Pedagogical Wellbeing in Educational Institutions

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

[46] Lovat T, Dally K. Testing and measuring the impact of character education on the learning environment and its outcomes. Journal of Character

[47] Attaran M. Great Muslim Mentors'

Children. Tehran: Ministry of Education

Education. 2018;**14**(2):1-22

Press; 1987

2016;**6**:127-135

pp. 69-83

Views about the Upbringing of

[48] Orak J. Education from the perspective of Islamic and western scientists (Case study: Ghazali and Plato). The Turkish Online Journal of Design, Art and Communication.

[49] Aspin D, Chapman J. Values Education and Life-Long Learning.

[50] Lovat T. Jurgen Habermas: Education's reluctant hero. In: Murphy M, editor. Social Theory and Educational Research: Understanding Foucault, Habermas, Derrida and Bourdieu. London: Routledge; 2013.

[51] Lovat T, Holbrook A, Bourke S, Fairbairn H, Kiley M, Paltridge B, et al. Examining doctoral examination and the question of the viva. Higher Education Review. 2015;**47**(3):5-23

New York: Springer; 2007

val\_vegps2\_final\_report,26142.html [Accessed: 12 September 2008]

[41] DEST. Values education study. (Executive summary final report). Melbourne: Curriculum Corporation. 2003. Available from: http://www. curriculum.edu.au/verve/\_resources/ VES\_Final\_Report14Nov.pdf [Accessed:

[42] DEST. Implementing the national framework for values education in Australian schools: Report of the Values Education Good Practice Schools Project—Stage 1: Final report, September 2006. 2006. Melbourne: Curriculum Corporation; Available from: http://www.curriculum.edu.au/ verve/\_resources/VEGPS1\_FINAL\_ REPORT\_081106.pdf [Accessed: 12

[43] DEST. National framework for values education in Australian schools. (Canberra, Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training). 2005. Available from: http://www.curriculum.edu.au/ verve/\_resources/Framework\_PDF\_ version\_for\_the\_web.pdf [Accessed: 12

[44] Lovat T. No surprise in the 'surprise effect' of values pedagogy: An edusemiotic analysis. In: Semetsky I, editor. Edusemiotics: A Handbook. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer;

[45] Lovat T, Toomey R, Dally K, Clement N. Project to test and measure the impact of values education on student effects and school ambience. Report for the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) by The University of Newcastle, Australia. Canberra: DEEWR. 2009. Available at: http://www.curriculum.edu.au/ verve/\_resources/Project\_to\_Test\_ and\_Measure\_the\_Impact\_of\_Values\_

12 September 2016]

September 2016]

September 2016]

2017b. pp. 93-106

**28**

Education.pdf

**31**

**1. Introduction**

**Chapter 3**

**Abstract**

and Prospects

A Philosophical Outlook on

Africa's Higher Education in the

*Dei Daniel, Osei-Bonsu Robert and Amponsah Samuel*

socioeconomic developmental goals of the African society.

**Keywords:** higher education, Africa, methodic doubt, challenges, prospects

Higher education describes systematic learning that takes place in the universities and colleges or other equivalent institutions of learning mostly termed tertiary institutions refer to higher education institutions. A survey of higher education institutions in Africa's ten most populous countries (Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Algeria, Kenya, and Tanzania) indicates the existence of over 740 universities and colleges in Africa which are supported by both governments and private entities. As home to the world's oldest universities, the University of Al Qarawiyyin in Fez in Morocco (founded in 859 AD) and Al-Azhar University in Egypt (founded in 970 AD), [40] the continent is not oblivious of the benefits of higher education. Yet society

Twenty-First Century: Challenges

Higher education is perceived as key to the comprehensive development of Africa. In line with this perception, various governments have initiated several policies and models in an attempt to build quality higher education for developing Africa's human capital to positively respond to the global challenges of the twentyfirst century. Despite these efforts, an observable gap still exists between higher education and socioeconomic development of Africa. This gap raises the question of how the quality of higher education in Africa could be improved to make the needed contribution to the comprehensive development of Africa. This chapter casts a philosophical outlook on higher education in Africa and doubts its relevance in Africa. The chapter reveals that commercialization of teaching and learning, scarcity of qualified faculty, inadequate resources for research, and ineffective governance of higher education institutions hinder African higher education from playing its role as a development agent. The chapter further claims that research collaborations across disciplines in higher education institutions, improvement in irregular/nontraditional modes of teaching and learning, utilization of studentbased learning models, and restructuring the governance of higher institutions will help the African society reimagine the significance of these institutions to the

#### **Chapter 3**

## A Philosophical Outlook on Africa's Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges and Prospects

*Dei Daniel, Osei-Bonsu Robert and Amponsah Samuel*

### **Abstract**

Higher education is perceived as key to the comprehensive development of Africa. In line with this perception, various governments have initiated several policies and models in an attempt to build quality higher education for developing Africa's human capital to positively respond to the global challenges of the twentyfirst century. Despite these efforts, an observable gap still exists between higher education and socioeconomic development of Africa. This gap raises the question of how the quality of higher education in Africa could be improved to make the needed contribution to the comprehensive development of Africa. This chapter casts a philosophical outlook on higher education in Africa and doubts its relevance in Africa. The chapter reveals that commercialization of teaching and learning, scarcity of qualified faculty, inadequate resources for research, and ineffective governance of higher education institutions hinder African higher education from playing its role as a development agent. The chapter further claims that research collaborations across disciplines in higher education institutions, improvement in irregular/nontraditional modes of teaching and learning, utilization of studentbased learning models, and restructuring the governance of higher institutions will help the African society reimagine the significance of these institutions to the socioeconomic developmental goals of the African society.

**Keywords:** higher education, Africa, methodic doubt, challenges, prospects

#### **1. Introduction**

Higher education describes systematic learning that takes place in the universities and colleges or other equivalent institutions of learning mostly termed tertiary institutions refer to higher education institutions. A survey of higher education institutions in Africa's ten most populous countries (Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Algeria, Kenya, and Tanzania) indicates the existence of over 740 universities and colleges in Africa which are supported by both governments and private entities. As home to the world's oldest universities, the University of Al Qarawiyyin in Fez in Morocco (founded in 859 AD) and Al-Azhar University in Egypt (founded in 970 AD), [40] the continent is not oblivious of the benefits of higher education. Yet society

is sceptical about the kind of knowledge, skill and competencies graduates from higher institutions possess.

Although, governments in some African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Egypt, and South Africa have invested hugely in both public and private tertiary institutions. Such investments seem to have paid off locally. A 2016 Times Higher Education ranking identified 15 best universities in Africa. Among these, six were from South Africa, three were from Egypt, two were from Morocco, and one each from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda [1]. But African Universities appear inferior to their counterparts in other continents. For example, the Edition 2019.1.2 of Webometrics indicates that the best university in Africa, University of Cape Town, ranked 272 on the world ranking [2].

This meant that the best of African universities was missing on the intercontinental list of 250 best universities. Interestingly, South Africa had eight of the top ten best African universities. Perhaps, South Africa has found an antidote to the declining underperformance of universities in Africa. Could national funding of research policy be the reason for its relative success on the continent? This question and the queries raised so far begin the probe into the relevance and impact of African Universities. This study inquires into the objectives and roles of African universities in a quest to determine challenges obstructing these universities from achieving their objectives. In this regard, the study will identify prospects for harnessing the potentials of universities in Africa.

Through the philosophical approach of methodic doubt [3], the study distrusts the relevance and impact of Africa universities, formulates a challenge-based argument that explains the underperformance and reduced impact of African universities, and argues for a solution based on identified prospects. The study casts doubts on all existing views on the relevance and impact of higher education in Africa in an attempt to arrive at indisputable recommendations for enhancing the relevance and impact of higher education in Africa. Rational analysis enabled secondary data on Africa's higher education to be examined in light of the identified challenges and prospects on the continent. The thrust of this chapter is that concerted efforts by all stakeholders, reviewing teaching and learning approaches by incorporation nontraditional modes and restructuring governance systems in higher education institutions can aid universities in Africa to contribute significantly to the comprehensive development of the continent.

#### **2. Doubt of the relevance and impact of Africa's higher education institutions**

Universities in Africa, like their counterparts elsewhere, are established to achieve lofty goals, but the continuous underperformance and low impact of these universities make these goals a mirage. Also, African universities seek to achieve the goals of a twenty-first century education institution wherein "knowledge producers, values and culture transmitters, and capacity builders" ([4], p. 221). In light of these goals, African tertiary institutions are seen as centers of learning for the development of Africa's human capital and agency for the enhancement of the African identity.

In contrast, the creation of national and African identities [5] bemoans how Western education philosophies have been wholly accepted in the African education system at the detriment of indigenous knowledge systems. The authors are of the view that current Western philosophies of education can be perfectly integrated into the indigenous education system. As centers of learning and the development of Africa's human capital, these tertiary institutions are expected to acquire theoretical and

**33**

what follows:

*A Philosophical Outlook on Africa's Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges…*

practical information about issues and concepts relevant to the African community, process this information through systematic categorizations, and transmit this categorized knowledge to their students. African universities perform this task through research, assessment, and teacher-student engagements in both curricular and extracurricular activities. Once again, this highlights the call for African philosophies to form the framework for education in the continent [6] in order to make teaching and learning more relevant to students in African higher education institutions.

It is worth noting that the significance of these universities is mostly viewed by society through the performances and competencies graduates bring to bear in their attempt to resolve challenging issues [7]. As such, society expects that these graduates will leave the universities with a body of relevant knowledge, ability to use this knowledge in the society meaningfully, and skills to apply knowledge to solve the myriads of problems facing countries on the continent [7]. After all, society prides itself in the high-level human workforce who not only exhibit knowledge but use this acquired knowledge to brace up society for the extensive changes of the twenty-

Given the considerable number of graduates produced annually by Africa higher education institutions and the disconnect between the industry and the knowledge and skill base of these graduates, one could argue for the relevance of establishing these universities. African societies do not just need the numbers because there must be commensurate quantity given that graduates are required for societal transformation given the pressures and opportunities of the twentyfirst century. However, the high rate of graduate unemployability across the continent casts a slur on the relevance of African universities, bringing into the fore the question raised by Mouton et al. [9] on the relevance of these institutions on the continent. This unfortunate phenomenon has been blamed on the mismatch between graduate competencies and industrial/societal needs [10]. This has opened a Pandora box for both society and industry to question the worth of university graduates. Some university graduates are themselves not so hopeful of their future in terms of acceptance into the workplace and the contributions they

To further highlight the situation under scrutiny, [11] reported that 25% of graduates from African universities were unemployed. In a similar instance, the [12] quoted the president of Coco-Cola Company as claiming that 50% of the annual 10 million university graduates that churned out of African universities were unemployed. Additionally, Osazuwa [13] pegged graduate unemployment in Nigeria at an alarming 70%. Whereas in South Africa, the economic powerhouse in Africa, [39]

The picture painted above may readily suggest that high graduate numbers will result in unemployment when more jobs are not created. However, the situation is different in the case where it is noted that only 50% out of annual university graduates in Kenya are suitable for employment [14]. The report further indicated that less than half of this percentage possessed the requisite soft skills for their preferred careers. The lack of soft skills and mismatched knowledge and job requirement corroborates an earlier report by the [15] and that of the [10] which collected data from 36 Africa countries established a mismatch between university degrees awarded and "career paths such as telecommunications, engineering, agriculture, Information

Sadly, Wambugu et al. [16] argued that "African tertiary graduates are weak in problem-solving, business understanding, computer use, and communication skills." Relatedly, Ncube [17] picked a compelling sentence from the keynote address by Professor Emmanuel Ngara of African Association of Universities in

indicated that graduate unemployment was ~14.9%.

Technology, health, banking and education" [10].

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86885*

first century [8].

can make.

