An exploration of how teachers in Namibia experience and respond to the learner-centered approach in their working lives.

Abstract

Teacher sense-making lies at the heart of effective teaching and learning because it influences interpretation of policy reform and how it is implemented. The study explores the experiences and responses of Namibian teachers towards the learner-centered approach which was introduced after independence. The purpose is to understand how teachers interpret and implement the new teaching policy; their coping ways; and why they implemented the policy the way they do. The study was conducted in Ohangwena, the region located in the northern central part of Namibia. Eight participants from secondary schools were selected for narrative interviews; while nine teachers, three from different secondary schools, were chosen for focus group interviews. The focus was placed on teachers who were educated and trained in the apartheid education system, commenced their teaching career during the same period and went through the major shift to the present post-independence education. The narrative approach within the qualitative interpretive paradigm was used to explore the experiences and responses of long-serving teachers and how they shaped their individual, professional and social lives. This approach allowed the study to effectively employ the qualitative data collecting techniques such as narrative and focus group interviews; and narrative analysis models to interpret and make sense of data. Three key elements of the integrated cognitive sense-making model by Spillane, Reimer and Reiser (2002) were used as an analytic framework to understand how teachers interpret reforms and why they decide to implement it the way they do. It highlighted that the sense-making process of the implementing teacher was influenced by the individual factors from the teacher persona; school contexts; and nature of policy. Findings indicate that teachers experience numerous curriculum reforms; however, how they perceive and make sense of them is influenced by a variety of factors which emanate from individual, contextual and policy elements. The study detects that there is a mismatch between teacher beliefs and policy demands. It is also evident that many policy demands are not compatible with the school contextual realities. Teacher interpretation of the new teaching policy and the decision making of their behaviour and action on how to implement is intensely influenced by experiences and emotions; and situational conditions at their working places. The findings confirm that aspects from individual, working contexts and policy are very critical in the sense-making and implementation processes. These findings have implications for all the stakeholders at all education levels, particularly for Professional Development programmes at school and regional levels in assisting teachers to improve their perceptions and beliefs for positive interpretation and acceptance of the new reforms. Keywords: Learner-centered approach; teacher experiences; teacher responses; teacher work life; teacher sense-making; policy implementation.