Teachers emerge as main role players guiding the process of curriculum implementation across all levels of education. At early childhood development (ECD) level, curriculum implementation is unique, but emphasis on teacher training is essential as it influences teachers’ efficacy in promoting holistically developed children. Upon realising the significance of ECD, Botswana effected the Pre-primary Curriculum Framework (PCF) to guide teachers in teaching children.
This article aims to investigate the role of teacher training in implementing the Botswana’s PCF in Francistown. Bandura’s social cognitive learning theory (SCLT) and Wenger and Wenger-Trayner’s communities of practice (CoP) were used as they both advocate for teacher mentoring programmes and partnerships to assist teachers towards effectiveness in curriculum implementation.
Interviews, document analysis and observations were employed as data collection tools.
Despite the support given to teachers towards implementing the Botswana’s PCF, they are still faced with challenges such as lack of training, supervision and shortage of materials.
For teachers to effectively implement Botswana’s PCF, there is a need for transforming policies on conducting in-service teacher training such as the use of a needs assessment protocol.
Teacher training is viewed as fundamental to effective teaching and learning of children. This statement is validated by Darling-Hammond, Hyler and Gardner (
This article aims to report findings on the role of teacher training in promoting teachers’ implementation of the pre-primary curriculum framework (PCF) in Francistown, Botswana. The following objectives were determined to examine the different qualifications required for being a reception teacher in Botswana and to identify successes and challenges of Francistown reception-class teachers in implementing the PCF. So, there is the intention to compare what is important for adult learning to support children’s learning and to explore the different forms of support offered to teachers in implementing the PCF in Francistown.
The Botswana PCF was developed by the Department of Curriculum and Evaluation (DCE) under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MOESD), today referred to as Ministry of Basic Education (MoBE). Botswana’s PCF was established in 2012 but became fully functional in 2014 when the government conducted a pilot project for reception classes. It started with 20 pre-primary schools, but the government has since rolled it out to all public pre-primary schools in stages because of the significance ECD holds in the development of children as emphasised in many studies. According to the Botswana National Commission for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (
Based on the given affirmation, the PCF is viewed as a reference point that all child caretakers, teachers, parents and other parties can use to guide their daily teaching and learning activities to promote the holistic development of children. One of this framework’s requirements is the promotion of professional practice which is the focus of this study. This is because professional development (PD) helps a teacher to interpret the curriculum.
Some scholars such as Schachter, Gerde and Hatton-Bowers (
In addition, a study by Black (
The aforementioned studies suggest that countries that highly regard teacher training or PD as a basic tenet, benefit from a teaching workforce that is knowledgeable and able to impart the desired teaching and learning outcomes to the children. This is what can be referred to as sustainable education development because even though PD may be capital intensive, venturing into a valuable one as suggested by Schachter et al. (
The lenses through which the phenomenon was viewed were Bandura’s SCLT and Wenger and Wenger-Trayner’s (
Bandura’s SCLT theory suggests that human learning can be optimised through providing training for the subjects to cope with any impediments they could be facing (Bandura
Different studies have been undertaken to position the significance of teachers’ PD such as a study by Dossett et al. (
Against this backdrop, it is evident that to implement the curriculum, teachers need to be relevantly trained to be able to apply differentiated teaching (DT) approaches and to cater for all children’s needs. According to Mavidou and Kakana (
Turning now to CoP, Farnsworth, Kleanthous and Wenger-Trayner (
Vrieling, Van den Beemt and De Laat (
According to MOESD (
The two theories of SCLT and CoP aided in formulating the research design and the selection of the data collection tools. The combination of the two theories would act as a catalyst in helping towards understanding the teachers’ PD because CoP allows for teachers to learn about appropriate teaching methods collaboratively whilst SCLT perspective would enable them to observe and apply good practice. So, the interview questions asked, studied documents and observed variables concentrated on the following components:
if teachers are satisfied with the pre- and in-service training to deliver the PCF
knowing the successes and challenges of Francistown, Botswana reception teachers in implementing the PCF to support children’s learning
reflecting on the importance of teacher effectiveness and holistic development of children in implementing the PCF
identifying teachers’ understanding of children’s role in participating in the implementation of the PCF.
The research design involves a plan on how a study is to be conducted (Tredoux & Smith
Based on Alase’s (
The following research questions were formulated to assist in selecting relevant research methods:
What are the different qualifications of reception teachers who are implementing the PCF in Francistown, Botswana?
