https://naturalsciences.unza.zm/index.php/mjlsse/issue/feed 2022-11-08T20:24:05+00:00 Sitwe Benson Mkandawire b.mkandawire@unza.zm Open Journal Systems <p>The Multidisciplinary Journal of Language and Social Sciences Education is a peer reviewed publication done twice a year.</p> https://naturalsciences.unza.zm/index.php/mjlsse/article/view/892 2022-10-27T04:59:31+00:00 Oluwole Victor Falobi ofalobi@unilag.edu.ng Bukola Esther Ononiwu ofalobi@unilag.edu.ng

This study assessed the concept of entrepreneurship development of business education undergraduates in Lagos State. A survey research design was used for this study. The population comprised of 565 business education undergraduates in public universities in Lagos State, Nigeria while a sample size of 160 were used for the study. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while t–test was used to test the hypotheses. The t-test comparison showed that the difference in mean ratings on the influence of business education undergraduate curriculum on promotion of human resources management skill among male and female respondents in Lagos State was not statistically significant. Based on the findings of the study, the researchers recommended among others that the curriculum planners should ensure that business education curriculum content is relevant to the skills required of industries because of the relevance of the programme in providing the needed manpower in industries.

2022-10-27T04:59:31+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://naturalsciences.unza.zm/index.php/mjlsse/article/view/893 2022-10-29T06:14:16+00:00 Martha Mwandia david.mwanza@unza.zm David Sani Mwanza david.mwanza@unza.zm

Lesson plans are said to be valuable forms of teacher support because they can expand a repertoire of teaching practices. The government of the republic of Zambia through the Ministry of Education designed lessons and lesson procedures including materials for teachers to use in the teaching of literacy in grade three. Scripted lesson plans are a contentious issue in pedagogical discourse. The study sought to establish the merits and demerits of pre-scripted literacy lessons based on the experiences of teachers who implemented the scripted lessons. In depth interviews with grade three teachers of literacy as well as one standards officer and curriculum development officer were also included respectively. Regarding the merits of pre-scripted lessons, the study found that, scripts were a guide in the teaching of literacy and that they are helpful to ill prepared teachers who needed further pedagogic scaffolding after being newly employed by the government. Notwithstanding the merits, findings also showed that pre-scripted lessons were restrictive and took away the teacher’s creativity. Moreover, such lessons were not responsive to the diverse needs of learners in multilingual and multicultural classrooms where multiple identities were a norm. The study concludes by arguing for the sensitisation of teachers on the merits of pre-scripted lessons and what power teachers have towards the negotiation and recontextualization of such curriculum in providing learner centred inclusive pedagogy.

2022-10-29T06:14:15+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://naturalsciences.unza.zm/index.php/mjlsse/article/view/894 2022-10-29T06:31:10+00:00 Noah Kenny Sichula noah.sichula@unza.zm Musonda Luchembe musonda.luchembe@unza.zm Moses Changala moses.changala@unza.zm Davies Phiri davies.phiri@unza.zm Flora Ngoma Moono flora.moono@unza.zm

This article presents the findings of a study that looked at learner-centred teaching methods that inspired adult education students in a higher education context in the acquisition of knowledge and 21st-century soft skills for the job market. The study sample was 130 participants and included 126 learners and 4 lecturers. The study used both quantitative and qualitative research approaches and was framed within andragogy-the adult learning theory. Discovery teaching was found crucial in facilitating the acquisition of 21st century soft skills among the adult education learners. Navigating their way to the solutions of the assigned problems enable the acquisition of soft skills. However, the utilisation of discovery teaching was reported to be hampered by two main broad factors. The diversity and changing landscape of the nature of adult education learners . Several of them were identified and described as young, different from the traditional adult education learners who are often characterised by vast work experience, mature, and focused. This phenomenon had a bearing on the effective utilisation of discovery teaching in class because lecturer dependency was described as quite apparent among the young learners. Secondly, it was observed that the foundational year of study in the programme did not provide a firm grounding for discovery teaching and learning. The learners were introduced to lecturer dependency through responsive academic help rendered to learners and progressed to higher levels of study. While we found discovery teaching to have versatile inroads in several pedagogic practices, essential for the acquisition 21st-century soft skills, there remains a gap in inextricably embedding discovery teaching in the teaching of learners on this programme.

