A comparison of perceptions and attitude among Teachers in Public and Private Secondary Schools regarding the re-entry policy in Mazabuka District
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Date
2015-02-19
Authors
Hakoma, Muchimba Charles
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Abstract
Zambia has not been spared from increased school dropout rates among girls due to pregnancies regardless of the re-entry policy. This study therefore set out to compare perceptions and attitude among teachers from public and private secondary schools regarding the re-entry policy.
The study employed a case study design which allowed bringing to the fore, a case and an in depth understanding of perceptions and attitude among teachers. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data. The total study population comprised 7 Head Teachers as Key Informants and 93 class teachers (i.e. from Kaonga, Nanga, Nkonkola, and Namalundu as public secondary schools while Habuce, Nakambala Private and Terranova were private secondary schools).
The major findings disclosed that female teachers from public secondary schools had the highest negative perceptions and attitude than those in private schools. From private secondary schools, male teachers had the highest negative perceptions and attitude regarding the re-entry policy than males in public schools. The study revealed that, negative perceptions and attitude regarding the re-entry policy were higher among female teachers in public secondary schools than female teachers in private secondary schools. This finding came as a surprise because the re-entry policy in Zambia was enacted by the Government to promote girls and women education in order to narrow the gender education disparity or gap. Among teachers in private secondary schools, negative perceptions and attitude regarding the re-entry policy were higher among male teachers than those of the same sex in public secondary schools.
It was, therefore,recommended that: the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education (MOESVTEE) should intensify awareness campaigns on the re-entry policy at all levels; MOESVTEE and partners should integrate adult learning approaches in teachers’ training curriculum; MOESVTEE should provide leadership to include interventions addressing perceptions and attitude among teachers in public and private schools in the reviewed of the re-entry policy of 2012; and should empower teachers from both public and private schools with basic skills in emergency Reproductive Health (RH) and child counseling.
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Keywords
Teenage Mothers-Education-Government Policy-Zambia , Dropouts-Education-Government Policy-Zambia , Teenage Pregnancy-Government Policy-Zambia