Journal of Geography Education in Africa (JoGEA) Vol. 2 (2019)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/80394

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Viability of a Bimodal Application of an Interactive-GIS-Tutor within Low-Resourced South African Schools
    (Journal of Geography Education in Africa (JoGEA), 2019) Fleischmann, Elfrieda; Van der Westhuizen, Christo
    Adhering to the United Nations’ call to implement Geographical Information Systems (GIS) education, GIS was phased into the South African Further Education and Training (FET) Geography curriculum over the period 2006-2008. Yet, following the global trend, the slow adoption rate of GIS education points to the presence of GIS implementation barriers, due to a lack of educational GIS research. This implies that GIS curriculum development has outpaced GIS educational research. To support Geography teachers, an Interactive-GIS-Tutor (IGIST) application has been developed. This multiple case study evaluates the bimodal use of the Interactive-GISTutor (IGIST) on i) computers and ii) a projector/whiteboard within large classes, in low resourced schools. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Preliminary learner (n=149) and teacher (n=6) evaluations of the IGIST are being analysed and discussed, followed by learner focus group (n=6 x 8) and teacher interview (n=6) discussions. In this article, we advocate the IGIST and its bimodal use option as desirable and a viable and flexible GIS teaching option.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A school in distress: The manifestations of poverty at a selected satellite school in the Masvingo district, Zimbabwe
    (Journal of Geography Education in Africa (JoGEA), 2019) Tarisayi, Kudzayi Savious
    Although there is a plethora of studies on poverty in schools, poverty in satellite schools in Zimbabwe remains a neglected phenomenon. Satellite schools are newly established temporary schools which are attached to a registered school. This paper derives from a study that focused on the social capital influences of communal farmers and land reform beneficiaries on satellite schools in the Masvingo district, Zimbabwe after the year 2000. The study drew on the capability approach by Sen (2000) and the poverty pyramid by Baulch (2011). The study was qualitative and it was positioned in the interpretive paradigm. The paper reports on one case study of communal farmers in the Masvingo district. Four semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion with a purposive sample of ten participants were carried out in the Sambo community. Qualitative content analysis was utilized to analyse the findings and draw conclusions. The manifestations of poverty at Sambo satellite school were infrastructure challenges; physical resources allocation; a natural resource challenge; and learners’ participation in extra-curricular activities with other schools. Due to a multiplicity of manifestations of poverty, Sambo satellite school was clearly in distress. It is recommended that the Zimbabwean government provide additional funding to support satellite schools that are located in poor, environmentally challenging contexts.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The challenges of Integrating Indigenous Knowledge in the teaching of weather and climate in Geography in Manicaland province of Zimbabwe
    (Journal of Geography Education in Africa (JoGEA), 2019) Risiro, Joshua
    Scholars have acknowledged that the current education system in Zimbabwe has done very little to incorporate learners’ socio-cultural experiences. The purpose of the qualitative case study, from which this research draws its data, was to examine the views of the teachers and education officers on the challenges of integrating Indigenous Knowledge (IK) into the teaching of weather and climate. The study was conducted in secondaryschools of Manicaland in Zimbabwe. It is hoped that these views from the various stakeholders can contribute to the ongoing discussions on updating the Geography curriculum (2015 –2022) in Zimbabwe. Data was generated using interviews and focus group discussions. The study revealed numerous challenges in integrating IK into Geography in secondary schools which include the lack of written texts given the oral tradition, the training of teachers, insufficient IK experts for guidance, teachers own attitudes and beliefs, assessment challenges and urbanisation. However, I argue that thesechallenges should not detractfromthe decolonizing project of integrating IK into the Zimbabwean Geography curriculum, rather the challenges should open up avenues for further discussion on including IK in the curriculum. It is recommended that the Ministry of Education seek to address the challenges, reported on the integration of IK into the Geography curriculum, that lie within the ambit of teaching, learning and assessment.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    'My coming to South Africa made everything possible': The socio-economic and political reasons for migrant teachers being in Johannesburg
    (Journal of Geography Education in Africa (JoGEA), 2019) Anganoo, Lucille; Manik, Sadhana
    Teacher migration is a phenomenon thatgained international momentum more than eighteen years ago. South Africa was one of the developing countries within theCommonwealth which weregreatly affected by the loss of homegrown skills in respect toteacher emigration to the United Kingdom. In the past ten years, however, South Africa hasattractedteachers from neighbouring countries. Whilst there have been some studies on migrant teachers in South Africa, research on migrant teachers in primary schools isa neglected area. This paper reports on some of the findings ofa qualitative teacher immigration study undertaken in Johannesburg which focussed on primary school teachers. The paper explores the economic, political,and social reasons for migrant teachers teaching in Johannesburg. The push and pull theory of the seminal scholar, Lee (1966) and Bett’s (2010) insights into survival migration and chain migration provide the theoretical dimensions for thispaper. Primary school teachers fromboth public and private schools participated in this research anddata was generated through interviews and focus group discussions. Migrant teachers selectJohannesburg, South Africa as asurvival strategy for a range of economic, political and social reasons. Primary schools in Johannesburg have been overcomingtheir teacher shortages with thisinflux of migrantteachers,benefitting from this brain gain.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Namibian teachers’ perceptions and practices of teaching mapwork
    (Journal of Geography Education in Africa (JoGEA), 2019) Naxweka, Johanna; Wilmot, Di
    This article addresses the problem of consistently poor learner performance in mapwork in secondary school geography in Namibia from the perspective of teachers. It presents the findings of a qualitative case study focused on understanding geography teachers’ perceptions and pedagogical practices of mapwork. Data were generated through a questionnaire administered to thirty teachers in fifteen secondary schools in the Ohangwena Region of Northern Namibia, and interviews and classroom observations were done with a purposive sample of three teachers. The study draws on Shulman’s ideas of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (1986, 1987) to interpret what the three teachers say about the teaching of mapwork and how they teach it. The findings reveal that the teachers are conscientious but ill-equipped to teach mapwork. Their classroom practices focus on teaching discrete map skills and procedural knowledge with little if any, attention given to spatial conceptual understanding and application of knowledge to solve problems. The study provides insights that may be of value to teachers, teacher educators and Senior Education Officers in Namibia and other southern African contexts when addressing the problem of low learning outcomes in mapwork.