KEETMANSHOOP: The University of Namibia (UNAM) Southern Campus (SC) on Wednesday held its first teaching practicum stakeholders’ engagement meeting.
The meeting was held under the theme ‘Improving communication and coordination of teaching practicum.’
Speaking at the meeting, Head of Academic Affairs at UNAM SC, Rauna Namukwambi said it is imperative that teachers provide guidance to student teachers in areas of professionalism and the way they conduct themselves.
She urged teachers and principals to provide input in the university curriculum if there are areas they feel are left out of the curriculum.
“You can provide such input with evidence-based research and we can adjust the curriculum. Teaching practical is an important aspect of teaching practice,” she said.
UNAM SC School Based Studies (SBS) Coordinator and lecturer of mathematics education, Simon Albin said there is a lack of mentorship for student teachers at schools, adding that there is a need for the identification of some teachers to be trained to ensure that they provide such mentorship to students.
“There is minimum support from teachers at some schools. Many a time these student teachers are left on their own to find their own mentors, so we want a process where student teachers are assigned mentors at schools based on area of expertise and commitment by teachers,” he said.
According to Albin, workload on the side of the lecturers also affects the quality and rollout of SBS. He said the vastness of the country prevents SBS coordinators from visiting schools to ensure that student teachers carry out school based studies.
“The language barrier also affects the successful rollout of the programme, as at times lecturers have to sit and evaluate students in a language they themselves cannot speak,” he added.
Through the meeting, the university wants to get input from various education stakeholders on the challenges, gaps and experience of the SBS programme so the programme can be improved.
Lecturers in the education faculty, school principals and officials from the education directorate in the ||Kharas, Hardap and Omaheke regions attended the meeting.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency
