KITWE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

PRIMARY TEACHERS’ DIPLOMA

Education and Professional Studies

Module 1
EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES SECTION

Programmer Coordinator..........................Mr D.L Chileshe.

Course Coordinator: ...................................Mrs Lumbeta Joyce Chikonde

Authors: .........................................................Mrs. Lumbeta Joyce Chikonde

Ms. Mutale Annie
Mrs. Ngalande Susan Musonda
Mr. Ngenda Ignatius
Mr. Chisefu John
Mr Mwemba Gibson
Mrs Ng’andu Peggy
Mrs Mulenga Evelyn Chipili
Ms Sheba Ireen

Language Editor/s:............................................study area team

Content Editor/s: ............................................... study area team
Graphic Artist/Illustrator: ................................
Instructional Designers: ...................................... Mr Kaoma Blackstone
Mr. Musakalu N. Carlos
Mr Musonda M. Brain

Consultant: .............................................................Mrs. Kasase Stella

Copyright
(c) Kitwe College of Education 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or means, electronic, mechanical,
recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the copyright
owner.
Education and Professional Studies Section
P.O. BOX 22596
KITWE.
 Education and Professional
Module 1
Studies

Acknowledgements
The

Module overview

Welcome to module 1 of Education and Professional Studies. This

is the first module of the four modules you will cover in this
course. Education and Profession Studies is comprised of five
different contributory subjects. As a student, you will be required
to study all the contributory subjects if you are to acquire the
ability to organise children’s learning, the actual teaching skills:
the ability to observe and selected and present material at the same
time understand the children you will be teaching and your
teaching profession.

The module is divided into four units.

Unit 1: Introduction to Education and Professional Studies
The first unit of the module deals with the introduction to
Education and Professional Studies. The unit will introduce you to
contributory subjects which have been integrated to form a study
area.
Unit 2: History and Philosophy of Education in Zambia
The second unit deals with the History and Philosophy of
Education in Zambia. It has started with the discussions on history
and development of education in Zambia, ending with Philosophy
of education.
Unit 3: Child development
Third unit deals with Child development. The unit will introduce
you to different aspects of child development.
Unit 4: Child socialisation
The fourth unit deals aspects of sociology and child socialisation.

5
Education and Professional
Module 1
Studies

Module outcomes

Upon completion of module 1 you will be able to:

 State the contributory subjects in Education and Professional

Studies.
 Demonstrate the understanding of the history and
development of education in Zambia by comparing with the
current and past education systems.
 Analyze stages and types of child development, i.e. Physical,
social, mental, psychomotor, emotion, moral, and language
development, including personality.
 Analyze and appreciate the agents of child socialisation and
sociology of education

Icons used

While working through this module you will notice the frequent
use of margin icons. These icons serve to indicate a particular piece
of text, a new task or change in activity; they have been included
to help you to find your way around this module.
A complete icon set is shown below. Familiarize yourself with the
icons and their meaning before starting your study. (use only the
icons used in the module)

6
 Education and Professional
Module 1
Studies

Activity Assessment Summary Reading

Outcomes Terminology Time Reflection

Timeframe

The whole course will run for two years. At least in a sitting you
are expected to spend two (2) hours reading time. However, the
most important thing for you is to understand concepts concerning
your study area.

Assessments

At the end and within of each portion of your study you find some
activities which you must work before proceeding on your studies.
Answers are provided at the end of the module for all activities
under assessment but for self evaluation activities, there are no
answers.

7
Contents

Module overview 5

Icons used ........................................................................................................................ 6

Timeframe ....................................................................................................................... 7
Assessments .................................................................................................................... 7

Unit 1 3

1.0. Introduction to Education and Professional Studies 3

History and philosophy of education ................................................................ 4

Unit 2 7
History and Philosophy of Education......................................................................... 7
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 7

Unit 3 43
Unit summary ................................................................................................................. 68
Assessment...................................................................................................................... 69

Unit 4 71
Unit summary ................................................................................................................. 81
Assessment...................................................................................................................... 82

Unit 5 86
EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION, ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT 86
Introduction .................................................................................................. 86
There are also Provincial Resource Centres in all the Provinces and these form
part of the Provincial Education Office. Their function is to coordinate and
provide teacher development in conjunction with the District Resource Centres
and Colleges of Education. .................................................................................. 100

Unit 6 114
COMMUNICATION IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ................................... 114
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 114
Unit summary ............................................................................................................... 132
Assessment.................................................................................................................... 132
1. History and philosophy of education .................................................. 134
Unit 1

1.0. Introduction to Education and Professional Studies

Welcome to unit one. This unit talks about Introduction to

Education and Profession Studies.
Error! Reference source not
ound.

Take a moment to think about what education is and what can be

taught in Education and Professional Studies.

This unit will introduce you to different contributory subjects

which have been integrated to form Education and Profession
Studies Study Area. The contributory subjects which have been
integrated are:
 History and Philosophy of Education
 Educational Psychology
 Sociology of education
 Theory and Practice of Education
 Special Education
 Education Media and Technology

As a student, you are required to study all the contributory

subjects if you are to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes to
help you understand the children you will be teaching and your
teaching profession.

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

 Explain the contributory subjects which have been integrated to

form Education and Professional Studies Study Area.
 Apply the knowledge and skills learnt in the various
contributory subjects in a classroom situation.

Sociology: The study of groups of people in a social setting

History: It is the study of the past.

Psychology: It is a systematic study of mental functions and
behaviour
Philosophy: It is the study of ideas with the realities of universe
Special: Something unique

History and philosophy of education

In this contributory subject you will study the history of education
that is the historical development of education. It answers how
education has developed over time from its inception to the
current development taking into consideration the future. It
further discusses the ideas with realities of the universe in general
pertaining to education with critical and analytical ideologies.

Educational Psychology
In this contributory subject your study will focus on Educational
psychology, as a field of study of the child. Psychology is
systematic study of animals and human behaviour (observable
mental processes). The term behaviour includes all aspects of
human activity which we can be observed.
Educational Psychology has endeavoured to apply the findings of
general, social, development, and child psychology and individual
differences to assist to a better understanding of a learning
process.
It further seeks to discover the factors which influence the quality
of learning. This is done by studying the mental; physical; social
emotional behaviour of children and adults.

Sociology of Education
In this contributory subject you will devote yourself to the
understanding education systems; the subject matter including
questions ranging from teacher and student interactions to large
educational systems.
Before the child comes into contact with the society, s/he should
have interacted with the members of the family. When s/he grows
up interacts with members of society upon whom they exert some
educational influence upon.

Theory and Practice of Education

In this contributory subject you will study Theory and Practice of

Education is a two year course which will introduce students to
the theory and practical aspects of education as a sound
foundation for quality and effective teaching and management of
schools and classrooms.
The subject aims at developing professional knowledge, skills and
positive attitudes and also inculcates independent and critical
analysis of teaching and learning processes in students.

Education Media and Technology

In this contributory subject you will be introduced to different
ways that are used in teaching and learning in the classroom
situation.
Educational Media Technology equips students with essential
practical knowledge and skills with modern technology that will
be used in effectively handle the teaching learning processes.

In this unit we have discussed the different contributory subjects

which have been integrate to form the Education and Professional
study area, such as History and philosophy of education,
Educational Psychology, Sociology of Education, Theory and
Practice of Education and Educational Media and Technology
Now that you have finished unit one, can you proceed to the
activity.
 Activity 1.1
List down the contributory subjects which
have been integrated to form Education and
Professional Studies
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Now that you have done the activity, can you check for the
answers at the end of the module and mark yourself.
 Unit 2

History and Philosophy of Education

Introduction
Welcome to unit two. In this unit you will study the history of
education in Zambia. Then look at the development of education
and lastly you will study philosophy of education
Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

 Define Education
 State Types education
 Explain African indigenous
 Describe Western education
 Explain Philosophy of education
 Describe contributions of philosophy of education

Education: Acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes

and values

Informal is a form of education that is not structured.

/Indigenous
Education

Formal learning that takes place in special institutions

education:

Non-formal Is less structured and has flexibility in choice

education: of content and methods
 DEFINITION OF EDUCATION
1. (a) Define education.

Education is defined by different educationists as a product or a

process, but for our purpose we shall define education as a process
that enables one to acquire and develop desired new knowledge,
skill and attitudes.
The word ‘process’ underscores the fact that education is a
continuous activity that never ends. Its only school education that
begins and ends with the time of schooling, but education as such
continues throughout a person’s life. The learner has to be actively
involved in the learning process if the desired knowledge, skills
and attitudes are to be acquired.
The word ‘desired’ implies that some form of learning may be
excluded from education if the society considers it undesirable; for
example, if one learns to be a thief, he would not be regarded as an
educated person. The knowledge, skills and attitudes must be
recognisably worthwhile.

(b) Types education.

(i) Formal education is a form of education:
 Where learning takes place in special institution such as
schools, colleges, etc.
 That is carefully structured by means of syllabuses which
have contents, method and timetables.
 That has the teaching supervised and teachers well
trained and paid to teach.
 That has the outcome assessed by use of tests and
examination and achievement recognized by award of
certificates.

(ii) Non-formal education on the other hand:

 Is less structured and has flexibility in choice of content
and methods.
 Has an open membership and has flexibility in its
timetables and meeting places.
 Is often organized outside the usual formal time in the
school. It may be seen to take the forms of adult education,
family planning programmes, seminars, club activities in
schools, etc.
  Learning may be evaluated or not evaluated at all.
 Is aimed at specific learning needs of a particular group of
people in the programmes, e.g. open learning,
correspondence courses, adult education, etc.

(iii) Informal education is a form of education that is not

structured and which:
 Takes place anywhere and at any time.
 Takes places almost unconsciously.
 Is haphazard and there is no award of certificates.
 Involves what pupils learn as they interact with family
members, peers, teacher, the church and the mass media.
 Leads to the acquisition of good habits and behaviours
during interactions.

(c) In which ways does a school provide formal, non-formal and

informal education?
Formal education takes the lion’s share of the time spent on
learning. The teaching of the subjects in a syllabus by the teachers
is programmed in the schools timetables. Tests and examinations
are used to determine the levels of achievement, and certificates
are awarded to indicate the individual’s performance at the end of
the course.
Non-formal education takes place through games, clubs and
societies such as: young farmers, wildlife, drama, school choirs,
scouting, Christian Union, etc. Some worthwhile habits,
behaviour, knowledge, skills and attitudes are acquired either
consciously or unconsciously.
FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATION
1. Socialisation
2. Social control
3. Social placement
4. Transmitting culture
5. Political integration
6. Agent of change

HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN ZAMBIA (PRE-COLONIAL

PERIOD).
African Indigenous Education
In African society education was inevitable for human survival.
According to Snelson (1974) education is a means by which one
generation transmits wisdom knowledge and experiences which
prepares the next generation for life duties and pleasures
Education in Africa existed even before the advent of the white
man on this continent. This curriculum of traditional education in
any African society was so cleverly set that it gave practical
training to the individual member, who in turn was expected to
play a useful code in society. Even thought the skills of reading,
writing and mathematical computations were absent in traditional
education, still its prime aim of integrating the growing children
smoothly into society proved the essence of traditional education.

Aims of Traditional African Education

Traditional African education aimed at achieving the preservation
of cultural heritage of the extended family, the clan and the tribe.
Adapting members of the younger generations (children) to their
physical environment and teaching them how to control and use
it. Explaining to the youth that their own future and that of their
community depends on the understanding and perpetuation of
the institutions, laws, languages and values inherited from the
past.

The major characteristics of traditional African education

Traditional African education was for most part informal in that
there were no schools or written syllabuses to be followed.
Teachers were not paid and the teacher-pupil ratio was ideal. It
had well varied teaching methods such as games, traditional
dances, riddles and legends; all related to cultures and traditions
of the people. Technical skills were acquired and learned on an
apprentice principle. Education was given stage was from infancy
to the time of marriage and there were no dropouts. Promotion to
the next stage was almost automatic. It was the responsibility of
the community to educate the youth. Discipline was instilled by
means of punishment and reward.

The emphasise in traditional African educational as a way of

preparing an individual for life
Emphasis in traditional African education was on good manners,
obedience to elders, and hospitality to friend. Co-operation in
common tasks, acquisition of practical skills in preparation for
adulthood and self-restraint, endurance of hardships and ride of
membership in a group.

Instances when Traditional African education was formal

Traditional African education was formal when in the evening a
father or mother would narrate a tribal legend, import kinship
knowledge, give advice or explain the meaning of a proverb.
Formal lessons were given before and after circumcision by the
elder brothers and sisters to the initiates.
Girls were instructed by mothers and aunts as to what expected of
them and to whom they owed respect.
Formal education took form of succeeding a stage of initiation
from one stage to another.

Aims of tradition African education achievement

Western education was seen as a way of moving out of poverty
and a ticket for upward social mobility. The Africans wanted to
discover the Western way of life. The ideas and values on which
traditional education was founded lost meaning as Western
education promoted individualism which gives man satisfaction.
Strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths
 It was functional
 It was practical in nature
 It was a unifying factor
 It addressed the immediate needs of the people

Weaknesses
 It is static
 It is conservative
 It has no written records

Abandonment the traditional African education in favour of

Western education
The fabric of our social systems would be disrupted if traditional
education was abandoned as we would lose our identity and
nationality. The knowledge and use of traditional medicinal herbs
is becoming increasingly useful. The society expects children to
continues respecting their elders and uphold such virtues. The
values that were promoted by T.A.E. are still important to us
today as they were then.

Early formal education in Zambia (1890-1924).

Missionary education
Early Christianity Missionary enterprise, however, both in the
field of evangelization and School establishment developed during
the B.S.A Company authority. 1882 Fredrick Stanley Arnot a
Christian Missionary arrived in Lealui, he established a School
between 1883 and 1884 but failed because he could not obtain or
retain pupils.
By 1886 the Paris Missionary Society had established two Mission
Stations, the first at Sesheke in 1885 and the second at Sefula. He
opened school at Sefula, one of the oldest schools in the territory,
forth education mainly of the Lozi Royal Family.

Between 1882 and 1905 there were intense Missionary activities

which lead to the establishment of several mission stations
throughout Zambia. Their desire to establish new missions and
Evangelization, unscrupulous methods were sometimes used to
obtain the favours and support of local chiefs, resulting in bitter
rivalry and even hostility in certain instance.
In 1887, the London Missionary Society established a mission
station at Fwambo in Mbala which was later abandoned. In 1890,
the same missionary society opened another station at Kawimbe
and four years later at Kambole, Mporokoso and Mbershi Mission
Stations were opened in 1900.
Jesuits had visited Lealui in 1881 but had not established their
Mission Stations in Balotsland until in the twentieth century.
White Fathers established Mambwe Mission in 1891, Chilubula in
1899, Chilubi Island in 1903 and Kambwiri in Luangwa Valley in
1904.
The Society of Jesuits established Chikuni Mission in 1905, in the
same year Reverend David Kaunda established the Lubwa
Mission Station for the United Free Church of Scotland. 1887, the
first mission station of the Christian mission in many lands opened
at Johnstone Falls on the Luapula River.

1909, primitive Methodist opened Kasanga Mission and another

station at Kafue in 1916. 1911 University Mission opened stations
at Msoro and Mapanza. In 1912 Wesley and Methodist established
the Chipembi Mission Station.

In the early days of educational development in Zambia, there

were very few, in fact hardly any local teachers who were capable
of giving effective instruction in the three R’s and Bible
Knowledge.

Therefore, whereas education was effective and at mission stations

where the missionary or his wife took the basic classroom lessons,
in the village schools the level of education was generally
ineffective and completely unsatisfactory. Before 1928, there were
few, if any properly qualified indigenous teachers because
opportunities for obtaining a reasonable satisfactory academic
education to the level of standard IV or V were limited. Teachers
pay was poor conditions of service unsatisfactory. School
equipment like chalk, desks, etc were in short supply.
Absenteeism in village schools was the order of the day. Some
missionaries wished to improve the level of educational work but
improvement was difficult to achieve without the necessary funds
from the administration of the British South Africa Company. Lack
of co-operation among missionaries hampered the improvement of
education for example in what is today called the Northern
Province of Zambia, a bitter conflict t raged for several years
between the London Missionary Society and White Fathers who
were alleged to have encroached on the preserves of the London
Missionary Society.

Missionary Education development in Zambia (1890-1924)

The Missionary Organizations that set up Mission Stations in
Northern Rhodesia were linked to their mother bodies in Europe.
The local groups were agents of the metropolitan countries and
were the early pioneers of formal education in Zambia.
Education Programmes varied according to the theological
liberality of the denominations, character of the missionary in
charge, the availability of teaching equipment and the ability of
the pupils. Teacher evangelists who understudied the missionaries
would be employed to go and open up new village schools. The
teacher evangelists used to be iterant in the sense that they would
spend one or two days at one village school and then return to the
mission centre. The missionaries’ possessed very little pedagogical
experience that could be passed on to students some had not even
completed their primary education in Britain.
CURRICULUM
 Religion
 Reading
 Writing
 Home life and Hygiene
 Agriculture
 Geography
 History
 Drawing
 Arithmetic
 Singing

The curriculum was the same for all grade levels. During this
period the organization of education had become well established
and organized into Lower, Middle and Upper Levels.
Lower Levels - Sub-standard A and 2
Middle Level - Standard 3 to 4
Upper Level - Standard 5 and 6

There were no strict age limits when admitting pupils to the first
elementary grade. Those could become teachers for their lower
levels.
The British South Africa Company (B.S.A.Co) that came to occupy
Zambia on behalf of Britain had undertaken steps to occupy the
territory due to economic reasons but did little in the area of
education. Government opened the Barotse National School
(B.N.S) in 1907, years after the company rule. The aim was initially
to provide manpower that was used to build and repair
government buildings and houses for European Officials. This was
the first government school in Northern Rhodesia; no other
schools received government funding.

The Barotse National School

The Barotse National School was one of the oldest schools,
established in March 1907, as a result of the agreement between
the British South Africa Company and Paramount Chief Lewanika.
It was decided that 10 per cent of tax which was collected from the
African living in Barotseland would be set aside for provision of
educational services of the Lozi people. When the school was
opened the enrolment was small with seven pupils but the
numbers increased gradually more especially after it was decided
not to impose any age limits on pupils while accepting even
married pupils for who huts had to be built on the campus. By
1924 approximately 600 pupils had enrolled at the Barotse
National School and its seven out schools in Barotseland.

Barotse National School was high in comparison with schools

elsewhere in the country. The B.S.A Company did not provided
direct financial assistance even to the Barotse National School, yet
the company’s administration on the other hand made financial
provision for the European Children both in what was called
Northern Rhodesia at the time and in Schools in Southern
Rhodesia.
There were two parallel school systems in the country, one
providing the educational facilities exclusively for European
children, and the other for the benefit of African Children, the
European Schools system was more privileged system with
superior facilities and staffed by well qualified teachers. After 1924
however, a system and properly organized pattern of African
education begun to emerge in Zambia. British South African
Company (1883 – 1924)
Between 1883 and 1924 northern Rhodesia was governed by
British South African Company (BSA) owned by John Ceil Rhodes
a British Businessman. Early in 1888 BSA company agents signed a
treaty with Lewanika. The terms of the treaty were that BSA
Company would provide security for Lewanika’s kingdom, build
schools, and open up Barotseland to civilization. In return the
company was given extensive mineral exploration and mining
rights in the whole of Barotseland, which Lewanika claimed. It
extended to the present day Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
At about the same time, different missionary groups entered
Zambia such as:

a) Paris Evangelical Mission

b) London missionary service in North – western province.
 c) Church of Scotland in Northern and central provinces.
d) South African General Missionaries in southern province.