What are teachers’ perceptions of successes and challenges in implementing the PCF in Francistown, Botswana?
What form of support is offered to reception teachers implementing the PCF in Francistown, Botswana?
The sample was collected from three government pre-primary schools, three reception teachers, two principals and two education officers involved in implementing the PCF. The two education officers were the Principal Education Officer (PEO) from the Regional Education Office (REO) and Principal Education Secretary from Local Government (LG), which falls under Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD). All the participants were purposefully selected by being directly involved in the implementation of the PCF. Teachers were selected through the employment of purposive random sampling as in some cases there were more than two teachers in each school. The process of purposive random sampling involved listing all the names of teachers according to numbers as if conducting a raffle and putting them in a container. Then the names were randomly picked, two from each school. This was conducted to avoid issues of conflict of interest in selecting the teachers.
The main data collection methods employed were face-to-face interviews, document study and class observations to investigate the views and experiences of teachers in implementing the Botswana PCF. As the study was performed using IPA, the data were collected from a qualitative perspective of spending considerable time in the field interacting with the participants. The three data collection methods served to validate the information obtained from the participants.
Phenomenological data analysis was used to explore the role of teacher training on the effectiveness of reception teachers in implementing the pre-primary curriculum. This involved making meaning of the experiences and views shared by participants but being aware of personal bias, as advised by Sutton and Austin (
The low-risk application was reviewed by the Ethics Review Committee on 14 November 2018 in compliance with the University of South Africa Policy on Research Ethics and Standard Operating Procedure on Research Ethics Risk Assessment (Ethical Clearance number: 2018/11/14/58532390/70/MC). All the participants and institutions are concealed for ethical considerations.
To adhere with proper research procedures, the authors applied to the Ministry of Basic Education Regional Education Office requesting permission to conduct research within Francistown public pre-primary schools. Upon receiving permission, the authors sought consent from the principal of each preschool identified, the teachers and education officers. Before each interview session, class observation or request for documents, participants were requested to sign a form acknowledging their consent to participate in the study. Before signing the consent forms, the participants were provided with the information sheet that outlined the purpose, ethical implications and what is expected from them in relation to the study. The informed consent letter stated that participation in the study was voluntary and they were free to withdraw, not answer any questions or surrender any documents if they felt uncomfortable with disclosing any information required from them. Pseudonyms were used to protect the anonymity of the participants. To identify the participants in the text, the pseudonyms were structured according to the order in which they were interviewed, gender, profession and age. A presentation of the processes used in the data analysis is as follows:
Teacher 1, from School 1, female, 28 years old – T1S1F28
Teacher 2, from School 2, female, 30 years old – T2S2F30
Teacher 3, from School 3, female, 39 years old – T3S3F39
Principal 1, from School 1, male, 56 years old – P1S1M56
Principal 2, from School 2, female, 45 years old – P2S2F45
Principal Education Officer, male, 53 years old – PEOM53
Principal Education Secretary, female, 52 years old – PESF52
After ascertaining the consent of participants through appending of signatures, different appointments for meetings were set and data were collected accordingly.
Under this section, data are presented on how participants viewed and experienced the role of teacher training on their effectiveness in implementing the Botswana PCF in Francistown. Data presentations were made considering the data collected from interviews as correlated with that of studied documents and classroom observations as per the views of teachers, SPs and EOS. The interconnection between the themes and the objectives is presented in
Presentation of the study’s objectives and emerged themes.
Study’s objectives | Emergent themes |
---|---|
To examine teachers’ different qualifications in promoting effective implementation of the PCF in Francistown | Teachers’ different qualifications and how it affects effective PCF implementation |
To identify successes and challenges of Francistown reception-class teachers in implementing the PCF to support children’s learning | Successful teacher experiences in implementing the PCF and challenges faced by teachers in implementing the PCF |
To explore the different forms of support offered to teachers in implementing the PCF in Francistown | Different forms of support offered to teachers to promote effectiveness in implementing the PCF |
PCF, pre-primary curriculum framework.
