Most school curriculum is thwarted at the implementation level as a result of poor utilization of innovative Microsoft packages (MSP) for learning. The purpose of this study therefore is to determine the extent of utilization of innovative MSP for learning between teacher trainee students (TTSs) from Botswana and Nigeria, as well as their…

Equipping pre-service teachers with technology skills and knowledge is now regarded as a vital element of any teacher-training program so as to capacitate the new teachers to meet the educational demands of the twenty-first century. Therefore, it is important to establish whether these teachers do actually apply these skills when they first get to…

This study, a survey of University of Botswana mathematics pre-service student-teachers taking introductory methods courses, was conducted to find aspects of the courses they perceived to be their priority learning desires. It aimed at evaluating whether student-teachers perceived ideas could be tapped into towards improvement of the teacher…

Though the professionalism of teaching is still a debatable issue, teaching provides an indispensable service to every society and civilization. The service provided by teaching seems to be more indispensable to any society than services provided by any other profession. To those that teach, the way they perceive themselves and the value of their…

We investigated how prospective primary school teachers from two countries with a common Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) think about word problems, both as a mathematical task and as a teaching task. The question driving the investigation was: if solving mathematics word problems is both a linguistic and a numerical skill, how do these…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to find out if colleges of education in Botswana were preparing teachers to meet the diverse needs of prospective students in primary schools, and what were the teachers' attitudes toward teaching such students. Design/methodology/approach: This study used questionnaire and interview methods to collect…

This paper presents the results of a survey conducted to find out the extent to which teacher trainees understand and observe professional ethics. It also sought the contribution of the Faculty of Education and secondary schools make in promoting teacher ethics among trainees on teaching practice. Data were gathered from randomly chosen 90…

Teaching practice (TP) remains one critical means of exposing student teachers to actual classroom experiences with a view to equip them with the needed pedagogical skills. The voice of the student teachers is vital in order to understand their experiences in the field as a way to ensure better outcomes for current and future teacher trainees.…

Teacher Education involves the policies and procedures designed to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills they require to teach effectively. Teaching practice (TP) is an integral part in teacher education because it allows student-teachers to apply the theories into practice. Effective preparation of student-teachers in practical subjects…

Teachers with a high sense of efficacy have been found to be more passionate about teaching, ready to accept new ideas and make attempts to use new teaching methods to help students learn. Such teachers have positive teaching behaviors such as patience, commitment, enthusiasm, which in turn lead to positive student outcomes. However, research on…

This paper constitutes an attempt to explore trends, issues and challenges that emerge when three different cohorts of pre-service teachers debate contemporary issues in science education at the University of Botswana. Apart from the author's experience of teaching the course, the impetus for this study also comes from a growing interest in the…

The Classroom Assessment Practices and Skills (CAPS) questionnaire was administered to a sample of 691 primary and secondary school teachers in Botswana, Southern Africa to survey their thoughts about classroom assessment and identify classroom assessment practices teachers perceive to be skilled and those that they used most. The study examined…

Using data from the international Teacher Education and Development Study: Learning to Teach Mathematics (TEDS-M), the measurement equivalence of teachers' beliefs across countries is investigated for the case of "mathematics-as-a fixed-ability". Measurement equivalence is a crucial topic in all international large-scale assessments and…

Discusses the collaboration between two teacher educators working in the United States and Botswana. Focuses on cross-continent teaching to prepare students and future teachers for understanding globalization. Describes the project in which they explored ways for using photography. (CMK)

Botswana does not intend to be left behind in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the support of research, education, development and communication with the rest of the world. It intends to introduce computers with connections to the Internet and computer-based communication to all schools. "Excellence in Education…