Students' perceptions of instructional techniques used by Tutors in University of Zambia extension education programme in Lusaka District
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Date
2015-11-24
Authors
Phiri, Davies
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Abstract
The problem for this study emerged from the fact that nothing was known with regards to how students in credit courses of the University of Zambia (UNZA) extension programme perceived the teaching techniques used by their Tutors. Thus, its purpose was to establish such perceptions. The objectives were to: explore students‘ views on the types of teaching techniques that dominated their learning environment; establish students preferred teaching techniques; and determine students‘ views on the impact that teaching techniques had on their learning process.
This study was a product of a Concurrent Triangulation Mixed methods Design. The universe population comprised all of the following: students that were enrolled in the UNZA extension education credit course in all the extension education centres within Lusaka District in the 2014/2015 academic year; the extension education centres within Lusaka District; and the graduates from the aforementioned courses and centres from the year 2013 to 2014. The study had a total sample of 130 in which 115 were students who were selected using convenient sampling procedure and 15 were graduates who were traced through snow ball sampling procedure. 2 out of 11 extension education centres within Lusaka District were purposively selected and all respondents were from these same centres. A semi-structured questionnaire and an interview guide were used to collect data from 115 sand 15 graduates respectively.
The findings of this study elucidated that despite tutors in the UNZA extension education programme using a repertoire of different pedagogical strategies from both the teacher-centred and the student-centred approaches to teaching, instructor-centred (i.e. lecture and dictation) teaching techniques were the most dominant. It was also established that both learner-centred and teacher-centred teaching techniques were preferred by some students but most students preferred active teaching techniques more than the passive ones. Furthermore, it was established that both categories of teaching techniques were perceived to have both merits and demerits but participatory techniques were perceived to have more positive influence on the learning process of learners than instructor-centred pedagogies.
This study recommended that the University of Zambia (UNZA), through the Department of Adult Education and Extension Studies (DAEES) should start providing refresher courses to tutors in extension education on adult education teaching techniques
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Tutors and Tutoring-University of Zambia-Lusaka, Zambia