As illustrated in
In addressing the question of teachers’ qualifications, the participants detailed on the different forms of training, dosage and methods applied, which could be cross-referenced with the literature and chosen theoretical model. On the types of training received, all teachers indicated that they were trained through either pre or in-service towards the implementation of the PCF. This was confirmed by the information in the records provided by the school principals: ‘I have been trained for breakthrough and not for reception class … but I was lucky to go for further training and be the first person to go to the workshop’ (T2). Another teacher, T1, reported that she started with an advanced certificate in ECD, later upgraded to Diploma and attended a one-week workshop which contributed to her better understanding in the implementation of the PCF. By these, teachers emphasised the existing correlation between PD either through pre and in-service training workshop they attended and their effectiveness in implementing the PCF. This is what is confirmed in literature such as Kennedy (
Relating to dosages they received on training, all teachers emphasised that the in-service training had contributed towards their being effective in implementing the PCF. T1 alluded to the fact that ‘… they taught us everything. I learnt a lot, I learned more than what I did at tertiary’, suggesting that the in-service training workshop she underwent had addressed all her teaching and learning needs for effective implementation of the PCF. T3 affirmed this when she said, ‘… they explained how to prepare a lesson plan and teach according to it’. Furthermore, T3 said:
‘[
The given findings corroborated the PEO’s and the SP’s assertions that workshops were conducted to train the teachers on how to effectively implement the PCF. The PEO reported that
For triangulation purposes, the interview results were correlated with that of the written documents and class observations. The studied documents included the PCF, the scheme of work and lesson plan booklets. They proved that indeed the teachers were able to scheme and prepare lesson plans as per the expected standard of the PCF. However, it was learnt that there was a limited number of copies of the PCF as was shared amongst all classes. This explained why there was some missing information in some documents such as the record of work done and some lesson plans. The given findings prompted for further probing into teachers’ efficacy relating to the in-service training they had received. Although teachers initially indicated their satisfaction relating to the conducted workshop, they worried about how the training was conducted. For example, T2 said, ‘When it comes to implementing it is not easy.’ Furthermore, T1 stated that ‘… with the moral and spiritual objective, it is very difficult to teach children because we see that nowadays people believe in different things’. The given statement suggests that there might be existing challenges on the part of teachers to effectively address some topics in the PCF even though they had previously reported to having been satisfied with the training workshop they attended. This critique was concluded to be relating to training because upon studying the training workshop programme, it was realised that it was conducted only once, and the topics covered were suggested by the PEOs. According to UNESCO (
The given findings are also understood to suggest that teachers’ in-service training was somehow centralised and followed a top-bottom approach. When P1 said, ‘The training is done by them, and it is their duty’, it is implied that school principals were somehow detached from implementation and training in the PCF. P1 was referring to the PEOs when he said ‘them’. This denotes that the training of teachers was perceived as the sole mandate of the PEOs, who, according to the findings, were also not qualified for ECD and PCF training. The data also revealed that the PEOs are not directly engaged with teachers on a regular basis. Their mandate was reported as to conduct routine inspections at the assigned schools and assist with organising in-service training workshops for the teachers. The assumption is that training was supposed to be conducted at least through the engagement of school managers. A possible explanation for these results may be the lack of instructional leadership for ECD at school level. Bellibas and Liu (
A follow up with classroom observations revealed another interesting aspect relating to the theme on training as it appeared that teachers inadequately infused the play-based learning methodology to implement the PCF. For example, T3 made the children sing the ‘Body parts’ song only at the end of the lesson. The observations made concerning T3’s teaching approach were believed to be tantamount to lecturing. Contrary to what was observed, research shows that children learn best when they apply all their senses of touch, smell, listening, speaking and hearing to understand concepts. The DCDE (
Although traditionally, there has been emphasis on the value of play and its contribution to children’s learning, some scholars such as Pyle, Prioletta and Poliszczuk (
The given findings motivated interest to interrogate the school supervisors and the REO on how teacher training towards implementation of the PCF was conducted. P1 said, ‘I am not familiar with the programme … the training is done by them, it’s their duty’. The PEO echoed the same sentiments that, ‘I have been nominated to babysit the programme’. This suggests that they were not trained on the programme and so would not able to satisfactorily assist teachers to implement the PCF. Contrary to the given findings, Zahnd et al. (
Concerning the use of training guidelines, Lam and Tsui (
The given findings suggest a contradiction between the teachers and the PEO as it appeared that content was suggested by PEOs. Given the CoP theory and UNESCO’s (
Another implication of this can be that teachers’ in-service training was somehow centralised and followed a top-bottom approach. This was realised when P1 said, ‘The training is done by them, and it is their duty’. P1 was referring to the PEOs. This denotes that the training of teachers was perceived as the sole mandate of the PEOs who, according to the revelations, were not qualified for ECD and to provide training on PCF. Also, it was found that they were not directly engaged with teachers on a regular basis. The PEOs’ major mandate is to conduct routine inspections at the assigned schools and not train the teachers. The assumption is that training was supposed to be conducted at least through the school managers, as suggested by Bellibas and Liu (
The findings of this study demonstrated that indeed teachers believed that teacher training is vital as a tool to enhance professional insight and teacher confidence in implementing the PCF regardless of the perceived inadequacy in meeting their curriculum needs. When T3 reported that ‘It was an eye-opener’, and T1 said, ‘I learnt more than what I did at tertiary …’ it validated that indeed teachers had valued training as it significantly improved their effectiveness. This confirms that there is a correlation between the process of teacher training and effective curriculum implementation. This is because as indicated by previous studies such as Dossett et al. (
From the given presentation of findings, even though teachers were able to implement the PCF because of pre and in-service training they had received, they were faced with some challenges. The success stories they shared in implementing the PCF are addressed under theme 3 on the different forms of support that enabled them to effectively work.
