Academic literature on the topic 'High school teachers – Workload – Namibia'

Excessive pressure emanating from economic recession, heavy competition, modern and rapid technological changes, coupled with demands of jobs have emerged as key drivers of work-related stress amongst employees. Stress exists in all phases of our life and if not tactfully handled it can lead one’s mental state to depression. In the workplace, it can affect performance of employees, thus affect the productivity of an organisation. It is against this background that this study aimed at investigating the relationship between work-related stress of high teachers and the performance of learners in high schools in the Khomas Region in Namibia. 100 teachers were sampled using convenience and judgmental sampling methods. The study employed mixed methods as both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. The findings from the study revealed that work stress does exist in amongst high school teachers due to the stressful nature of their work. The key drivers of work stress amongst high school teachers were noted to be; the shortage of staff in schools, lack of resources; workload; poor remuneration and poor working conditions, resulting in, absenteeism and turnover of teachers, temper outbursts and suicidal thoughts amongst the teachers all of these having a negative impact on the performance of teachers. Based on these findings the study recommends the Ministry of Education to introduce work stress management which can take the form of workshops and training to assist teachers to better deal with work-related stress which negatively impacts on their performance and that of learners. The key limitation of the study was that some respondents were reluctant to reveal the extent of the problem amongst them as they felt that in any case the ministry will not do anything about their problems.

The study aimed to establish teacher counsellors’ views on the factors impacting the implementation of guidance and counselling services in the Ohangwena region of Namibia. The study was quantitative in nature and used a non experimental design that involved a survey. The population of the study comprised of teacher counsellors in all senior secondary schools in Ohangwena region. Data were collected using questionnaires which were administered to a sample of twenty six (26) teacher counsellors. Teacher counsellors were purposively sampled. The data was analysed by use of descriptive statistics using The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Based on the findings of this study teacher counsellors viewed inadequate training, high teaching loads and time constraints, lack of support given to teacher counsellors and lack of resources and facilities as key factors impacting the successful implementation ofschool guidance and counselling. It was thus recommended that the training of teacher counsellors in school guidance and counselling be improved, reduced workload for teacher counsellors, better resources and facilities for guidance and counselling, and for teacher counsellors to be supported in order for guidance and counselling to be successfully implemented in schools.

This article relates the development of the Work Stressor Scale for high school teachers in China. In total, 798 school teachers took part in the research. Factor analyses of the generated items produced 8 factors, namely Leadership and Management, Workload, Examination for entering a higher school, Students, Interpersonal Relations, Self and Body-Mind, Society, Occupational Development and Promotion. Reliability was strong, with a Cronbach's α = 0.938 for homogeneity reliability and r = 0.830 for split-half reliability. This scale shows promise as a measure of work stressors in the Chinese context.

The purpose of this study was to explore classroom management challenges that novice teachers experienced in their early years of profession. Moreover, this study explored the administrative support novice teachers received from school administration concerning classroom management. We drew on interview data to explore novice teachers' experiences who had less than three years of experience during their first job in public elementary schools. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of ten novice teachers. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the experiences of novice teachers. The analysis came up with four themes: Responsive administration, helping hands, struggling with workload, and supportive principal.The study's findings revealed that most of the teachers faced over-crowded classes and a high workload in their initial time. Most of the teachers had received support from the administration; however, the administration was helpless regarding many challenges that the novice teachers faced in their early years. Many administrators did not help the novice teachers’ deal with over-crowded classrooms, the extra workload in the form of periods per week, and the management of students' behaviors.

The purpose of this study was to explore classroom management challenges that novice teachers experienced in their early years of profession. Moreover, this study explored the administrative support novice teachers received from school administration concerning classroom management. We drew on interview data to explore novice teachers' experiences who had less than three years of experience during their first job in public elementary schools. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of ten novice teachers. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the experiences of novice teachers. The analysis came up with four themes: Responsive administration, helping hands, struggling with workload, and supportive principal.The study's findings revealed that most of the teachers faced over-crowded classes and a high workload in their initial time. Most of the teachers had received support from the administration; however, the administration was helpless regarding many challenges that the novice teachers faced in their early years. Many administrators did not help the novice teachers’ deal with over-crowded classrooms, the extra workload in the form of periods per week, and the management of students' behaviors.

The goal of this study was to determine the association between workload and occupational stress among public primary school teachers. The study's goal was to see if there was a link between workload and stress at work. The Cognitive Activation Theory of Stress provided the theoretical underpinning for this study (CATS). Questionnaires were used to collect, analyze, and interpret data in this study, which followed quantitative research technique. The study took place in Kasarani, Nairobi County, Kenya. All Kasarani public primary school teachers were the study's target group In order to pick the sample, the researcher employed a basic random sampling method. Using Nassiuma's formula, the sample size was estimated (2002). 155 teachers from six schools were studied out of 728 teachers in 25 public schools. A random sample of eight respondents was surveyed at two public primary schools in Kasarani, Nairobi County, which were not part of the study region. The correlation research design was used in this study. Frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, as well as inferential analysis, were used for descriptive and co-relational analysis. There is no significant association between workload and occupational stress among public primary school teachers, according to the null hypothesis examined. The chi-square test was used to evaluate the hypothesis. The data demonstrated that a high level of occupational stress is connected with a high level of workload, with a significant connection of p = 0.001. The study concluded that primary school teachers should be relieved of their severe workload. Counsellors should collaborate with Head teachers to develop advice and counseling programs to assist teachers in reducing occupational stress. Teachers will be protected from emotional and cognitive injury as a result of this, and will be more effective in their jobs.

The phenomenon of burnout has always been under scrutiny, especially with reference to the teachers and their demographics. This study has deliberately focused on the English teachers’ burnout and its relation with their demographics of age and workload in Malaysia. The findings showed that burnout is evident at high levels in all dimensions. In addition, some age and workload categories demonstrated significant relations with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. The findings would help school administrators consider such factors as important in the effectiveness of English teachers.

This study is aimed at soliciting pubic primary school teachers’ viewpoints on use and utility of teacher guides, an initiative of government of the Punjab. Data were collected through focus group discussions of male and female teachers from District Sargodha. Teachers were asked to discuss need, importance and use of teacher guide and to suggest ways to improve. Focus group discussions were audio recorded, transcribed and analyzed for extracting themes. It was found that teachers acknowledged the need and importance of teacher guide for better teaching. It was noted from their discussion that teachers used Guides for lesson planning and activities but use of teacher guide was not optimal. Some of the teachers were using it in best possible way, while majority were using it occasionally. They highlighted difficulties and challenges like high workload, language of teacher guides and lack of learning material required for suggested activities. The y suggested revising guides for language, removing inconsistencies with respect to schedule of guide and academic calendar. They also suggested lower workload of teachers by recruiting new teachers, providing teachers with training to use guides and making monitoring and supervision more rigorous.

Purpose Namibian principals are usually placed in leadership positions without orientation and are found to lack skills to supervise teachers in delivering instruction using the English language. Studies conducted elsewhere in the world found that effective school leadership is needed for the success of professional development programmes. The purpose of this paper is to explore principals’ lived experiences with regard to their roles in the implementation of the English Language Proficiency Programme (ELPP). Design/methodology/approach This paper followed a qualitative inquiry with multiple case study designs to explore principals’ lived experiences during the implementation of the ELPP. Ten schools were selected for the analysis, two from each of the five regions. The schools were selected on the basis of remoteness, the total number of teachers who participated in the ELPP, school phases (i.e. primary and combined) and pre-test scores. Principals were interviewed using exploratory open-ended questions, and data analysis produced five categories under which the results were presented. Findings The findings indicate that principals applied their individual logic to accommodate and implement the programme. They applied their individual productive leadership habitus to contextualise ELPP activities to ease their workload and appear corporative. Principals had significant influence on teacher learning and ensured successful implementation of a ministerial programme. Moreover, their leadership skills influenced the ways in which teachers received instruction and created a conducive learning environment. Owing to principals’ administrative, instructional and transformational leadership, many teachers participated and transcended upward and some were declared proficient in English. Research limitations/implications This study research the effectiveness of leadership regarding English professional development programmes in achieving goals, explore power relations between school principals and education officials when developing and implementing professional development programmes and establish more efficient ways of providing a better leadership model for professional development programmes to achieve goals. Practical implications This paper was limited to a few principals at rural schools in selected regions, therefore findings could not be generalised. Social implications There is a need for creating opportunities for interactions among all stakeholders who are involved in the development and implementation of English proficiency programmes and to build power relations and work as a team to benefit schools. In order to enhance programme implementation and improve learning outcomes, there is also a need to provide feedback at intervals and find solutions to challenges as a team. Originality/value Placing principals in situations without orientation triggered the need for specific leadership logic and particularities to be applied in a context for the success of the programme, which resulted in participation of more teachers in the ELPP. They applied their particularities and productive habitus through administrative, instructional and transformational leadership to enhance learning. Principals appointed English language teachers to instruct and mentor others, and consequently enabled some principals and teachers to exit the programme. Principals achieved these short wins upon realising that one has to cooperate with the authority to ensure achieving desired outcomes.

Teaching is a multifaceted task. Teachers are inevitably exposed to superfluous teaching workloads and predicaments causing them stress. This research aimed to determine the relationship between workload stress and results based performance of multigrade teachers. It employed correlation research design involving thirty (30) purposively selected multigrade teachers in the Schools Division of General Santos City (GSC) during the school year 2015-2016. Following the survey method, a tailored questionnaire was used to gather the needed information. Secondary data were also collected. The statistical tools employed in the analysis were frequency distribution, percentage rate, weighted mean and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The results revealed that the multigrade teachers experience moderate level of workload stress and high level of results based performance. It was further found out that there is no significant relationship between workload stress and results based performance, providing evidence that stress may not necessarily influence performance. This result offers unique implications in theory, practice, and research which are discussed in the study.

The accountability and responsibilities of school leaders have intensified greatly over the past decades and school leadership has become a strong focus of research. Meanwhile, Bush (2003) asserts that “school leaders [experience] tensions between competing elements of leadership, management and administration” (p. 7). This study uses observations, questionnaires, interviews and document analysis to unpack the perceptions of four Heads of Department (HoDs), the principal, and eight teachers on the tensions inherent in balancing the responsibilities of department head and subject teacher for HoDs in public secondary school. The study goes beyond the mere task of influence in its attempts to unpack how the leadership and teaching practices of HoDs may, or may not, be in conflict with each other. Using distributed leadership as a theoretical framing and drawing in particular on the work of Spillane and colleagues (2001; 2004), the study examines the roles HoDs enact; the challenges HoDs encounter in enacting their responsibilities as department head and subject teacher; and the strategies HoDs employ to combat the emerging challenges. The study found that the roles of HoDs are extensive and stretch across the classroom, the department, the whole school and beyond. However, the majority of these roles are biased in favour of management systems and processes and opportunities for leadership are rare. The many and extensive management responsibilities of the HoDs limit both their classroom teaching as well as their agency as leaders. The weight of their management work thus restricts their leadership, resulting in an authorised form of distributed leadership (Grant, 2010). The data also revealed that HoDs struggle to balance the responsibilities of department head and subject teacher due to both inter-role and intra-sender conflict. However, the study also found that the HoDs strategically adopt a range of strategies to assist them in doing their work, these include: compensatory teaching; delegation; and planning and prioritizing.

Bibliography: leaves 162-170.
An important facet of a person's self-concept is his expectations of his performance. If his expectations are excessively high and there is a significant gap between his aspirations and his accomplishments, the resulting sense of failure has a negative effect on his self-concept. It is likely that school principals, because of the idealism and sense of calling that is associated with human service professions, are particularly vulnerable to excessive self-expectations. Cherniss believed this to be a potential stressor because the threat of failure has more serious personal consequences for people who regard their work as a calling rather than a job. For those who view their work as a calling, their identity and self-esteem are related to a considerable extent to the successful accomplishment of their work. Dobson pointed to the dangers of achievement anxiety, manifested as a pervasive fear of failure, for 'perfectionists' who set unreasonably high standards which are beyond their capabilities. Levinson regarded intense self-criticism and internal dissatisfaction as part of the make-up of dynamic, motivated business executives, making them exceptionally vulnerable to feelings of failure.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2012
Includes bibliography
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in the form of spreadsheet algebra programmes (SAPs) is important in the professional development of high school mathematics teachers. This is in line with The Namibian government‟s Vision 2030 in which ICT skills and competencies are regarded as core elements of living and participating in the 21st century. ICTs are also considered to be fundamental to the development of a dynamic knowledge-based economy (KBE) through the Education and Training Sector Improvement Program (ETSIP). ETSIP‟s aim is to embed ICT at all levels of the education system. It also aims to integrate the use of ICTs as tools in the delivery of curriculum and learning and in so doing, lead to a marked improvement in the quality of the learning and teaching process across all levels. Education has a key role in achieving Vision 2030. The aim of this research was to investigate mathematics teachers‟ perceptions of SAPs as curriculum materials in selected Namibian secondary (high) schools. This research adopted a qualitative methodology, which in this instance was a case study. The sample population consisted of five teachers from Okamu (pseudonym) secondary school in the Ohangwena Region of Namibia. Four of them had been teaching mathematics at different levels in the mentioned school for a period of four years, and one of them was teaching physical science. Three methods of data collection were used. The first two were semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews based on teachers‟ experiences using SAPs. The third method was an audio taped observation of a lesson taught by one of the teachers,. This research provides evidence about teachers‟ perceptions regarding time concerns and constraints with regards to the SAPs and the use of the SAPs. The teachers showed willingness and enthusiasm to use SAPs on linear and quadratic functions in their teaching. Some of the teachers became more aware of the epistemic dimensions associated with mathematical and algebraic symbols. Interview data reveal that the teachers had not considered these dimensions when teaching with the usual paper-and-pen format. The research also provides evidence of a teacher‟s early vision about the use of spreadsheets as an instrument to teach linear functions. This teacher did not consider any epistemic value for the instrumented spreadsheets techniques, or that they might contribute to a deeper understanding of the linear functions. His concern was focused more on getting the learners to acquire computer skills, such as learning how to use spreadsheets. It is recommended that in-service professional development about ICT integration into mathematics teaching be offered. This might help teachers to learn how their knowledge and skills could be used in the classroom more effectively in order to save time. It is also suggested that professional development programmes be designed to stimulate and promote teachers‟ willingness to develop an understanding of the characteristics of ICTs such as SAPs and their uses. Lastly, it is recommended that new SAPs be designed in order to deepen the understanding of algebra at the secondary level.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die gebruik van inligting- en kommunikasietegnologieë (IKT's) in die vorm van sigblad-algebra-programme (SAP's) is belangrik vir die professionele ontwikkeling van hoërskoolwiskunde-onderwysers. Dit is in pas met die Namibiese regering se visie vir 2030, Vision 2030, waarin IKT-vaardighede en -bevoegdhede beskou word as kernelemente van die lewe in en deelname aan die 21ste eeu. IKT's word ook beskou as grondliggend aan die ontwikkeling van ‟n dinamiese kennisekonomie (KE) deur middel van die Verbeteringsprogram vir die Onderwys- en Opleidingsektore (ETSIP). ETSIP het as oogmerk om IKT op alle vlakke van die onderwysstelsel vas te lê. Dit het ook ten doel om die gebruik van IKT's as hulpmiddele te integreer in die lewering van kurrikulum en leer en sodoende ‟n duidelike verbetering in die gehalte van die onderrig-en-leerproses oor alle vlakke heen tot gevolg te hê. Onderwys het ‟n sleutelrol te speel by die bereiking van Vision 2030. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was om wiskundeonderwysers se persepsies van SAP's as kurrikulummateriaal in geselekteerde Namibiese sekondêre (hoër-) skole te ondersoek. Hierdie navorsing het ‟n kwalitatiewe metode gevolg, in hierdie geval ‟n gevallestudie. Die proefgroep het bestaan uit vyf onderwysers van die sekondêre skool Okamu (skuilnaam) in die Ohangwena-streek van Namibië. Vier van hulle het reeds vier jaar lank wiskunde op verskillende vlakke in die betrokke skool gegee en een van hulle het fisiese wetenskap gegee. Drie metodes is ingespan om data in te samel. Die eerste twee was semigestruktureerde onderhoude en fokusgroeponderhoude gebaseer op onderwysers se ervaringe ten opsigte van die gebruik van SAP's. Die derde metode was ‟n klankopname van ‟n waarnemingsessie van ‟n les wat deur een van die onderwysers gegee is. Hierdie navorsing getuig van onderwysers se persepsies ten opsigte van tydskwessies en -beperkinge met betrekking tot die SAP's en die gebruik van die SAP's. Die onderwysers het ‟n gewilligheid en geesdrif geopenbaar om by lineêre en kwadratiese funksies SAP's in hul onderrig te gebruik. Party onderwysers het meer bewus geraak van die epistemiese dimensies in verband met wiskundige en algebraïese simbole. Onderhouddata onthul dat die onderwysers nie hierdie dimensies in ag geneem het toe hulle met die gewone papier-en-pen-formaat klasgegee het nie. Die navorsing bevestig ook ‟n onderwyser se aanvanklike insig oor die gebruik van sigblaaie as 'n instrument om lineêre funksies te onderrig. Hierdie onderwyser het nie die epistemiese waarde vir die geïnstrumenteerde sigbladtegnieke in ag geneem nie, of dat hulle sou kon bydra tot ‟n grondiger begrip van die lineêre funksies nie. Sy belangstelling was eerder daarop gefokus om die leerders sover te kry om rekenaarvaardighede, soos om sigblaaie te kan gebruik, te verwerf. Daar word aanbeveel dat indiens- professionele ontwikkeling oor IKT-integrasie in wiskundeonderrig aangebied word. Dit sal onderwysers moontlik help om te leer hoe hulle kennis en vaardighede meer doeltreffend in die klaskamer gebruik kan word om tyd te bespaar. Daar word ook voorgestel dat professionele ontwikkelingsprogramme ontwerp word, ter stimulering en bevordering van onderwysers se bereidwilligheid om ‟n begrip te ontwikkel van die kenmerke en gebruike van IKT's soos SAP's. Laastens word daar aanbeveel dat nuwe SAP's ontwerp word om die verstaan van algebra op sekondêre vlak te verdiep.

This interpretive case study was undertaken to investigate the nature of classroom tasks that teachers give to their learners and to gain insights into how they choose these tasks. It was carried out at two secondary schools in the Okahao circuit of the Omusati region in Namibia. The schools range from Grade 8 to Grade 12. This study focused mainly on teachers who teach Mathematics at senior secondary phase (Grade 11 and 12). The research participants were of four mathematics teachers – two from each school. The study was designed around two phases. Phase one consisted of video-recording of lessons, and phase two consisted of interviewing the teachers. The main purpose of the study was to ascertain the types and nature of tasks that teachers give to their learners and to gain insights into how they chose these tasks. The research adopted a combination of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study revealed that the participating teachers provided a near equal amount of lower level cognitive tasks and higher level cognitive tasks. It further revealed several factors that influence teachers when selecting the types of tasks they give to their learners. These factors include curriculum requirements, types of learners and their experiences, and learners’ contexts.

碩士
國立中興大學
教師專業發展研究所
100
The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of work in the Nantou County junior high school teachers who has been a tutor, the actual survey of teachers'' work content and workload for the county''s 32 public junior high schools.The methods of the survey was according to relevant literature to develop “Teachers'' Workload Survey Scale” as a tool for this study.A total of 455 samples are surveyed with a questionnaire and 404 were collected validly with a return rate of 88.79%. The data are analyzed by such statistical methods as descriptive analysis and one-way ANOVA of the SPSS 12.0. The major conclusions of the research are as follows: 1.Nantou County public junior school teachers on their own work with the level of awareness and response performance have an average degree of satisfaction and a medium level of burnout. And score higher are:（1）Teaching behaviors level: “0 to 2 years of seniority” teachers. （2）Teaching and research level: “arts field” teachers. （3） Student guidance level: “years 0 to 2 years of seniority” teachers, “more than 20 years of seniority” teachers, “arts field” teachers, “fitness field school classes” teachers, “under 20 classes in school” teachers. （4）Classroom management level: “teachers who does not participate in teacher associations and teachers’ unions, but support” and “teachers who have participated in teacher associations and teachers'' unions”.（5）Recurrent work level: all teachers both on the degree of awareness and response performance.（6）All teachers of the level of the work of the semester, the contest activities and the integrated activities, have only a medium level of burnout. 2. Teachers think that there are 18 special needs has been reduced workload. Teachers have weekly average of 9.31 hours of overtime at the school, weekly average of 7.48 hours of overtime at home, on average a total of 16.79 hours of overtime per week, and the teachers'' working time of 56.79 hours per week, the teachers'' working time of 11.36 hours per day. 3. Teachers who are different gender, seniority, teaching field, school size, school administrative divisions and teachers’ unions cognitive awareness in “Teachers'' Workload Survey Scale” feel all part of a significant difference. According to conclusion, the national education authorities and school administrative units seem to want teachers to spend more time engaged in administrative operations from the traditional mode of operation, but many domestic literature has also pointed out that the increase in non-teaching workload, not only reduces the the professional autonomy of teachers, but also the substance of the education innovation will be greatly limited. The research of teachers'' workload should be through a more level course, experience and views, seek to individuals, schools, administrative authorities and the community to the use of different reform action strategies for effective and positive improvement.

碩士
大葉大學
教育專業發展研究所
106
The main purpose of this study is to understand the differences between role conflicts and mental workload of junior high school teachers with different background variables; to explore the relationship between role conflicts and mental workload; and to analyze the role conflicts in predicting mental workload. This study adopts the questionnaire survey method and takes the teachers of public countries in central Taiwan as the research object. This study used a scale containing the Teacher Work Mental Load Scale and the Role Conflict Scale to perform descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, single-factor variance analysis, Pearson product difference correlation, and regression analysis prediction method. The study found that: (1) teachers in different background variables have significant differences in role conflicts and mental workload. (2) There is a significant correlation between role conflict and mental workload. (3) Role conflicts have significant predictive power on mental workload. Based on this result, the study proposes for teachers, schools, educational authorities and follow-up research.

碩士
國立臺灣海洋大學
教育研究所
105
This study focuses on the correlation of the perceived workload and organizational commitment among classroom teachers in junior high school in Keelung. First, we discovered the relationship between the perceived workload and organizational commitment. Second, we investigated the discrepancies that vary in different background variables. To achieve the objects above, this paper adopted questionnaire survey to conduct a census among classroom teachers in junior high schools in Keelung, including 15 junior high schools (comprehensive junior-senior high schools included) in Keelung in 2016. We sent out questionnaires to 302 teachers and got 288 in return. The response rate was 95%; A total of 288 completed the questionnaire and effective response rate was 95%. The data that obtained through questionnaire analysis was calculated by descriptive statistical method to figure out the mean and standard deviation. Results as follows： (A) Both the perceived workload from classroom teachers in junior high school in Keelung and the performance in five levels exceeded the medium level. (B) The performance from the classroom teachers in junior high school in Keelung exceeded the medium level in organizational commitment as a whole and other three levels. (C) As for the perceived workload, there were significant differences between classroom teachers that from different ages. And the classroom teachers under 30 (30 included) perceived the heaviest workload of all, the classroom teachers between 31 and 40 perceived the lighter workload than others. (D) There were significant differences between classroom teachers whose marital status were different. Married ones perceived the heavier workload than unmarried ones. (E) There were significant differences between classroom teachers who taught different subjects. The classroom teachers who belonged to science field perceived the heaviest workload of all. (F) The classroom teachers whose marital status was different showed different performance in organizational commitment. Married ones had higher organizational commitment than unmarried ones. (G) There were significant differences among the classroom teachers who taught different subjects. The classroom teachers who belonged to science field had higher organizational commitment. (H) There are positive correlations between the perceived workload and organizational commitment among the classroom teachers in junior high school in Keelung. (I) The ”Teaching level” in perceived workload among the classroom teachers can be used to predict the 99.8% of situations about organizational commitment efficiently. According to the result from this paper, we indicated some recommendations for the education administration authority in Keelung, schools at all levels, and teachers. Also, we stated some suggestions for future study.

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of secondary school teachers in the Hardap Region Namibia. More specifically, the study explored teachers’ perceptions on how the National External School Evaluation (NESE) impacted teaching and learning in their classrooms. The study employed a qualitative design, using an in-depth face-to-face individual and focus group interviews instruments. Data were collected from twenty two (22) secondary school teachers who were randomly selected from the four (4) evaluated secondary schools in the Region. Thematic interpretive data analysis technique was used to analyse data by inducing themes as they emerge from the data. The findings revealed that Hardap Region secondary school teachers perceived NESE’ as “somewhat valuable”, with some positive and negative impacts on teaching and learning. Secondary school teachers also made some suggestions on how NESE can be improved to impact more positively on teaching and learning in their classroom.
Educational Leadership and Management
M. Ed. (Education Management)

This study sought to examine the curriculum management enablers and constraints experienced by school principals in KZN rural high schools in King Cetshwayo. A survey research design of the exploratory sub-type was adopted. The findings reveal a lack of parental involvement, increased principals' workload due to multi-faceted responsibilities, difficulty recruiting suitably qualified teachers, lack of teacher development opportunities for teachers, poor infrastructure and facilities, curriculum delivery challenges, curriculum monitoring, and evaluation. The identified deficiencies in curriculum management are linked to the instructional leadership led by the principals.

First-year teachers are teachers who are new to teaching. The number of public school teachers is increasing in many countries and areas. Meanwhile, data also showed that some newly qualified teachers anticipated leaving or already left after the first year teaching. The purpose of the study aims to present a review and synthesize literature regarding the challenges of first-year teachers in public primary schools. Peer-reviewed articles (N=30) are collected from Google Scholar via systematically searching key words “first-year teachers” with one or more of the following terms: challenge, difficulty, attrition, leaving, and public primary schools. The results show first-year teachers meet general challenges listed as below: (a) building a professional teacher identity, (b) applying teaching theories in real class practice, and (c) handling the same heavy teaching loads and responsibilities as experienced teachers. In addition, first-year teachers in Shanghai public primary schools also meet the following challenges: (d) not having enough pre-service teaching programs, (e) facing high competition and a workload, and (f) building positive and stable relationships with parents/administrators. Considering by new qualified teachers’ internal motivation and the external challenge they meet, first-year teachers are overwhelmed in dealing with these imbalances.

The service-learning methodology combines active learning processes and community service. This service-learning experience was performed using an interdisciplinary and cross plan. The teachers made a horizontal coordination in the courses, and a vertical coordination in subjects of the Degrees involved. This allowed working together in the students’ curricular training process. It also permitted covering various specific skills, as corresponds to the different subjects, whilst optimizing the students’ workload. The service addressed the problem of drug-facilitated sexual assaults (DFSA) in the youth leisure nightlife. DFSA is the temporary disability of a person caused by a decrease in her/his volitional and cognitive abilities due to the voluntary or involuntary consumption of a psychoactive substance. An active learning about the problem was encouraged in the classroom, focused on recognizing myths, attitudes, and risk situations. The service-learning actions to the community was based on an anonymous survey conducted among the students, which dealt with the problem. The Service Learning was stimulated through the design, planning and development of activities aimed at gaining social awareness of the existing problem while favouring peer learning processes. The students undertook awareness actions at different levels, spreading their message by means of social networks, high school workshops, and information stands on the street.