tag:theconversation.com,2011:/institutions/nazarbayev-university-5028/articlesNazarbayev University2023-05-25T15:39:52Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2045612023-05-25T15:39:52Z2023-05-25T15:39:52ZEducation in Zimbabwe should strive for inclusion – how the philosophy of ubuntu can help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526221/original/file-20230515-15-1uqahj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inclusive education is about far more than accommodating learners with disabilities, but teachers don't seem to know this.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wilfred Kajese/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The notion of <a href="https://www.unicef.org/education/inclusive-education#:%7E:text=Inclusive%20education%20means%20all%20children,speakers%20of%20minority%20languages%20too.">inclusive education</a> began to emerge during the 1950s and 1960s. At first it focused on integrating students with disabilities into mainstream classrooms, but it evolved over time. Now it’s about including <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13603116.2015.1095250">students with diverse backgrounds and abilities</a>, such as those with emotional or cognitive challenges whose disabilities are often “<a href="https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/types/invisible/">invisible</a>”.</p>
<p>Global <a href="https://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/docs/book2011/05_Dialogues%20at%20ECOSOC%202011_A_The%20Education%20for%20All%20Agenda.pdf">initiatives</a> <a href="https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convention_accessible_pdf.pdf">emphasise</a> that integration is key to creating educational opportunities for all pupils and to combating stigma and discriminatory attitudes. </p>
<p>The problem is that the concept of inclusive education – and ideas about what it takes to make schools inclusive – was developed in the global north. It doesn’t take into account the fact that schools in countries with lower incomes and fewer resources can’t always afford the physical infrastructure to drive inclusion. </p>
<p>And teachers may not think of inclusive education as a priority when they’re contending with low salaries and waning motivation, teaching materials are lacking, physical structures are deteriorating, classrooms are overcrowded, and students are finding it difficult to pay school fees. In fact, they may not think about inclusive education at all.</p>
<p>I am a researcher focused on diversity and equity issues. I wanted <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13603116.2022.2048102">to understand</a> what in-service teachers and trainee teachers in Zimbabwe know about inclusive education.
Globally, <a href="https://www.hi.org/en/news/children-with-disabilities-still---excluded-from-school">about 50%</a> of children with disabilities in low- and middle- income countries are not in school. While there are no precise statistics for Zimbabwe, it is a low income country and, so, it is very likely that a large number of its disabled children are not in school. Anecdotally, some of the teachers I interviewed knew of children with disabilities who had left school because of problems with accessibility. </p>
<p>I also wanted to explore whether the southern African philosophy of unhu, also called <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274374017_The_African_Philosophy_of_Ubuntu_in_South_African_Education">ubuntu</a>, could contribute to an understanding of inclusive education and potentially inform the creation of alternative inclusive policies. Ubuntu is a concept that emphasises the importance of including everyone and building a strong community.</p>
<h2>Knowledge gaps</h2>
<p>As case studies, I selected two rural schools and two teacher training colleges that supplied these schools with teachers. The schools were in remote areas; many families ended up there after <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/jan/14/rhodes-must-fall-oxford-colonialism-zimbabwe-simukai-chigudu">losing their land during colonial times</a>. </p>
<p>I chose this region strategically for its history of displacement, which offered insights into the community’s adaptation mechanisms. I was able to explore the enduring effects of colonial displacement on the community’s present socio-economic conditions and their approach towards inclusive education.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-south-africa-needs-to-do-to-improve-education-for-disabled-children-163847">What South Africa needs to do to improve education for disabled children</a>
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<p>Both in-service and trainee teachers described numerous barriers to inclusive education.</p>
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<p>When we are taught about inclusive education, they only focus on students with visible disabilities - hearing impairments and visual impairments. As a result, we are rushed to understand some basic braille and sign language. Other complicated and invisible disabilities are never taught in that module. (Trainee teacher)</p>
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<p>And, while there was some discussion in training about students with visible disabilities, in reality they were not accommodated in schools. A primary school teacher told me:</p>
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<p>We have pit latrines here and only one modern toilet. We are not capable of enrolling students with severe disabilities.</p>
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<p>One student who was so severely disabled that she moved around by “crawling on the floor” dropped out in the third grade, the teacher said. </p>
<p>Even teachers who knew about and valued the ideals of inclusive education struggled to implement it in the face of daily realities. A secondary school teacher explained:</p>