Concerning challenges faced by teachers in implementing the PCF, unavailability of learning resources and limited spaces for play-based learning were major challenges that were reported to be hindering effective implementation of the PCF. Other challenges included perceived inadequate teacher training and lack of parental support. Consistent with the SCLT and CoP theories, it means that with limited resources, they would not be able to assist children to understand some abstract ideas. This is suggested by Hivner et al. (
It was realised that all seven participants agreed that teaching and learning resources influenced teachers in implementing the PCF. A lack of funding was reported as one of the causes of the shortage of teaching and learning materials. This was alluded to by the PES when she reported that ‘We are no longer having funds for these materials … we didn’t plan for it … we didn’t budget for it this year’. This was confirmed by the PEO saying, ‘there are not enough resources; some schools don’t have enough materials’. The teachers also corroborated this by saying, ‘We don’t have the resources or learning materials’, (T2) and T3 who said, ‘but the truth is there is nothing … no resources or things or stationery’. According to The World Bank (
Abroampa’s (
Another challenge observed in this research was the timetable factor. T2 indicated that there seemed to be a ‘time limit for the lesson’. However, there seemed to be incoherence with this sentiment because as espoused in the DCDE (
Lack of school and regional education support was cited as another impediment that teachers faced and it has already been discussed in Themes 1 and 2. So when T2 reported that
The findings of this study indicate that different support contexts emanating from REO, LG and parents were essential in supporting effective implementation of the PCF. Five out of seven participants specified that the LG was responsible for offering some teaching and learning materials, but no clarity was offered on provision of some resources such as stationery and textbooks. To validate the findings as to LG’s mandate, the researchers reviewed some documents entitled ‘Reception Class Materials Distribution for 2017 to 2018’. The document revealed that indeed LG was responsible for providing all the outdoor and indoor learning equipment and materials such as swings, trampolines and bunk beds. This was further corroborated by the PES by saying ‘I provide resources – outdoor teaching and indoor learning resources and maintaining facilities’. Another document reviewed was the MOESD (
The observations made by this study show that indeed there was a noticeable availability of some outdoor teaching and learning resources although not to a satisfactory level as participants indicated. Some of the outdoor resources such as the trampoline were found indoors and reason advanced for this was that there was no space where they could be erected.
The findings also revealed that parents were involved in supporting their children. This is supported by literature provided by Morrison, Story and Zhang (
Conversely, two participants indicated that lack of parental support hindered the achievement of their goals of meeting the PCF’s intended objectives. T3 said that ‘Parents are very reluctant to help …’, and T2 shared the same sentiments when she reported that, ‘Parents always promise but they don’t pay’. These findings suggest the opposing views towards parental support. To interpret this data, the researcher delved into the contextual backgrounds of other countries to envisage if reception year is free and whether parents are expected to contribute. According to UNICEF’s (
The given observation may be explained in terms of the fact that different socio-economic backgrounds determine whether parents can afford to support the schools or not as suggested by Du Plessis and Mestry (
‘To the parents I would say … please give [
This is a great example for SCLT and COP approach and a clear indication that team effort would assist teachers to effectively implement the PCF.
Another challenge that was implied was the seemingly lack of effective supervision from both the school managers and the REO. Responding to the question on supervision as one of the support initiatives at school level, T3 detailed that:
‘[
A possible explanation for these results may be inadequacy on the part of the school-based supervisors. They were interpreted as not being helpful because of lack of training. This contradicts the argument posited by Ozkan (
‘Actually I am not an inspector, I am an officer, an in-service and training officer but of course due to lack of power, manpower, I have been nominated to babysit the programme. So, I am also learning, though I do these inspections.’ (Principal education officer, male, 53 years old)
The sentiments shared by the PEO revealed that somehow there might have been no set standard procedures for teachers’ PD in relation to implementing the PCF at school level and this could impact their effectiveness. This is because, as suggested by Zahnd et al. (
Even though the given findings are not so encouraging, P2 informed the author that regardless of the perceived lack of training towards implementation of the PCF and pre-primary classes on their part, class observations and other forms of supervisory support were being offered and proved fruitful as teachers always complied with suggestions made from their office. It was reported that the Head of Department (HOD) applied her general knowledge of teaching the lower primary classes such as the designing and making use of teaching aids to give advice to teachers. This information was confirmed when T1 said:
‘When they visit, especially the HOD, advises on how we can make our class to be relevant and also helps us with charts if they are not enough to make the classes look interesting to children.’ (Teacher 1, school 1, female, 28 years old)
This can be viewed as a positive approach on the part of this HOD because immediate managers work closely with teachers in coordinating all school activities ranging from supervising curriculum development and implementation activities, and organising teaching and learning resources to implementing procedures for staff development. Therefore, supervisors need to be delegated with the responsibility for coordinating and supporting curriculum development activities in their respective schools.
This study focused on investigating the role of teacher training in promoting teachers’ effectiveness in implementing the PCF in Francistown, Botswana. The major findings of the study were analysed using IPA, meaning that themes emerged during the coding process. The study’s objectives were related to the emergent themes to provide a comprehensive understanding of the study’s findings.
From the responses of all the three teacher participants, it was realised that they were using the PCF as an initiative newly introduced by the government to direct them. The answers given showed that teachers applied it in their daily teaching and learning activities as a guiding tool to implementing the PCF. The responses that they shared reflected on the two theories SCLT and CoP. This contention is illustrated by some of the submissions that were made such as when the PEO hinted that they encouraged parental involvement through ‘adopt a school’ initiative and requesting for some donations. This was confirmed by some teachers even though some reported otherwise. Another example involved a scenario whereby teachers were encouraged to form partnerships and benchmark best practices from each other. These examples provided a relevant example of manifestation of both the SCLT and CoP. CoP theory calls for efficient partnerships in ensuring that teachers’ teaching needs are met through teamwork.
SCLT advocates for the provision of an enabling environment for teachers to be effective role models in teaching and learning. This proposition is supported by the data that related to provision of teaching and learning resources as expressed by the PES although there was serious contention on whose mandate it was for their availability. What could be drawn from these findings was that there appeared to have been a gap that existed on whose mandate it was between MoBE and MLGRD as to who should provide stationery to reception classes. What was found to be even more interesting was that the two offices were aware of their duties, but a disparity observed on who was to provide stationery for reception classes.
Another SCLT feature that could be associated with this study’s findings was the issue of teacher training, that a certain effort was made to train teachers towards implementation of the PCF. Training, however limited or fragmentary, was aimed at enabling teachers to be better role models in implementing the PCF. This was displayed by T1 when she alluded to the fact that it ‘opened her eyes’. By ‘opening her eyes’, this can be understood as that the teacher indirectly suggesting that she was being a better role model in implementing the PCF because of training she received. So, considering that the PCF was in use by teachers, the framework acted as an appropriate tool in enhancing teachers’ effectiveness in their everyday work despite the challenges they faced. During class observations, it was realised that teachers were guided by the PCF to select learning activities and plan for their lessons. This was learnt upon studying the schemes of work and the lesson plans of T3. It was evident that she had planned her lessons according to the scheme of work set out in the PCF, a role believed could be achieved by a qualified teacher who is either new or on the job training.
What came as a surprise was the teaching methodologies in place that the teacher applied, which appeared to have lacked play activities. However, with a single lesson observation, caution must be applied, as the findings might not be wholly dependable. This led the authors to interrogate the teachers’ level of satisfaction in terms of training. During the interviews, some teachers voiced a concern that even though they had received pre-service training, they felt in-service training was insufficient and they faced some challenges in addressing some learning areas whilst teaching. Some of the learning areas that were cited by T2 were the spiritual, moral and reading perspectives. Unfortunately, these topics could not be observed as they had already been covered by the time the study was undertaken, causing us to depend solely on the teachers’ opinions. Possibility of bias in these responses could be suggested. It is important to note that this study was carried out a year after the in-service workshop was conducted, implying that the challenges occurred even after the teachers were trained.