#### *A Philosophical Outlook on Africa's Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86885*

practical information about issues and concepts relevant to the African community, process this information through systematic categorizations, and transmit this categorized knowledge to their students. African universities perform this task through research, assessment, and teacher-student engagements in both curricular and extracurricular activities. Once again, this highlights the call for African philosophies to form the framework for education in the continent [6] in order to make teaching and learning more relevant to students in African higher education institutions.

It is worth noting that the significance of these universities is mostly viewed by society through the performances and competencies graduates bring to bear in their attempt to resolve challenging issues [7]. As such, society expects that these graduates will leave the universities with a body of relevant knowledge, ability to use this knowledge in the society meaningfully, and skills to apply knowledge to solve the myriads of problems facing countries on the continent [7]. After all, society prides itself in the high-level human workforce who not only exhibit knowledge but use this acquired knowledge to brace up society for the extensive changes of the twentyfirst century [8].

Given the considerable number of graduates produced annually by Africa higher education institutions and the disconnect between the industry and the knowledge and skill base of these graduates, one could argue for the relevance of establishing these universities. African societies do not just need the numbers because there must be commensurate quantity given that graduates are required for societal transformation given the pressures and opportunities of the twentyfirst century. However, the high rate of graduate unemployability across the continent casts a slur on the relevance of African universities, bringing into the fore the question raised by Mouton et al. [9] on the relevance of these institutions on the continent. This unfortunate phenomenon has been blamed on the mismatch between graduate competencies and industrial/societal needs [10]. This has opened a Pandora box for both society and industry to question the worth of university graduates. Some university graduates are themselves not so hopeful of their future in terms of acceptance into the workplace and the contributions they can make.

To further highlight the situation under scrutiny, [11] reported that 25% of graduates from African universities were unemployed. In a similar instance, the [12] quoted the president of Coco-Cola Company as claiming that 50% of the annual 10 million university graduates that churned out of African universities were unemployed. Additionally, Osazuwa [13] pegged graduate unemployment in Nigeria at an alarming 70%. Whereas in South Africa, the economic powerhouse in Africa, [39] indicated that graduate unemployment was ~14.9%.

The picture painted above may readily suggest that high graduate numbers will result in unemployment when more jobs are not created. However, the situation is different in the case where it is noted that only 50% out of annual university graduates in Kenya are suitable for employment [14]. The report further indicated that less than half of this percentage possessed the requisite soft skills for their preferred careers. The lack of soft skills and mismatched knowledge and job requirement corroborates an earlier report by the [15] and that of the [10] which collected data from 36 Africa countries established a mismatch between university degrees awarded and "career paths such as telecommunications, engineering, agriculture, Information Technology, health, banking and education" [10].

Sadly, Wambugu et al. [16] argued that "African tertiary graduates are weak in problem-solving, business understanding, computer use, and communication skills." Relatedly, Ncube [17] picked a compelling sentence from the keynote address by Professor Emmanuel Ngara of African Association of Universities in what follows:

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

University of Cape Town, ranked 272 on the world ranking [2].

harnessing the potentials of universities in Africa.

development of the continent.

**institutions**

African identity.

higher institutions possess.

is sceptical about the kind of knowledge, skill and competencies graduates from

Although, governments in some African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Egypt, and South Africa have invested hugely in both public and private tertiary institutions. Such investments seem to have paid off locally. A 2016 Times Higher Education ranking identified 15 best universities in Africa. Among these, six were from South Africa, three were from Egypt, two were from Morocco, and one each from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda [1]. But African Universities appear inferior to their counterparts in other continents. For example, the Edition 2019.1.2 of Webometrics indicates that the best university in Africa,

This meant that the best of African universities was missing on the intercontinental list of 250 best universities. Interestingly, South Africa had eight of the top ten best African universities. Perhaps, South Africa has found an antidote to the declining underperformance of universities in Africa. Could national funding of research policy be the reason for its relative success on the continent? This question and the queries raised so far begin the probe into the relevance and impact of African Universities. This study inquires into the objectives and roles of African universities in a quest to determine challenges obstructing these universities from achieving their objectives. In this regard, the study will identify prospects for

Through the philosophical approach of methodic doubt [3], the study distrusts the relevance and impact of Africa universities, formulates a challenge-based argument that explains the underperformance and reduced impact of African universities, and argues for a solution based on identified prospects. The study casts doubts on all existing views on the relevance and impact of higher education in Africa in an attempt to arrive at indisputable recommendations for enhancing the relevance and impact of higher education in Africa. Rational analysis enabled secondary data on Africa's higher education to be examined in light of the identified challenges and prospects on the continent. The thrust of this chapter is that concerted efforts by all stakeholders, reviewing teaching and learning approaches by incorporation nontraditional modes and restructuring governance systems in higher education institutions can aid universities in Africa to contribute significantly to the comprehensive

**2. Doubt of the relevance and impact of Africa's higher education** 

Universities in Africa, like their counterparts elsewhere, are established to achieve lofty goals, but the continuous underperformance and low impact of these universities make these goals a mirage. Also, African universities seek to achieve the goals of a twenty-first century education institution wherein "knowledge producers, values and culture transmitters, and capacity builders" ([4], p. 221). In light of these goals, African tertiary institutions are seen as centers of learning for the development of Africa's human capital and agency for the enhancement of the

In contrast, the creation of national and African identities [5] bemoans how Western education philosophies have been wholly accepted in the African education system at the detriment of indigenous knowledge systems. The authors are of the view that current Western philosophies of education can be perfectly integrated into the indigenous education system. As centers of learning and the development of Africa's human capital, these tertiary institutions are expected to acquire theoretical and

**32**

*Many African tertiary institutions produce half-baked graduates that aren't fit for the world of work mainly because of the way they are taught and the absence of curricular reviews that should respond to the calls of industry's contemporary needs.*

As authors of this chapter, we note that entrance into African higher institutions are highly competitive and the best candidates are often offered admission until the throughput is overhauled to fill the mismatch the relevance of African universities in terms of graduate output will continue to be in doubt.

