An ethical evaluation of the perceptions, attitudes and practices of teachers and learners towards the preventive maintenance system (PMS) : a case study of three government co-education day secondary schools in Lusaka district in Zambia.
Date
2021
Authors
Mooya, Austin
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
This dissertation conducted an ethical evaluation of the perceptions, attitudes and practices of teachers and learners towards PMS in three government co-education secondary schools in Lusaka district of Zambia. One school was selected for the research from high income areas, middle income homes and low income homes. The specific objectives of the research were: (i) to examine the perceptions and attitudes of teachers and learners towards PMS, (ii) to assess if the practices of teachers and learners corresponded to what they said, (iii) to determine the actual condition of property in the schools and (iv) to make an ethical evaluation of the findings.
The research used a case study design involving a mixed methodology with an ethical component. The methods included primary and secondary sources. Primary sources were in-depth interviews, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), questionnaires and observations. The primary data was collected from the following: in-depth interviews conducted with 6 PMS prefects, 3 PMS coordinators and 3 Assistant School Managers; questionnaires administered to 30 grade twelve learners and 6 teachers; 6 focus group discussions held with grade twelve learners; and observations made on school property and grounds. Purposive, convenience, and random sampling methods were used. Purposive sampling was used for selecting PMS prefects, PMS coordinators and Assistant School Managers (ASMs) for interviews. Convenience sampling was used when choosing schools and selecting teachers to administer questionnaires. Simple random sampling was applied when choosing classes, learners to participate in FGDs and answer questionnaires. Secondary sources involved literature from various relevant sources. The secondary data was gathered from books, dissertations, theses, and journals as well as from the internet. The research findings were ethically assessed through the application of value theory, environmental virtue theory and care ethics.
The research findings were that the perceptions and attitudes on the part of both teachers and learners were largely negative. Hence, their practices were not very supportive of the PMS policy. This resulted into a compromised state of school property and grounds. Amongst the recommendations made were the following: (i) that the Ministry of Education needed to place greater emphasis on character formation in education and (ii) that it should also include the teaching of environmental ethics in teacher training colleges: (iii) that the spirit of the government PMS policy directives needed to be more greatly emphasised in terms of value-orientation in order to motivate action and (iv) that government schools needed to have their own clearly defined and published policies based on the government PMS.
Description
Thesis
Keywords
Preventive maintenance--Schools.