A follow-up class observation was conducted to interrogate the teachers’ level of training. In one class that was observed at S2, it appeared that T2 applied the lecture method during her lesson. The topic was about ‘body parts’ and a chart was used to engage the children in discussions. Some children seemed to be challenged with naming the specified body parts and the teacher helped them by telling them the correct answers. Afterwards, the children were directed and assisted in singing a song (
In ECD, children learn best through self-initiated, interactive and stimulating activities as suggested by Hollowell et al. (
Sample of classroom seating.
In discussing this with the teacher, she reported that she often faced challenges in addressing some topics because of failure to interpret some objectives and would sometimes resort to leading the activities. Although there appeared to have been an exclusion of play activities, these results should be interpreted with caution because some studies have shown that a mix of child and teacher-led activities proved to engender positive learning outcomes. As shown previously, the PCF advocates for child-centred approach pedagogies. This is assumed to mean that the teacher should not be the source of all learning, but rather direct activities geared towards leaning. Considering the observed topic, one would have suggested for more and diverse engaging activities to reinforce the key concepts as the DCDE (
The given findings led to further enquiry with the school principals on their role and input regarding the challenges faced by teachers in implementing the PCF. Interestingly, P1 and P2 reported being satisfied with teachers’ level of pre-service training as they reported that the REO was responsible for hiring trained teachers. This was accepted as credible because in Botswana, with the introduction of public pre-primary schools, the government ventured into at least initial training of ECD teachers through different institutions such as Ba Isago University College, Botswana Open University and some colleges of education (MOESD
Further probing disclosed that the SPs were not professionally trained on the implementation of the PCF. Two out of three teachers alluded to the fact that their supervisors were not able to assist them in terms of in-service training as they were not familiar with the subject matter. The same sentiments were shared by the SPs themselves, proving that indeed if they were not inducted into the programme, it would be challenging to effectively help the teachers. This inconsistency caused the authors to challenge the internal support systems as espoused by the SCLT and CoP theories because supervisors, as part of the school, need to at least be informed about the job they supervise to effectively assist their supervisees as part of training on the job.
The question focused on teachers’ successes and challenges in implementing the PCF. Despite what seemed like insufficient training on the part of teachers, they reported positive achievement on implementation of the PCF within their classes. P2 reported that, from an outward impression, teachers seemed to enjoy implementing the framework. She reported this view based on her observation of how teachers interacted with the children. This was confirmed by T1 who reported that she liked working with the PCF as it acted as a guide in her daily teaching. T2 reiterated the fact that the PCF was an improvement on the previous one and it made their work easier as it had clear objectives and suggested activities and teaching materials for the lessons to be conducted. Upon interrogating the PCF document, it was realised that indeed it contained information relating to all the learning areas, objectives and key concepts that children were expected to learn. It also gave teachers ideas on how they could assist with developing children’s competency levels. For example, within each learning area, the outcomes are subdivided into various competency levels to enable tracking of each child’s performance either through talking, performing or behaving in different ways. To add to achieving all these milestones, learning materials are also stipulated as a guide to the relevant methodologies to employ.
Regarding challenges, teachers raised several challenges that ranged from socio-economic and environmental to political. Some of the socio-economic challenges consisted of a shortage of funds from both the government and parents in assisting teachers with teaching resources. Environmental impediments were mentioned as lack of developed space suitable for children’s outdoor teaching and play areas. It was observed that in almost all the schools there was little space demarcated for outdoor activities. The principals explained that the reception classes had been established within primary schools, which prevented schools from creating space for play areas. These reasons were unconvincing as there was space available and it was the mandate of each school to develop the spaces for outdoor activities.
With regard to political challenges, participants outlined a lack of appropriate supervision at school level as a factor that impacted their PD. One of the teacher participants, T2, raised a concern that her immediate supervisor was not trained in ECD and was therefore limited in assisting them on issues relating to curriculum implementation. This was confirmed by both the SPs and PEOs. The PEOs indicated that they were not familiar with the ECD curriculum but were requested to ‘babysit’ the department. Upon enquiring on how they assisted teachers on PD issues, the PEO indicated that they engaged external trainers. What was interesting was that it was the same PEOs who suggested the content teachers were to be trained on. This was confirmed when the PEO reported that they sat down and chose the topics, which they considered would be problematic to teachers. Other strategies of the PEOs were the use of social media and school fairs for teachers to connect and share issues relating to how they could implement the PCF and was appreciated as a component appealing to the SCLT and CoP perspective.