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<p>Paying attention to each student is challenging. It drains me. I have a big class and the (Education) Ministry does not recognise my inclusive practice efforts but the academic achievements of students, so I move with those that are quick in grasping the subject. </p>
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<p>Overall it was clear that there’s a big gap in knowledge and training for both working and trainee teachers when it comes to inclusive education. </p>
<p>There was a real sense of powerlessness among the teachers. They can’t fix infrastructure – and shouldn’t have to, since this is not their job. This is where ubuntu/unhu comes in: I believe its tenets can be harnessed to help teachers think about what they <em>can</em> do.</p>
<h2>The role of ubuntu</h2>
<p>The unhu/ubuntu philosophy has already been applied elsewhere to encourage inclusive education. <a href="https://www.ugent.be/pp/orthopedagogiek/en/research/ongoingresarch/obuntubulamu.htm">Obuntu balumu</a> is a peer-to-peer support initiative in Uganda. It has been studied and <a href="https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v12i0.948">found to materially improve</a> the participation and inclusion of children with disabilities, including less visible ones.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-archbishop-tutus-ubuntu-credo-teaches-the-world-about-justice-and-harmony-84730">What Archbishop Tutu's ubuntu credo teaches the world about justice and harmony</a>
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<p>As the Obuntu bulamu project shows, underpinning learning with an ubuntu/unhu philosophy promotes positive cultural practices for inclusivity. At the same time it requires state actors to make decisions based on respect and solidarity. It also encourages innovative, contextual solutions for resource constraints and accessibility issues, such as parent training or home visits for students with disabilities. All of this drives inclusive education.</p>
<p>The teachers I interviewed recognised this and offered some ideas about how ubuntu could help them to promote inclusive education. A primary school teacher said:</p>
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<p>Ubuntu is about fostering community support, an element that aligns perfectly with our context. For instance, we could use our current understanding of inclusive education to create a concise, locally relevant handbook on the subject, and distribute it to students to share with their parents and guardians. This handbook would provide insights into disability and its implications. </p>
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<p>This teacher also suggested at-home tutoring and training other students to support those with disabilities as ways to embed ubuntu in their practice:</p>
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<p>Alternatively, we could make regular trips to nearby villages, providing a few hours of instruction to those unable to attend school during the week. By doing so, wouldn’t we be practising ubuntu?</p>
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<p>Adopting the unhu/ubuntu philosophy can help create a more inclusive and supportive educational environment for all students, going beyond western ideas and reflecting a more locally relevant understanding of inclusive education.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204561/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oliver Mutanga receives funding from British Academy/ Leverhulme. </span></em></p>Ubuntu is a concept that emphasises the importance of including everyone and building a strong community.Oliver Mutanga, Assistant Professor, Nazarbayev UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1527702021-01-21T13:34:19Z2021-01-21T13:34:19ZScholarships alone are not enough to get more qualified female teachers into Nigeria’s schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379514/original/file-20210119-14-g20idc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are very few qualified female teachers in schools in northern Nigeria.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nigeria’s northern rural regions suffer acute shortages of both female teachers and female pupils. <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/education">UNICEF estimates</a> that over half of all girls are not in school in the north while under a <a href="https://punchng.com/north-urgently-needs-more-female-teachers-unicef/">third of all primary school teachers</a> are women. </p>
<p>To boost the numbers of female teachers in rural locations, an ambitious scholarship scheme was established to train young women from these areas to become teachers in their home villages. It was hoped this would encourage more girls to enrol in school.</p>
<p><a href="https://edorennigeria.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/edoren-fttss-operational-research-study-final.pdf">The Female Teacher Training Scholarship Scheme</a> was a joint venture between five Nigerian state governments, the UK government and UNICEF, between 2008 and 2015. Scholarships were offered to young women from poor, rural areas to undertake the three-year pre-service teacher education programme at state teacher training colleges. </p>
<p>The only condition was that after graduation, they returned to their home village to teach for a minimum of two years. Over 7,800 young women benefited from these awards. </p>
<p>To help improve the programme’s operation, we conducted a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0742051X18312290?via%3Dihub">study</a> in the colleges of education in Bauchi and Niger states. As a team of Nigerian and UK based researchers, we identified the programme’s successes and challenges, and made recommendations for the future. </p>
<p>We found that there were both academic and other obstacles to the trainees’ success, including financial worries. This was because the scholarship stipend was too small and payments were often delayed. </p>