Apart from the socio-economic function of African higher institutions, there is a greater expectation that these institutions will be agencies by which the goal of constructing an African identity in the twenty-first century can be realized. Africanization is a concept that highlights the need to determine and sustain the personhood and the relationship of the African people in a globalized world [18, 19]. It stresses the need to incorporate the patterned way by which the African thinks, behaves, and expresses feelings about reality into the total life of the university [20]. Far from hostility towards the Western worldview, there should be a conscious and concerted effort of re-modeling higher education in Africa such that the goal, content, method, research, and administration converge to produce graduates who recognize the needs and values of the continent [21]. Essentially, tertiary institutions in Africa will achieve this aim if the graduates they churn out display a sense of Africa's commonalities, affirm Africa's culture, tradition and value systems, and foster a comprehension of the African consciousness in a bid to blend both western and African methodologies of resolving the challenges of the African people [5, 22].

An appraisal of tertiary institutions in Africa in terms of Africanization only deepens the doubt of the relevance of these institutions. For instance, research conducted in Kenya revealed that graduates from higher institutions were only strangers to the socio-economic development needs of the country [23]. A similar observation can be made across the continent as most African universities employ content and delivery methods that are simply out of tune with the developmental needs of African society or as noted by Amponsah et al. [5] are skewed towards western philosophies of education. As such, graduates from these tertiary institutions "are not active, creative participants in the economy" of their countries [24]. The logical conclusion from the disparity between African graduates and their subsequent irrelevance in Africa's socioeconomic struggles would seem to suggest that content and methodologies used in educating these graduates are foreign to the demands of their developmental context [25]. In this regard, higher education institutions in Africa have, to a large extent, failed to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the African community [26]. As a result, most tertiary graduates in Africa are marginalized by society. This is obviously a defect in the efforts to educate people to the highest level and this needs to be fixed to reverse the negative assertions on higher education institutions.

#### **3. Challenges of Africa's higher education institutions**

The doubt on the relevance and impact of higher education in Africa has been sustained by certain pillars. A common proverb goes like "there is no smoke without fire." This section is therefore dedicated to establishing some key challenges African higher education institutions continue to battle among which are the commercialization of teaching and learning, scarcity of qualified faculty, inadequate resources for research, and ineffective governance of higher education institutions. First of

**35**

situation.

*A Philosophical Outlook on Africa's Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges…*

all, the increasing demand for higher education in Africa explains the escalation of private tertiary education institutions on the continent. It is recorded that private universities grew from 35 in 1969 to 972 in 2015. As a consequence, higher education in Africa has become a privileged right instead of a public good. This implies a *for-profit drive* rather than a *nonprofit drive*. Like other neoliberal institutions, widening the profit margins of the entity is a primary interest of its owners. In this regard, management of higher education institutions in Africa engages faculty, students, content, teaching and administrative methodologies that contribute to the economic interest of owners. Such *for-profit* motif has even infected public higher education institutions. African governments are reducing state funding of public universities in favor of commercializing policies such as "cost-sharing" [27]. The effect is that economic interest instead of the need to produce a refined workforce for society determines the standard of operations in most African universities. More so as higher education in Africa expands, the need for qualified faculty becomes apparent but that has mostly been the case. For example, Kenya's Commission for University Education revealed that only 34% out of 18,005 faculties from the nation's 74 universities and colleges possessed doctorate degrees [14]. This reality implies that higher education institutions in Africa will have to rely on faculty without the requisite qualifications or part-time lecturers for students' engagement. Since these part-time lecturers have a primary commitment in their substantive institutions, their services in these part-time institutions are limited both in terms of contact times and quality of contents. Lecturing in multiple institutions most likely lead to limited research output. Available records indicate that Africa produced 2.1% of the world's academic publication compared with 33.1% by Asia and 32.9% by Europe. This results in the production of half-baked graduates for the African corporate society. No wonder the endless cycle of the mismatch between graduates from African higher institutions and African industries continue to exist and has been put on autopilot until something is done to salvage the

Also, the lack of funding for research activities in African higher institutions is becoming pronounced [27]. Well-resourced libraries, Information-Technology facilities, and research-experienced faculty are lacking in most African higher institutions. For this cause, most Africa higher institutions fall short of being described as research universities. Not only are the research outputs low, but they are also regarded as substandard and hardly find their way to top-notch publication outlets. Global statistics on internationally collaborated publications in 2014 showed 90% of scholarly publications by African faculties were done in partnership with western countries. Most of the research outputs have more significance to the western partners than the African counterparts. This is indicative that such African scholars are insignificant to socio-economic issues of their immediate milieu [28]. By inference, even the majority of the research carried out by African scholars may

To a large extent, the governance of Africa's higher institutions leaves much to be desired. Corporatization of African higher institutions has included individuals who are oblivious of leadership skills in academia. Governing councils of universities in Africa direct the affairs of the universities without recourse to the autonomy and freedom of the academic community. In some parts of Africa, the attitude of government regulatory bodies has added to the decline of quality in the operations of Africa's universities. Instead of adopting the collaborative approach to building these universities, these regulatory bodies have taken an interventionist stance. Through this approach, they prescribe content and methods that are mostly inconsistent with the aims of the general academic community under their jurisdiction. In some circumstances, these regulatory bodies assume a bias stance against private

never result in solving the problems of the continent.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86885*

#### *A Philosophical Outlook on Africa's Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86885*

all, the increasing demand for higher education in Africa explains the escalation of private tertiary education institutions on the continent. It is recorded that private universities grew from 35 in 1969 to 972 in 2015. As a consequence, higher education in Africa has become a privileged right instead of a public good. This implies a *for-profit drive* rather than a *nonprofit drive*. Like other neoliberal institutions, widening the profit margins of the entity is a primary interest of its owners. In this regard, management of higher education institutions in Africa engages faculty, students, content, teaching and administrative methodologies that contribute to the economic interest of owners. Such *for-profit* motif has even infected public higher education institutions. African governments are reducing state funding of public universities in favor of commercializing policies such as "cost-sharing" [27]. The effect is that economic interest instead of the need to produce a refined workforce for society determines the standard of operations in most African universities.

More so as higher education in Africa expands, the need for qualified faculty becomes apparent but that has mostly been the case. For example, Kenya's Commission for University Education revealed that only 34% out of 18,005 faculties from the nation's 74 universities and colleges possessed doctorate degrees [14]. This reality implies that higher education institutions in Africa will have to rely on faculty without the requisite qualifications or part-time lecturers for students' engagement. Since these part-time lecturers have a primary commitment in their substantive institutions, their services in these part-time institutions are limited both in terms of contact times and quality of contents. Lecturing in multiple institutions most likely lead to limited research output. Available records indicate that Africa produced 2.1% of the world's academic publication compared with 33.1% by Asia and 32.9% by Europe. This results in the production of half-baked graduates for the African corporate society. No wonder the endless cycle of the mismatch between graduates from African higher institutions and African industries continue to exist and has been put on autopilot until something is done to salvage the situation.

Also, the lack of funding for research activities in African higher institutions is becoming pronounced [27]. Well-resourced libraries, Information-Technology facilities, and research-experienced faculty are lacking in most African higher institutions. For this cause, most Africa higher institutions fall short of being described as research universities. Not only are the research outputs low, but they are also regarded as substandard and hardly find their way to top-notch publication outlets. Global statistics on internationally collaborated publications in 2014 showed 90% of scholarly publications by African faculties were done in partnership with western countries. Most of the research outputs have more significance to the western partners than the African counterparts. This is indicative that such African scholars are insignificant to socio-economic issues of their immediate milieu [28]. By inference, even the majority of the research carried out by African scholars may never result in solving the problems of the continent.

To a large extent, the governance of Africa's higher institutions leaves much to be desired. Corporatization of African higher institutions has included individuals who are oblivious of leadership skills in academia. Governing councils of universities in Africa direct the affairs of the universities without recourse to the autonomy and freedom of the academic community. In some parts of Africa, the attitude of government regulatory bodies has added to the decline of quality in the operations of Africa's universities. Instead of adopting the collaborative approach to building these universities, these regulatory bodies have taken an interventionist stance. Through this approach, they prescribe content and methods that are mostly inconsistent with the aims of the general academic community under their jurisdiction. In some circumstances, these regulatory bodies assume a bias stance against private

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

in terms of graduate output will continue to be in doubt.

*needs.*

*Many African tertiary institutions produce half-baked graduates that aren't fit for the world of work mainly because of the way they are taught and the absence of curricular reviews that should respond to the calls of industry's contemporary* 

As authors of this chapter, we note that entrance into African higher institutions are highly competitive and the best candidates are often offered admission until the throughput is overhauled to fill the mismatch the relevance of African universities

Apart from the socio-economic function of African higher institutions, there is a greater expectation that these institutions will be agencies by which the goal of constructing an African identity in the twenty-first century can be realized. Africanization is a concept that highlights the need to determine and sustain the personhood and the relationship of the African people in a globalized world [18, 19]. It stresses the need to incorporate the patterned way by which the African thinks, behaves, and expresses feelings about reality into the total life of the university [20]. Far from hostility towards the Western worldview, there should be a conscious and concerted effort of re-modeling higher education in Africa such that the goal, content, method, research, and administration converge to produce graduates who recognize the needs and values of the continent [21]. Essentially, tertiary institutions in Africa will achieve this aim if the graduates they churn out display a sense of Africa's commonalities, affirm Africa's culture, tradition and value systems, and foster a comprehension of the African consciousness in a bid to blend both western and African methodologies of resolving the challenges of the African people [5, 22]. An appraisal of tertiary institutions in Africa in terms of Africanization only deepens the doubt of the relevance of these institutions. For instance, research conducted in Kenya revealed that graduates from higher institutions were only strangers to the socio-economic development needs of the country [23]. A similar observation can be made across the continent as most African universities employ content and delivery methods that are simply out of tune with the developmental needs of African society or as noted by Amponsah et al. [5] are skewed towards western philosophies of education. As such, graduates from these tertiary institutions "are not active, creative participants in the economy" of their countries [24]. The logical conclusion from the disparity between African graduates and their subsequent irrelevance in Africa's socioeconomic struggles would seem to suggest that content and methodologies used in educating these graduates are foreign to the demands of their developmental context [25]. In this regard, higher education institutions in Africa have, to a large extent, failed to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the African community [26]. As a result, most tertiary graduates in Africa are marginalized by society. This is obviously a defect in the efforts to educate people to the highest level and this needs to be fixed to reverse the negative assertions on

**34**

higher education institutions.

**3. Challenges of Africa's higher education institutions**

The doubt on the relevance and impact of higher education in Africa has been sustained by certain pillars. A common proverb goes like "there is no smoke without fire." This section is therefore dedicated to establishing some key challenges African higher education institutions continue to battle among which are the commercialization of teaching and learning, scarcity of qualified faculty, inadequate resources for research, and ineffective governance of higher education institutions. First of

universities. Such internal and external pressures rob African university communities of the vitality that academic freedom and autonomy brings.

#### **4. Prospects of higher education in Africa**

The presence of these challenges and their consequent hindrance to the optimal performance of the task of higher education in Africa is in itself a case for the relevance of these institutions in the twenty-first century. To have maximum impact on the African continent, it is suggested that the higher education system in Africa revisualizes its fundamental mandate and usefulness in the twenty-first century society. To this end, research collaborations across disciplines and higher education institutions, improvement in irregular/nontraditional modes of teaching and learning, utilization of student-based learning models, and restructuring the governance of higher education institutions will aid universities in Africa to contribute significantly to the comprehensive development of the continent. Such revisioning is necessary given the increasing demand for higher education in Africa [10].

Secondly, research collaborations across disciplines and higher education institutions will equip African faculties for significant research undertaking. Through such partnerships, African higher institutions will pull resources together for academic research. In working together, inexperienced-researchers will acquire skills from their experienced counterparts and skills learned will sharpen their curriculum planning, delivery, and research [29]. Also, the quest to conduct research that is relevant to the socio-economic and developmental needs of African society should be the top priority of African higher institutions. Such studies have the potential of attracting industries in Africa to invest in the research programs of the institutions. Through meaningful collaborations, such higher institutions will not only heighten their impact in the local context, but they would also create an impact on the global front.

Developing and maintaining irregular or nontraditional modes of learning is one sure way for higher education in Africa to respond to the increasing demand for quality and accessible higher education [30]. Otherwise known as innovative/ modern learning methods, nontraditional learning modes refer to learning strategies that enable communication between learners and their faculties/institutions without the need to be physically present in the institution of learning. These strategies are generally self-directed and interactive. They can effectively engage the learner through technology-based methods such as virtual study environments (e.g., webinars), interactive interfaces, and blended techniques (use of videos and computers for teaching and learning). In the twenty-first century, harnessing the convenience, accessibility, self-paced and self-directed nontraditional learning modes of learning within the context of affordability can boost the quest of African higher institutions to remain relevant to the changing times.

Additionally, other modes of learning such as distance education, sandwich, weekend schools, and cohort learning methods could bring the benefits of a robust professional connection and single purpose experiences in the life of the learner. By these means, the missing link between higher education institutions and the requirements of industries in Africa could be supplied. In using these modes of learning, it is expected that regulatory bodies will objectively ensure quality in performing the task of education. In some places in Africa, these twenty-first century modes of learning have been rejected because they are always inferior to traditional styles of learning. Instead of showing hostility towards these learning modes, regulatory bodies should acquire the expertise needed to understand various technologies that drive these methods in their bid to ensure quality content, delivery, and assessment.

**37**

*A Philosophical Outlook on Africa's Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges…*

This requires a shift from teaching methods that emphasizes a teacher-mediatedclassroom learning to more dynamic models of learning relevant to the comprehensive task of higher education in the twenty-first century. Such dynamic pedagogies utilize formal, nonformal, and informal strategies to engage students in analytical learning contexts that aim at making learning both a social construct and activity [31]. These dynamic pedagogies are drawn from several theories on the methods of teaching. The behaviorist learning approach is one of such models. This approach sees the learning process as a means of sharpening specific and general ways

individuals respond to environmental conditions [32]. A mastery of these responses may equip learners with skills that may enhance their productivity in the society. The constructivist paradigm may also be helpful in this regard. Shifting attention from the passive recipients of teacher-mediated information, constructivist learning engages learners in active learning contexts that use both the past and current situation of the learner as bases for the generation of functional ideas [33]. Its usage of collaborative learning ensures learners acquire knowledge from both their personal life and the life of their peers and/or colleagues. Situated learning is closely knitted with this paradigm. It distinctively uses the process of social interaction as the locus of learning [34]. Through field learning and interaction with experts of relevant professions, learners acquire firsthand information that aids personal

Same techniques may be observed in pedagogies that uses the problem-based learning approach. In this paradigm, learners are encouraged to resolve careerrelated dilemmas in a structured manner [35]. These problems may be real or hypothetical. However, knowledge gained from such exercises is likely to enhance learners' attitude of problem identification and resolution in real life situations. This also appears to be the goal of the lifelong learning model. Lifelong learning is predicated on the notion that learning is a process that continues through one's life, either unconsciously or consciously [36, 37]. In this regard, lifelong learning equips learners with the skills to master the content of what they learn as they progres-

African higher institutions cannot be relevant to their immediate society if the content, method of delivery, and assessment are irrelevant to the students. This calls for the utilization of student-based learning models in African higher institutions. Learning plans, content, and methods that place premium on the cognition, behavior, and affective traits of learners achieve "effective learning, self-efficacy, self-motivation, ability to plan, and seek help when necessary and be able to reflect on past learning experiences to look to the future" [27]. Such learning methods are capable of creating the environment necessary for students to apply, create, and evaluate the knowledge they obtained from the study [38]. By mastering their environment, students leave these institutions of higher learning with the skills needed to effectively transfer knowledge from the school setting to the wider society for meaningful output. African higher institutions will be re-imagined as the producers of the workforce necessary to drive the socio-economic development of the continent. The optimal performance of graduates from African higher institutions will

call attention to the impact and relevance of these institutions in Africa.

Lastly, restructuring the governance of higher education institutions in Africa will be a step in the right direction. African higher institutions need administrative and finance teams who understand what it means to perform the task of teaching. These teams will partner academic communities to use their autonomy and freedom for effective teaching and learning. A conscious effort should be made to form institutional Councils with a membership that possesses the necessary capacities to understand the interplay of innovation, science, and technology, on the one hand, and strategic planning of higher education institutions, on the other side. Also,

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86885*

reflections of subjects of study.

sively encounter the changing seasons of life.

#### *A Philosophical Outlook on Africa's Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86885*

This requires a shift from teaching methods that emphasizes a teacher-mediatedclassroom learning to more dynamic models of learning relevant to the comprehensive task of higher education in the twenty-first century. Such dynamic pedagogies utilize formal, nonformal, and informal strategies to engage students in analytical learning contexts that aim at making learning both a social construct and activity [31]. These dynamic pedagogies are drawn from several theories on the methods of teaching. The behaviorist learning approach is one of such models. This approach sees the learning process as a means of sharpening specific and general ways individuals respond to environmental conditions [32]. A mastery of these responses may equip learners with skills that may enhance their productivity in the society.

The constructivist paradigm may also be helpful in this regard. Shifting attention from the passive recipients of teacher-mediated information, constructivist learning engages learners in active learning contexts that use both the past and current situation of the learner as bases for the generation of functional ideas [33]. Its usage of collaborative learning ensures learners acquire knowledge from both their personal life and the life of their peers and/or colleagues. Situated learning is closely knitted with this paradigm. It distinctively uses the process of social interaction as the locus of learning [34]. Through field learning and interaction with experts of relevant professions, learners acquire firsthand information that aids personal reflections of subjects of study.

Same techniques may be observed in pedagogies that uses the problem-based learning approach. In this paradigm, learners are encouraged to resolve careerrelated dilemmas in a structured manner [35]. These problems may be real or hypothetical. However, knowledge gained from such exercises is likely to enhance learners' attitude of problem identification and resolution in real life situations. This also appears to be the goal of the lifelong learning model. Lifelong learning is predicated on the notion that learning is a process that continues through one's life, either unconsciously or consciously [36, 37]. In this regard, lifelong learning equips learners with the skills to master the content of what they learn as they progressively encounter the changing seasons of life.

African higher institutions cannot be relevant to their immediate society if the content, method of delivery, and assessment are irrelevant to the students. This calls for the utilization of student-based learning models in African higher institutions. Learning plans, content, and methods that place premium on the cognition, behavior, and affective traits of learners achieve "effective learning, self-efficacy, self-motivation, ability to plan, and seek help when necessary and be able to reflect on past learning experiences to look to the future" [27]. Such learning methods are capable of creating the environment necessary for students to apply, create, and evaluate the knowledge they obtained from the study [38]. By mastering their environment, students leave these institutions of higher learning with the skills needed to effectively transfer knowledge from the school setting to the wider society for meaningful output. African higher institutions will be re-imagined as the producers of the workforce necessary to drive the socio-economic development of the continent. The optimal performance of graduates from African higher institutions will call attention to the impact and relevance of these institutions in Africa.

Lastly, restructuring the governance of higher education institutions in Africa will be a step in the right direction. African higher institutions need administrative and finance teams who understand what it means to perform the task of teaching. These teams will partner academic communities to use their autonomy and freedom for effective teaching and learning. A conscious effort should be made to form institutional Councils with a membership that possesses the necessary capacities to understand the interplay of innovation, science, and technology, on the one hand, and strategic planning of higher education institutions, on the other side. Also,

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

ties of the vitality that academic freedom and autonomy brings.

**4. Prospects of higher education in Africa**

universities. Such internal and external pressures rob African university communi-

The presence of these challenges and their consequent hindrance to the optimal

Secondly, research collaborations across disciplines and higher education institutions will equip African faculties for significant research undertaking. Through such partnerships, African higher institutions will pull resources together for academic research. In working together, inexperienced-researchers will acquire skills from their experienced counterparts and skills learned will sharpen their curriculum planning, delivery, and research [29]. Also, the quest to conduct research that is relevant to the socio-economic and developmental needs of African society should be the top priority of African higher institutions. Such studies have the potential of attracting industries in Africa to invest in the research programs of the institutions. Through meaningful collaborations, such higher institutions will not only heighten their impact in the local context, but they would also create an impact on the global front. Developing and maintaining irregular or nontraditional modes of learning is one sure way for higher education in Africa to respond to the increasing demand for quality and accessible higher education [30]. Otherwise known as innovative/ modern learning methods, nontraditional learning modes refer to learning strategies that enable communication between learners and their faculties/institutions without the need to be physically present in the institution of learning. These strategies are generally self-directed and interactive. They can effectively engage the learner through technology-based methods such as virtual study environments (e.g., webinars), interactive interfaces, and blended techniques (use of videos and computers for teaching and learning). In the twenty-first century, harnessing the convenience, accessibility, self-paced and self-directed nontraditional learning modes of learning within the context of affordability can boost the quest of African

performance of the task of higher education in Africa is in itself a case for the relevance of these institutions in the twenty-first century. To have maximum impact on the African continent, it is suggested that the higher education system in Africa revisualizes its fundamental mandate and usefulness in the twenty-first century society. To this end, research collaborations across disciplines and higher education institutions, improvement in irregular/nontraditional modes of teaching and learning, utilization of student-based learning models, and restructuring the governance of higher education institutions will aid universities in Africa to contribute significantly to the comprehensive development of the continent. Such revisioning is

necessary given the increasing demand for higher education in Africa [10].

higher institutions to remain relevant to the changing times.

Additionally, other modes of learning such as distance education, sandwich, weekend schools, and cohort learning methods could bring the benefits of a robust professional connection and single purpose experiences in the life of the learner. By these means, the missing link between higher education institutions and the requirements of industries in Africa could be supplied. In using these modes of learning, it is expected that regulatory bodies will objectively ensure quality in performing the task of education. In some places in Africa, these twenty-first century modes of learning have been rejected because they are always inferior to traditional styles of learning. Instead of showing hostility towards these learning modes, regulatory bodies should acquire the expertise needed to understand various technologies that drive these methods in their bid to ensure quality content,

**36**

delivery, and assessment.

governmental regulatory bodies must collaborate the efforts of African higher institutions, whether private or public, in ensuring that the institutions meet both the local and international standards of teaching. Together, the internal and external control of African higher institutions will solidify their existence as indispensable entities in the pursuit of the socio-economic developmental goals of the African continent and its people.

#### **5. Conclusion**

The gap between higher education in Africa and the socio-economic development of Africa has led to doubts on the relevance and impact of higher education institutions in Africa. Through the philosophical approach of methodic doubt, the core objectives for establishing these institutions were questioned. The mismatch between knowledge acquired from the higher education institutions and the soft skills required by the society to positively drive its quest towards socio-economic developmental goals in the African society sustains this doubt. Also, failure to satisfactorily reconstruct the African identity in the face of trends in the twenty-first century casts shadows on the significance of higher education institutions in Africa. Other factors such as the commercialization of higher education in Africa, the shortage of qualified faculty, inadequate or nonexistent funding, and corporatization of the governance systems of higher education institutions have crystallized the perception of nonperformance of the higher education institutions in the African society.

Despite the gloomy portrait of the relevance and impact of higher education in Africa, this chapter established that higher education is significant to the societal quest of resolving the socio-economic developmental challenges that continue to beset the African continent in the twenty-first century. Research collaborations across disciplines and higher education institutions, quality enhancement of nontraditional learning modes, utilization of student-based learning methods, and a restructured governance system of higher education institutions will enhance the relevance and impact of higher education in Africa. To this end, the system of higher education must consciously incorporate functional policies that will sustain cohesive teaching, learning, and research communities, funding and financial management, and improved governance of higher institutions in Africa.