Even though teachers reported success in implementing the PCF in Francistown, Botswana, they were faced with some challenges as well. During the interviews with almost all the participants, it became apparent that teachers’ challenges were addressed both internally and externally. Most teachers indicated that, despite the shortage of resources, they were able to improvise through making the resources they needed, and in some cases, they sacrificed money from their own pockets or they were assisted by parents through pledges. This was emphasised by P1 and the PEO who indicated that teachers were advised to engage with parents on issues relating to the shortage of resources.
This study was conducted within one specific area being the City of Francistown, but different locations were visited. This impacted the number of participants because it was limited to only three schools, three teachers, two SPs, one PEO and one PES. As a result, this narrowed the scope and transferability of the study’s findings. This denotes that other pre-primary school settings may provide different experiences; hence, it may prove challenging to generalise. However, the recommendations made may be applied to other regions.
Another limitation of this study was that within the chosen study samples, there was an observable disparity in terms of age and gender of participants. All the three teachers were females and had age ranges of 28, 30, and 39. Regarding the SPs, one was male and another was female, and their ages were 45 and 56, respectively. The PEO and PES were male and female, respectively, and fell within the same age category of 52 and 53. These unique combinations could be different in other locations; hence the findings could not be generalised.
The study is intended for all ECD practitioners in the teaching fraternity, supervisors and trainers dealing with the development and implementation of the PCF. In Botswana, as part of promoting children’s holistic development, an integrated PCF was introduced and all government pre-primary schools are expected to follow it. From the evidence gathered, it was learnt that teachers applied the PCF but were faced with some challenges in the form of inadequate in-service training, learning resources and supervision. During the discussion of the three themes that emerged, it was realised that amongst other things, teachers needed ongoing and routine PD, effective supervisory initiatives, relevant teaching and learning materials, and parental support to be effective in implementing the PCF.
This study augments the perspectives of those who value in-service training, availing learning resources and instructional leadership as determining factors towards promoting teachers’ effectiveness in implementing the PCF. Some people may overlook these valued principles and suffer the consequences of having a teaching workforce that may lack focus on what would be expected from them because of inadequate policy direction. Policy direction on PD training strategies would influence both teachers and their supervisors to better implement the PCF. This is because teachers would be empowered to come up with relevant teaching strategies and resource utilisation and improvisation would be easier as these would be some of the content to focus on. Supervisors, both at school and regional level, would have a clear direction relating to how best to assist their supervisees.
From the evidence gathered by this study, it was learnt that teachers applied the Botswana’s PCF. During the discussion of the themes that emerged, it was realised that amongst other things, teachers needed PD, relevant teaching and learning materials, and instructional leadership to be effective in implementing the PCF. The findings also present a need to reflect on the importance of implementing the PCF to promote teachers’ effectiveness and holistic development of children. The study recommends the establishment of specific and intensified training protocols for teachers. This would entail providing clear guidelines on how to approach the different learning areas and routine provision and inspection of available teaching and learning resources by the relevant authorities. This is because there are some inconsistencies in the implementation of the PCF as observed. There should also be clear and consistent operational coordination between the two departments of MoBE and MLGRD for effectiveness in directing the implementation of the PCF.
Further research supporting the impact of in-service training, instructional leadership, and teaching and learning resources provision on effective implementation of the PCF could be helpful to the two ministries that pre-primary education falls under. A study that is suggested could be extended to other parts of the region and country and even delve into the concepts of the PCF such as how the unique learning areas such as literacy skills can be addressed. When the policymakers recognise the impact of training, availing of resources and effective leadership towards the PCF, teachers would be able to develop and promote the children’s expected skills as enshrined in the PCF.
The study aimed at investigating the role of teacher training in promoting teachers’ effectiveness in implementing the PCF in Francistown, Botswana, arguing from Bandura’s (
The authors would like to acknowledge Prof. Nkidi Phatudi for giving some advice at the beginning of this research.
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
E.L.B. and R.S.S.M. contributed equally to this research article.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, R.S.S.M., upon reasonable request.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.