ISSN 2360-7963
Abstract
Accepted 20th October, 2017.
Prior to Namibia independence, education system was predominantly teacher-centred. Soon after its independence, education reform becomes Namibia top priorities in order to redress the past imbalances and come up with the education system that is responsive to the new nation needs. A new education system, learner-centred education, was introduced to cater for all Namibian learners. It was seen and still seen as an effective antidote to the stifling teacher-centred practices of the previous education system. The Basic Education Teacher Diploma (BETD) was introduced to prepare teachers to teach in a learner centred approach. However, research has showed that many Namibian teachers have a somewhat naïve understanding of learner-centred education. The small scale case study was conducted in Oshikoto region, focuses on two Grade 4 teachers. The purpose of the study was to explore teachers’ perception and implementation of leaner-centred education, especially the teaching strategies they use to develop learners understanding. The study uses qualitative approach in its exploration of teachers’ lived experiences of becoming learner approached. Data was gathered through semi-structure interview, observation and document analysis. Content analysis was use to analyse the data. The findings of this study have implication for teacher education to induct student teachers to recognise learner-centred education as a pedagogy aimed at improving learners’ participation in teaching and learning. This study focuses only on two teachers, hence, its findings cannot be generalised to the entire schools in the region. However, lessons can be learned on the implementation of learner-centred education from these two teachers’ perceptions.
Keywords: education reform, teacher education, learner-centred education, teaching and learning.