An assessment of Botswana teacher in-service

The importance of In-service training in Botswana's education system cannot be overemphasised. The formulation of an in-service policy and deployment of resources in the support of the policy, is testimony of the government's commitment to the in-service work. In-service is highly regarded in the education system because, it is hoped that it will transform the practice of serving teachers. The implementation of policy, however, is always a complex matter. The purpose behind this research study was to investigate how the policy on in-service was understood and represented by trainers in the field of practice. This study arises from the fact that policy analysis is an area that has been overlooked in the study of in-service work. The literature on in-service, in the developing world, has ably dealt with mechanics of policy implementation, with a strong bias towards the acquisition of resources and the procedures necessary for the successful implementation of in-service policy. Investigating the way policy is understood by in-service providers has not, however, been given the attention it deserves in the field of research. The interest in this area of study was, further, given impetus by the argument that intentions of policy texts are likely to be represented differently in practice. A group of in-service trainers in a particular regional in-service area were selected for the purpose of information gathering. The selection was done on the basis that trainers were key interpreters of in-service policy. As the study depended on their subjective information, semi structured interview questions were designed as they provided trainers with some degree of freedom, to express their understanding of policy unhindered. The research study, established that policy is understood in keeping with trainers' backgrounds. This means that policy is not necessarily represented according to the intentions of the texts. Two groups of trainers are identified, viz, the poorly grounded and well grounded trainers. Trainers classified as well grounded, demonstrated a higher knowledge of policy and correctly interpreted the policy texts. This is in contrast with poorly grounded trainers who had not well read the policy texts and as a result incorrectly interpreted policy texts. The study concludes that policy representation is complex and informed by everyday understandings.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

School of Education

Year dc:date.issued

1999

Author dc:creator

• Malambane, Mokgweetsi

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Soudien, Crain

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9769

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9769