects of a social studies course on the philosophic orientations of history and geography students undergoing a programme in Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) at the University of Botswana. Forty‐eight of them were taught a social studies course to determine whether their social studies orientations would change at the end of the course with the use of the Barth/Shermis Social Studies Preference Scale. It was found that a large number of the students tended to tilt from the citizenship transmission orientation to the reflective inquiry orientation but with the majority of them in the social science orientation. It was concluded that an educational innovation is capable of bringing about a change in behaviour.

Attitudes of Botswana senior secondary school pupils toward agriculture

The paper describes an empirical research project to measure the attitudes and changes of attitude among junior secondary/senior secondary students in Botswana, to the introduction of pre-vocational education through the inclusion of agriculture as a core corriculum subject. The data were obtained by comparing attitudes of two cohorts at the end of the junior course, one of which has agriculture in the curriculum and one which had not, and two comparable groups from the previous system in the senior secondary school. The context of the innovation and the methodology of attitude-data collection are both discussed, together with other variables such as gender and school policy.