These missionary groups quickly established mission school

independently. Throughout the period of the BSA company rule,
the education system in the country was not under one authority
or ministry it was largely haphazard. The BSA company never
formulated any education policy from 1883 – 1924. The reasons for
not doing so were that:

a) The company did not depend on education Africans to rule

the colony,
b) The company regarded Africans a source of cheap and
skilled labour for their mines and farms.
c) The company was under – capitalized and could not easily
invest in African Education and provision of other social
services.
d) The company also looked to mission education Africans and
those educated in Livingston mission in Malawi to run the civil
service

COLONIAL PERIOD (1924-1964)

Phelps – Stokes Commission (1925 – 1952)

In 1924 British colonial office in London decided to directly
administer Northern Rhodesia. In 1925, colonial office established
an Advisory committee on the committee’s task to formulate an
education policy for all British colonies in Africa. The same year it
was formed, the committee invited the Phelps – Stokes
commission to Zambia to carry out an evaluation of the education
system and to formulate a policy. Phelps – Stokes commission
recommended that education in Northern Rhodesia should be
based on the philosophy of adaptation on cleanliness, helpful
reactions, descent Christian living and elementary practical skills.
Other recommendations were:

a) That colonial office should immediately establish a

department on Native education and appoint a director.
b) An Advisory Board of Education white settlers,
missionaries and indigenous people.
c) Children were leaving the school system without having
their survival skills developed.
 d) Paid employment in urban areas was equally difficult to
find for school leavers at different points.
e) There was a public concern about quality of education
being provided in schools. These public concerns about
how the school system was conducting education in terms
of teaching triggered of the desire to reform it in order for
it to be responsive to the situation in real life.
f) The change in the country’s ideology from capitalist
orientation to socialism and the school system was used to
propagate the new ideology of socialism through
humanism.
FEDERATION EDUCATION (1953-1963)

The federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was established

on 23 rd October, 1953 despite strong opposition from
Africans. Education organisation was racially segregative.
Northern Rhodesia government was responsible for
African education. The federal government was
responsible for education of all other races and for higher
education. There was unbalanced allocation of resources
while Europeans schools received larger shares African
schools received relatively smaller shares. In March 1957,
the University college of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was
opened. Northern Rhodesia Africans (Zambians) viewed
this federal institution with a suspicion and hostility
because it admitted students on a basis of A levels. Teacher
training took a new look when united mission training
college (Dalice) and in 1960 Charles Lwanga and Malcom
Moffat were opened.

THE ADDIS ABABA CONFERENCE- 1961

This conference was held from 15th to 25th May, 1961. It was
an education conference for the rest of Africa. Prior to this
conference, UNESCO organized a series of conferences to
improve education provisions in the third world. The
purpose of the Addis Ababa conference was to:
Establish an inventory of education needs in the
programme in order to meet such needs in the years to
come for Africa. These needs and priorities were for the
purpose of promoting economic and social development
for in Africa. In t5he light of these needs, the conference
was to formulate plans for education development. It
divided the education needs into two:
1. General needs
2. Specific needs

General needs
(a) The expansion of Education with quality in order for
the teachers to have enough educational and
professional credentials.
(b) To re-orient education to economic and social need of
each African country and also to pay attention to the
preservation of the cultural values of each country
(c) To open up education to all citizens without
discrimination – paying special attention to the
educational needs of girls and women

These needs are still stressed even in today’s educational

policy. Education seems to favour the rich, males and
those who are not handicapped.
SPECIFIC NEEDS
(a) Infrastructure ( classrooms and houses for teachers)
(b) Provision of teachers (qualified). There was need to
have a large number of qualified teachers at the
primary school level who must be locals or natives. At
the secondary school level, there was need for a large
increase in the number of expatriate teachers while
local secondary school teachers were undergoing
training.
(c) The school curriculum was to be adapted to local
situations which take into account local needs. There
was also need to increase the use of local examples
and text books and other learning materials.
(d) Education for girls and women was to be considered
important.
(e) There was need to preserve the African culture.
 POST COLONIAL PERIOD (1964-TODATE)

Aims of Education in Zambia after independence

Since Education was paid for from Public Funds and since the
Government represents the people, the aims of Education were
dictated by the Ministry of Education and by the people. In the
forward for Mr. Mwanakatwe’s book, President Kaunda saw the
following as the aims of education in Zambia.
 A clear understanding of the policies, objectives and
problems in Zambia which would help in the building of
National Character.
 To wipe out illiteracy and to bring the benefits of education
to every Zambian.
 To make the learner contribute to the growth of society in
any sphere of activity where s/he was needed and was
useful. This helped in achieving national self-reliance.
 To build a man-cantered society in accordance with the
philosophy of Humanism, to encourage self-discipline and
to contribute to the establishment of a decent world-order.
 The job of narrowing the socio-economic gap between the
rich and the poor nations falls on the poorer nations. In
order to do this, the poorer nations must organize and
employ their recourses through scientific and technical
education.
 To demonstrate that there can be peace, stability and
prosperity in a multiracial society.

Aims of education of the nation were to be realised through the

implementation of the Zambia Primary Course (Z.P.C.) syllabus
which was published by the Ministry of Education Inspectorate,
under the following aims of Primary School Education such as:-
 Through healthy mental, physical and spiritual growth to
develop in the child a sense of his personnel worth.
 To create situations involving the child in the life of the
community through which he can acquire a balanced
awareness of his environment and his place as a citizen of
Zambia and the world.
 To identify and foster talent and initiative; to assist the
child to overcome any handicap.
  To give permanent literacy in a Zambian Language and
English; to develop a spirit of enjoyment in reading and
communicating in the spoken and the written word.
 To assist the child to acquire an understanding of the
arithmetic and scientific skills he is likely to need in
ordinarily life; to encourage a spirit of enquiry and, by
practice in observation and experiment, to build up in the
child a knowledge of basic mathematical and scientific
concepts, and of their relationship to his surroundings.
 To give practical training in simple environmental science
and home craft; to develop in the child a wholesome
attitude to physical labour and an appreciation of the
dignity of any occupation which provides a service to the
community?
 To give opportunity for individual creative expression
thorough Art, Craft, Song, Dance and Drama, to encourage
in the child an appreciation and love of his heritage and
changing culture. Personal conduct based on self
discipline, personnel integrity, respect and consideration
for others.

Being paid by the government, it is our duty to see that in the

course of education the child is brought into such contacts which
will promote these aims. Our teaching should also be geared to
meet these needs of the nation. In order to achieve at least some of
these aims, we should be mature in mind, fit in body and stable in
our emotional life. We should have sound social judgment and set
an example to the children at all times in class and out of class.

DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN ZAMBIA

The development of education at the primary and secondary levels
went hand in hand with the setting up of teacher training
institutions that would train teachers to man schools at different
levels. The earlier forms of teacher training had been undertaken
by the different missionary groups. Among their earliest centres
were St John’s in Mongu, Chilubula in the Northern Province and
Minga in the Eastern Province under the White Fathers. The others
were Chikuni and Charles Lwanga in the Southern Province under
the Jesuit Fathers, Mongu and Lukulu in the Western Province
under the Capuchin Fathers; Malcolm Moffat and David
Livingstone in the Southern Province under the Christian Council
of Zambia, and Katete in the Eastern Province under the Dutch
Reformed Church (MOE Annual Report 1966:70)

Most of the larger ones like David Livingstone, Charles Lwanga

and Mongu were by 1964 engaged in the training of teachers,
especially for the primary sector levels.
The majority of the missionary teacher training institutions were
small units or departments attached to the buildings of the main
mission centres. This was confirmed by the fact that the total
enrolment of all the 16 ‘college’ was a mere 1,283 students by 1964.
The enrolment at the same centres rose to 1,510 in 1966. It was for
this apparent need to train more teachers for the primary and
secondary school sectors that the UNIP government opened more
colleges and also undertook to make extensions to the existing
ones.

The first government colleges to open after independence were

those planned and constructed during the Transitional National
Development Plan period 1965-1966. These were Kasama and
Chipata TTCs for primary school teachers and Kwame Nkhumah
Teachers College. The three colleges opened in 1967. The primary
teachers colleges replaced the units that were found at Minga,
Katete and Chilubula which had closed their doors in 1966. In
time, Mansa Teachers Training College was also opened. Solwezi
Teachers Training College opened in the late 1970s. The college for
Teachers of the Handicapped which had been located along
Leopards Hill Road in the Kabulonga area was moved to its
present premises on the Kamwala Secondary Campus in the mid
1970s (MOE 1975:10)

The UNIP government also built two secondary school teachers’

training colleges during this period. Apart from the Kwane
Nkhrumah Teachers College that we referred to earlier the other
one was the Copperbelt Secondary Teachers’ College that opened
four years later after Nkhrumah, in 1971. Until then, the promises
had been a private college known as St Francis College.

Meanwhile, the University of Zambia which had been opened in

1966 also continued to produce secondary school teachers through
the Institute of Education. In 1969 the Institute became the School
of Education. At Mongu where the mission owned college had
been for women only, the government also undertook extensive
expansions to make room for the training of male teachers. This
work was completed in 1968. Further extensions were also made
to the Kitwe Teachers’ Training College and Malcolm Moffat
Teachers’ Training College.

By 1970, the above extensions had been had completed, and the
colleges were then ready to enrol more students than before. The
Kitwe Teachers College in particular, had a capacity for 500
students instead of the earlier 300. Chalimbana was similarly
extended so that, instead of accommodating only 100 students at a
time, it would now take in at least 300 or more students, after the
extensions were completed (MOE 1975:10).
In Lusaka the Natural Resources Development College was also
set up in the mid 1960s. Initially, the college was meant to train
personnel that would man different sectors of agriculture in the
country. However, many people that trained at this college
eventually became teachers of the newly introduced Agricultural
Science subject in the secondary school sector and at teacher
training colleges.

Some of the qualifications that trainees obtained after completing

their training at teacher training colleges were: T1: a three year
course obtained after entry at college post Form V; U2 was a two
year course for upper primary school teachers. Those who went
for this course did so after completing Form III or Form V Lower
primary school teachers trained for the L2 a two year course that
admitted people who had completed Form II or standard 6 before
the junior secondary school curriculum was changed to three years
leading to Form III. The PTC course was usually offered at
Chalimbana. It was an- service course given to teachers who had
done L2 but would want teach the upper primary school level
(MOE Annual Report 1964:24).

The Kwame Nkhrumah and Copperbelt Colleges offered 2 years

post Form V training for secondary school teachers. While the
former college concentrated on arts, science and mathematics
teachers, the latter specialized on training science and industrial
arts teachers. Graduates were awarded diplomas that enabled
them to teach at the junior secondary school level. Meanwhile
UNZA also offered the Postgraduate Certificate in Education and
the Associateship Certificate in Education both one year diploma
courses. The first one was for secondary school teaching while the
second was for people who would assume various administrative
and teaching appointments at the primary and secondary school
levels. Teachers who wanted to teach at the senior secondary
school level did the four-year degree course that led to the award
of the degrees of BA(Ed) or BSc(Ed) depending upon one’s area of
interest.

TEACHER TRAINING INSTITUTIONS

As we mentioned earlier when we dealt with teacher training for
the 1964-1975 period, the aim of this kind of training was to
increase the output of teachers that would man the primary and
secondary school sectors of education. This was particularly so in
view of the government’s policy of increasing enrolments at the
two levels. Another factor was to lessen expensive dependency on
the recruitment of foreign manpower. In accordance were to be
run by locally trained Zambian teachers. The stress on this policy
was also due to the understanding that local Zambians knew,
understood and appreciated local problems and would therefore
be in a better position to provide realistic solutions to such issues.
It was observed that in 1976 there were 13 teacher training colleges
in the country. In 1976 the number of such colleges had risen to 15.
This number included 10 primary school teacher training colleges,
2 secondary teacher training colleges, 1 in-service college, 1
technical teachers college and one college for teachers of special
education needs.
Below is the breakdown for Teacher Training Colleges:
College Province
Charles Lwanga TTC Southern
Chipata TTC Eastern.
Kasama TTC Northern.
KitweTTC Copperbelt.
David Livingstone TTC Southern.
Mansa TTC Luapula
Mongu TTC Western.
Mufulira TTC Copperbelt
Malcolm Maffat TTC Central
Solwezi TTC NorthWestern
SECONDARY TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE
Kwame Nkhrumah TTC Central
CopperbeltSecondary TTC Copperbelt

Other: Primary and Secondary TTCs

National in-service TTC Lusaka
Copperbelt Secondary TC Copperbelt
College for Teachers of the Handicapped Lusaka
NDRC Lusaka
HONE Lusaka

By 1975, the number of Primary Teachers Training Colleges in

Zambia was eight. Solwezi and Mansa TTCs were under
construction by then. However, owing to the urgent need for
teachers at that time, Mansa TTC had to open in temporary
buildings while construction work went on at the main campus
until a year later in 1977 when the college moved to the buildings.
Similarly, Solwezi TTC was built between 1975 and 1979. when it
finally opened in 1970, Construction work of some of the buildings
was also incomplete until much later (MOE Annual Reports 1975-
1979).

Extensions to some colleges were also made in order to enable

them enrol at least 500 students at a time instead of the envisaged
300 students. The colleges where extensions were made since 1975
were both primary and secondary teachers colleges such as Kitwe
TTC, Copperbelt Secondary Teacher College, Mongu TTC, Kwame
Nkhrumah TTC, David Livingstone TTC, and the National In-
Service Teachers College at Chalimbana in Lusaka Province. Work
at the Mongu Teachers College involved the expansion of building
to accommodate male students while that at NISTCOL involved
mainly the construction of staff houses. At the rest of the college
that we have mentioned the work involved additional buildings to
allow more students than had been envisaged.

By 1978 Kitwe TTC, COSETCO, Nkhrumah TTC and NISTCOL

had reached a stage where they could easily enrol as many
students at 500, full capacity (MOE Annual Report 1978) The only
drawback was the incomplete houses for lecturers at NISTCOL
The other set of colleges: Mongu, Mansa, Solwezi and David
Livingstone could also enrol students to full capacity by 1978
although much work continued to be undertaken with regard to
the expansion programme. Earlier in 1977 the TVTC had been
completed and could now take in students who wanted to train as
industrial arts and commercial teachers to teach mainly in the
secondary sector of the education system.

On the average, teacher training college enrolments between 1979

and 1988 were reasonably high. However, apart from the 1985
high enrolment, the average output tended to decline. This means
that the intended targets of teacher production were not being met
during this period. The table below shows enrolment and output
numbers of students at primary teachers college between 1979-
1988.

Year Enrolment Output

1979 4406 2478

1980 4445 2184

1981 4485 2237

1982 3943 2273

1983 4304 1849

1984 4653 1866

1985 4549 3798

1986 4545 2189

1987 4164 1929

1988 4605 2212

It is possible to attribute the low output inspite of the relatively
high enrolment to a number of factors. For example, there was the
natural attrition rate of students that could not make it at the
examination, usually very low. Some students would level on their
own volition to go and pursue other courses or employment
opportunities outside the teaching profession. It should be born in
mind that by the late 1970s and early 1980s it was still easy for
people to get employed in different sectors of the economy even if
they did not good qualifications. Female students who became
mothers while training would also leave the institutions.

The problem of dropouts also applied to the University of Zambia,

school of Education. There were student who would be redirected
after failing at least half the number of course taken in an academic
year. Some students would also leave on their own wish to go and
work or study elsewhere after having been at the University
leaving the institutions does not seem to have a strong one. Party
as a result of the reasons that we have given the primary and
secondary schools continued to face staffing shortage during this
period. The largest imbalance between Zambian and expatriate
teachers was in the secondary school sector where the number of
expatriate teachers was relatively high but not higher than that of
Zambian teachers between 1975-1990 (Draisma 1987:413; MOE
Annual Report 1975:10)
In 1982 two Ministries, that of General Education and Cultural and
the one of Higher Education were created. The former dealt with
education from per-school to Grade 12 and also continuing
education. The latter concerned itself with teacher training and
vocational colleges and, the Universities of Zambia and the
Copperbelt. In spite of this arrangement, the teacher training
colleges continued to be seen in the same ways as when they had
been under the former Ministry of Education. Perhaps the only
advantage that teacher training colleges had was that it become
possible to devote more time to the colleges under a separate
Ministry than had been the case when both general and higher
education, were under one Ministry

FEATURE OF TEACHER TRAINING AND SUPPORT

INSTITUTIONS
There were there ideas that were derived from the Draft Statement
on Education Reform and, permeated the organisation and
administration of college during the 1976-1990 period, they were:
the principle of self-reliance; the use of college for in-service
purposes; and, as resource centres (Draft Statement 1976:52-53).
Beginning from the time the First President of Zambia proclaimed
the idea of production units in institutions of learning in Solwezi
in 1975, almost all institutions of learning in Zambia took practical
steps towards its implementation. Subsequently the idea was
incorporated into the 1977 Education Reform Document as
something that would liberate the Zambians from a
predominantly colonial education meant from the promotion of
white collar elitism.

For the above reason, there was a wide range of activities related
to production work of one kind or another at teacher training
institutions. Most of the activities were supported by foreign aid in
terms of grants. A good example of such support was that by the
Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) that began in
1981. it involved a grant for the purchase of tools, equipment and
materials for teaching practical subjects such as agriculture, metal
work, woodwork and bricklaying. Since then foreign aid has
played an important role to support the principle and practice of
self-reliance in colleges.
Earlier in 1979 the government mooted the idea of making all
teacher training colleges resource centres. Subsequently the
government sent teams of Inspectors of School and teacher
educators to the United Kingdom to undertake study tours of
resource centres there with a view to setting up the same in
Zambian TTCS and schools. By the mid 1980s there was begun a
resource centre at almost every teacher training college in Zambia.
In the words of the Draft Statement on Education Reform the
Resource Centres would, among other things, be responsible for:
Developing and maintaining a repository of books, material aids
and information on education, and organising ways and means of
serving schools and teachers in the region (Draft Statement
1976:53)

Resource Centres played this role with resolute determination

throughout the 1980s; as was the case with production units, the
Resource Centres continued to receive foreign aid from FINNIDA
and SIDA during this period. The establishment of the Self-Help
Action Plan for Education (SHAPE) in the 1980s was also for the
promotion of Resource Centres and other activities that were
aimed at improving learning and teaching at the colleges and
primary schools during this period through the application of
foreign aid. (SHAPE Report n.d. 63-66.

The resource Centres began to be used when undertaking

programmes of teacher in-service training of longer and shorter
periods. For example, since 1981 several teacher educators’ courses
were mounted at these centres. The courses were aimed at
improving lecturers’ work, primary school teaching in specific
subjects areas and, for different types of educational personnel
such as District Education Officers, Headmasters, Deputy
Headmasters and Boarding Masters.

Several problems be riddled the colleges during the 1975-1990

period. Perhaps the biggest problems appear to have been that of
not satisfying the manpower needs of the expanding system. We
observed earlier that rather than increase the number of colleges
the UNIP government undertook extensive expansion
programmes at most of the teacher training institutions to increase
the intake capacity from 300 to 500 students per year (Third
National Development Plan 1979-1983:339). We also observed that
through the intake of students was quite impressive in terms of
numbers; the output seems to have continued to be adversely
affected by several factors.

However, the biggest problem appears to have been how to retain

staff at both the primary and secondary school levels. The
UNZA/ERIP Report suggests that the shortage of teachers during
this period, especially those of science and mathematics could be
due to insufficient numbers who trained in these fields and, also
bad government policy regarding the training of science and
mathematics teachers. However, it appears the most important
factors were the attractive conditions for teachers in these fields in
the teaching and other sectors within and outside the country that
tended to draw away teachers from the education sector thereby
causing a perpetual shortfall of teachers and lecturers in
institutions of learning.

Successive governments in Zambia have never had a systematic

and well-defined policy for retaining highly training manpower.
The ambivalence in approach to teachers and lecturers conditions
of service has continued to create uncertainty and revulsion in the
minds of the teaching cadres, forcing most of them to leave for
‘greener pastures’. The government wants education but does not
want the teachers and lecturers.

Throughout the development of teacher education some issues of

a general nature have tended to stifle well-intended programmes.
Some of the issues are the perpetual lack of sufficient funds for
running or initiating useful programmes and, the shortage of
infrastructures such as water supply structures and student
accommodation. In spite of these issues, the state shouldered the
entire burden of providing free education during this period,
perhaps making it difficult to attend to lecturers and teachers
welfare.

One of the greatest problems was the non implementation of the

original proposals of education reform contained in the Draft
Statement on Education Reform 1976. For example, what we have
dealt with so far regarding the role of the colleges as in-service
training, resource and productive centres for self-reliance were
ideas taken from the Draft Statement of Education Reform.
However, the rest of the most revolutionary ideas such as the 10-
year basic education and the study and work thrown away by the
alliance of rightwing members of parliament, religious leaders and
the ‘business community’ during the Second Republic period.
Draisma tells us that: True, the revised proposals were a
disappointment to those who had hoped for reforms of a radical
and truly liberatory character. Reforms that would make both the
sub-system of education and society as a whole more responsive
the development needs of large peripheral groups and to national
aspirations of self-reliance, ‚Humanist/Socialist‛ development
(Draisma 1987:429).

EDUCATION POLICY DOCUMENTS IN ZAMBIA

MAJOR EDUCATION POLICIES IN ZAMBIA AFTER
INDEPENDENCE
Education policies are principles that the government sets on
which education system intends to guide and determine present
and future decisions concerned with schools and pupils and the
roles to be played by each stake holder in the education system.
Education policies are usually laid down and implemented by
government with the help of professions like teachers.
Soon after independence, the first policy change on education was
implemented. It is recorded that Zambia had only 100 degree
holders at Independence in 1964 yet Missions, which mainly
provided the education, were established as far back as 1896.The
immediate priorities in education for the native government at
independence were elimination of racial segregation in school,
expansion of education provisions and achievement of rapid
output of high-level manpower. The structure and organization of
the education system were changed, tuition and boarding fees
were abolished and the capacity of the system was substantially
increased. These policy changes in education were in investment
programs known as the Emergency, Transitional, First and second
National Development plans. Major rapid changes in education
like the ones cited above bring about problems. The problem of
quality was identified in the first three Development plans. A
policy change in education was made in the second National
Development plans to address of quality.

EDUCATION ACT OF 1966 CAP. 234 OF THE LAWS OF

ZAMBIA
- Education Act is an act of parliament which regulates the of
education systems in Zambia.
- The bill was passed in April 1966
- The bill became law on 3rd September 1966.
- The bill had to replace the 1956 African Education Ordinary
- Thereafter the 2 systems of education were integrated- one for
non Europeans and another for Europeans.
- Schools were classified as either Fee paying for Europeans or non
fee paying for non Europeans

EDUCATION PROVISIONS OF THE ACT. (234) LAWS OF

ZAMBIA (1966)
The education act is divided into 7 parts thus:-
PART 1.
 Deals with definitions of terms used in the act
 Deals with the functions of the ministry of education
 Deals with establishment, maintenance and closure of govt.
schools and hotels.
  Deals with the registration and control of private schools
 Deals with establishment and incorporation of boards
 Deals with general provision of the act which are intended
to effect the smooth and effective operation of the act as a
whole.

THE ROLE OF THE EDUCATION ACT (234) 1966

 Minister of education is inverted with powers of making
regulations through the statutory instrument.
 The aim of the act is to promote the education of the people
of Zambia and establishment of institution that are
established for the purpose of education of the people of
Zambia.

Education Reforms (1974 – 1977)

Some quarters of the Zambia society felt that the system of
education that was on at the time was not meeting the aspirations
of both the individuals and of the country. The following were
cited as imbalances. About four out of every five children of
primary school going age were actually enrolled in grades 1-7
Children in urban school had the opportunity of competed for
places at grade 4 level and some dropped out.

Children who dropped out of school at grade 4 and 7 levels found

themselves with nothing to do. They had not been equipped with
skills with which they would make a living. Another problem was
that of training and recruitment of teachers which fell far short of
demand.

In response to the identified inadequacies, the ministry of

education embarked upon a comprehensive evaluation exercise of
the education system which started with collection of information
from all key stake holders on education. Draft proposal on
education reform were made in conformity with the philosophy of
humanism and in line with the ruling party policies, by then UNIP
(United National Independence Party). The education reform
exercise took over three years and culminated in the production of
‘Education reform. Proposals and Recommendations’ (October
1977). The proposals concentrated on the general goals and
principles, defining the new main methods of implementation.
They emphasized education as an instrument for personal and
national development.

Education reform movement culminated into the publication of

the 1977 definitive public reform document called ‚education
reforms‛ The underline philosophy of educational reform was to
achieve education through humanism. The cornerstone of this
political philosophy was that the state had control of all economic
dispensations and regarding man as being at the centre of
development.
Private involvement in the provision of education was not
encouraged but grudgingly tolerated due to failure by the state to
meet its obligations.
Among other things, the 1977 Educational reforms aimed at:

 Diversifying the curriculum (Learners to link theories into

practice)

 Combining school with work (Content of education

include practical )
 Providing 9-year basic education
 Giving only a limited opportunity to private involvement
in the provision of education.
 College students’ examinations include continuous
assessments.

Results of 1977 Reforms

 Examinations of grade 7 were abolished
 Practical subjects in schools were introduced
 College examinations of continuous assessment because
part of evaluation of student teacher having
attainment/procedures.
 Loccalisation of school/college examination was done.
Grade 12 changed from Cambridge university)

Focus On Learning (1992 – 1995)

The background of ‘focus on learning’ is the realization that the
1977 ‚Educational Reform‛ could not be implemented in full due
to economic difficulties the country was facing. The ‚Education
Reform Implementation project‛ report was published (1986) in
the wake of Zambia’s break with the IMF on 1 may 1987. As a
consequence of Zambia’s economic break with the IMF and in line
with ERIP report, education was re – organized in such a way that
quality primary education was lasting for 7 years as opposed to
universal primary Education contained in the 1977 Education
Reform.

The 7 year universal primary Education, which is the objective of

focus on learning, was intended to be terminal and an end in itself
I e it was supposed to be comprehensive enough to be complete
hence the need for skills and values that would eventually be
useful to the individual to survive rather than preparing for
individuals for higher grades although this policy prepared pupils
to enter secondary school. The general objectives were:
 To ensure that the focus in all primary school was on real
learning
 To expand and rehabilitate existing primary schools in the
country
 To develop books for primary schools and to equip the
primary schools, with books and other learning materials.
 To transform secondary selection examinations at grade 7
so that it could serve truly education objectives.
 To improve teacher training facilities so as to increase the
number of trained teachers
 To foster teacher morale and competence through
improved professional and administrative support and
through a comprehensive programme of in – service of
Teacher Education.
 To enable the inspectorate to carry out in an effective way
its school monitoring and quality control activities
 To strengthen the organization and management of
education system of individual schools giving special
attention to the roles of school heads.
 To enable undernourished, handicapped and other
disadvantaged school children to profit from school
education.

Educating Our Future (1996 – To Date)

In ‚Educating our future‛ (1996:35) it is stated that in 1996 the
government produced a policy document on education, called
‚Educating Our Future‛ This policy document outlined measures
to be taken in order to address the problems in Zambian education
system. Some of the keys concepts in this document emphasized
on were:-

 Quality: This refers to the content of what is taught in the

schools. The pupils can only stay in school when they value
what they are taught. The community, too, can only value
and support the educational system when they feel that
their aspirations are met by the system. The skills and
competencies learned by their children should be those that
are needed in that community.

 Quantity: This refers to the availability of education

services. The challenge of balance between the over-
enrolment in urban schools and the under enrolment in
rural schools. Quality has also something to do with the
number of available places, as matched with the number of
school going pupils. The number and caliber, of the
teachers, to a large extent, determine the number of places.

 Access: This refers to measures put in place to ensure that

those who are eligible take up the places that are available.
School places could be available but if they are in areas far
away from where the majority of the children stay, no one
can take them up. Accessibility has also something to do
with removing discriminating practices so that everyone,
including girls, could go school.

 Equity: This refers to the distribution of resources. The

resource in and for, education, such as teachers, need to be
distributed in a manner that will ensure that all have
access.

Results of Educating Our Future (1996) Policy

 Policy inter-field of formal institutional education policy-
base on democratization, decentralization and
productivity. Capacity building, cost sharing,
 Partnership e.g. result of a selected teacher training
(ZATEC)
  Education Boards
 Community Participation

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
Philosophy is the study that deals with the ultimate of the
universe and general causes and principles of those things
that man observes and experience. Philosophy is
committed to clarity and reason. Therefore, philosophizing
involves getting clear about the meaning and uses of
words, about the concepts that are behind the words and
about the relevant types of reasons and arguments so that
serious issues may be discussed. Philosophy thus speaks
the language of analysis and reason.

Philosophy as a discipline has many branches; for example

‘natural philosophy’, which concerns itself with the
phenomenon of nature , ‘moral philosophy’, which deals
with the principle of human conduct, ‘political philosophy
which is concerned with economics and organization of
society; and ‘philosophy of education’ which deals with the
principles and practices of education.

What is ‘philosophy of education’?

Philosophy of education is the sum of the practical ideals of
a society in general which guide the content and practice of
education. It seeks to clarify the objectives of education and
the terms used, and to subject to critical judgement issues
in education. Every education practice is guided by a
philosophical thought. Philosophy is the foundation, while
education is the superstructure; without philosophy,
education would be a blind effort and without education
philosophy would be a cripple.

Why is the knowledge of philosophy of education

necessary to a teacher?
Knowledge of philosophy of education is important to a
teacher because it helps the teacher to seek meaning and
clarification of the terms used in education and the
objectives of education. Enables one to subject norms and
content of a given syllabus to critical evaluation. Promotes
one’s level of reasoning and critical judgement about
educational issues. Creates responsibility, effort and faith
in a teacher based on the values systems developed in
 him/her. Guides the teacher in his/her educational practice.
Enables one to understand and emphasize the absolute
value of the human person. Enables one to think about the
basic foundation of his/her outlook. Helps the teacher in
formulating beliefs, argument, assumptions and
judgements concerning teaching and learning.

Western Philosophies of Education

What were the major contributions of the following
western philosophers in education and how have they
influenced education practice in Zambia?
i. John Commenius
ii. Jean Jacques Rousseau
iii. John Pestalozzi
iv. Frederick Froebel
v. John Dewey
vi. Maria Montessori

(i) John Commenius (1592-1690)

The contribution made by John Commenius can be summarised

as the aim of education should be teaching of all things to all men.
That education should appeal to the child’s natural interest; for
example, allowing children to write composition in English
language from topics they are familiar with. That teaching should
be orderly according to the age of the learners. That whatever is
taught should be of practical value to everyday life. That whatever
is to be known should be taught by presenting the object directly
to the child. That religion should be emphasized so that one would
gain control over oneself and the environment. That learning
should proceed from known to unknown. Those children should
learn to do by doing. That punishment should not be used to
motivate learning. That learning should be through experience or
through purposeful activity.

The ideas of John Commenius have greatly influenced education

practice in Zambia in that children in primary schools learn all the
subjects offered in the curriculum. Religious Education is still
emphasized to lay a moral foundation for the learner. There is
more emphasis on practical subjects to make learning practical.
Emphasis is on what children should do to enable them to learn
rather than what the teacher should do. Teacher trainers are
drilled on the practice of developing their lessons starting form
known to unknown. Reward rather than punishment is used to
motive learners. Topics in syllabuses of various subjects take into
consideration the learners’ interests.

(ii) Jean Jacques Rousseau (1772-1778)

Rousseau is considered the father of child –centred education. He

believed that the child is the centre of the learning process and that
its needs and interest at all times must be considered. His major
contributions were that the major aim of education is that of
developing the whole man. That education should be based on the
natural stages of the child’s development and growth. That the
child should be given individual attention. That the child’s early
education should consist of sensory and motor activities based on
its curiosity.
Rousseau’s thinking has influenced education practice in Kenya
today in that the curriculum developers have focused on the
child’s growth and development. The content selected in any
given subject for each grade takes into consideration the stages of
mental development and ability of the targeted children. The class
teacher for each grade is expected to plan and cater for individual
differences; however, the enlarging classes often limit a teacher
from giving attention to every child. Methods/activities that place
the child at the centre of the learning process are emphasized
globally.

(iii) John Pestalozzi (1746-1825)

The belief of John Pestalozzi, like that of Rousseau, was that the
child must be the centre of the education process. His major
contributions were that education should aim at developing the
child from within and not imposing adult standards on it. That
pupil’s activity is the vital method. That oral teaching should be
applied in all lessons. That progress should be from concrete to
abstract; from particular to general (inductive method).

Pestalozzi’s thinking has influenced education in Zambia in the

following ways
 The child is still highly regarded in the process of
education.
  The emphasis in teacher education is one the child as the
centre of the learning process.
 Pupil’s activity is given prominence at the level of the
lesson planning.
 The induction method is one of the many methods used in
teaching in order to engage the learner in the learning
process.
 Oral teaching is emphasized in the teaching of languages.
 The involvement of all the child’s senses in learning is
emphasized.
 The creation of a conducive learning environment is also
emphasized.

(iv) Frederick Froebel (1782-1852)

Froebel recognised that children are naturally creative rather than

receptive and that self-activity is one of the most important ways
in which a child learns. He emphasised the importance of early
childhood education. His other contributions were:
 That play is the best ways of self –expression.
 That socialization is a key principle in learning.
 That children should be encouraged to cooperate with one
another in various activities.
 That children learn through work and play.

He thinking has influenced education practice in Zambia in that:

 He is regarded as the champion of the per-school education
and the father of the kindergarten.
 Play is emphasized as a major method of teaching and an
enjoying way through which children learn.
 Nursery schools in Zambia use play as a way of teaching
and learning for children. Playthings and play are no
longer considered a waste of money and time.
 The teacher’s role is seen as that of a guide and provider of
a suitable environment and play things.

(v) John Dewey (1859-1952)

John Dewey is associated with the project method and child-centre

education. His contributions were that formal education has to be
life itself. Those children prepare best for life by taking an active
part in the life at home, the village and under the community,
through co-operative and active participation in real life
challenges. That the duty of the teacher is one of a guide to the
child – encouraging participation in village projects and assessing
the values of the project by its products.
Dewey’s thinking has greatly influenced education practice in
Zambia in that the project method he advocated is considered a
useful mode of teaching and learning in upper primary and higher
levels of learning. However, it is rarely used in primary schools
due to either lack of experience by the teachers or as a result of an
overloaded curriculum which spares no time for such projects.

(vi) Maria Montessori (1870-1952)

Montessori, like Froebel, saw the value of play in the process of

leaning. Her contributions were based on the following:
 She used carefully designed playthings to help mentally
handicapped children learn. They learnt so well that they
actually outstripped normal children in public
examination.
 She emphasized the need to provide a rich and a suitable
environment in the classroom where the child would be
free to move around and react to it and its playthings
according to the child’s own preference and at his own
pace.
 She did not advocate rewards or prizes as motivation for
learning. The child’s own curiosity and the mastery of the
skill it is interested in is sufficient harmoniously with the
other children in class.

Montessori’s thinking has influenced education practice in Zambia

in that there are a few nursery schools which follow Montessori’s
ideas. The basic problem is one of shortage of properly trained
teachers and poor provision of the variety of materials required in
such schools.
In this unit you learnt about the history of education in Zambia. You also
learnt about the development of education in Zambia and later looked at
the philosophy of education.
Activity 2.1

1. What is education?

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

2. Differentiate the types of education.

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3. What were the aims of traditional African

Education?
Unit 3

CHILD DEVELOPMENT
You have now come to unit 3 which is talking about child
development. What do you think child development is? In how
many ways does the child develop? This unit will introduce you to
various aspects of child development such as pre-natal, general
principles of growth and development, types and stages of child
development. You will also look at the factor that affect child
development and lastly, look at intelligence.
Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:
 Analyze stages of child development.
 Explain the general principles of growth and development.
 Discuss different types of child development.
 Explain the stages of the different types of child
development.
 Explain factors that affect child development.
 Discuss what intelligence is.

Pre-natal: The period between conception and birth.

Suffocation: No air getting in the lungs causing some to

fail breathing.

Physical The growing in size of the body

development:

Social The way the child interacts with others

development:

Mental This is the improvement of the child’s

development: thinking processes from stage to another.

Language Improvement in the way the child

development: communicates with others.

Emotional An outward expression of feelings.

development:

Moral Exercising self-control and consideration of

development: others.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Pre-natal growth
The life of a child begins at conception when the mother’s
reproductive cell (ovum) unites or fuses with the male
reproductive cell (sperm). Each of the above named cells carries 23
chromosomes (hereditary materials) that contains genes
(hereditary factors) that determine individual characteristics).
When the reproductive cells fuse, after fertilisation, the newly
formed cell (zygote) has 23 pairs of chromosomes or a set of 46
chromosomes like any other ordinary body cell. The zygote
becomes implanted on the wall of the uterus and starts dividing to
form a multiplicity of cells which eventually become differentiated
into various body tissues that form body parts during the pre-
natal growth period. The foetus is connected to the uterine wall
(placenta) through the umbilical cord. Through the umbilical cord,
and with the help of the selectively permeable placenta the foetus
receives oxygen, glucose, amino acids, etc., from the mother’s
circulatory system. The foetus develops an independent blood
circulatory system that supplies food and oxygen to its body
tissues and carries away the waste products.

How is the sex of a baby determined?

A normal body cell in a normal human being is known to have a
pair of chromosomes for sex and sex-related traits. A male would
have type XY while a female would have type XX. At the time of
formation of reproductive cells, a male sperm cell would either
have an X chromosomes or a Y chromosome, while a female
reproductive cell would carry X chromosome only. At the time
fertilisation, if the sperm cell carrying the X chromosome fuses
with the ovum X the resulting offspring becomes a female. On the
other hand if the sperm cell that causes fertilisation is carrying a Y
chromosome, the resulting offspring becomes a male baby.

Sperm cell (x) + ovum (x) = zygote (xx) ----- female baby

Sperm cell (y) + ovum (x) = zygote (yx) ----- male baby
It is therefore the father who determines the sex of the baby
although he has no control over it.
Why are some children born twins?
Twin formation may be as a result of the following processes:
 The mother night have two ripe ova at the same time ready
for fertilisation which will be fertilised by two different
sperm cells and develop independently to form fraternal
twins – which are not alike. The two siblings may be of any
sex.
 An ovum that has been fertilised splits into two cells that
develop independently resulting into identical twins. These
are of the same sex.

What factors are likely to affect the growth of unborn babies?

The factors that are likely to affect the growth of unborn babies are
related to heredity and environment:
Heredity: the chromosomes determine the sex of the babies. The
various genes located in the chromosomes determine the shape
and character of physical growth of the baby from the time of
fertilisation. Genetic disorders may have harmful effects on the
growth of a baby.
Environment: the environment of the unborn baby is the mother’s
womb. If the mother’s health is poor the child developing in her
womb is affected too.
The diet of the mother: an expectant mother who is malnourished
is likely to give birth to an underweight baby or retarded one.
Exposure to radiation such as x-rays may damage genes in the
cells of the developing foetus and may result into development of
body disorders.
Incomplete rhesus factor (RH) between the father’s and mother’s
blood may cause a second or third –born baby to suffer jaundice
especially when the mother is Rhesus negative and the father is
Rhesus positive.
The emotional state of the mother such as worries, shock, etc., may
lead to miscarriage.
Prolonged labour may cause suffocation or damage to the delicate
brain tissue. The delivery process if poorly attended may be
equally harmful.
The age of the mother affects foetal development; the older or
younger mothers pose danger to the baby at the time of birth
complications may arise.
Drugs taken during pregnancy e.g., alcohol, are known to have
harmful effects on the foetus. Thalidomide causes babies to be
born without limbs.
Maternal diseases such as sexually transmitted diseases including
HIV/AIDS, anaemia, German measles have negative effects on the
o the development of the foetus.
General Principles of Growth and Development
Growth and changes in behaviour are orderly and for the most
part occur in invariably sequence, e.g. the head, eyes, trunk, arms,
legs, genitals, and internal organs, develop in that order and at
approximately the same pre-natal ages in all foetuses.
Development takes place in a pattern and is continuous, but it is
not always smooth and gradual e.g. physical growth is rapid in
children during the first year and when they are in pre-
adolescence stages.
There are critical or sensitive periods in the development of certain
body organs and psychological functions. Interference with
development during these periods may result in permanent
deficiencies or malfunctions, e.g. heart, eyes, lungs, kidneys, etc.,
may suffer permanent organ damage.
All the individual characteristics and abilities as well as
developmental changes are the products of maturation and
experience, e.g. child cannot be taught how to walk until its neural
and muscular apparatus have matured sufficiently. Once the
organs concerned are ready, children improve their way of
walking with experience and practice.
Almost all human characteristics are the product of a series of
complex interactions between heredity and environment. The
genetic factors set the limits of a given trait such as intelligence,
but the environment determines how much of the potential can be
realised.
The growth pattern is unique in each child; some are fast while
others are slow.
A child is expected to grow physically, mentally, linguistically,
emotionally, morally, socially, and spiritually.

Social
Physical Mental

Moral CHILD’S
GROWTH Linguistic

Emotional Spiritual

Importance for a teacher to have knowledge about growth and

development of children?
The knowledge of how children grow would help a you to
understand subject traditional beliefs about children’s growth and
development to critical evaluation based on scientific findings.
Identify the various stages of mental development and provide
suitable learning experiences that would further mental
development. Select and adapt methods of teaching that are
suitable for effective teaching and learning for a given phase of
development. Deal with emotionally disturbed children in his
class appropriately. Identify and provide for individual differences
among members of his class. Meet the needs of his pupils at each
stage of development. Understand and explain certain behaviours
exhibited by pupils of a give age. Make provisions for the
development of whatever potentialities pupils have.

MAJOR STAGES OF CHILD GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

The major stages of child growth and development after birth are:
Infancy: 0 – 2 Years
Early Childhood: 2 - 6 Years
The child is at pre-school in this stage.
Late Childhood: 6 – 12 Years
A child is in primary school in this stage.
Adolescence: 12 – 18 Years.
Adulthood: Over 18 Years.
PHYSICAL GROWTH
Factors that influence physical growth of children
Physical growth of children is influence by:
 Heredity: this sets the limit of the development of the
traits of an individual, e.g. sex, size of the ears, eyes, height,
intelligence, etc.
 Nutrition: poor diet will lead to retarded growth and
unbalanced diet will bring diseases such as kwashiorkor.
 Illness: an illness that lasts several months can severely
disturb the growth of especially poorly fed children.

Psychological and social factors children bought up in very harsh

environments with little love may suffer retarded growth. The
height and weight of children from good socio-economic
environments are generally better than those from low socio-
economic homes.

Growth Chart

Growth Rate
Growth rate is rapid with the first two years of life but slows down
between 2 and 6 years to allow for consolidation. It is slow and
steady during the age of 6 – 12 years (during late childhood). A
second phase of growth spurt begins from an average age of 12 –
16 years during puberty. Growth rate slows down and levels off
after the age of 18 years.

PROBLEMS OF ADOLESCENCE
Children between 12 and 18 years are in the adolescence stage. The
following are the problems associated with children of this age:
 Rapid growth changes in their bodies which may be a
source of worry especially for those who are early
maturers.
 Girls who fail to develop breasts and boys who fail to
develop secondary sexual characteristics fear and
withdraw from peer group play.
 Meeting their needs for independent and social approval.
 Relating to members of the opposite sex to whom they feel
attracted.
 Others feel frustrated when their needs are not met and
have deep feelings of their emotions.

Activity 3.1

Explain how the sex of a baby is determined?

.............................................................................................

............................................................................................

As teacher, why is it important for you to have

knowledge about growth and development of

children?

.............................................................................................

.............................................................................................

.............................................................................................

.............................................................................................
STAGES IN PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
.............................................................................................
Infancy (0 – 2 years)
.............................................................................................
The child develops very quickly during this time. The body
............................................................................................
Weight increases from the average of 2.5 kg to about three times at
the end of the first year. The brain size increases from 25% of
ultimate child brain weight to 50% by the end of the first year. At
five months sitting is fully achieved. By eight months the child can
walk with help. By nine months it can take its first step. By ten
months it can walk without help. By the time the child is two
years; it can run, jump and climb.

EARLY CHILDHOOD (2 -6) YEARS

Growth slows down in the second and third year of life and a
period of stagnation follows. For children who receive proper care,
growth is steady and at three years the child will be approximately
half the ultimate average adult height. The child will begin to
assume the body proportion of an adult; legs grow more rapidly
and represent about half of the child’s height. Growth of the head
is slow and the trunk’s growth is intermediate. The brain will
develop to about 90% of its adult size. The child will have
increased coordination of hands, legs and body muscles. Older
children within this age range will be ready to engage in a lot of
exercises such as climbing, running, and playing games.

LATE CHILDHOOD
Growth rate slows down but remains steady. Between ages of 5
and 10 years, the height of both boys and girls is distributed over
almost identical ranges. The rate of development for boys and girls
is also nearly identical before the growth spurt in puberty sets in.
The brain size is nearly at the maximum. Towards the end of this
period at the age of 10 onwards, the pre-adolescent growth spurt
sets in. A sudden increase in height and weight may result, which
is often greater in girls than in boys. Differences in height and
weight which are associated with socio-economic status of parents
become more pronounced during this period when children are in
primary school. There is increased manual dexterity, increased
strength and increased resistance to fatigue as children become
older. Boys and girls begin to differ in motor skills as a result of
different activities they perform at home and the culture
expectation of them.

ADOLESCENCE (12 – 18 YEARS)

This stage is characterised by a growth spurt associated with the
onset of puberty. The hormonal secretion from the pituitary gland
initiates growth changes. This growth spurt occurs earlier in girls
(10 -23) than in boys (12 – 15 years). There is a marked increase in
height and weight. At the age of 13 years girls are heavier than
boys of the same age, but at the age of 15 years, boys are heavier,
thus overtaking the girls. Secondary sexual characteristics become
apparent the pelvic bones of the girls widen, breasts enlarge, pubic
hair grows, and a first menstrual period is experienced. The voice
also changes and becomes sweet. The boys’ testes become larger,
pubic hair grows, the voice-box enlarges and the voice breaks,
shoulders and neck widen and have increase in weight and height.
Early maturing boys tend to look feminine in body structure while
late maturing girls tend to look more masculine.

MENTAL DEVELOPMENT
Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
The major purpose of most of Piaget’s studies was to identify the
thinking process among children and form links, and eventually
make conclusions, about the general pattern of mental
development. Piaget used clinical studies to come up with stages
of mental development.

STAGES OF MENTAL DEVELOPMENT

Sensori-motor stage (0 – 2 years)
A child who is in the sensori-motor stage is capable of the
following operations; at birth, mental skills are limited to reflex
actions of grasping, sucking and general body movements. Soon it
learns to differentiate those objects that are pleasant to suck from
those that are not. It learns to hold things that are put in its hands
and to repeat actions that are pleasing e.g. dropping a bunch of
keys that produces a pleasant sound each time it is given to
him/her. Eventually it develops a notion of permanence. It learns
that objects have permanent existence e.g. a child will cry for an
object that is taken away and reject any substitute. It has learnt that
the object continues to exist even when it is out of sight.

Pre-Conceptual Stage (2 – 4 Years)

The child learns to talk as the vocabulary increases; its power of
thinking improves. It learns to represent absent
objects/things/events by the use of sound and imitative actions e.g.
stone becomes a car. Girls learn to play the role of mother e.g.
pretending to cook. Children become creative and constructive in
their plays. They like asking questions, wanting to know the how
and why of many things. The child is egocentric – it sees
everything in relation to self. It thinks every object has life and
feelings. It reasons by going from one particular instance to
another in order to form pre-concepts, e.g. that its father is a man
and any other man is also ‘daddy’.

Intuitive Stage (4 – 7 Years)

At this stage children are able to conserve quantity, length, volume
etc. They are capable of classifying objects based on simple
characteristics such as colour, size and shape at a time. They can
observe and experiment with purpose. They have difficulty with
time sequence, e.g. they find it difficult to put the day’s events in
order. They problems with cause and effect relationships, e.g.
when they see the branches or leaves of a plant swaying, they may
refer to the phenomenon as wind yet it is the wind that causes the
leaves and branches to move.

Concrete Operation (7 – 11 Years)

In the concrete operation stage (middle primary school level) a
child; able to conserve, capable to reversibility in its thinking,
understands that most of what is done can be undone. Capable of
perceiving relationships at a time. Make a two-way classification
of objects based on colour and size at the same time (multiplication
of classes). Able to think about actions that it previously could not
carry out practically, e.g. can form classes and series mentally. Can
compare and contrast things, situation, etc. Is incapable of trying
to hypotheses step by step. Enjoys learning new skills through
constructive actions. Have difficulties in dealing with verbal
problems (unable to deal with abstractions).

Formal Operation (11 Years Onwards)

Pupils at this stage:
 Are able to reason without the need for concrete materials
or real objects.
 Think beyond the familiar to the unknown.
 Are capable of dealing with more complex relations.
 Are capable of reasoned-out arguments.
  Can criticise an idea and put forward opinions with
supportive evidence.

INTELLIGENCE
What is intelligence?
Intelligence is defined in various ways depending on the purpose
and orientation of each research. However, the following
definitions are most common:
 A composite of abilities to grasp relationships.
 The ability to act purposefully and to think rationally.
 The ability to use past experience for the solution of
present and future problems.

Intelligence is therefore a measure of cognitive ability.

What characterises intellectual development?

Intellectual development is characterised by increased abilities
such as remembering events, dealing with symbols, mastering
remote events and stimuli, benefiting from a systematic interaction
with adults, dealing with several alternatives simultaneously and
reasoning. Intelligence therefore, grows throughout childhood and
adolescence, but the rate of development differs in children of
similar age.

Factors influencing intellectual development

Heredity and environment play a contributory role in intellectual
development. The environment provides experience with its
problems that have to be solved. Thus the more meaningful, useful
and relevant the environmental experience is the more rapidly
intelligence develops; the more easily will problems from that
environment be solved and the more intelligent the individual
functioning in that environment will become. Thus for intellectual
development to function without restriction, education must be
based on the cultural environment related to local needs.

Measurement of intelligence
How do you measure intelligence? Alfred Binet (1904) was the first
to develop a useful intelligence measurement test in 1940 for
children aged 2 – 8 years.
Concepts used in intelligence measurement are:
 Chronological Age: this is the actual age of the individual
from birth.
 Mental Age: this is the age in terms of mental development.
 Intelligence Quotient: this is the ratio between mental age
and the chronological age.

The formular used is:

IQ = Mental Age x 100
Chronological Age
Precautions taken when measuring the intelligence of pupils one
should select a test that is suitable for the culture of the pupils
being tested e.g. language suitability. A low intelligence test score
should not be taken to mean that a child cannot achieve
educationally. The information of intelligence deficiencies should
be used as a guide to action rather than excuse to inaction. The
teacher should be aware that parents would not like to learn that
their children are labelled as dull ore average performers. Slower
rates and low motivation may affect the scores.

Importance of measuring intelligence of pupils

The more intelligent an individual is the more benefits he/she will
be able to get from learning situations. The knowledge of pupils’
intelligence can be used in the grouping of pupils for the purpose
of providing for individual needs to enhance cognitive
development. It can be used for placement of pupils in different
categories of schools. It can be used in guiding pupils who may be
experiencing learning difficulties. It can be used to predict what to
expect from a given child in education achievement.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Functions
Language serves the following functions: it enables a child to get
things done for him/her. The child uses language to regulate or
control the behaviour of others. It is used by a child to interact
with others. It can be used to express individuality within the
concept of self as an actor. It can be used as a means of
investigating reality, also as a way of learning about things. It can
also be used to explore imagination, e.g. through stories, dramatic
games, etc.
The Role of Language in Cognitive Development
Helps in labelling – naming objects and events in the environment.
Aids in the process of association, e.g. book-reading, cup-drinking,
dog-barking etc. So as to simplify understanding i.e. to help in the
transfer of ideas, conceptual learning and retention. It aids
abstraction and categorisation.

STAGES IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Infancy (0 – 2 years)
The earliest form of communication is through crying, children cry
to express discomfort, anger and distress. By about five months
the child bubbles words equivalent to mama, baba, tata etc. From 9
– 10 months they are capable of imitating the mother’s or adult
speeches that they are familiar with. They can comprehend a
language before they can speak. From 20 - 24 months they can
combine words into phrases and eventually to simple sentences.
At the age of 2 years they can form a few complex sentences. They
can represent objects with symbols through associations and
represent events by use of word associations.

Early Childhood (2 – 6 years)

Development of language is very fast because the child is able to
speak and understand. Its talk is mainly that of asking questions,
wanting to know the how and why of many things. It is able to use
language as a way of learning about things and events. Language
assists children to understand abstract concepts and to describe
events.

Late Childhood (6 – 12 years)

Children of this age have full control of the first language use.
They can speak fluently, describe and explain actions and events.
Majority of children at this stage are in primary school.

Adolescence (12 – 18 years)

They have mastered the language of their culture. They have good
command of social and flowery language to the extent to being
poetical. Peer language is developed and it can be used to keep off
adults from the adolescence discussions.

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Emotions are outward expressions of inner feelings which are
aroused by ones behaviour or that of others. At the same time
emotions lead to behaviour towards oneself and towards others.

Signs of Emotional Expressions among Pupils

Pleasure may be expressed in form of smiles, play, laughing,
tickling, elation, humour, zest, etc. Anger at four years may be
expressed by use of gestures, verbal aggression, sticking the
tongue out, mimicry, grimaces, calling names, bragging, boasting,
and threatening. Adolescents express anger in a more subtle way.
This includes sarcasm, swearing, gossiping and plotting. Some
adolescents and adults express anger like children – they boast,
shout, bluster and walk out. Fear is expressed by tense muscles,
very high pulse rate, rate of breathing rises, sweating, fidgeting,
uneasiness, etc.
Emotions such as love, tenderness, zest, joy elation, pleasure,
humour and laughter facilitate learning. Other emotions such as
fear, anxiety, guilt, jealousy and anger inhibit learning.

What are the general trends in emotional development?

Emotional reactions accompany all human activities. Emotional
reactions in children become more and more specific as they grow
from early childhood to adolescence. Emotional feelings and
reactions initially function automatically. Control is, however,
often imposed on these initial automatic reactions. People in our
environment and our cultural setting influence our emotional
reactions. The way we develop and express certain responses is
determined by our culture, our learning and our motivation.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Socialisation is a process by which persons acquire the knowledge,
skills and dispositions that makes them more or less integrated
members of their society. There are two processes of socialisation
namely:
Status socialisation – an in individual is prepared to occupy a
generalised status in life. It is basically involves the learning of the
ways of life of the family and the community.
Role socialisation – an individual is prepared for a specific
vocation or function in society.

Identify the social behaviour patterns exhibited by children as they

interact with their peers.
 Social communication: This includes language and
gestures, looks and smiles, handshakes, bowing and
bending or kneeling when greeting or saluting other
people. These depend on the culture in which one belongs.
 Play: This is a form of recreation that has great educational
value. Through play, children practice the roles they will
later be called upon to play as adults.
 Social cooperation: This develops gradually in children as
they grow older. Play and group activities give children the
opportunity to learn cooperation.
 Social completion: When children relate to other children
they do not always shoe cooperation, competition seems
natural for children.
 Social aggression: This includes all forms of insistent social
behaviour shown by a person in order to achieve a social
goal.
 Social prejudice: This is a pattern of hostility in opinion,
attitude or expression directed against an entire group or
its individual member.
 Friendship: This leads to developing of cliques.
 Leadership: Where some children stand out and can lead
others.

STAGES OF SOCAIL DEVELOPMENT

Infancy (0 – 2 Years)
By the age of four months the child responds discriminatory to its
mother’s facial expressions, e.g. it smiles when smiled at and cries
when mother’s facial expression is harsh. By the age of one year to
responds meaningfully to hand gestures that are meant to show
friendship. It spends most of its time in solitary play. It plays
alone, and amuses itself’ It shows aggression and at one year it
invites adults to its play.

Early Childhood (2 – 6 Years)

The child shows interest in parallel play. At the age of five years it
engages itself in shifting group play. Friendship keeps shifting –
the child has a friend today and a different friend the following
day. Cooperation begins with sharing toys and learning to take
turns on the swing, slides etc. The children engage in competitive
activities as a group. Children o both sexes play together without
any discrimination.

Late Childhood (6 – 12 Years)

During this stage their social circles widen when they enter school.
They form peer groups of separate sexes and engage themselves in
organised group play which are often prolonged. They show social
cooperation, team spirit and loyalty to the group. They also show
aggression.

Adolescence (12 – 18 Years)

There is attraction towards members of the opposite sex at this
stage. They show cooperation in team games, school projects, and
drama production. They crave for acceptance in peer groups. They
show social aggression in more subtle and mature forms than
younger children.

MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Morality is a social variable which involves exercising of self-
control and consideration of others. It is the ability to draw a
balance between what is due to oneself and what is due to others.
It involves the development of the ability to postpone immediate
pleasure for satisfaction in the future. Morality is however relative
–what is moral in one community may be immoral in another.
Morality is learnt through punishment, rewards, unconscious
imitation of others and constructive – reflective thinking.
The basic moral behaviours that pupils should acquire include
honest, respect for other people’s property, have respect for the
truth, develop respect for other people’s feelings, tolerant and
acquire self control.

STAGES IN MORAL DEVELOPMENT

There are four stages in moral development identified by Piaget

Egocentricity (0 – 2 Years)
At this stage the child’s major need is its own personal satisfaction.
It is not capable of consideration for anyone, and reacts without
restraint. The idea of morality is not yet understood.

Moral Realism (2 – 4 Years)

At this stage the child develops its first conception of right or
wrong based entirely on what its parents permit or forbid. For it,
things are absolutely right or wrong and there is no relativity. Play
at this stage is imitative.

Reciprocity (4 – 9 years)
At this stage the child learns that rules are made by people and
are subject to modification. Its concept of morality is still largely
one of conforming to the given rule.

Stage of equity (10 – 18 Years)

At this stage, the child is able to see the motives, reasons and
circumstances behind the execution of rules. At this stage, it is also
able to see flexibility of rules.

In light of the devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic what social and

moral values should schools seek to inculcate in pupils?
 Self –respect and respect for others.
 Being responsible for ones action.
 Exercising self control even when one is free to act.
 Being honest to one’s real self.
 Tolerating others.
  Love for those infected or affected.
 Cooperating with others to fight/eradicate the pandemic.
 Showing humility by listening and accepting others.
 Asserting oneself.

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
Meaning and types of personality

What is personality?

Personality is the total sum of the ways in which we as individuals

characteristically react to ourselves, to our experiences and to
others.
It is more or less the enduring organisation of a person’s character,
temperament, interest and physique which determine his/her
unique adjustments to his/her environment. It is the projection of
ourselves to others. It is not what we think ourselves to be like, but
ourselves as other ‘see’ us. The concept of personality implies the
following characteristics:
 It starts with heredity.
 It is a dynamic (changing) and growing entity.
 It includes behaviour as well as physical attributes.
 It includes what we can see and what we cannot see.
 It involves the capacity for maturation of physical and
intellectual potential provided that the environment
factors are right.
 It grows changes and manifests itself in the social
surroundings of human relations.

Characteristics that are commonly used in describing personality

of individuals
The characteristics that are used to describe different personalities
are:
 Physical - e.g. complexion, height, weight, etc.
 Moral values - e.g. a thief, untrustworthy, a wreck, etc.
 Sense of social responsibility and fear of social sanctions.
 Stable marriage and family pattern.
 Motivational disposition – e.g. hardworking, lazy, etc.
 Politeness, submissiveness, talkativeness, sociability,
shyness, consistency, etc.
 Interests – likes and dislikes.
 Intelligence – brilliant, clever, competent, etc.
 Clearly prescribed and accepted sex roles.

1. The table below shows the description of personality

characteristics of four pupils (A.B.C.D). Study the personality
characteristics of each pupil and then answer the questions that
follow.
PUPIL PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS

A Is touchy, restless, excitable, changeable,

impulsive, optimistic, active

B Social, outgoing, talkative, responsive, easy-

going, lively, careful, leader-like

C Passive, careful, thoughtful, controlled,

reliable, even-tempered, calm

D Moody, anxious, rigid, pessimistic, reserved,

unsociable, quiet

(a) Using the Eysencks classification of personality which is

given below, assign the appropriate name to each pupils to match
the description of their personalities.

Name given to personality

 Stable extrovert
 Unstable extrovert
 Stable introvert
 Unstable introvert
 Pupil A has a description that fits an unstable extrovert.
 Pupil B has a description that fits a stable extrovert.
 Pupil C has a description that fits a stable introvert.
 Pupil D has a description that fits an unstable introvert.

(b) Who amongst the four pupils need the teacher’s help?
Give reasons for your choice.
Pupils A – (unstable extrovert) is in need of the teacher’s help
because he/she is in most cases troublesome and often gets
punished. Punishment merely increases his/her natural
aggression. He/she is a child who is likely to drop out of school.
He/she therefore needs a great deal of teacher’s help.
Pupil B – (unstable extrovert) is troublesome because he/she
cannot keep quiet for long. He/she is lively and is likely to
entertain the rest of the class with stories when the teacher is
away. He/she can easily mislead others.
Pupil D – (unstable introvert) would need the teacher’s help most.
This type of pupil is unhappy, quiet and reserved. Other pupils
are likely to tease him/her, bully or even ignore him/her. He/she is
unlikely to share his/her grief and problems with other pupils, and
therefore suffers silently because he/she has no outlet for the
frustration he/she experiences. He/she is unlikely to succeed in
his/her class work because he/she is unable to concentrate. He/she
is withdrawn and lonely. Such a pupil is likely to keep off school if
bullied by others or if he/she finds that he/she is not achieving
academically.

(c) Which pupils are likely to succeed in class work if all the
pupils are of average intelligence?
Pupil C – (the stable introvert) is likely to succeed in his/she class
work because he/she remains calm and is thoughtful. He/she is
likely to concentrate more and benefit from class work.

2. (a) Distinguish the following types of personalities.

i. Extroverts
ii. Introverts
iii. Ambiverts

(i) An extrovert is an individual who is optimistic, talkative,

responsive and lively. He/she prefers the world outside
himself/herself. The extremes are outgoing friendly type and are
aggressive personalities.
(ii) An introvert is one who prefers satisfaction with the world
within himself/herself. He/she enjoys being alone, he/she retreats
to his/she world when he/she encounters difficulties in life. He/she
is often shy and cautious. Extremes are prone to maladjustments
or behaviour disorders such as depressions and hallucinations.
(iii) An ambivert is neither extrovert nor introvert. He/she either
seeks the quiet life of the moderate introvert or the eventful life of
the moderate extrovert.

(b) Why should a teacher have knowledge of personality

development?
The teacher should have knowledge of personality development to
enable him/her to shape the personality of pupils and know how
best to do it. To enable him/her to understand, explain and predict
the behaviour of his pupils. Thus he is able to guide and counsel
his pupils effectively. Because learning is affected by personality
characteristics that a pupil and a teacher bring to bear. Because
personality is a dynamic process and it calls for behaviour
adjustments by an individual as a result of which the child often
faces conflicts and frustration. Such changes should be well
understood by the teacher so that he/she provides the required
counselling.

FACTORS INFLUENCING PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

The factor that influence personality development
Personality development is influence by:
(i) Heredity – tallness or dwarfism, sex, growth of hair,
colour of eyes, body complexion and various physical
characteristics are to a large extent determined
genetically. Heredity also determines the potential of
other characteristics such as intelligence and aptitude.
(ii) Environment – this determine how much of the set
genetic potential shall be realised. What we become
also shapes our personality. The following are some
examples:

The physical appearance of one influences the way one views

himself/herself, thinks of himself/herself and the attitude one has
towards himself/herself. Boys who are too tall and muscular for
their age more likely to be self-confident and outgoing. The
weaker ones tend to establish negative self-concept.
Homes have influence on development of individual personality;
children from democratic homes are often rated high in
leadership, activity, outgoingness, assertiveness, creativity,
originality, constructiveness, curiosity and disobedience. In
contrast, children brought up in homes rated high in control and
characterised by many clear-cut rules, prohibitions and
restrictions, tend to be quiet, well-behaved, shy, socially
unassertive, inhibited, highly conforming and lacking in curiosity
and creativity.

A child develops a sense of security and learns to give affection as

a result of being continually with its mother or other substitute
and receiving care and affection from her. Young children who are
separated for their mothers for long periods of time may develop a
sense of insecurity. If they are continually deprived of their
mother’s care and warmth they become affectionless individuals.
Such children are problem children. They do not care what others
think of them and they have no feelings for others.

Later in life the child’s personality is shaped by the father

particularly so for boys. If the father’s characteristic behaviour
patterns are admired by the son, he copies such behaviour and
develops those behaviours that are reinforced by the father.
The peer influence on personality development is equally
important. The need for conformity with the cliques make some
children do things they would never do by themselves. Peer
groups teach sex roles, acceptable social behaviours, interests and
expressive and stylistic traits.

The role that a school play in shaping the development of a

pupil’s personality
A school plays an important role in shaping the personality of a
pupil, bearing in mind that a significant part of a pupil’s life is
spent in school. The teacher in a school substitutes the parent. His
behaviour plays a significant role on the child’s development.
Autocratic class atmosphere tends to create aggression and
hostility. A democratic set up leads to constructive, thoughtful and
co-operative behaviour.

A school poses new problems to be solved, new taboos to be

accepted and new models to be imitated. Children experience
integrative teaching and develop positive personality traits of self-
reliance, independent thought and co-operative attitude.

Children who repeatedly fail in examinations become cruel,

unfriendly, unhappy, quarrelsome, impolite, boastful and selfish.
The school should therefore train the pupils how it wants them to
behave. If the school wishes the pupils to be dependably stable,
sincerely motivated, and ethically oriented, it should treat them
accordingly.

How the society influence the personality development of an

individual
Personality of an individual grows out of the social fabric in which
he/she lives. Each society has a culture, a body of stored
knowledge, characteristic ways of thought and feelings, attitudes,
goals and ideas. Culture regulates our lives at every turn, from the
moment we are born until we die. There is constant pressure upon
us to follow a certain type of behaviour that other men have
created for us.
Culture influences the personality development of an individual in
the following ways:
 Internalisation of values, ideas and customs through
the process of learning from the time of birth.
 Institutionalisation, e.g. various religions, prayers,
books and cultural programmes that influence the
behaviour of people.

FRUSTRATION
Frustration is an unpleasant feeling that results when motive
satisfaction is blocked delayed or interfered with. The stronger the
motive or drive, the more severe the frustration becomes. Also, the
nearer one is to achieving the goals, the greater is the frustration.
For example, a pupil may be frustrated if he/she is shut out form a
science lesson if it is the subject he/she likes most.

The signs of a frustrated pupil

A frustrated pupil is likely to show the following behaviours:
 Exhibition of unjustified emotional outbursts, e.g. crying,
whimpering, sighing, etc.
 Aggressive behaviours, e.g. banging desks, scolding other
pupils, etc.
 Placing blame on others for his/her own failure.
 Withdrawal from participating in class.
 Day-dreaming while in class.
 Fidgeting and restlessness.
 Thumb sucking, nail-biting or accelerated gum-chewing.
 Expression of rudeness to the teachers or other pupils.

The possible sources of frustrations among pupils

Frustrations among pupils may be caused by failure to achieve a
desired goal, e.g. academic failure due to careless mistakes, lack of
books to read, limited time to study, etc. Personal limitations or
inadequacies, e.g. when a pupil feels that he/she is less intelligent
 than others that he/she is unlikely to do because he has fallen sick,
or that he/she is too short compared to his/her age mates. Other
pupil’s actions, e.g. lying and cheating and other misbehaviours.
Conflicts within oneself. The teacher’s actions.

Ways in which a teacher can cause frustrations among his/her

pupils
A teacher as a factor within the pupil’s environment can cause
frustration when he/she humiliates a pupil. Ignores a pupil’s
response or contribution. Communicates poorly and is ill-prepared
to teach. Is late for class, fails to mark pupils books, etc. Uses
homework as a punishment. Shuts a pupil out of his/her class even
when there is a good reason for coming late. Refuses a pupil
permission to go to the toilets to answer a cell of nature. Fails to
meet a pupil’s learning needs or fail to show sympathy.

WAYS OF DEALING WITH FRUSTRATIONS

In which ways is an individual who is frustrated likely to react?
An individual who is frustrated is likely to show some of the following
behaviours:
Restlessness and tension – sighing, whimpering, fidgeting, trembling,
sweating and complaining.
Aggression and destruction – an individual who is frustrated may
show rudeness and name-calling to the persons who cause the
frustration and might even physically attack them or show indirect
aggression (e.g. taking out the frustration on an innocent
bystander).
Withdrawal – the withdrawal person prefers to escape from
causes of frustration rather than face them. He/she tends to be shy
and avoids close contact with people, while for some, they are
reduced to a state of apathy.
Fantasy (day-dreaming) – some frustrated individuals prefer to
remove their mind from the situation which is causing frustration
by believing that they surrounded by love and success. This only
provides temporary escape from problem. Once the day-dream is
over the problem still remains to be solved.
Stereotype rigidity – for some frustrated children nail-biting,
thumb sucking and stuttering are example of stereotyped
behaviours. Adults may resort to smoking and gum-chewing as a
way of dealing with frustration.
Regression – this refers to a return to behaviours that might have
been experienced in the past and are characteristic of a younger
age, e.g. crying like a child.

The effects of frustration on learning

Frustration may lead to apathy, withdrawal or just inactivity. A
frustrated pupil is unable to concentrate and take part in active
learning. Aggression may be directed to other pupils or to the
teacher thus interfering with the lesson and the intended learning.
A pupil who resorts to day-dreaming in the course of a lesson
switches off and does not pay attention to the teacher or a learning
sequence.

How a teacher can reduce incidents of frustration in his/her class

The teacher should prepare his/her lessons well, communicate
effectively and take into consideration pupil’s views and
responses. Pay attention to the pupil’s who are frustrated, listen to
their problems, show concern, respond with understanding and
sympathy and help the child to develop self-confidence. Refrain
from issuing threats, being sarcastic and ridiculing his/her pupils.
The teacher should give work that is possible to accomplish and
within pupil’s level of ability. Provide social security and affection
to the pupils. Provide for individual needs within the acceptable
framework.

How pupils can be assisted to cope with frustration

The teacher can assist pupils to cope with frustration by
recognising the signs of frustration and inferiority. Trying to find
the cause of frustration by understanding the pupils living
conditions, their aims and ambitions. Encouraging pupils to adjust
their ambitions to their abilities. Encouraging pupils to regard
difficulties as challenges; if they suffer from inferiority complex by
encouraging them to compensate in ways which will help them to
regain their self-respect. Giving the pupils opportunities to try out
activities which they are likely to succeed in doing. Teaching the
pupils ways of sublimating their anger (sublimation is doing
something that is socially acceptable, to allay a feeling that cannot
be expressed because of social disapproval). e.g. adolescents
should be taught to write, sing, paint, read, go for walks, play
games, etc, when they are angry or frustrated.
 DEFENCE MECHANISM
A defence mechanism is an attempt which a person makes to
cover up a weakness. It is an unconscious habitual way of dealing
with repeated or continuing frustration. It involves some form of
self-deception and distortion of reality.
A grade 1 class teacher observed that one of his pupils who were
fond of taking away other pupils properties had stopped the habit,
but he was perpetually reporting others of wanting to steal or
being responsible of the disappearance of any from the classroom,
which was often not true.
What possible explanation can you give to the teacher for that
pupil’s change in behaviour?
The pupil has actually resorted to a form of defence mechanism
known as projection. On realising that his long-time desired
motive (stealing) is not socially acceptable, he unconsciously finds
himself accusing other pupils of intending to steal even when they
are innocent.

Unit summary

In this unit you learned [Add summary text here - you may wish to use
the unit outcomes to write this text]

[Continue your body text here]

Assessment

Activity 3.1

Explain how the sex of a baby is determined?

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As teacher, why is it important for you to have

knowledge about growth and development of children?

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Explain how morality is learnt.

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 Activity 3.2

Identify the social behaviour patterns exhibited by the children as they

interact with their peers.

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In light of the devastating HIV and AIDS pandemic, what social and
moral values should schools seek to inculcate in pupils?

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Exercise 3.3
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Why is it important to measure the intelligence of pupils?
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Unit 4

What is personality?
SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
In this unit you will learn about what sociology is, what sociology
of.................................................................................................................
education is, the importance of a teacher having the knowledge
about sociology of education, the agents of socialization
.................................................................................................................
Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:
................................................................................................................
 Explain what sociology is.
 Discuss what sociology of education is?
 Discuss the importance of a teacher having the knowledge
about sociology of education,
 Analyse the agents of socialization.

Sociology: is a discipline that carries out scientific studies

of the behaviour of human beings in groups

Sociology of is a brand of sociology that deals with the

Education: learning environment which includes the
social characteristics of pupils, schools and
their surroundings affection academic
success.

Socialisation: is a process through which the culture of a

society is transmitted to its new members. It is
the process by which people develop to be
members of a social system through
interacting with one another in a social
environment.

Sociology
Sociology is a discipline that carries out scientific studies of the
behaviour of human beings in groups, aiming at discovering the
regularities and order in such behaviour and expressing those
discoveries as theoretical proposition or generalisation that
describe a wide variety of patterns of behaviour.

What questions are sociologists concerned with?

The questions that concern sociologists are:
 What are the people doing with each other here?
  What relationships do they have with each other?
 How are those relationships organised in institutions?
 What are the collective ideas that move men and
institutions?

Why are sociologists interested in education (school)?

Sociologists are interested in education because a school has an
important position as an agent of socialisation of the learner. It has
a role in the process of one becoming socialised, experiencing the
various cultures and sub-cultures in transmitting, perpetuating
and developing attitudes and ideologies. A school is a rare type of
institution in that attendance is compulsory for substantial periods
of time. School screen, asses and grade the population for
occupation and therefore influence significantly the social mobility
of individuals. Schools process knowledge – some forms of
knowledge are highly valued and selected to be in the curriculum,
while some are regarded to be lesser value and are thus left out.
The links between schools and other institutions such as the
family, and the economic and religious institutions, are
complicated and these have implications for social change.

Sociology of Education
Sociology of Education is a brand of sociology that deals with the
learning environment which includes the social characteristics of
pupils, schools and their surroundings affection academic success.
It seeks to explain what and under what conditions the social
factors have an impact upon school performance. It therefore tries
to understand how the members of a school community interact
and how the inter-relationships influence performance.

Why does a teacher need to have the knowledge of sociology of

education?
A teacher needs to have the knowledge of sociology of education
because the teacher uses group situations to attempt to change the
behaviour of pupils and is required to operate within an
institutional setting thus applies sociology; knowledge of
sociology of education may improve the chance of an effective
way of applying it. Knowledge of sociology of education would
help the teacher to understand the group structure and group
dynamics of the class and to use them to maximise learning. The
interaction of a teacher with the pupils and social relationships
that develop have considerable effect on academic performance of
the pupils, hence the need to understand how such interactions
can be made to promote learning rather than hinder it. Knowledge
of sociology enables the teacher to realise the expectations of the
people he interacts with either directly or indirectly.

What is socialisation?
Socialisation is a process through which the culture of a society is
transmitted to its new members. It is the process by which people
develop to be members of a social system through interacting with
one another in a social environment. Briefly stated, socialisation is
a process of learning to be a member of a social group.

The major agents that socialises a child

 The common agents of socialisation are:
 The family.
 The peer group.
 The school.
 The community.
 The church.
 The mass media-newspaper and magazines, books, radio,
television, videos, computers and other digital facilities
and films.

When is a child said to experience congruent socialisation?

A child is said to experience congruent socialisation when
messages and values passed onto him by the different socialising
agents are in harmony and reinforce each other. The individual
responds positively and becomes truly socialised. However, if the
messages and values are conflicting – e.g., the mass media tells
him/her to Make Friends with cigarettes and the school tells him a
different story – that Smoking is Bad for Your Health the
individuals socialisation is not smooth; he/she thus experience
incongruent socialisation; it becomes difficult for him/her to make
an independent decision.

SOCIALISING AGENTS
The family as a socialising agent
An ideal family as a socialising agent has a population of father,
mother, children, and members of the extended family, occasional
visitors and neighbours. Has a hierarchy of authority ranging from
the highest one of the father and mother to the lowest of the
youngest child. Have duties and responsibilities which are shared
out and done as expected. Has a common language used at home
and rules applied to select appropriate use of the language. Has a
culture transmitted in the family which has religious beliefs,
attitudes, morals, knowledge, value, skill, codes of behaviour, etc?
Learnt through stories, legends, plays, advice, etc as one interacts
with the older members of the family. Have parents as models to
be imitated and as symbols of truth and justice. They are seen as
custodians of moral values and a source of love and security. Have
buildings, a house and other farm structures and a defined
territory.

How do such features help to socialise the individual?

As a child interacts with parents, other members of the family and
the neighbours it learns a language through which it
communicates with others. Learns to respect and obey. Learns
moral conduct and good manners. Forms certain attitudes as
influenced by others. Learns when to speak, whom to talk to, and
to select what to say in the appropriate forums. There is hierarchy
and order. Learns to cooperate with others. Picks stories and songs
from their plays and interactions. Learns to attend to the domestic
chores assigned to it thus learning to take up responsibility. Learns
to occupy its rightful place in the house in relation to others.
Becomes aware of the existing hierarchy. Learns that its survival
depends on others and how it relates to them. Learns to express
emotions and to control such emotions. Learns to select the
persons with whom to associate. Learns to tolerate others and to
share what it has with others. It learns to give and take.

In which ways is the socialisation of the family changing from

the traditional one?
The size of the family is changing from the traditional extended
family to a nuclear family and in some cases single parents. Some
children are even destitutes who are poorly socialised. The
tendency is to have less socialisation. Some families have literate
parents and others have illiterate parents. The literate parents
provide the child with more learning opportunities; books are
bought for such children and their progress is monitored. This
may not be true of the latter families. In some homes both the
parents are workers. They have little time to be with their children.
Children are left in the hands and care of the domestic workers.
Whatever they learn and do is directed by such workers. The
workers may not have authority over the children. For the school-
going children, they are with the teacher most of the times. The
family’s role shifts to the school; therefore, the teachers become the
surrogate parents. Some families live in urban centres while others
are in the rural areas hence difference in lifestyles. Parents in
urban areas have abandoned certain traditional customs and
practices due to the changes in lifestyles in their environment. A
child in an urban environment is socialised differently from a rural
one.

What implications do these changing roles of the family have for

a teacher?
A teacher is considered a surrogate parent and is expected to
show love and a sense of belonging to those children who have
nobody to turn to, particularly the destitute children, and is likely
to find himself/himself at crossroads in an attempt to impart
values that are not defined. To be a model of good morals and a
counsellor. To encourage cooperation even to those for whom
selfishness is a tool for survival. To develop good discipline
among children even when some parents want to be over-
protective. To provide satisfactory learning opportunities even
where parents fail to provide learning facilities. In other words a
teacher is expected to make for the deficiencies in the roles that
families are expected to play.

Peer group socialisation

A social group is a group of not less than three persons
characterised by:
 Common goals, aspirations and expectations.
 Common interests.
 Common languages or ethnicity.
 Common beliefs and prejudices.
 Similar patterns of social behaviour including social
relationships.
 Common sex.

Boys tend to form their own groups which are commonly referred
to as gangs, while girls form their own peer groups which are
called cliques.
What role does a peer group play in socialising its members?
A peer group serves as information bureau-children from different
and varied environments meet and share information and
experience.
A peer group teacher sex-role –girls term up with girls, and boys
with boys and their plays and activities will be sex-role oriented.
A peer group serves as a practising venue for adult values where
the young learn their interaction with adult groups. The adult
group is the reference group for the peer members, who aim at
what adult, do.
A peer group teaches cooperation and unity since the group
operates as a collective body.
A peer group transmits the culture of the society (in a diluted
form).
A peer group teaches certain roles, social expectations and
conditions, the attitudes and sentiments of its members.
A peer discourages social discrimination. Children interact freely
irrespective of the social classes of their families, races or tribes.
The members, through the peer group, learn to be loyal and
truthful to their peer.

How can peer group socialisation be harnessed to make learning

effective?
The teacher would need to identify social group in the class, by
either asking pupils to indicate the individuals they would like to
work with or asking them to be groups of given numbers.
Such groups can be used to carry out learning projects or activities
requiring a high degree of cooperation.
Such groups would be ready to share learning resources with little
or no friction particularly if the resources are scarce.
Group leaders would easily emerge without forcing a leader to
any group.
Class control and management would be easy since the group
members are ready to cooperate.

When peer group socialisation is considered harmful

Peer group socialisation is regarded as harmful when its members
are involved in antisocial behaviour such as bullying others,
stealing other pupil’s properties etc.
 Dishonesty and disobedience.
 Drug abuse and smoking.
 Breaking school rules and regulation, etc.
 Rioting, torching school buildings, etc.

THE COMMUNITY AS A SOCIALISING AGENT

The community assists the school by ensuring that it provides
classrooms and other buildings required in the school. Encourages
parents to take their children to school. Provides houses for
teachers and makes them feel welcome. Supports the school in
ensuring that children are disciplined when they go wrong.
Supports the school financially through PTA collections for certain
projects. Assists the school to ensure that pupils are not allowed to
misbehave while out of school, e.g. taking alcohol or other drugs.
Supports the school in discouraging early pregnancies or early
marriages.

What does the community expect from the teachers and the
school?
The community expects a teacher to:
 Be morally upright.
 Guide and counsel the pupils.
 Keep high standard of discipline, both the teacher and the
pupil.
 Set good examples in cleanliness and character.
 Be sober and attend to work punctually.

The community expects the school to:

 Make pupils pass in the national examinations.
 Contribute to community projects.
 Educate the community in educational changes, adult
education classes and take part in the development of local
church, etc.
 Employ people from the community when jobs are
available.
 Purchase the goods needed from the community.
THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIALISING AGENT

Why is a school regarded as a social system?

A school is a social system because it usually has a population
composed of pupils, teachers and the non-teaching staff. It
occupies a territory – the school compound, with complex
buildings, playgrounds and gardens. It has a set of goals which
define the aims of the institution. It has a structure of authority
with the head teacher at the top and messengers and cleaner at the
lowest level. It has a network of patterned social relationships –
teacher-pupil, teacher-teacher and pupil-pupil relationships. There
is a developed sense of belonging together, manifested during
competitions with other schools and symbolised by the school flag
and crest, school uniforms and stories of the schools past Time is
divided in specific ways; every person is expected to be in a given
place at some particular time. There is an informal organisation
within the formal set-up represented by peer activities.

The socialisation functions of a school

In a school formal setting the academic culture is transmitted.
Pupils learn to obey and accept authority. Pupils learn to take up
responsibilities. Pupils are socialised to different status e.g. as
members of different classes, clubs, dormitory, etc. Pupils learn to
accept competition in academic achievement and excellence that is
rewarded. Pupils learn to cooperate for the success of a group or a
team. Pupils learn good morals, e.g. respecting their seniors. They
also learn their rights and those of others.

Participation in the formal peer group activities teach pupils about

certain important things in life may be neglected by the family and
the formal school organisation such as how to cope with emotions
and stress. Manners of dressing and good grooming. Element of
specific modes of speech. How to relate to members of the
opposite sex. Useful skills of defence, e.g. swimming, etc. How to
cope with the body changes as they get to adolescence. To keep
secrets. How to endure pain and to sacrifice for a cause.

CLASSROOM SOCIALISATION
How the seating arrangements in a classroom affect socialisation
Within the conventional classrooms, the teacher’s desks have
special status with the official recognition of the teacher’s privacy.
Teachers may inspect pupils’ desks whenever they want, but the
children are not allowed to inspect the teacher’s desk.
When the children are seated in neat rows facing the same
direction (the front the classroom) it allows them to interact with
the teacher, but not with each other. Pupils have little to learn from
each other. That type of arrangement strengthens the authority of
the teacher.
When, on the other hand, bright pupils are grouped together and
the dull in a different group, it results in the encouragement and
reinforcement of the bright pupils while it causes emotional strain
and disgrace to those alleged to be dull.
If the bright children are put in one class, the allegedly average
children into another, and the weak into a third class, it results in
self-fulfilment. The bright ones will do well while the dull ones
develop negative self-image. Thus, even when the initial
classification is invalid, the results could seem to bear it out.

Ways in which a teacher can hinder learning in the classroom

A teacher can hinder learning in the classroom when he/she uses
scientific or subjects’ specialist terminology and closed type of
questions which do not encourage pupils to think. Uses
punishment and rewards badly, e.g. using punishment to
encourage learning or reward pupils even when they give wrong
answers. Has a bad reputation and pupils fail to respect him/her.
Is ill-prepared and has no lesson plan or relevant teaching aids, or
keeps wandering in his/her teaching or gives wrong facts. Uses a
local language instead of the official language for instructions.
Discourages pupils form asking questions or ridicules them when
they give incorrect responses.
Unit summary

In this unit you learnt about what sociology is, what sociology of
education is, the importance of a teacher having the knowledge
about sociology of education, the agents of socialization
Assessment

Activity 4.1

i. What is sociology?
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ii. What is Sociology of Education?
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iii. Which are the major agents that socialise a
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Activity 4.2

i. Why is a school regarded as a social

system?

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ii. What are the socialisation functions of a
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iii. How does the seating arrangement in a
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iv. In which ways can a teacher hinder
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Unit 5

EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION, ADMINISTRATION

AND MANAGEMENT
Introduction
You have now come to unit 5 which is talking about educational organisation,
administration and management. What do you think educational organisation, administration
and management? This unit will introduce you to various aspects of educational organisation,
administration and management such as
Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

 Appreciate the organisation, administration and management of the Ministry

of Education.
 Draw all the organisational structures at all levels of the Ministry of
Education.
 Explaining the roles and functions of each stakeholder in the Ministry of
Education.

Organization:  An organization is a system of consciously co-ordinated activities

or forces of two or more persons. It implies a group of persons
working together for a common purpose. This collective effort
and pooling of resources to achieve a common aim is what is
termed as an organization. Business firms and schools are
examples of organizations.
 Organization implies a network of relationships among
individuals and activities. There is a structure and strategic
arrangement of persons in positions and roles (hierarchy of
authority). It also implies that resources, activities and authority
relationships are so co-ordinated as to achieve specified goals.
 Organization in educational institutions therefore involves an
integration of resources, teachers, learning materials and
equipment in the most effective manner to realize the goals of the
institution.

Educational  Educational administration is a social process which is involved

administration: in the arrangement of the human and material resources in
programmes for education and using these resources carefully to
achieve educational objectives.
Management:  When human beings manage their work, they take responsibility for
its purpose, progress and outcomes by exercising the quintessentially
human capacity to stand back from experience and to regard it
prospectively, in terms of what will happen, reflectively, in terms of
what is happening; retrospectively, in terms of what has happened.
Thus management is an expression of human capacity to shape and
direct the world, rather than simply react to it, (Hales, 2001:2).
Boddy, (2008:10) states that management is the activity of getting
things done with the aid of people and other resources, whereas,
David (2008:180,) states that management planning, organising,
implementing, controlling/monitoring and evaluating
 Management is the utilization of physical and human resources
through co-operative efforts in order to realize the established aims. It
is accomplished by performing the functions of planning, organizing,
staffing, directing and controlling. It is the broader functions in any
given organization.
 Management in education broadly means the running of educational
institutions from to higher lever (Ministry of Education Headquarters)
to a lower lever (school/classroom)

The Basic Elements of a Well-Established Organization

A well-established organization has the following distinctive elements:
 Purpose: Effective organization tends to be purposeful and goal-directed. The teachers
and pupils have a clear sense of direction. The school vision and mission statement plus
the school slogan and badge express the purpose of a school.
 Structure: This embraces the organizational chart, the committees, the roles, the
hierarchical levels and authority. The procedure in the staff manuals, experience and
structure is determined by work requirement, not by authority, power or conformity.
 Process: Decisions are made near where the requisite information is rather than referred
up the hierarchy. Authority is delegated accordingly and communications are frank, open
and relatively undistorted. Everyone manages conflicts using problem-solving methods.
 People: Each individual‟s identity and freedom are respected and work is organized as
far as possible to this end. Everyone‟s work is valued. People‟s interdependence is
stressed.
 Realism: People deal with things as they are. An „action research‟ mode of management
predominated. There is widespread awareness of „health‟ of the organization and its parts,
just as the human body knows when it feels well or ill.
 Environment: The organization is seen as an open system embedded in a complex
environment with which it constantly interacts. A school would have its eyes open alertly
sensing what is going on in the community and making appropriate responses.
The Basic Elements of Administration

Division of Labour
Division of labour means a way of determining who is responsible for what. Different people are
assigned different jobs according to their skills. Duties should be well defined. These tasks
performed by various individual workers must be related to each other and be integrated.

Why is it necessary to give different jobs to different people?

 People are only really happy when they are placed in jobs that require the use of their
talents and abilities and when they are working in groups composed of people who
understand the type of job they are doing.
 It makes it possible for the work of the organization to proceed quickly and smoothly.

Communication
Communication is the transmission of information correctly and accurately from the sender to a
receiver. Communication is not complete until the receiver has responded to the message. It is a
two-way process.
Types of communication

Type of communication Advantages Disadvantages

 It is effective in rural
Vertical (face to face meeting) areas. -it is unreliable.
 It is cheap and -The message can be distorted,
relatively fast. exaggerated or diluted.
-nobody can be held
responsible for the message.

Written words e.g. Letters -The message is not diluted or -It takes time to reach the
circulars etc. exaggerated. receiver and is therefore slow.
-It is reliable. -The message can be tapped.
-It goes into record and can be -The message can be
referred to. misinterpreted if it is
ambiguous.
 Hierarchy of authority
Hierarchy of authority refers to ranking of workers in an organization according to their job
responsibilities within the organization and the authority attached to such jobs, beginning from
the top person downwards to the bottom person. Decisions from the top must be obeyed as
commands or directives by those below. Views of policy matters from those below have to be
presented as requests, recommendations or suggestions, it is up to the superiors to adopt or
disregard them.

The Importance to Establish a Hierarchy of Authority in an Organizational Setting

 It ensures that policies made by an organization are implemented.
 It ensures that law and order are maintained.
 It ensures that there is no confusion and that the operations of an organization run
smoothly. Each worker knows to whom one is answerable.
 It provides for sharing in decision-making.
 It affords an early opportunity to solving of problems by those in lower ranks.

The Basic Elements of a Well-Established Management

Management involves the tasks of planning, organising, leading, and controlling the use of
resources to get things done and achieve the intended objectives of an organisation. The amount
of each varies with job and these tasks are not performed in a sequence but done simultaneously,
switching as the situation requires.
i. Planning
Planning deals the overall direction of the work to be done in an organisation. It includes
forecasting future trends, assessing resources and developing objectives for performance. It
inevitably means making decisions about the area of work in which to engage, and how to use
resources. Managers, therefore, invest time and effort in developing a sense of direction for the
organisation, and express this in a set of organisation objectives.
ii. Organising
Organising is the activity of moving abstract plans closer to realisation, by deciding how to
allocate time and effort. It includes creating a structure for the organisation, developing policies
for HRM and deciding what equipment people need.
iii. Implementing
Implementing is putting all the planned activities in action to achieve the intended objectives.

iv. Leading
Leading is the activity of generating effort and commitment, including motivating individuals and
teams in an organisation so that they work together to achieve the organisation goals. As
organisations become more complex, so does the task of securing commitment and action. People
exercise choice, and managers cannot assume that they will act as managers would like them to.
 v. Controlling/monitoring
Control is the task of monitoring progress, comparing it with plan, and taking corrective action.
vi. Evaluating
Evaluating is judging the weaknesses and strengthens of the programme.

EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION, ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT AT OF

THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
Educational Organisation Structure of the Ministry of Education
The organisational structure of the Ministry of Education is at four levels: National headquarters
level, Provincial Level, District Education Board and Institution (College, High and School for
Continuing) Board level and Basic School Level.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

PROVINCIAL HEADQUARTERS

DISTRICT

COLLEGES/SCHOOLS
 Organisational Structure Of The Ministry Of
Education At National Level

OFFICE OF THE MINISTER

OFFICE OF THE PERMANENT SECRETARIES

DIRECTORATES

SUPPORT UNITS

PLANNING AND HUMAN STANDARDS AND TEACHER OPEN AND

INFORMATION RESOURCES CURRICULUM EDUCATION DISTANCE
AND DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION
ADMINISTRA SPECIALISE
D SERVICES

CHIEF ACCT AUDITOR PROJECTS

GENERAL

Roles and Functions of the Ministry Of Education

Office of the Permanent Secretary
The Permanent Secretary, who is answerable to the Ministry, is the Chief Executive of the
Ministry of Education, responsible for the management, coordination and overseeing of the
provision of education services at all levels.

Directorates
The Permanent Secretary is assisted by five Directors in the day-to-day administration of the
Ministry. The five directors are for the following directorates: Planning and Information;
standards and curriculum Development; Human Resource and Administration; Teacher Education
and Specialised Education Service; and the directorate of Open and Distance Education.

(a) Directorate of Planning and Information

This directorate comprises seven sections, namely: the Budget and Projects Section;
Planning and Research Section; Buildings Section; information and Statistics Section the
Bursaries Committee; the Education Board Service Section; and the Special Issues
Section.

The functions of the Directorate are to:

 Coordinate the formulation, analysis and review of education policies;
 Coordinate the design and implementation of both locally and externally funded
education programmes and projects;
 Coordinate the preparation of strategic plans and budgets;
 Establish and manage an education database and information system;
 Coordinate monitoring and evaluation of education programmes and projects;
 Coordinate the development of appropriate education infrastructure designs;
 Monitor infrastructure standards;
 Coordinate technical cooperation;
 Promote and strengthen the operations of Education Boards;
 Monitor the functions of Education Boards;
 Coordinate the management of bursaries for university students and vulnerable and needy
school children; and
 Coordinate issues of Gender and School Health and Nutrition.

(b) Directorate of Human Resource and Administration

The Directorate of Human Resource and Administration has two sections, namely: the
Administration Section and the Human Resource Management and Development Section.
The Administration Section is headed by an Assistant Director and its functions are:
 Day-to-day administration, security, transport and secretarial service of the
Ministry;
  Analyzing, coordinating, liaising on and disseminating policy guidelines and
information to the public.

The Human Resource Management and Development Section is headed by an Assistant

Director and is responsible for:
 Coordination of training and development of all human resources;
 Management of human resource;
 Maintenance of records;
 Interpretation and dissemination of labour laws and conditions of service;
 Recruitment, promotion, retirement confirmation, transfer, selection and placement as
well as retention of staff;
 Processing disciplinary cases; and
 Salary administration.

The section discharges its functions through two Units: the Human Resource Management Unit
and the Human Resource Development Unit.

(C) Directorate of Standards and Curriculum Development

The Directorate of Standards and Curriculum Development comprise two sections, namely: the
Standards Section and the Curriculum Development Section. The functions of the directorate are:
 Developing relevant, flexible and diversified curriculum for Early Childhood Education,
Basic, High School and Teacher Education;
 Developing, providing and approving school educational materials;
 Evaluating the relevance and effectiveness of the curriculum;
 Assessing and evaluating the teaching and learning in schools and colleges;
 Controlling the quality of education at all levels of the education system; and
 Monitoring and supervising educational provision and providing professional advice on
the management of education institutions.

(D)Directorate of Teacher Education and Specialised Services

This Directorate comprises two sections, namely: the Teacher Education Section and the
Specialised Services Section, and is headed by a Director. The Directorate is responsible for:
 Determining needs and advising on policy direction for teacher education and training
and specialized services;
 Coordination and harmonization of teacher training programmes;
 Providing pedagogical support to, and supervision of, lecturers and teachers; and
 Monitoring the provision of teacher education and training.

The Teacher Education Section comprises two units: the Pre-service Unit, which is responsible
for pre-service teacher education, and the In-Service Teacher Education Unit, which is
responsible for the continuous development of teachers.
The Specialised Education Service Section comprises four units, namely: the Special Education
Unit, responsible for special education needs; the School Guidance and Counselling Service Unit,
responsible for providing counselling and guidance services in the school; the Zambia Library
Services, responsible for libraries; and the National Science Centre, which is in charge of the
production of low cost Science and Mathematics equipment and apparatus.

(a) Directorate of Distance Education

This Directorate comprises three sections, namely: Correspondence Studies, Open
Learning and the Education Broadcasting Service Sections.

The main functions of the Directorate are to:

 Provide and facilitate non-segregate distance learning programmes;
 Promote community participation in the provision of education;
 Promote literacy and distance learning in the nation;
 Facilitate and provide education to the disadvantaged;
 Increase access to education through the non-formal sector;
 Coordinate the provision of correspondence studies; and
 Provide liaison between the Directorate and Departments of Correspondence
Studies in the universities.

Support Units
There are four support units at the Office of the Permanent Secretary and these are: the Accounts
Units; the Internal Audit; the Ministry of Education Procurement and Supplies Unit (MEPSU);
and the Zambia Education Projects Implementation Unit (ZEPIU).

(a) Accounts Unit

The Accounts Unit is headed by a Chief Accountant and is responsible for carrying out
the disbursements of funds to Education Boards and other educational institutions. The
unit also maintains the financial records and produces the financial reports of the Ministry
of Education.

(b) Internal Audit Unit

The Internal Audit Unit is headed by a principal Internal Auditor and is responsible for
ensuring accountability and transparency in the utilization of resources in the entire
Ministry. The unit conducts internal audits and produces audit reports.

(c) Ministry of Education Procurement and Supplies Unit

The unit is headed by a Head responsible for the following:
 Ensuring that procurement procedures are adhered to;
 Monitoring procurement at all levels; and
 Producing and disseminating reports on procurement for the Ministry of Education.
(d) Zambia Education Projects Implementation Unit (ZEPIU)
This is a special unit responsible for infrastructure development under the support of the
African Development Bank.
Roles and Functions of the Provincial Education Offices
The Provincial Education Office continues to play a vital role in the administration of the
decentralized system, until such a time when the District Education Boards will be fully
operational and self-sustaining.
The provincial educational officer is the head of the provicial education office and reports to the
permanent secretary.

The functions of the office:

 Monitoring and supervising policy implementation and management of standards in all
districts;
 Coordinating education planning, teacher education and mangement in all districts in the
province;
 Maintaining the efficient and reliable detabase for all education;
 Coordinating the provisin of distance and special education;
 Coordinating the provision of specialised education services such as the Zambia Library
Service, School Guidance, National Science Centre and the Educational Brodcasting
Services; and
 Coordinating and montoring the implementaion of programmes and activities of
Education Boards.
 In order to enable the office carry out these functions, all the five directorates and support
Units are represented at the Provincial Education Office.

In decentralizing education delivery, Education Boards have been established in order to allow
lower levels of the management structures and the communities participate in decision-making
and planning for education provision. The new organisational structures and staffing levels are
aimed at fulfilling government policy on education development by rationalizing functions and
eliminating overlaps wherever they occur. This unit introduces Board members to the
organizational structure of the Ministry of Education.

The Provincial Education Coordinating Committee (PECC)

This committee is based at the Provincial Education Office and is chaired by the Provincial
Education Officer. The Committee reports to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education
through the provincial Education Officer.

(a) Roles of PECC

The role of the PECC are ensure that
 The national education policy is well implemented in all the Districts in the
province.
 The work of other education providers in the Province is in harmony with the
national education policy.
 (b) Composition of PECC
The composition of the PECC is as follows:
 Provincial Education Officer, who is the chairperson.
 6 members of the Provincial Education Management Committee as outlined
below:
- 2 Colleges Board Chairpersons (1 GRZ-Aided, where applicable).
- 2 Selected District Education Board Chairpersons.
- 2 Selected High School Board Chairpersons
 2 NGOs actively involved in education in the province.

The Provincial Education Management Committee (PEMC)

The committee is based at the Provincial Education Office and chaired by the Principal Education
Standards Officer, as the second highest senior officer in the province after the Provincial
Education Officer. It is an on-the –ground supervision team for the implementation of the Sector
Plan programmes in the Province. The Committee reports to the Provincial Education Officer.
The composition of PEMC is as follows:
 Principal Education Standards Officer, who is the chairperson.
 Senior Planning Officer.
 Human Resource Officer.
 Education Officer (Teacher Education).
 Provincial Accountant.
 Internal Auditor.

There are also Provincial Resource Centres in all the Provinces and these form part of the
Provincial Education Office. Their function is to coordinate and provide teacher development in
conjunction with the District Resource Centres and Colleges of Education.
 Organization, Administration and Management at District Level

The structure at district level

DISTRICT EDUCATION STANDARDS OFFICERS DISTRICT EDUCATION BOARD SECRETARY

DISTRICT TEACHER PLANNING OFFICER

HUMAN RESOURCES RESOURCE CENTRE
ESO-DE OFFICER COODINATOR BUILDINGS OFFICER
ESO-GI ESO-SP

SUPPORT STAFF
Roles and Functions of District Education Board (DEB)
District Education Boards are responsible for the management of basic schools. The District
Education Board Secretary (DEBS) is the Chief Executive Office in charge of the day-to-day
running of the office and reports to the Board and then to the Provincial Education Office. The
District Education Board Office is responsible for ensuring that:
 Education and educational facilities as the Ministry may determine from time to time in
accordance with the Education Act;
 Approving staffing and enrolment plans prepared by basic schools in the district in
accordance with the Ministry‟s guideline;
 The annual budget is prepared, including capital and recurrent expenditure and ensuring
accountability;
 Disbursing funds to schools in the district in accordance with the financial regulations;
 Processing staff and pupil disciplinary cases expeditiously on the basis of appeals;
 Monitoring educational facilities in the district;
 Purchasing school requisites and equipment and distribute to all schools in the district;
 Attend to staff welfare and grievances expeditiously;
 Prepare and submit work plan and budget to the Ministry of Education for funding.

District Resource Centre

District Resource Centre in each District and this forms the extended part of the office of the
District Education Board. The District Resource Centres are meant for continuous professional
development of teachers in the district. In liaison with College of Education, District Resource
Centres also provide services to pre-service teacher training programmes.

District Education Standards Office

The District Education Standards Office is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the
performance of school and ensuring that they perform according to set standards. In performing
their monitoring role, District Education Standards Officers are expected to prepare school
monitoring and evaluation reports for the Boards to enable them make informed decisions about
their schools. This office is headed by the District Education Standards Officer. Administratively,
this office functions within the operations of the District Education Board Secretary.

The District Education Coordinating Committee (DECC)

The District Education Board is itself the District Education Coordinating Committee. It is
responsible for the overall coordination of the Sector Plan implementation in the district. It
reports to the District Commissioner and the Provincial Education Officer through the District
Education Board Secretary.
The chairperson of the District Education Board is the chairperson of the District Education
Coordinating Committee.
The District Education Management Committee (DEMC)
The District Education Management Committee is responsible for management of the
implementation of the Sector Plan in the district. It is chaired by the District Education Board
 District Education Board Secretary, who is the chairperson.
 District Education Standards Officer, who is the vice-chairperson.
 Education Standards Officer (General).
 Education Standards Officer (Special Education).
 Education Standards Officer (Distance Education).
 Human Resource Officer.
 Planning Officer.
 District Resource Centre Coordinator
 Head teacher Basic School (Representative of Head teachers on the District Education
Board).
 Accounts Officer.

ORGANISATION, ADMINISTRATION AND MANGEMENT AT SCHOOL LEVEL

HEAD TEACHER

DEPUTY HEAD TEACHER

SENIOR TEACHERS

CLASS TEACHER

BURSAR HUMAN
RESOURCE

SUPPORT STAFF
The Role of the School Headteacher
1. (a) What is a role?
A role is a dynamic or behavioural component of a position. Within a school setting a person
has a position such as head teacher or caretaker. Associated with each position is a role,
which consists of appropriate patterns of behaviour for a person occupying that position. A
role may be specified in detail or it may be determined by the role norms, the expectations
held by persons in related positions of how a person in that particular position should behave.

(b) What are the roles of the school head?

The roles of the school head include the following:
 A helper.
 An advisor to parents, teachers and pupils.
 A provider of resources required by the teachers and pupils
 A leader in the school and to the surrounding community.
 A relations officer in the school.
 A financial manager in the school.
 A guide and counsellor to the pupils and teachers.

(c) Outline the major tasks of the school head.

A school head is expected to:
 Interpret policy and make the school‟s purpose clear to everyone.
 Make sure that the necessary equipment and monetary resources are available for
school use.
 Maintain school discipline.
 Attend to pupils‟ welfare.
 Induce, motivate and retain teachers.
 Establish and maintain good community relations.
 Be accountable for school finances.
 Maintain and keep school records.

2. (a) What are the roles of the school head in relation to his/her employer?
 Is expected to exhibit a high degree of good quality work, loyalty and integrity.
 Must live an exemplary life which appeals to both pupils and the public he/she
serves.
 Has to promote effective teaching in his/her school.
 Should assign duties and tasks to his/her staff.
  Should ensure that each person is performing his/her duties well by organizing and
controlling teachers.
 Should check teaching standards.
 Should be exemplary as a teacher and resourceful as an administrator.

(b) What role is head expected to play in relation to the pupils?

A school head is expected to:
 Foster the right atmosphere for child growth and development.
 Provide the learning facilities.
 Maintain discipline among pupils.
 Promote effective teaching and learning in the school.
 Establish effective communication channels with pupils.
 Mind the welfare of the pupils.

(c) What role is the school head expected to play in relation to the staff?
A school head is expected to:
 Set an example of courtesy and trust towards other people.
 Provide the teaching materials required by the teachers.
 Orient the new staff members to school life as a whole.
 Avoid showing favours to particular teachers.
 Seek the welfare of his/her staff.
 Te teachers or recommend them for promotion as a positive way of rewarding them
for their services.
 Treat confidential matters about other teachers with care.
 Refrain from discussing some teachers with other teachers.
 Create a sense of respect, understanding and trust in every teacher.
 Delegate duties to other able teachers.
 Counsel and give advice to other teachers when need arises.
 Consult staff on school matters regularly.
 Communicate important matters to the staff.
 Create a high sense of morality and professional commitment in the school.

(d) What role is the school head expected to play in relation to the parents and the school
community?
A school head is expected to:
 Respect the opinion and value contributions made by the parents and community
towards the school progress.
 Counsel with parents about their children.
  Act as the secretary to the school committee.
 Execute the policies of the school committee.
 Communicate to parents on important events taking place in the school.

The Role Of The Deputy School Head

Whereas both the teacher in the classroom and the head in the school as a whole have
considerable freedom to shape their own roles, the scope of the deputy head‟s duties is
determined mainly by the school head‟s conception of his/her own role and the pattern of
delegation he/she operates within. However, the following duties are identified for a deputy head
in the head‟s manual, he/she:
 Deputizes for the head in his/her absence.
 Helps the headteacher to maintain good discipline in the school.
 Is responsible for ordering, issuing, caring, accounting and controlling all school stores.
 Is in charge of the school workers, their discipline, organization and planning of their
duties.
 Takes and maintains records of the proceedings of the staff meetings.
 Is in charge of the school timetable.
 Maintains the staffs registers and checks the marking of class registers.
 Is in charge of the academic work in primary school.
 Performs any other duty delegated to him/her by the school head.

The Roles of the Teacher

A teacher is:
 The teacher is the representative of society and inculcates moral perception or ideas.
 Seen as a judge because he/she awards marks and rates the pupils.
 A resource person because he/she gives knowledge and skills.
 A helper – he/she counsels and guides pupils in difficulties.
 A referee because he/she settles disputes among pupils.
 A detective because he/she discovers rule breakers.
 An object of identification – pupils imitates the traits that he/she possesses.
 An object of affection because he/she meets the psychological needs of his/her pupils.
 A group leader – he/she establishes the climate of group.
 A friend – he/she establishes a warm relationship with pupils and shares some confidence
with them.
 A limiter of anxiety – he/she helps pupils control their emotions.
 An ego-supporter – he/she helps pupil develop confidence in themselves.
(b)What duties is a teacher expected to discharge?
A teacher is expected to:
 Teach a full programme as allocated by the school head.
 Prepare lesson notes for personal use.
 Keep a record of pupils progress and record of work.
 Set and mark tests.
 Participate and show interest in organizing co – curricular activities.
 Be punctual for classes.
 Regard himself/herself as a member of a team working for the good of the school under
the leadership of the school head

As a class teacher he/she is expected to:

 Be in charge of class and should therefore give advice and assistance to the pupils.
 Keep the class attendance register.
 Supervise cleanliness and organization of the classroom.
 Keep his/her class informed of any timetable changes.
 Be responsible for issuing of textbooks and exercise books to the pupils.
 Complete report forms for his/her class.

Out of school a teacher is expected to:

 Maintain a high standard of dressing and behaviour.
 Foster a friendly relationship with parents.
 Promote the interests of the school.

(c) What role is a teacher expected to play with regard to teacher-pupil relationships and
pupil welfare?
A teacher is expected to:
 Learn to accept the pupils as they are, good or naughty, polite or rude, honest or wicked,
etc.
 Encourage growth of desirable qualities.
 Share love with his/her pupils as a surrogate parent and be patient.
 Encourage a child to impose on himself/herself the discipline of good behaviour.
 Administer punishment – the punishment has to be suitable for the child.
 Provide for physical well-being by guiding and counselling those who have learning and
emotional problems.
 Teach pupils to avoid misbehaviour such as bullying, stealing and lying.
 Create a situation where children learn good morals and spiritual values.
The teaching and learning for basic education takes place in Basic Schools. The District
Education Boards are responsible for all Basic Schools and Head teachers of Basic Schools report
to the District Education Board Secretary.

Other Roles of the Teacher

According to the Collins English Dictionary the term role is referred to as a part played by a
person a particular social setting influenced by his expectations of what is appropriate or the usual
functions/duties of someone.
The roles of a teacher are important for effective teaching and learning because the teacher is:-

a. The learning mediator

He mediates learning in a manner which is sensitive to the diverse needs of the learners.
Construct learning environments that are appropriately contextualized and inspirational.
Communicate effectively showing reorganization of and respect for the differences of
other. He demonstrates sound knowledge of subject content, various principles, strategies
and resources appropriate to teaching in a Zambian context.

b. An interpreter and designer of learning programmers and material

The teacher understands and interprets provided learning programmers, design original
learning programmers, identifies the requirements for a specific context of learning and
selects and prepares suitable textual and visual resources for learning. He also selects
sequences and places the learning in a manner sensitive to the differing needs of the
subject learning area and learners.

c. A leader, administrator and manager

He makes decisions appropriate to the level, manages learning in the classroom and does
administrative duties effectively and participates in school decision making structures.
All these competencies are performed in ways which demonstrate support to learners and
colleagues, and which demonstrates responsiveness to changing circumstances and needs.

d. A scholar, researcher and lifelong learner.

He achieves ongoing personal, academic, occupational and professional growth through
pursuing reflective study research in his learning area and also in broader professional
and educational matters, and in other related fields.

e. A community member, citizenship and pastoral role.

The teacher practices and promotes a critical, committed and ethical attitude towards
developing a sense of respect and responsibility towards others. He holds the constitution,
and promotes democratic values and practices in schools and society. Within the school,
the teacher demonstrates an ability to develop a supportive and empowering environment
for the learner and respond to the educational and other needs of learners and fellow
educators. In addition the teacher develops supportive relations with parents and other
key persons and organizations based on a critical understanding of community
development.

f. An assessor.
He assesses learner in various ways. Assessments such as formative, positive,
continuous, cumulative and integrative with fewer formal exams are used. Assessment
includes gathering information about how learners are progressing towards the
achievement of the outcomes, evaluating evidence against outcomes, and recording this
information in a systematic why to report on the level of performance of learners.
Teachers assess to establish whether out comes have been achieved, to monitor progress
of learners, to identify barriers to teaching and learning, for quality assurance for
systematic evaluation, feedback and feed through, support and to validate teaching and
learning and on the learning area, subject, discipline, phase specialist, the teacher is
grounded in the knowledge, skills, values, principles, methods and procedures relevant to
the discipline, subject, learning area and / or phase of study knowing about different
approaches to teaching and learning and how these may be used in ways which are
appropriate to the learner and the context and having a well developed understanding of
the context knowledge appropriate to the specialist
g. A counsellor - Another aspect of guidance is that of counselling children who have
personal problems perhaps connected with home but more frequently to do with
personal relations at school. This task requires the teacher to gain the child‟s
confidence so that he can willing share his problems with the teacher.

 Welfare – The role of the teacher in pupil‟s welfare is to provide leadership, example
care for his pupils to establish trusting and friendly relations, to act as a liaison
between the child and his peers and between the child‟s teacher and his parents.
Welfare is therefore with several aspects of the child‟s life including the following:-

 Physical well being - Teacher will make a point of noting the absence of any pupil
and of finding the cause. Where a pattern of absence due to poor health emerges, you
will need to consider the most appropriate action to help the situation. The concern
for the pupils physical well being means that the teacher must try to anticipate and
prevent trouble as well alleviates it.

 Economical well –being - As a teacher concerned with the welfare of his pupils he
will make efforts to help those whose behaviour betrays signs of emotional
maladjustment and who clearly show that they have not adjusted to school, since the
cause usually lies outside to school. Most of the teachers counselling will be with
 children who are temporarily trouble by personal relations with other children and
with teachers or with children for whom learning difficulties are leading to
consolations stress

 Moral and spiritual well-being –children of primary school age are very
impressionable and can be influenced for good spiritual environment in the class
result in a harmonious atmosphere that gives pleasure to everyone concerned
however, where pupils have problems evidenced by such things as stealing and lying,
obviously as the teacher, you must take action

 Guidance – part of the guidance role of teachers is to monitor the educational

progress of pupils and advice or assist those who are under achieving. But the more
common role lies in connection with the educational choices that pupils have to take
which significantly influence their future. The teacher will help each child embark on
a course that is suitable to him and that has opportunities for developing his potential.
As a teacher therefore you need to know your pupils intimately and also to have
knowledge of careers and the right track as early as possible

 Supervision – As a teacher you have a legal liability to ensure the safety of the
children in your care, and as a conscientious person you will supervise them as
carefully as if they were your own Effective sup vision a genuine interest in and
concern for the children It anticipates potential cause of trouble and danger and take
appropriate measures to stop trouble before it grows unmanageable supervision
concerns not only pupils safety but their learning as well As a teacher you should
therefore be on the alert for children who are under-achieving
In this unit you learned about Organisation, administration and
management. What is meant by the „division of labour‟. Why it is
necessary to give different jobs to different people. What communication
is. What is meant by hierarchy of authority. Why it is important to
establish a hierarchy of authority in an organizational setting.
Organisational structure of the ministry of education. Organisational
structure of the ministry of education at all levels and the Roles and
functions of all stakeholders in the Ministry of Education

Activity 5.1
1. What are the basic elements of a well-established organisation?
.........................................................................................................
.......................................................
2. What are the basic elements of a well-established organisation?
.........................................................................................................
.......................................................
3. What are the basic elements of a well-established organisation?
.........................................................................................................
.......................................................

Activity 5.2
1. What is meant by the „division of labour‟?
..........................................................................................
2. Why is it necessary to give different jobs to different people?
..........................................................................................
3. What is meant by hierarchy of authority?
.........................................................................................................
.............. Why it is important to establish a hierarchy of authority
in an organizational setting?
..........................................................................................
Activity 5.3
1. Draw organisational structure of the Ministry of Education.
2. Draw the organisational structure of the Ministry of Education at
national level.
3. Discuss the roles and functions of the Ministry of Education.
4. Draw the organisation structure at provincial level.
5. Discuss the roles and functions of the provincial education offices.
6. Draw the Organization structure at district level

7. Discuss the roles and functions of district education board (DEB)

8. Discuss the roles and functions District Teacher Resource Centre.
9. Draw the Organisation structure at school level.
10. Discuss the roles and functions at school level.
Unit 6

COMMUNICATION IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Introduction
You have now come to unit 6 which is talking about communication in the ministry of
education. What do you think communication in the Ministry of Education? This unit will
introduce you to various aspects of communication in the Ministry of Education.

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

 Define communication.
 Draw a basic communication.
 Explain the process of communication.
 State the methods and types of communication.
 Discuss the formal and informal channels of communication.
 Discuss effective communication and barriers to effective
communication.

Communication : Sending and receiving information

correctly and accurately

Model: A diagram representing a real object

Process: On going

Barrier: An obstacle or hindrance

What Is Communication?
 It is a Latin word communis, meaning „‟common‟‟
 Communication seeks to establish a „‟commonness‟‟ with the receiver.
 Communication involves people: sender and receivers.
 Communication is the exchange of information and involves shared meaning, which suggests
that in order for people to communicate (and understand each other), they must agree on the
term they are using.
 Communication is symbolic that is it consists of gestures, sounds, letters, numbers and words.
 Communication is the exchange of ideas and interpretation of messages.
 Communication is a way of life.

A Basic Communication Model

This is a model depicting communication between two people in a diagram form.
 Person A, the source, encodes the message in words or non-verbal signs.
 The message is conveyed orally, in writing, non-verbally or through other media to person B.
 Person B, the recipient, who decodes the message so as to give it meaning.
 Person B can then give person A feedback in order to confirm receipt of the message.
The Process of Communication
The process of communication consists of the following five elements (Ven der Westhuizen 1991:
206-208):
The communicator - Who...
The message - Says what...
The medium - How.....
The receiver - To whom....
The feedback - With what effect
The communicator is any person with an idea, intention or information that he wishes to convey, or
any reason for wanting to communicate. He initiates the communication process by sending the
message. The communicator‟s initiative, i.e his idea or message, must be encoded. The function of
encoded is to put the idea or information in message form. The encoded message is influenced by four
factors, namely the communicator‟s knowledge about the matter, the communicator‟s skill to put his
knowledge into a message form, the communicator‟s attitude about the situation, and socio-cultural
aspects which include beliefs, norms, values etc.
The message is that result of the encoding process. It is that which the communicator hopes to carry
over to the other person or group of persons.
The medium is the carrier of the message. Message can be conveyed either verbally or non-verbally,
and in various ways or through various channels: in writing, telephonically, Face to face or by way of
a mere nod or a gesture. A problem here is that people sometimes send conflicting messages. For
example, a principal who is trying to convince teachers of the advantages of a new method of
instruction may succeed verbally, but impairs this success by simultaneously sending non-verbal
signals indicating extreme nervousness or uncertainty.
The receiver as the recipient of the message decodes the message. Decoding thus implies
interpretation. Recipients decode a message according to their past experience of the topic as well as
their frame of reference. The closer the decoded message is to the initial intention of the
communicator, the more effective the message is. The same factors that influence the encoding
process, namely knowledge about the specific topic, skill, attitude and socio-cultural aspects, also
influence the decoding process. The result is that recipients receive messages selectively, depending
on their field of experience, emotional state, reaction to the sender and the form of communication.
When someone is criticised or discouraged, for example, it may happen that he cuts off the
communication by not listening.
The feedback is the final link in the communication process and refers to information received from
the communicator by the receiver after a message has been sent. Feedback therefore shows how
successful a communicator was in the sending of a message. Effective communication is a two-way
process and information should always flow back and forth between the communicator and the
receiver. There are, however, many ways in which a message can occur at any become distorted.
Factors that obscure the clarity of a message are called noise and can occur at any point in
communication. An example of noise is when a principal, owing to time pressure, issues a message
that is so condensed that it is too vague to enable teachers to carry out the instructions in it. The
principal might say to the teachers: I want this job done today, whatever the costs, while in fact; he is
very concerned about cost. Noise can also occur during the decoding process.
Methods of Communication
People communication on many levels when they give and receive message. But communication does
not refer solely to the verbal explicit and intentional transmission of message. It includes all those
processes by which people influence one another (Dahama and Bhatnagar 1980:348).
Communication, whether verbal, non-verbal or written, is the link that ties the members together.
The different methods which people use to convey message, verbal (oral), non-verbal and written, will
be briefly discussed and their advantages and disadvantages indicated.

Verbal (Oral) Communication

People communicate with each other most often by talking. Verbal communication can be of two
types: face to face and by telephone. The major advantage of verbal communication is that it is two-
way. It provides for speedy interchange with immediate feedback. Robbins (1988:406) states, if the
receiver is unsure of the message, repeat feedback allows the sender to detect the uncertainty and to
correct it.‟ The major disadvantage of verbal communication surfaces when a message has to be
passed through a number of people, because the message tends to be distorted or filtered as it passes
from one person to another. Another disadvantage of verbal communication is that it does not always
save time for instance, in meetings in which no results were achieved. These meetings can be costly in
terms of time and money (koontz et al. 1984:535).

Non-Verbal Communication
Non-verbal communication messages are just as important as those involving verbal communication.
Some experts, according to Duncan (1981:175), suggest that only 30 to 35 percent of our
communication is verbal. The remainder consist of facial expressions, body movements, physical
appearance, clothing, posture. The non-verbal modes or behaviours that have been identified are:
 Kinesics: This behaviour involves body movements of the limbs, hands, feet and legs, facial
expressions, posture, physical appearance and clothing.
 Proxemics: refers to how people place themselves physically in relation to another during
communication. There are different zone distances, according to Van der Westhuizen
(1991:214) during meetings or interviews, Public zone (further than 3,5m) addressing a large
group of people.
 Chronemics: The behaviour includes the pauses, hesitations and silences that fall between
verbal statement.
 Oculestics: refers to eye movement (many eye behaviours are associated with emotions).
Cultural factors may influence the interpretation of eye contact patterns (Duncan 1981:175)
 Haptics: refers to the study of how we use touch to communicate.
 Objectives: refers to how we select and make use of physical objects in our non-verbal
communication (Tubbs 1987:164).
 Time: Different culture place different significance on acts related to time.