2022-10-29T06:31:09+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://naturalsciences.unza.zm/index.php/mjlsse/article/view/895 2022-11-08T08:19:36+00:00 Remmy Mukonka remmy.mukonka@gmail.com Christine Mushibwe remmy.mukonka@gmail.com David Sani Mwanza david.mwanza@unza.zm

Despite the full-scale implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in Zambia’s primary schools, behavioural related health problems among adolescents persist which include early and unprotected sex, sexual abuse, early marriages and teenage pregnancies. This study aimed at examining the implementation of CSE in selected primary schools of Kabwe, Lusaka and Choma districts. The study utilised mixed method design with a pupil population drawn from 15 selected primary schools. The sample size of the study was 700 adolescents (aged 12 – 17 years) and 42 key informants among educationists (i.e. headteachers, teachers, guidance and counseling teachers, and Ministry of Education and health senior officials). Simple random sampling was utilised to select pupils while purposive sampling was employed to select key informants. Interview guides, questionnaires and focus group discussions were employed to collect statistical and narrative data. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and thematic analysis. Findings of the study demonstrated statistical evidence of the implementation of CSE in the selected primary schools. There was above a 90% extent of the implementation of CSE in the selected schools and average frequency of 71.8% of it being taught predominantly in classroom environments. The study indicated a commencement period of grade five with teachers being trained and oriented in the integration of CSE in carrier subjects. The finding revealed that dominant topics in CSE were puberty, reproduction, HIV and AIDS. The study further identified challenges in the implementation of CSE in primary schools which included limited materials on CSE, religious indoctrination and cultural barriers, CSE being a low impact programme and a lack of inclusion of school gender-based violence in the taught lessons. With these challenges, the study noted that in spite of CSE being implemented, there is a continuation of sexual maladies that distract adolescents from attaining an education. The study therefore recommends more capacity building in the pedagogy, teacher training, production of CSE teaching and learning materials and resources. It is further recommended that effective integration of CSE should be coordinated within the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

2022-11-08T00:00:00+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://naturalsciences.unza.zm/index.php/mjlsse/article/view/898 2022-11-08T09:14:12+00:00 Chester Mwanza pcmanchishi@unza.zm Peter Chomba Manchishi pcmanchishi@unza.zm

The purpose of this study was to search for classroom practices/exercises which would facilitate communicative competence in the teaching and learning of English grammar in Zambian public secondary schools. This study was informed by the Social Constructivism research paradigm. In addition, descriptive research design was employed. The population for this study included all the public secondary schools in Chongwe district, all the grade eleven teachers and learners of English language. Sample was picked purposively using criterion sampling technique. The sample involved 3 Heads of Department for Literature and Languages, 7 English language subject teachers and 15 grade 11 learners of English language. The study also included one standard educational officer. In total, the sample comprised 26 participants. Data was collected using interview guide, focus group discussion guide, classroom observation guide and document analysis. The findings were analysed thematically. Interview data revealed that both mechanical practices (Cloze exercise, transformation exercise, punctuation exercise, substitution exercise, spelling exercise, choosing a correct sentence, single word prompt) and meaningful practices (composition exercise, situational exercise, reading exercise and constructing own sentences) were used in the teaching and learning of English Grammar by the participants. Some teachers explained that they were encouraged to use meaningful practices more often. It was also indicated that both mechanical and meaningful practices are useful but both teachers and learners had put much emphasis on situational practices. They explained that situational practices/exercise enable the learner to use the language inside and outside the classroom effectively because structures are not taught in isolation but with context of the situation in which they are used. However, during classroom lesson observation, the researcher observed that in all the three lessons, teachers used mechanical practices only. Therefore, teachers need to systematically blend the two types of practices to facilitate learners’ communicative competence. In view of the findings, it is recommended that teachers of English language should make sure that their classroom practices reflect all the four dimension of communicative competence (grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competence). Grammatical competence will help learners master the rules while sociolinguistic competence will enable them know how to apply the rules in different social contexts. Discourse competence aspect helps in presenting ideas in an orderly manner while strategic competence helps in repairing discourses when there is communication breakdown.

2022-11-08T09:14:12+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://naturalsciences.unza.zm/index.php/mjlsse/article/view/899 2022-11-08T09:32:49+00:00 Sylvia Mwanza-Kabaghe sylvia.mwanza-kabaghe@unza.zm

Studies have shown that Socio Economic Status (SES) and Home Literacy Environment (HLE) are associated with reading achievement. However, very few studies have shown this association with regards to emergent literacy skills in Zambia. This study examined how home literacy environment and social economic status are related to first graders’ emergent reading skills. The study also sought to identify specific pathways in which socioeconomic status and home environment mediate first graders’ emergent reading skills. To obtain the results for this study, a quasi-experimental design was used were 216 first graders from 18 different schools were assessed using the Basic Skill Assessment Tool (BASAT) at the beginning of first grade and at the end of first grade (approximately seven months after the baseline study). Home literacy environment and social economic status information was gathered using the demographic data form completed by the teachers and parents. To obtain the results, data was analysed quantitatively using descriptive, correlations and multi-level regression analysis. Results demonstrated that both home literacy environment and Social Economic status are associated with improvements in children’s emergent reading skills. Particularly, mothers’ occupation was a strong predictor of school achievement compared to father’s occupation. However, the influence of mother’s occupation was not significant for children who attended preschool, this was observed at both pre and post-test. Concurrent and longitudinal effects of social economic status were observed on reading while no longitudinal effects of home literacy environment were observed. The implication of these findings is that children who do not attend preschool but have mothers in gainful employment perform better in emergent literacy than those who have preschool exposure. This is a very important finding that stimulates debate and future research.

2022-11-08T09:32:49+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://naturalsciences.unza.zm/index.php/mjlsse/article/view/900 2022-11-08T17:15:22+00:00 Akayombokwa Maala maalaimikendu@yahoo.com Sitwe Benson Mkandawire bmsitwe@gmail.com

This article investigated factors contributing to low performance in English reading comprehension among Grade 8 pupils in three selected secondary schools of Lusaka District of Zambia. The study employed the descriptive research design under qualitative mode of inquiry to gather information from (27) participants who were selected using typical case and convenient sampling. Data was collected through comprehension lesson observation, interviews, and focus group discussion with in-service teachers and learners. Content analysis was used to analyse data by categorizing similar content, coded themes, and key words to emerging threads. The findings of the study revealed that there were multiple factors contributing to low performance in reading comprehension which included lack of knowledge by some teachers on the procedure for teaching reading comprehension and therefore, taught poorly. Some pupils had challenges reading comprehension text due to illiteracy, lack of understanding, limited fluency, aliteracy, low reading culture, limited vocabulary, poor motivation, limited reading time in class against long passages, inappropriate teaching methods by the teacher and lack of learning and teaching materials. In order to improve on the challenges in reading comprehension, the study recommended that schools should have frequent Continuous Professional Developments on how to teach comprehension. Teachers should also make sure that teaching and learning materials are relevant to the grade levels. Appropriate teaching methods should also be used for comprehension lessons to promote quality and effective teaching and learning. The Ministry of Education should build libraries in schools to support the reading culture and schools should have a reading hour every day of the week.

2022-11-08T17:15:21+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://naturalsciences.unza.zm/index.php/mjlsse/article/view/901 2022-11-08T20:24:05+00:00 Robert Mitchell rmitchel@uccs.edu Patrick Hampton patrick.hampton@nd.edu.au Robinson Mambwe robinson.mambwe@unza.zm

Upcoming changes in the teacher labour supply will most certainly have an impact on those nations that provide government-based education for their youths. Faced with a significant global shortfall of educators, many nations have taken steps to incentivize teaching as a profession and ensure that qualified teachers are available to students in all locations particularly in rural environments. To highlight these initiatives, a review of the efforts three nations (Australia, the United States of America and Zambia) have undertaken to ensure a viable teacher workforce have been presented. While each nation has specific factors that contribute to current and projected shortages, each also provides unique solutions to assist in resolving this emerging issue.

2022-11-08T17:28:07+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement##