The status - quo regarding formal orientation of novice teachers and its implication on the catholicity of selected catholic secondary schools in Livingstone district, Zambia.

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Date
2021
Authors
Mtonga, Godwin
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Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
The main purpose of the study was to investigate the status-quo regarding formal orientation of novice teachers and its implication on the catholicity of selected Catholic Secondary Schools in Livingstone District, Zambia. The objectives of the study were: To investigate the status-quo regarding formal orientation of novice teachers in selected Catholic Secondary Schools in Livingstone District; To establish the implication of the status-quo regarding formal orientation of novice teachers on the catholicity of selected Catholic Secondary Schools in Livingstone District; To determine the types of formal orientation practices of novice teachers needed to promote the catholicity of selected Catholic Secondary Schools in Livingstone District and To establish the benefits of formal orientation practices of novice teachers to the desired catholicity levels in selected Catholic Secondary Schools in Livingstone District. A qualitative methodology was used to gather data for this research and used a semi-structured interview guide and Focus Group Discussion. The study used a qualitative approach and descriptive design. The research was guided by the cognitive transaction theory. Research participants included head teachers, guidance teachers and novice teachers. In terms of the findings of the study, it was clear that there was orientation of novice teachers which was being done in the schools where the study was done. As for implications of the status-quo regarding formal orientation, the results indicated that the orientation of new teachers in these schools was not adequate and as such it fell short of the ability to instill values of catholicity in novice teachers. The desired orientation practices to promote catholicity included a series of meetings with the management, orientation committee, workshops and active involvement of the office of the chaplain. The benefits of formal orientation practices included promotion of change of attitude by new teachers, creation of a sense of belonging to the institution and promotion of unity among teachers. The study makes the following conclusions: The extent to which orientation is done is very low; increasing period of orientation will enable non-Catholic teachers assimilate the values of catholicity. A variety of formal orientation practices is needed to produce the desired values of catholicity and the benefits of formal orientation of novice teachers can be realized through various measures such as orientation committees, workshops and chaplain’s office. The study recommends that the orientation period of novice teachers should be increased to enable the new teachers understand and assimilate their new roles in the environment of catholicity. For future research, aC comparative study must be carried out to find out if teachers of Catholic faith produce better results than non-Catholic teachers in the same school. Key words: Status-quo, Orientation, Novice teachers, Catholicity, Catholic.
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Keywords
Catholic education , First year teachers. , Teacher orientation. , Teachers--In-service training.
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