Baskin (1990:116) is of the opinion that all non-verbal communication modes should be considered in
relation to each other, verbal communication and the total context in which communication occurs
Research done in non-verbal communication indicates that communicators often send a great deal
more information than is obtained in verbal messages. This point is supported by Ivancevich
(1990:550) when he states that a person must be aware of the verbal as well as the verbal content of
the message because a nonverbal message can replace, reinforce or contradict a verbal message.
According to Pease (1985:8) quoted in Van der Westhuizen (1991:212) non-verbal signs carry five
times more weight than words, and when these two do not correspond, people rely rather on the non-
verbal message. Newell quoted in Komote (1992:18), says of non-verbal communication, „The
dangers of non-verbal communication are that it may be misinterpreted or ignored. The advantages of
non-verbal communication are that it is often powerful, is essentially honest and adds a whole new
dimension to the communications process.‟

Written Communication
The alternative to verbal and non-verbal communication is written communication. Some forms of
written communication are: letters, reports, memoranda and circulars. The advantages of written
communication are that they are permanent and they provide records and reference. The
disadvantages are that they do not provide immediate feedback and it may take a long time to know
whether a message has been received and properly understood; and written messages can easily be
misunderstood because they do not explain the rationale underlying a policy or instruction.
 CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

SAMPLE –OFFICIAL-LETTER
(CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION TO THE HEADTEACHER)
TS No 12345
Mindolo Basic School
PO Box 22521
KITWE

13th January 2011

The Head teacher

Mindolo Basic School
PO Box 22521
KITWE

Dear Sir/Madam
REF: ……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………

Yours faithfully

John Mulempa
Class Teacher
SAMPLE –OFFICIAL-LETTER
(CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION TO THE DEBS)
TS No 12345
Mindolo Basic School
PO Box 22521
KITWE

13th January 2011

The District Education Board Secretary,

PO Box 22458
KITWE

U.F.S The Head teacher

Mindolo Basic School
PO Box 22521
KITWE

Dear Sir/Madam
REF: ……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………...

Yours faithfully

John Mulempa
Class Teacher
SAMPLE –OFFICIAL-LETTER
(CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION TO THE P.E.O)
TS No 12345
Mindolo Basic School
PO Box 22521
KITWE

13th January 2011

The Provincial Education Officer

Mukuyu House,
PO Box 50751
NDOLA

U.F.S The District Education Board Secretary,

PO Box 22458
KITWE

U.F.S The Head teacher

Mindolo Basic School
PO Box 22521
KITWE

Dear Sir/Madam
REF:………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………

Yours faithfully

John Mulempa
Class Teacher
 Sample –Official-Letter
(Channel of Communication to the PS)
TS No 12345
Mindolo Basic School
PO Box 22521
KITWE

13th January 2011

The Permanent Secretary,

Education Headquarters,
P.O. Box 90053
LUSAKA.

U.F.S The Provincial Education Officer

Mukuyu House,
PO Box 50751
NDOLA

U.F.S The District Education Board Secretary,

PO Box 22458
KITWE

U.F.S The Head teacher

Mindolo Basic School
PO Box 22521
KITWE

Dear Sir/Madam
REF:………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
Yours faithfully

John Mulempa (Class Teacher )

Types of Communication
Tubbs (1987:16-17) maintains that human communication occurs in several kinds of communication.
Six different contexts seem to be widely agreed upon in the literature. These are: two-person,
interviewing; small group; public; mass and organisational communication. Although each of the
contexts has some unique characteristics, all six share in common, the process of creating a meaning
between two or more people.

Two – Person Communication

Two – person communication is the unit of communication. Face-to-face conversation are the basis of
effective communication because exchange between sender and receiver take place and any
misunderstandings can be corrected immediately.

Interviewing
Interviewing is the process whereby individuals (usually two) exchange information. It is a
conversation with a purpose – it is targeted towards accomplishing a specific purpose.

Small – Group Communication

A small group is a collection of individuals who interact for some purpose. The quality of group
interaction affects the level of commitment when a decision has be taken. The members of the group
can influence one another positively or negatively. A small group created and institutionalised by
society for its self-preservation is the classroom.

Public Communication
Public communication occurs in public rather than in private places. It is generally directed at a group
or audience and usually takes place in auditoriums or halls.

Mass Communication
In mass communication the message is intended for masses or individuals through some print or
electronic media. Examples are: television, newspapers and tape-recorders, Mass communication
feedback is severely limited.
The above-mentioned types of communication are found in colleges of education.
Organisational Communication
Organisational communication is the transference of understanding of meaning among the members
of the organisation. This communication flows downward, upward, laterally or diagonally. Every
organisation has two distinct communication channels: formal and informal.

Formal Communication Channels

Formal communication channels are official communication routes. They are created primarily by the
organisational structure through its systems of delegating responsibility and work. Warren (1979:67)
adds: „The formal comes from official sources through channels consciously and deliberately
established by the institution.‟ Because formal communication channels are official and authoritative,
it is typical for written communication in the form of letters, memos, policy statements and other
announcements to adhere to them (Schermehorn 1991:399). Formal communication channel routes
can be downward, upward, lateral and diagonal.

Downward Communication
This type of communication flows downward from individuals in higher levels of the hierarchy of
those in lower levels. There are two types: oral and written downward communication.
 Oral downward communication includes instructions, meetings, the use of the telephone
directives, information about organisational goals and feedback about performance.
 Written downward communication in organisations are posters, company newspapers or
bulletins, policy statements and annual reports.

A problem in downward communication is that it is usually one-way: it does not provide

For feedback, from those who receive it (Hellriegel and Slocum 1982:572a). Another problem,
according to Dahama and Bhatnagar (1980:374) is that, due to the levels that the message has to
travel,‟ the chances of loss or distortion of information are bound to occur. This phenomenon is called
filtering.

Upward Communication

Upward communication travels from subordinates to superiors up the organisation hierarchy examples
are: suggestions, grievances and complaints. The process of upward communication is much slower
and more difficult because superiors wrongly assume that they know what is good for the
subordinates; consequently they do not take them seriously.

In a school environment, upward communication form the teachers can be in the form of proposals,
suggestions and requests concerning matters in their departments and/or the general running of the
school; and from learners it can be requests, suggestions, grievances and demands concerning
evaluation statements and reports. It also includes group meetings and the open-door policy.
Tubbs (1987:351) points out that although its importance is obvious, upward communication is not
always encouraged by management. One reason for this may be that message superiors hear from
subordinates are not always pleasant of flatting. On the other hand, most subordinates are reluctant to
communicate information to superiors especially if a subordinate beliveves that disclosure of his
feelings, opinions or difficulties may lead a superior blocking or hindering the attainment of a
personal goal, he will conceal or distort them. Naidoo (1986:79) and Hellriegel (1982:572) maintain
that effective communication requires an environment in which subordinates feel free to
communicate, that upward communication must be allowed to occur freely, not just at the whim of the
manager. This is also true for a college of education, where, for instance, the students should feel free
to communication without fear of victimisation. It is the responsibility of the rector to create a climate
of free flow of upward communication.

Lateral/Horizontal Communication
Lateral communication occurs among members of the same group, among the members of work
group at the same level, among managers of the same level, or among horizontally equivalent
personnel. Lateral channel might be classified as formal or informal depending on whether they
follow the formal organisation structure. The main purpose of lateral communication is to provide a
direct channel of organisational co-ordination and problem-solving.
Naidoo (1986; 80) states that the primary objectives with lateral communication are to speed up the
flow of communication, to improve understanding and to co-ordinate efforts for the achievement of
institutional goal realisation.

Informal Communication Channels

Informal communication channels do not adhere to organisation‟s hierarchy of authority; they coexist
with the formal channel but frequently messages appear to travel faster through the informal structure
than they can be disseminated through formal structure (Baskin 1980:75) says of the grapevine‟‟ is an
informal channel we know about. Haimann et al. (1985:440) says of the grapevine‟‟. This is the
network of casual personnel contacts through which facts, half-truths and rumours flow. Like formal
communication channels, it operates in four directions- down, up, across and diagonally. The
advantages of grapevine are that they are fast, highly variable and usually accurate in the information
they transmit. Their degree of accuracy is due to the fact that they go through shorter communication
chains and are free from the inherent problems of formal communication of withholding and
distortion of information. The primary disadvantage of grapevines occurs when they transmit
incorrect or untimely information. Rumours and prematurely released information can be
dysfunctional. The grapevine has managerial functions. Firstly, if often gives managers a critical
insight into what people are thinking and feeling, and secondly, it is a communication it is means of
clarifying formal messages, of spreading information that cannot be sent through official channels.
Through informal communication, the principal of a school can be made aware of the attitudes and
opinions of his staff and students, and can then prepare himself for any confrontation that is looming.
In this way conflict can be nipped in the bud through “the help” of the grapevine.
Informal communication depends on informal relationships among people and, according to Reynders
(1975:14), meets three requirements for communication.
(1) It conveys information which does not fit into the formal organisational structure (for
instance when informal get-together have to be arranged).
 (2) It provides information that cannot be conveyed by formal means (e.g. when a staff
member tells a colleague that she got out of bed on the wrong side).
(3) It convert formal commands into understandable reasons for action.

Because the grapevine is flexible and personal, it is regarded as one of the quickest forms of
communication in an organisation. Research has shown that the accuracy of this medium is
reasonably high, particularly when the information is not controversial.
Grapevines can create major problems for managers (Dubrin and Ireland 1993:331). They can lead to
employee resentment, embarrass managers, distort messages, and spend damaging rumours. Rumours
are unverified assumption passed on from one person to the next (Vecchio 1991:488).
Despite problems with rumours, organisations can sometimes make positive use of the grapevine
(Dubrin and Ireland 1993:331). For example, an organisation can use the grapevine to measure the
staff‟s reason to an announcement before transmitting it through formal channels. If the reaction is
bad, management can sometimes modify its plans. For example, the management team might want to
see how seriously morale would be affected by announcing a staff development programme over a
weekend. They feed the idea into the grapevine, and reactions to the plan could be gauged by the
types of rumour created.
Because rumours can be harmful to individuals and organisations, it is important for supervisors to
know how to control or eliminate them. Vecchio (1991:489) suggests the following ways of dealing
with rumours.
(1) Try to wait them out. Some rumours fade away in time without doing much damage.
(2) If waiting does not work, the rumour should be publicly refuted. By doing so, and perhaps
even ridiculing it, one can deprive it of its “news value”. This can also discredit those
responsible for spreading the rumour.
(3) Feed authentic information into the grapevine so as to counteract the unwanted message.

You will agree that there are many examples of rumours at schools. An example:
The rumour that spends throughout the school was that the Headteacher had an affair with the
secretary. The fact that the principal and the secretary had to work late for some weeks probably
influenced that state of the rumour. Some staff members don‟t like the Headteacher and like to gossip
behind his back. After some time this rumour just faded away because the work was completed. Is
would definitely not lend out my ears to gossip as it unconsciously places everybody in a difficult
position in general encounters with the principal and secretary.
Effective Communication
Communication can take place and yet not be referred to as effective or stated differently,
communication can take place and yet the desired effect may not be achieved. What then is effective
communication? Communication can be referred to as effective when the stimulus as it was initiated
and intended by the sender or source, corresponds closely with the stimulus as it is perceived and
responded to by the receiver. Effective communication can be depicted as below:

Intended message

Encoding

Decoding

Intended message

Effective Communication
Depicts effective communication, the situation where the intended message is received just as it was
intended by the sender. This is the ideal situation that is envisaged when a message is conveyed. For
effective communication to take place, the sender must ensure that the intended message is in
appropriate form (verbal or non-verbal) that will convey the message properly. The message must be
formulated in a way that will be understood by the receiver and elicit from him the response that is
envisaged by the sender. But, according to Robbins (1983:265), effective communication is difficult
to achieve due to certain barriers which can be physical (distance in the hierarchy), individual
(persons becoming emotionally involved) or semantic (poor choice or confused meaning of symbols).
Therefore, in communication it should always be striving to place the source and the receiver on the
same level. The more receivers‟ decoding matches the sender‟s intended message, the more effective
communication will be.
Naidoo (1986:141-142) provides two outcomes that may warrant the judgement that communication
has been effective: if the individual involved has inter alia, arrived at a greater mutual understanding
of attitudes, sometimes and opinions; and if the attitudes or beliefs of one or both parties change as a
consequence of the personal encounter.

Barriers to Effective Communication

Barriers are obstacles or stumbling blocks that obstruct progress. Barriers to effective communication
or “noise” (refer to communication process 2.3) are those factors that limit or distort messages; they
reduce the accuracy of information transfer resulting in effective communication or communication
breakdown. Naidoo (1986:49) concedes that attempting effective communication by the application of
various skills or arts, without acknowledging or being aware of the barriers and breakdown can be
futile.

Semantic Problems
Semantic is the study meaning in a language. Message are made of words which are abstractions –
they represent other things, and unless we recognise the abstract nature of words, the exact meanings
of messages can be distorted or lost. Stoner (1985:501) ways of words, „they are symbols and as
symbols, they may have different meanings for different people and in different situations‟. Therefore,
when messages are formulated, the following should be kept in mind;
 Correct use of words
 Avoidance of ambiguity
 Simple and to the point message
 Clear, concise but meaningful language messages (Naidoo 1986:86)

Another semantic problem is the conflict between verbal and non-verbal communication. Mixed
message result when a person‟s words communication one message while, their actions or “body
language” communicates something else, (Ivancevich 1990:562).

Selective Perception
Selective perception is the tendency to perceive only part of a message even though the entire
message was delivered. People often hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see,
ignoring information that conflicts with their beliefs and expectations. Huse (1982:461) adds that one
way to reduce selective perception is to develop empathy- an understanding of other people‟s
viewpoints.

Evaluating the Source

The meaning we assign to any message is influenced by our evaluation of the message source.
Invancevich (1990:562) calls it source credibility-which is the trust, confidence and faith that the
receiver has in the words and actions of the communicator. How subordinates view a communication
form the manager is heavily influenced by previous experiences with the manager. When the manager
is viewed as less than honest, manipulative and not to be trusted, subordinates are apt to assign non-
existent motives to any communication from the manager.

Poor Listening Skills

Listening is an important element in the communication cycle. It is a great art and one must learn to
cultivate it. We spend more time listening than we spend at any other method of communicating.
Many of us tend to believe that a message has been understood by merely listening. Where as it is not
always the case. Many factors constitute poor listening which consequently results in a breakdown in
communication.
  Distraction: The attention of communicate could be distracted by factors such as
photographs, music, scenery through windows or other people.
 Tiredness: The wrong time could be chosen for communicating, the state of tiredness, could
consequently weaken the sense of listening.
 Inattention: It is detectable by way of response, where the communicate shows no interest
or an attitude of disconcert prevails.
 Discord: Similar to inattention in many ways but to the extent that the discord can imply
ignoring attitudes or a feeling of being bored or fed up.
 Factor of Time: Too much being communicated in too short a space of time (Naidoo
1986:49-51).

Filtering
It occurs when the sender intentionally sifts or modifies the message so it will be seen more
favourably.

Effects of Emotion
Whatever emotion dominates our mood-anger, fear, happiness, anticipation- will affect our
interpretation of a relevant message. The same message can be interpreted differently depending on
the mood we are in. Extreme emotions such as jubilation or depression are most likely to hinder
effective communication. In such instances, rational and objective thinking processes are substituted
by emotional judgements. Thus, it‟s best to avoid making decisions when you‟re upset, because
you‟re not likely to be thinking clearly (Robbins 1988:418).

Time Pressures
Managers operate under time pressures. Decisions must be made and deadlines met. Time pressures
can create communication problems when, to expedite matters, formal channels are short-circuited,
leaving some people in the dark, and when messages are incomplete or ambiguous to the receiver. In
either case effective communication is deterred (Robbins 1988:419).

Lack of Feedback
According to Rue (1982:83), communication is a two-way process. In order for the process to be
effective, information must flow back and forth between the sender and the receiver. The flow of
information from the receiver to the sender is called feedback. Feedback can be verbal or non-verbal.
Limited feedback decreases the accuracy and the degree of confidence the listener has in the
communication. Thus feedback takes more time, but significantly improves the quality of
communication.
Inter-Cultural Differences
Inter-cultural communication is communication between members of different cultures Obstacles to
inter-cultural communication are factors such as language, non-verbal communication systems,
relational roles and norms and beliefs and values that deeply rooted in the whole cultural system.

Excessive Hierarchy
Excessive hierarchy creates physical distance between people. The reliance in organisations upon
having clear lines of authority in a structured hierarchy requires that formal communication follow
prescribed channels through the organisation. As a result, messages must frequently pass through
many layers of the organisation, each offering a potential for distortions (Robbins 1982:264).

Vertical Communication
Vertical communication consists of communication up and down the organisation‟s chain of
command.

Downward Communication
Downward communication is likely to be filtered, modified or halted at each level as managers decide
what should be passed down to their subordinates. Managers often fail to pass on important
information (such as higher-level change in policy) or to instruct subordinates adequately on how to
perform their duties. This lack of communication is sometimes deliberate. The net effect of
incomplete downward communication is that subordinates may feel confused, uninformed or
powerless, and may fail to carry out their tasks properly.

Upward Communication
Upward communication is likely to be filtered, condensed, or altered by middle management who
sees it as part of their job to protect upper management form non-essential data originating at the
lower levels. In addition, middle managers may keep information that would reflect unfavourably on
them from reaching their superiors. Thus vertical communication is often at least partially inaccurate
or incomplete (stoner 1982:510).
Guidelines for Effective Communication
Given the barriers to effective communication, what can be done to overcome them? The following
suggestions could help to make communication more effective.

Overcoming the Barriers to Interpersonal Communication

Authors like Schermehorn (1991), Robbins (1987), Ivancevich (1990) and Huse (1982) are agreed on
the following factors as having the ability to overcome the barriers to interpersonal communication.

Active Listening
There are two sides to the communication process-sending a message or “telling” and receiving a
message or “listening”. Active listening is a technique that can improve effective communication.
Guideline especially useful in this regard, are:
 Listen for message content: Try to hear what is being said in the message.
 Listen for feelings: Try to identify how the source feels in terms of the message
content is this something pleasing or displeasing? Why? On feelings, Anstey (1991:
229) says... asking the other to describe his feelings in order to gain fuller
understanding proposal or a problem means to him‟
 Respond to feeling: let the source know that his or her feelings, as well as the message
content are recognised, or respond empathically by showing a desire to understand the
feelings of the others.
 Note all cues, verbal and non-verbal: be sensitive to the non-verbal communications as
well as the verbal ones; identify mixed messages that need to be clarified
(Schermehorn 1991:404-405).

Feedback
Feedback is the process of telling someone else how you feel about something they did or said, or
about the situation in general. Feedback should be given in such a manner that it is accepted and used
constructively by the receiver. Given that the sender‟s intent is to give helpful feedback to the
receiver, the manager should recognise that feedback should:
 Be given directly and with real feeling, ideally based on trust.
 Be specific rather than general, with good clear examples.
 Be given at a time when the receiver appears most ready to receive it.
 Be checked with others to support its validity.
 Be in respect to things that the receiver can really do something about.
 Be not more send information than the receiver can handle at any particular time
(Shemehorn 1991:406).
 Avoid interruptions.
 Paraphrase messages to ensure that understanding is complete and accurate.
 Withhold evaluation of communication until the message is complete (Anstey
1991:229).

Language Usage
 Direct, simple and clear language should be used.
 Avoid double-bind message which are ambiguous and uncertain in content.
 Adjust messages to the frame of reference of the listener in order to maximize understanding.
 Repeat messages using more than one type of medium such as demonstrations and written
documents (Anstey 1991:231).
 Unit summary

In this unit you learnt about the meaning of communication, process of

communication, types of communication, methods of communication,
effective communication, barriers to effective communication and the
principles of effective communication.

Assessment

Activity 6.1
Identify: a recent rumour at your school:
 Which factors influenced the rumour?
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 How did recipients act upon the rumour?
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 What happened to the rumour?
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 What did you learn from this rumour which you could
apply in the case of similar rumour?

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 Activity 6.2
Draw a communication model.

Activity 6.3
Outline the barriers of effective communication;
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EXPECTED ANSWERS FOR ALL ACTIVITIES IN THE MODULE

Activity 1.1

1. History and philosophy of education

2. Educational Psychology
3. Sociology of Education
4. Theory and Practice of Education
5. Special Education
6. Education Media and Technology

Activity 3.3
 Self –respect and respect for others.
 Being responsible for ones action.
 Exercising self control even when one is free to act.
 Being honest to one’s real self.
 Tolerating others.
 Love for those infected or affected.
 Cooperating with others to fight/eradicate the pandemic.
 Showing humility by listening and accepting others.
 Asserting oneself.