Searching for learners’ voices: Teachers’ struggle to align pedagogical-reform policy with instructional practice

Abstract

Globally, pedagogical reform policy seeks to give space to learners’ voices. But teachers often struggle to engage learners in knowledge construction, deconstruction and reconstruction; as advocated by official curriculum reform policy. Aligning classroom practice to pedagogical-reform policy remains an uphill struggle for most teachers. This article examines Zimbabwean teachers’ efforts to align teaching methods to new curriculum policy which seeks to engage learners in classroom discourse. Using a qualitative multiple-case study and the theoretical lens of sensemaking, a case study of History teachers assessed how they were implementing new pedagogical prescriptions. Data gathered from the document analysis, interviews and 47 lesson observations suggest that, although participants made efforts to open up a space for learners’ voices, they often drifted towards teacher-centred practice. Some participants complained that the unavailability of technology‑based instructional resources, recommended in the new reform policy, made them resort to rote pedagogy. Others believed that teacher didacticism and the dictation of notes were inevitable in History instruction. The use of learner‑centric approaches (as advocated by policy) appeared to be just a drop in the ocean. This study recommends pedagogical reorientation for teachers if learners’ voices are to be heard and large-scale instructional reforms are to be successfully enacted at classroom level.

Student’s rating of secondary school physics teachers’ classroom practice: Implications for teaching and learning

“…This passivity must have made the students rate their teachers low in the use of instructional materials since they were not actively engaged during teaching and learning. This situation was also recorded by Chimbi and Jita [20] who remarked that the use of a teacher-centered method for instruction was still popularly used in secondary schools. This result disagrees the findings of previous researchers [18], [33] who found that teachers scored a little average in their use of instructional materials and the laboratory as rated by their students.…”

“…One important stakeholder whose feedback and opinions have usually been neglected in teachinglearning is the learner [20], [21]. Learners often struggle for relevance because their voices on teacherlearning matters are not heard.…”

“…Learners often struggle for relevance because their voices on teacherlearning matters are not heard. Chimbi and Jita [20] remarked that learners' voices are usually not heard in classroom discussions (actions and reactions) because learners are usually silenced not only by the teachers but also by the textbooks used. This implies that the students are robbed of their voices during teaching and learning not only by their teachers but also by the textbooks used for instruction.…”

“…Remmers [21] remarks that students' judgment of their teachers' teaching effectiveness can no longer be set aside or immaterial in education hence the need for this study. Chimbi and Jita [20] also remark that learners' voice especially in pedagogical reform policy with instructional practice is still a contending issue. As evident in the literature, researchers are not aware of any study published invalidating the use of students as a matrix for measuring teachers' teaching effectiveness in the classroom, especially in physics teachers' use of instructional materials, instructional methods, and classroom management.…”