The perceived competencies and needs of secondary school agricultural science teachers in the Zambezi Region, Namibia

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2018.ENGLISH SUMMARY : The study assessed secondary schools’ Agricultural Science teachers’ competencies and needs with a view to making recommendations for improving Agricultural Science teacher education in the Zambezi region of Namibia. It specifically aimed to determine what the perceived competencies of male and female as well as experienced and less experienced teachers were in teaching and conducting practical experiments in Agricultural Science at the secondary school level. The study also set out to determine the professional needs of male and female as well as experienced and less experienced Agricultural Science teachers that might be necessary to enable them to keep abreast of contemporary issues facing Agricultural Science in combined (from grade 1 to 10) and secondary (from grade 8 to 12) schools. The Agricultural Science teachers were sampled based on gender (males and females) and teaching experience (3 years). This study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The research instruments used for data collection included teachers’ questionnaires and follow-up interview guides. The target population of this study comprised all combined and secondary school Agricultural Science teachers (150 teachers in total i.e. 82 males and 68 females) in 65 secondary schools in the Zambezi region; 142 Agricultural Science teachers out of 150 teachers participated in the study using questionnaires. Purposive sampling was used to select teachers for participation in the follow-up interviews that probed more deeply into teachers’ needs and competencies. After preliminary analysis of the questionnaires, 12 sub-samples (consisting of six male and six female Agricultural Science teachers) of the teachers were purposively selected and interviewed. Content validity was used to establish the extent to which the research instrument covered the domains that are being tested. The reliability of the quantitative survey instrument was determined statistically by calculating the Cronbach Alpha coefficient. The research instruments were also tested for content validity by giving the questionnaires and interview question items to a panel of peers for scrutiny. Quantitative data generated in this study were analysed using descriptive statistics provided by the Statisica 13 computer software programme. Chi square tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to determine whether there are significant differences in the frequency distributions on each of the perceived competencies and needs. Four hypotheses were tested in the study at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that 18 out of 20 (90%) proposed needs between male and female Agricultural Science teachers were not statistically significant (p>0.05). The findings of this study further revealed that 13 out of 20 needs were not statistically significant (p0.05) between less experienced ( 3 years) teachers. With regard to the perceived competencies, the findings of this study revealed that there were no gender and teaching experience differences for all competencies tested. For that reason, the study proffered that male and female Agricultural Science teachers in schools studied had perhaps acquired virtually comparable quality and level of training. Therefore, percentages were calculated and presented in frequency tables, histograms and bar charts. Data from the follow-up interviews were analysed thematically and presented in the form of themes based on the research objectives. Therefore, the results of the study from the participants interviewed revealed that the majority (67%) of the participants said that the needs were more or less equally similar among Agricultural Science teachers irrespective of gender and years of teaching experience. The results of the study with regard to gender competencies further established that females were more challenged when it came to the practical component of teaching Agricultural Science. Therefore, the study recommends that further studies should be conducted to establish what the actual competencies of female, male, experienced, and less experienced Agricultural Science teachers are in the Zambezi region of Namibia.