Browsing by Author "Mapala, Cogitator Wilton."

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An analysis of Social Studies teachers’ pedagogy in selected secondary schools in Malawi.
(2022) Mapala, Cogitator Wilton.; Bertram, Carol Anne.
The thesis analyses the pedagogic practice and choices of four Social Studies teachers in Malawi secondary schools who are teaching Form Two, which is an equivalent of Grade Ten (10). This study was qualitative, using interpretivist paradigm and Bernstein’s notions of classification and framing in analysing teacher’s pedagogic practices. The study’s findings show that Social Studies teachers had a similar pattern of pedagogic practice with minor variations depending on the instructional method used. Generally, the pedagogic practices of teachers are characterised by strong framing with regard to selection, sequencing and pacing that suggests that Social Studies teachers’ pedagogic practices gave less autonomy to learners. This confirms the general assertion that teachers are struggling to embrace the educational principles of learner-centred education. Further, it was observed that hierarchical rules had both strong and weak classifications and framings that show mixed pedagogic practices. The study shows there was also a mixed pattern, regarding the evaluation criteria. Although it is characterised by both strong and weak framings depending on what the teacher wants to achieve in a pedagogic relation, it was predominantly weak. This study also affirms the findings of Brodie et al., (2002) in which they argued that some teachers have the form of the learner-centred education with or without the substance and that teachers take up new ideas differently. It also indicated that pedagogic practices of teachers reflect what they think about the pedagogy. It is the interpretation and beliefs teachers have about pedagogic practices that influence how they teach and make choices of how and what to teach. The study also shows that the pedagogic choice is influenced by time allocated to each lesson against the instructional activities planned, syllabus coverage and lack of preparation.
A historical study of the border dispute between the Livingstonia and Nkhoma Synods of the Church of Central African Presbyterian (1956-2015).
(2016) Mapala, Cogitator Wilton.; Denis, Philippe Marie Berthe Raoul.
This thesis seeks to understand the political, socio-cultural and ecclesiastical circumstances which explain why ethnicity is a recurrent problem in the border dispute between the Livingstonia and Nkhoma Synods of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) and why it has reached a stalemate (B 3). To accomplish this, the study engages a combination of three theories developed by Antonio Gramsci, Horace M. Kallen and David J. Bosch, namely the Gramscian Hegemonic Theory, Cultural Pluralism Theory and Mission in Unity Theory, in that order. Methodologically, it relies on documentation, interviews and archival sources. This thesis provides a historical background to the Livingstonia-Nkhoma border dispute. It also has shown that after the transfer of (A1) the Kasungu Station to the Dutch Reformed Church Mission by the Livingstonia Mission the boundary between the two missions was the Dwangwa River in the Kasungu District and the Bua River in the Nkhotakota District, as agreed in 1923 and affirmed in 1958. However, the boundary was purposely disregarded for missiological and political reasons. This is why the study argues that the Livingstonia-Nkhoma border dispute is not territorial, but rather it is political along ethnic lines. Ethnicity is employed by the elite and bourgeoisie who prey on the people’s perceptions towards language, educational and economic discrepancies, as a tool for in-group mobilisation and counter-mobilisation. It is through the attempt to dominate the other ethnic groups and resist the domination resulted into the border dispute between the Livingstonia and Nkhoma Synods. Therefore, ethnicity represents dominance and resistance. This also explains why the border dispute reached a stalemate. Therefore, the study argues that the ethnic cleavages between the Chewa and non-Chewa, as presented in the Livingstonia-Nkhoma border dispute, were not based on primordial motives, but rather it was consciously crafted for mobilisation by the elites and the bourgeoisie within the CCAP. It is a creation of the church leaders with support of few church members. The church leaders showed more loyalty to their Synods than to Christianity and ecclesiastical unity. Their action is not only against the missio Dei but it is counterproductive to the nation-building. It is divisive and a betrayal to the Christian church’s noble calling in the fragmented world. The thesis has also shown that if religious and ethnic identities overlap, most ordinary church members, unlike their leaders, show loyalty to Christianity as their common bond. In the light of the no-border resolution, the study asks whether there is one CCAP or many CCAPs, and whether the missiological