in informing education change strategies and in turn, getting results, but only in the hands of people who have a deep understanding of dynamics of how the factors in question operate to get quality. Implementation of curriculum change without the relevant resource to teach it would cause frustration and discouragement on the side of the implementers (Singh, 2012). Infrastructure contributed in constraining the effective implementation of the B.Ed. Pre- and Lower Primary curriculum.
The findings also pointed to the need to have laboratories where teacher educators together with their student teachers can develop instructional materials for the teaching of Pre-and Lower Primary phases. Most of the teacher educators indicated a lack of laboratories in their campuses. UNAM (2010), as described in Chapter Four, holds the view that teachers should be able to supplement ready-made study materials and develop their own materials, thus encouraging student creativity.
From the teacher educators’ responses, it is evident that they acknowledge the importance of laboratories as venues where both the teacher educators and students can prepare and develop materials to support the teaching and learning of Pre-and Lower Primary classrooms. The process of materials development can inspire and motivate student teachers which in return will make them experts in their future professional careers as Pre-and Lower Primary school teachers. These laboratories could also serve as places where all the materials can be stored for use by both teacher educators and student teachers. Responses from the interviews indicated that these venues are not available in most of the campuses.
5.2.2. The language policy implementation for Pre-and Lower Primary curriculum
My analysis of the interview data indicated some of the obvious contributing factors that have led teacher educators not to implement the language policy as required. First is the lack of expertise in mother tongues. Teacher educators in my study indicated that most of the teacher educators are not trained to teach subjects such as Mathematics, Environmental education, Social studies etc. in the medium of mother tongue as they are required to do so by the curriculum (See 4.2.2).
Secondly, the teacher educators teaching in the department of Pre-and Lower Primary were from different regions, where mother tongues are different from the ones offered at the campuses. One of the teacher educators indicated that she is Afrikaans speaking but given Environmental Studies to teach at a campus that offers Rumanyo which is the language of teaching and learning for Pre- and Lower Primary education (See 4.2.2).
Thirdly, the materials such as study guides, textbooks and course outlines are mostly written in English instead of the mother tongue. The teacher educators indicated that this is one of the biggest challenges that they are experiencing. Because before they present the lessons, they have to translate the content of the course outline from English to mother tongue. One of the teacher educators noted that through the process of translation, one can miss out the points which may lead to giving incorrect information to the student teachers (See4.2.3). Thus the student teacher’s knowledge of their language and their metalinguistic skills may be very limited. They may not know in their own language the terminology needed for teaching at Pre and Lower Primary levels or even the correct orthography of their language.
Finally, the nature and the role of the B.Ed. Pre-and Lower Primary curriculum program preparation of teacher education need to be revisited as part of the problem. Most of the teacher educators in the department of Pre-and Lower Primary education are from the pre-independence dispositions. The question thus is, to what extent did their training empower them with the appropriate knowledge and skills to prepare student teachers through the medium of mother tongue?
The evidence gathered has shown that using mother tongue in the classroom in particular at Pre- and Lower Primary levels enhances classroom participation, decrees attrition and increase the likelihood of family and community engagement in the child’s learning. Furthermore, it also enhances the child’s cognitive learning process (Ministry of education, 2005).
The structural elements of the language policy implementation for Pre-and Lower Primary curriculum indicates that teacher educators are encountering constraints which have a limiting
effect on their ability to implement the policy mandated in the new curriculum. The section on agency (see 4.4.4) explores how teacher educators in my study responded to some of the structural elements highlighted in this section. Even though, the decision taken was not a viable one because it is contrary to the policy implementation of the Pre-and Lower Primary education it seemed teacher educators in my study did not have any other choice rather to take such decisions.
It is also evident from the findings of the interviews that the majority of the teacher educators are from the pre-independence dispensation who were trained through the medium of Afrikaans. They find the implementation of the new curriculum very challenging in particularly by training student teachers through the medium of mother tongues which themselves never experienced before.
I argue therefore that teacher educators in my study should do training in their various mother tongues. The training for mother tongue should include both educational and linguistic components. The latter are indispensable for empowering human resources by equipping them with comprehensive knowledge about all aspects of the language, competence in as many skills as possible, reading, writing and communication, confidence in the subject matter and in the relevance of teaching mother tongue (University of Namibia, 2010). This is also very relevant to the student teachers and must equally be passed on to them in order for them to appreciate the role of mother tongue and to use the language adequately especially after they have completed their training (Harlech-Jones, 1998).
The findings also pointed to problems of the student teachers’ initial development. The curriculum program should, therefore be re-looked at to assess how well student teachers are trained to be competent enough to handle classrooms of Pre-and Lower Primary through the medium of the various mother tongues as they are required to do. Teachers are the backbone of effective teaching and learning and they need sound knowledge and skills to base their judgments and to deliver meaningful teaching and learning to the learners.
5.2.3. Teaching materials
Teaching material is also a structure at the level of the real because it has the power to enable or constrain the implementation of a curriculum. The interview data revealed a lack of teaching materials that are required to teach the new B.Ed. Pre- and Lower Primary curriculum.
Spillane, Reiser and Reiner (2002), as described in Chapter 2, hold the view that resources such as teaching materials play an important role in the implementation of any curriculum program. Dele (2005: 59) also argued that education cannot be a bedrock of national development without adequate teaching materials usage. Saidu (2007) also highlights the contributions teaching materials can make to curriculum implementation. He argues that teaching materials contribute in making the curriculum implementation comprehensive, balanced, functional and relevant in nature. He further goes on to say that students’ performances can also be enhanced through the good use of teaching materials because through the use of teaching materials difficult concepts, content and issues can be made clearer to the student. It is therefore vital that adequate teaching materials should be available and be used by teacher educators and student teachers to make their teaching and learning more effective.
From the teacher educators’ responses, it is evident that the teacher educators acknowledge the importance of teaching materials in the enhancement of mother tongue instruction. One of the teacher educators indicated that although the language policy ideally supports mother tongue education, because of inadequate teaching materials in mother tongue it is difficult to implement the curriculum as required. Lack of materials that are written in mother tongue poses a serious threat towards the successful implementation of the B.Ed. Pre-and Lower Primary curriculum program. Singh (2012: 595) states that providing essential materials allows teacher educators to focus their attention on teaching their students, rather than tracking down materials they do not have. So it would seem than that lack of teaching materials is a further constraining factor limiting teacher educators for effectively implementing the new curriculum.