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : In hierdie studie word die vaardighede en behoeftes van landbouwetenskap-onderwysers in sekondêre skole ondersoek. Die doel is om aanbevelings ter verbetering van landbouwetenskaponderwysers-opleiding binne die Zambesi-streek van Namibië te voorsien. Die spesifieke doel van hierdie studie is om te bepaal wat die waargenome vaardighede van manlike en vroulike landbouwetenskap-onderwysers, sowel as ervare en minder ervare landbouwetenskap-onderwysers, ten opsigte van die onderrig en die uitvoering van praktiese eksperimente in landbouwetenskap op die sekondêre skoolvlak is. Verder beoog die studie om te bepaal wat die professionele behoeftes van manlike en vroulike landbouwetenskap-onderwysers, sowel as ervare en minder ervare landbouwetenskap-onderwysers is. Daar word ook ondersoek wat benodig word om hulle in staat te stel om by te hou met die huidige vraagstukke rakende landbouwetenskap in die gekombineerde (Graad 1-10) en ook in die sekondêre (Graad 8-12) skole. Die steekproef van landbouwetenskap-onderwysers is saamgestel volgens geslag (manlik en vroulik) en onderwys-ervaring (3jaar). Die navorsingsontwerp van die studie behels ‘n beskrywende opname. Die navorsingsinstrumente wat vir die data-insameling gebruik is, is enersyds vraelyste aan onderwysers en andersyds opvolgonderhoudsriglyne. Die teikengroep van die studie sluit in al die gekombineerde en sekondêre skole se landbouwetenskap-onderwysers (150 onderwysers in totaal: 82 manlik en 68 vroulik) in 65 sekondêre skole in die Zambesi-streek. 142 landbouwetenskap-onderwysers uit 150 onderwysers het by wyse van vraelyste aan die studie deelgeneem. Doelgerigte steekproefneming is aangewend om onderwysers te selekteer om deel te neem aan die opvolgonderhoude. Hierdie onderhoude het dieper ingegaan op die onderwysers se behoeftes en vaardighede. Na ‘n voorlopige ontleding van die vraelyste, is 12 sub-steekproewe van die onderwysers (naamlik 6 manlike en 6 vroulike landbouwetenskap-onderwysers) doelgerig geselekteer en ook ondervra. Die inhoudsgeldigheid is toegepas met die doel om vas te stel in watter mate die navorsingsinstrument die getoetste domeine volledig gedek het. Die betroubaarheid van die kwantitatiewe opname-instrument is statisties deur die berekening van die Cronbach Alpha koëffisiënt bepaal. Die inhoudsgeldigheid van die navorsingsinstrument is ook getoets deur die vraelyste en onderhoudsvrae-items aan ‘n portuurgroeppaneel vir indringende ondersoek voor te lê. Die kwantitatiewe data wat in hierdie studie gegenereer is, is ontleed volgens die beskrywende statistieke soos voorsien deur die Statisica 13 rekenaarsagtewareprogram. Die Chi-kwadraat-toetse en variansie-analises (ANOVA) is aangewend om te bepaal of daar beduidende verskille in die frekwensie-verspreiding van elk van die waargenome vaardighede and behoeftes was. Vier hipoteses is in die studie op die 0.05 beduidendheidsskaal getoets. Die bevindings wys dat 18 van die 20 (90%) van die voorgestelde behoeftes tussen manlike en vroulike landbouwetenskaponderwysers nie statisties beduidend was nie (p>0.05). Die bevindings van hierdie studie toon aan dat 13 van die 20 behoeftes nie statisties beduidend (p0.05) tussen minder ervare (3 jaar) onderwysers was. Wat die waargenome vaardighede betref, wys die bevindings van hierdie studie, dat daar geen geslags- en onderwyservaringsverskille ten opsigte van alle getoetste vaardighede was nie. Uit die studie blyk dit dat dit moontlik is dat die manlike en die vroulike landbouwetenskap-onderwysers in die skole wat bestudeer is, ‘n feitlik vergelykbare gehalte en vlak van opleiding verkry het. Daarom is die persentasies bereken en in frekwensie-tabelle, histogramme en staafdiagramme uiteengesit. Data van die opvolgonderhoude is tematies ontleed en uiteengesit volgens temas wat uit die navorsingsdoelwitte afgelei is. Hierdie resultate soos afgelei uit die onderhoude met die deelnemers, wys daarop dat die meerderheid (67%) van die deelnemers aangedui het dat die behoeftes min of meer gelyk-ooreenstemmend is onder die landbouwetenskaponderwysers, ongeag hulle geslag en jare van onderwyservaring. Ten opsigte van die geslagtelike vaardighede, het die uitslae van die studie aangetoon dat vroulike landbouwetenskap-onderwysers die praktiese komponent van landbouwetenskaponderwys as ‘n groter uitdaging beskou. Gevolglik dui die studie aan dat verdere navorsing uitgevoer behoort te word, ten einde vas te stel wat die werklike vaardighede van vroulike en manlike, sowel as ervare en minder ervare landbouwetenskaponderwysers in die Zambesi-streek van Namibië is.Doctora