<p>Based on these findings, we suggest that improving the quality of teacher education is more important than just increasing teacher numbers. We also recommend that such programmes pay attention to non-academic difficulties.</p>
<h2>Struggling to learn</h2>
<p>Although it was claimed that all graduates were eventually given jobs in schools, in Bauchi and Niger states only 45% and 17% of trainees, respectively, managed to complete their training. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102957">explored</a> the reasons for this low graduation rate, focusing on the trainees’ own experiences. Drawing on observations, a survey of 338 awardees and interviews with 49 awardees, 95 college staff and other stakeholders, we uncovered a range of factors that made it difficult for many of the young women to succeed.</p>
<p>The obstacles to success included overcrowded lecture halls, inadequate resources and a lack of support, such as study skills. The scholarship awardees identified numerous challenges, many of which were common to other trainee students not on the scheme. Colleges were struggling to cope with increasing numbers of trainee teachers. Dilapidated lecture halls designed for 400-600 students were crammed with two or three times that number. </p>
<p>Students often had nowhere to sit or take notes – assuming they could even hear or understand the lecturer. They had no opportunities to ask questions. High student numbers produced mounds of marking that overwhelmed lecturers. Some students were reportedly asked to mark papers on occasions. College libraries were short of relevant, good quality books and computer access was limited. Although learning materials were for sale, they were expensive. </p>
<p>The courses too were problematic. Trainees complained that they had little say in the subjects they studied, and that there was too much material to cover. </p>
<p>Learning in English was a major obstacle, which was hardly surprising given the awardees’ rural backgrounds and limited exposure to the language. These issues all contributed to their high rates of course failure and repetition, which in turn made it less likely that they would graduate. </p>
<p>The lack of practical course content was highlighted. Given the high student numbers, there were insufficient opportunities for practice teaching on peers. Teaching practice placement in schools also suffered from a shortage of lecturers to supervise it and lack of money to pay for transport.</p>
<p>Accounts from many of the scholarship students pointed to the need for study skills support, including remedial English, and more help from lecturers – who were often overwhelmed by student numbers.</p>
<h2>Difficulties outside their studies</h2>
<p>Apart from these academic challenges, issues like money, accommodation, transport, family and safety added to students’ difficulties. Almost half the awardees identified financial worries – in particular the inadequacy and late payment of their stipends – as the greatest threat to completing their studies. A shortage of on-campus accommodation meant many had to find lodgings elsewhere, spending most of their stipend on rent and travel to college. To save money, some trainees walked long distances, arriving at lectures tired or late. Travel also took time away from studying.</p>
<p>The quality of accommodation available came in for some criticism. And over a third of the trainees with children bemoaned the lack of health and childcare facilities.</p>
<p>Safety was a major concern in lodgings, or when travelling to and from the college. Interviewees recounted incidents of intimidation, robbery, sexual harassment and violence. In the survey, one in three complained of harassment by staff – such as sex for grades – or by their male peers.</p>
<p>Married women or women with children, on average, had higher rates of course failure and repetition than single women without children.</p>
<h2>What we learned and what’s needed</h2>
<p>The experiences of these students show that scholarships alone are not enough to increase the numbers of qualified women teachers. Indeed, the insufficient stipend and late payments added to recipients’ academic struggles. </p>
<p>Like <a href="http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0742-051X(18)31229-0/sref17">similar</a> <a href="http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0742-051X(18)31229-0/sref22">studies</a>, our research also highlighted how colleges of education in Nigeria are desperately in need of more resources – financial, physical and human – to improve the quality of training. </p>
<p>Extra academic support is required for disadvantaged students such as these young women, many of whom experienced poor quality schooling themselves. Improving quality in the colleges of education also means addressing gender-specific issues such as childcare services, secure accommodation and sexual harassment.</p>
<p>_Jiddere Kaibo, Lecturer, Federal College of Education, Yola and Swadchet Sankey, Education Specialist, UNICEF, are co-authors of this study. _</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152770/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was primarily funded by the UK's Department for International Development.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Máiréad Dunne has received funding from Department for International Development, UK Government </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naureen Durrani has received funding from the Department for International Development, UK.</span></em></p>Colleges of education must have increased resources to improve training. They must also address gender-specific issues such as childcare provision, accommodation and sexual harassment.Sara Humphreys, Visiting Research Fellow, University of SussexMáiréad Dunne, Professor of Sociology of Education, University of SussexNaureen Durrani, Professor, Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.