The aim of this study is to evaluate the extent to which open, and distance education universities are fulfilling their stated purpose as higher education institutions in SubSaharan countries. The starting point of understanding the purpose of an institutions is to analyse the content of mission statements and the context in which the universities…

Background: The value of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) is recognised as beneficial to the child and society. Research evidence on pre-primary ECCE access and quality in Sub-Saharan Africa is scarce. Aim: The aim of this article is to examine Botswana's pre-primary school programme in enhancing accessibility and quality of ECCE…

When schools closed in Botswana on March 23, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, education administrators, teachers, and ultimately parents were faced with difficult decisions about how to help children continue learning without setting foot inside a classroom. In-person classes returned on June 17, 2020, though a second school closure occurred for…

The goal of this study was to explore the shared meaning of 'ethics in school practice' based on educators' attitudes. Our analysis focused on a random sample of 30 codes of ethics for educators that were developed by educational leaders in various countries. The data analysis was based on qualitative analysis. The findings generated a…

The present report is the outcome of a study on the status of OER in the Commonwealth conducted in late 2021. Considering the importance of OER in the context of the challenges posed by COVID-19, the findings shall be useful for Member States and educational institutions to mainstream OER. The overall objective is to help countries across the…

Following a transformation of experience-based handicraft education, Technology education was introduced in Botswana and South Africa in 1990 and 1998, respectively, with the intention of developing technologically literate societies, as well as to develop learners' skills for the world of work. Despite these optimistic intentions, limited…

Teacher education in Botswana is offered at various higher education institutions (HEIs). Undergraduate pre-service teachers for the secondary school level are trained at the University of Botswana (UB) and the Botswana College of Agriculture, and both HEIs offer different and autonomous teacher-training programmes. The Faculty of Education at UB…

Due to a perception that the quality of their certificates was in question, students of the Gaborone Technical College (GTC), along with their counterparts in similar institutions, went on a strike in 2016. Based on a subsequent case study of the college, completed in 2018, this article examines the quality question in technical education in…

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's (IEA) mission is to enhance knowledge about education systems worldwide, and to provide high-quality data that will support education reform and lead to better teaching and learning in schools. In pursuit of this aim, it conducts, and reports on, major studies of student…

Critical thinking is recognised as an influential attribute to achieve quality learning and teaching in higher education institutions world over. This interpretive research study explored the critical thinking among PGDE students at the University of Botswana. The aim of the study was to identify factors contributing to the application of critical…

This paper sought to investigate the extent to which selected quality factors influence e-Learning implementation, which the current body of knowledge purports to be an alternative way of leveraging the provision of support for effective teaching and learning in the new millennium. The study is a case study of Botswana College of Distance and Open…

While professional development has been emphasised in many countries, few comparative studies have examined the degree of teachers' participation in professional development and its effect on teachers. Using the TIMSS 2007 data, this study analyses to what extent teachers participated in professional development in 50 TIMSS countries and examines…

From generation to generation time changes affecting culture and the way people live and their society as well. A change in time prompts new inventions and technologies, the twenty-first century where scientific inventions and the latest of technologies are the basis of trade. It is evident that as years go by there comes along sophistication and…

Botswana through its two educational reform philosophies of 1977 and 1994 envisioned a developing education system that is on par with international standards. According to Tabulawa (2009), the education system was developed to produce critical thinkers, problem solvers, and innovative learners. The system was designed to provide opportunities for…

This paper contributes to the ongoing discourse on pedagogical practices in developing contexts. The argument is that in large mixed ability classes, learner centred pedagogy is not only faced with a myriad of challenges, but fails to cater for the range of learners. The paper provides a review of constructivist approaches and proposes pedagogical…