Teachers' prepardness to implement the 2014 revised literacy policy in selected primary schools in Kitwe district

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish whether teachers were adequately prepared to implement the 2014 revised literacy policy in selected primary schools in Kitwe district on the Copperbelt. The objectives that guided this study were; to establish whether the teachers were adequately prepared to implement the revised policy; to establish the responsiveness of the pre-service teacher education programme towards the 2014 revised literacy policy; to assess the methods and techniques teachers used to teach initial literacy under the revised literacy policy; and to establish the challenges teachers faced in the implementation of the 2014 revised literacy policy. The study employed a mixed method descriptive design, which involved both qualitative and quantitative methods. Purposive and random sampling techniques were used to come up with 134 respondents, that is, 103 classroom teachers, 30 lecturers and 1 District Resource personnel. Data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and classroom observations of literacy lessons so as to observe the practical implementation of the revised policy. Focus group discussions enabled respondents to give detailed views on the 2014 revised literacy policy while lesson observations provided information where comparison between what respondents said and actually did in the classroom resonated. The study found that while some teachers were trained, others were not. This was due to the fact that, those who attended the training who were supposed to train those who remained, did not conduct the in- house workshop. Even after commissioning the policy in 2014, schools still lacked teaching resources with which they could implement the policy. In respect to the method, while some teachers were using the new methods, others were not. Colleges of education were finding it challenging to comprehensively revise their teacher education programme because they do not fully understand the content of the 2014 revised policy. The study recommended wider consultation between policy makers and implementers during formulation and/or revision of literacy policies. It was also recommended that teachers needed to be innovative in applying notions of semiotic remediation and resemiotisation in resource mobilisation and use.