Teachers’ perceptions of the quality of the new Expressive Arts textbooks for Malawi primary schools

Abstract

<p>The national government in Malawi implemented an outcomes-based curriculum reform in 2007. To facilitate implementation, new textbooks were developed for the primary school curriculum. This study intended to explore teachers’ use and perception of the new Expressive Arts textbooks. The participants consisted of 192 Expressive Arts teachers, grades 5–8, selected by purposeful sampling. Data were collected through questionnaires and semistructured interviews. It was found that teachers believed that the textbooks were poorly designed, contained factual inaccuracies, did not support higher-level thinking of the learners, did not represent the lived experiences of the children using them and reinforced gender stereotyping. The study therefore suggests that there is need for review of the textbooks and that it is necessary to provide textbooks timely and in adequate quantities according to the needs of each school to ensure an effective implementation of a new curriculum.</p>

Exploring the quality of Grade 12 accounting education textbooks

“…This could be adduced to the fact that graphics are concise and memorable, and they make relationships within the information readily apparent, thereby helping in elaborating or expanding different concepts (Aggarwal 2001;Widodo 2007). However, Chirwa and Naidoo (2016) also contend that the cluttering of the textbook with irrelevant distracting features may reduce the effectiveness of the text. Nonetheless, in accounting, there is a need for textbooks to contain a reasonable number of features such as balance sheets, income statements and other types of financial figures to aid the instruction and to consolidate learning.…”

“…Extant literature has shown that textbooks are regarded as effective tools to ensure better quality in terms of instruction and content (Chirwa & Naidoo 2016;DoE 2009;Freahat & Smadi 2014;Gök 2012;Nasser & Oqlah 2014;Swanepoel 2010;Tarman & Kuran 2015). However, high-quality teaching is dependent on the availability of quality and appropriate resources.…”

“…Open Access more attention on the quality of textbooks. This means that the availability of high-quality textbooks is one of the critical factors in the successful implementation of the curriculum (Chirwa & Naidoo 2016;Freahat & Smadi 2014;Swanepoel 2010). What makes a high-quality textbook depends on the presence of characteristics for specific subject area and curriculum requirements.…”

“…A good textbook is therefore one that has the features and characteristics that enable it to support the learners and teachers during the process of learning and teaching (Chirwa & Naidoo 2016;Gupta & Marshall 2010;Mahmood 2011). In addition, a textbook is of good quality if the learners who use the textbook achieve the learning outcomes they are supposed to reach (Jones & Wright 2012;Swanepoel 2010).…”

“…Research has shown that textbooks play a significant role in classrooms internationally (Chirwa & Naidoo 2016;Freahat & Smadi 2014;Gök 2012;Nasser & Oqlah 2014;Swanepoel 2010;Tarman & Kuran 2015). Teachers therefore tend to depend on the textbook that is widely used in many classrooms, sometimes up to 96% (Swanepoel 2010).…”