Academic literature on the topic 'Environmental education – Namibia – Case studies'

This paper investigated the perceptions of Religious and Moral Education (RME) teachers with regard to the implementation of RME syllabus in Namibia. The paper engages a crucial global debate on paradigms for teaching religion and moral values while contributing to the literature through research in the Ompundja Circuit of Oshana Region, Namibia. Contrary to the previous colonial era when Christianity was the only recognized religion, the Republic of Namibia adopted a new constitution making it a secular state upon independence in 1990. This new constitution, however, brought new challenges to teachers who were previously trained only to teach Biblical Studies as a school subject. With this new constitution, Namibia adopted a policy of teaching a multi-cultural religious and moral education curriculum. The teaching of RME replaced Biblical Studies in the Namibian curriculum. Teachers are now required to make their learners aware of the different religious and moral values of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, African traditional religions, Bahai and others inextricably. This, paper, therefore, presents findings from a case study research conducted at Ompundja Circuit of Oshana Region in Namibia that examined the perceptions of Religious and Moral Education (RME) teachers with regard to the implementation of RME syllabus. Fourteen teachers from selected schools participated in this study. Teachers were interviewed, observed and later completed a set of questionnaire. Findings indicated that teachers’individual religious and moral values shaped the teaching and learning process; teachers’ individual religious and moral values played a major role regarding conflicting concerns over RME; and as most RME teachers were Christian, they felt a commitment to share their personal Christian religious beliefs and moral values. The paper recommends that teachers be provided with the necessary teaching resources and be trained to develop more confidence and broad understanding of RME as a subject.

In Namibia, goat products are not found in the formal markets include retail shops. This is despite several attempts by the government of Namibia to promote goat products in the formal sector. At household level however, goat meat is a delicacy. This study therefore seeks to provide possible reasons for the unavailability of goat products in Northern Namibia focussing on the supply side of the goat market. A structured survey questionnaire was employed among 75 goat farmers in Ogongo Constituency, Omusati Region in North Central Namibia. The data sought included production, offtake and marketing of goats as well as challenges faced. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data and multiple linear regression was employed to determine the factors influencing offtake rate. The offtake rate (percent of goats sold) was estimated as 2.8% from the data, which is very low. The offtake rate was significantly influenced by age of the head of household (p<0.01), education level of the household head (p<0.01) and marital status (p<0.01). On the other hand, goat production was affected by other challenges such as unavailability of marketing infrastructure, diseases, grazing shortages, and frequent droughts. The implications of these findings on policy include provision of incentives to farmers to sale as well as providing marketing infrastructure. Thus the study recommends the sensitization of communal farmers on economic potential of selling goats to alleviate poverty and to improve livelihoods through income generation.

This paper describes how the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia developed the capacity to undertake enumerations and mapping of informal settlements and, with support from the national government and a local NGO, developed the Community Land Information Programme. Through this initiative, the federation has profiled and mapped all of the informal settlements in Namibia, covering more than 500,000 people without secure land tenure and setting a significant precedent in terms of the ability of the federation to work at scale. For each settlement, a profile was developed by the residents that stimulated discussions of their priorities and also discussions with government. In the second phase, the residents of informal settlements were supported to undertake more detailed enumerations and mapping to identify development priorities and provide the information needed for development initiatives. The paper describes how this was done in a case study of an informal settlement in Swakopmund municipality and ends with a discussion of what has been learned, especially with regard to keeping the process rooted in the concerns and priorities of the residents of each settlement.

Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study is to assess Student Satisfaction and Technology Integration in Teaching and Learning: The Case of University Education in Namibia. The concept of customer satisfaction has attracted much attention in recent years. Institutions of higher education are accountable for their performance to their trustees, state boards, accreditation agencies, employees, parents, and of course, their students. Students are the reason for the existence of Institutions of higher education. Hence Student satisfaction should be the core business of such institutions. Yet despite a large body of research literature examining customer satisfaction and student satisfaction for that matter, researchers have not fully investigated the relationship between student satisfaction and technology integration in teaching and learning. This study explores the Challenges faced by academics in terms of technology integration in teaching and learning. It further assesses Students’ Satisfaction in relation to Technology Integration in Teaching and Learning as well as the relationship between the use of technology in teaching and learning and Students Satisfaction. Research Methodology: This is a correlation cross-sectional quantitative survey. Responses were obtained from a 200 valid random sample comprising of Students and Lecturers at one of the major public Universities in Namibia. The responses were analysed using SPSS version 23. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to examine the research questions. Descriptive statistics were used to report demographic information and for inferential statistics, the principal components analysis (PCA) was used. Further, in order to explore the relationships between Student Satisfaction and Technology Integration in Teaching and Learning, Pearson correlation and analysis of variance (ANOVA), were used to address research questions accordingly.Findings: The study found significant relationships between Technology Integration in Teaching and Learning and Students Satisfaction. The results prompted recommendations guiding effective marketing strategies for Institutions of Higher Education, policy making in relation to Technology Integration in Teaching and Learning vis-à-vis Student Satisfaction.Contribution: Regular appraisal of students satisfaction with technology integration is critical. Evaluation of lecturer’s perception and awareness of technology integration is essential-to reduce the Knowledge Gap in the area of technology integration in teaching and learning. Specific studies related to technology integration in teaching and learning per discipline (Programme) are desirable since different Programmes may have different needs in terms of technology integration. Lecturers’ commendations/support for technology integration is key to ensure adoption and full technology integration in the long run. Institutional Policy on course web/e-learning presence is fundamental