**39**

**Author details**

, Osei-Bonsu Robert2

provided the original work is properly cited.

2 Valley View University, Ghana

1 School of Graduate Studies, Valley View University, Ghana

\*Address all correspondence to: samponsah@ug.edu.gh

and Amponsah Samuel3

3 Department of Adult Education and Human Resource Studies, University of

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

\*

Dei Daniel1

Ghana, Ghana

*A Philosophical Outlook on Africa's Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges…*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86885*

*A Philosophical Outlook on Africa's Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86885*

#### **Author details**

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

continent and its people.

**5. Conclusion**

governmental regulatory bodies must collaborate the efforts of African higher institutions, whether private or public, in ensuring that the institutions meet both the local and international standards of teaching. Together, the internal and external control of African higher institutions will solidify their existence as indispensable entities in the pursuit of the socio-economic developmental goals of the African

The gap between higher education in Africa and the socio-economic development of Africa has led to doubts on the relevance and impact of higher education institutions in Africa. Through the philosophical approach of methodic doubt, the core objectives for establishing these institutions were questioned. The mismatch between

Despite the gloomy portrait of the relevance and impact of higher education in Africa, this chapter established that higher education is significant to the societal quest of resolving the socio-economic developmental challenges that continue to beset the African continent in the twenty-first century. Research collaborations across disciplines and higher education institutions, quality enhancement of nontraditional learning modes, utilization of student-based learning methods, and a restructured governance system of higher education institutions will enhance the relevance and impact of higher education in Africa. To this end, the system of higher education must consciously incorporate functional policies that will sustain cohesive teaching, learning, and research communities, funding and financial management, and improved governance of higher institutions in Africa.

knowledge acquired from the higher education institutions and the soft skills required by the society to positively drive its quest towards socio-economic developmental goals in the African society sustains this doubt. Also, failure to satisfactorily reconstruct the African identity in the face of trends in the twenty-first century casts shadows on the significance of higher education institutions in Africa. Other factors such as the commercialization of higher education in Africa, the shortage of qualified faculty, inadequate or nonexistent funding, and corporatization of the governance systems of higher education institutions have crystallized the perception of nonper-

formance of the higher education institutions in the African society.

**38**

Dei Daniel1 , Osei-Bonsu Robert<sup>2</sup> and Amponsah Samuel3 \*

1 School of Graduate Studies, Valley View University, Ghana

2 Valley View University, Ghana

3 Department of Adult Education and Human Resource Studies, University of Ghana, Ghana

\*Address all correspondence to: samponsah@ug.edu.gh

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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[6] Avoseh MBM. A cross-cultural analysis of fighting poverty through education and participatory development. International Journal of Case Method Research and Application. 2009;**XXI**(1):10-18

[7] Mosha HJ. The role of African universities in national development: A critical analysis. Comparative Education. 1986;**22**(2):93-109

[8] Mosha HJ. The role of African universities in national development: A critical analysis. In: Crossley M, Broadfoot P, Schweisfurth M, editors. Changing Education Contexts, Issues, and Identities: 40 Years of Comparative Education. New York: Routledge; 2007. pp. 74-94

[9] Mouton J, Wildschut L, editors. Leadership and Management: Case Studies in Training in Higher Education in Africa. Cape Town: African Minds; 2015

[10] British Council. Can higher education solve Africa's job crisis? Understanding graduate employability in Sub-Saharan Africa. Going Global 2014 [Internet]. 2014. Available from: http://www.britishcouncil.org/ education/ihe [Accessed: April 6, 2019]

[11] Kigotho W. Producing Unemployable Graduates Wastes Time and Money. University World News [Internet]. 2015. Available from: https:// www.universityworldnews.com/ post.php?story=20150319130200274 [Accessed: April 18, 2019]

[12] African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET). Unemployment in Africa: No jobs for 50% of graduates [Internet]. 2016. Available from: http://acetforafrica.org/ highlights/unemployment-in-africa-nojobs-for-50-of-graduates/ [Accessed: March 26, 2019]

[13] Osazuwa J. 70% of Nigerian graduates unemployable, says economist. The Sun News [Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://www. sunnewsonline.com/70-of-nigeriangraduates-unemployable-sayseconomist/ [Accessed: March 26, 2019]

[14] The Founder Magazine. Here is why graduates in Kenya may not have a job after university in Kenya [Internet]. 2016. Available from: https://www. transformify.org/blog/blogger-s-island/ here-is-why-graduates-in-kenya-maynot-have-a-job-after-university-inkenya [Accessed: April 26, 2019]

[15] African Economic Outlook (AEO). Promoting youth employment in Africa [Internet]. 2012. Available from: http://

**41**

Minds; 2014

*A Philosophical Outlook on Africa's Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges…*

[25] Wambugu F, Kamanga D. Biotechnology in Africa. Emergence, Initiatives and Future. Nairobi, Kenya: Springer International Publisher

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[27] Drape TA, Rudd RD, Lopez F, Radford D. Challenges and solutions to higher education institutions in Africa. International Journal of Education.

[28] Mohamedbhai G. Higher education in Africa: Facing the challenges in the 21st century. International Higher

Switzerland; 2014

2016;**8**(1):43-58

Education. 2011;**63**:17-21

biotechnology and applied

[29] Frenken K, Hölzl W, de Vor F. The citation impact of research collaborations: The case of European

microbiology (1988-2002). Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 2005;22(1-2):9-30

[30] Appana S. A review of benefits and limitations of online learning in the context of the student, the instructor and the tenured faculty. International Journal on E-Learning. 2008;**7**(1):5-22

[31] Kapfudzaruwa F, Nagao M, Mutisya E, editors. Youth Entrepreneurship and Africa's

[32] Azzarito L, Kirk D, editors.

[34] Stoner AM, Cennamo KS.

Spears Media Press; 2018

2013

Sustainable Industrialization. Denver:

Pedagogies, Physical Culture, and Visual Methods. Abingdon: Routledge; 2013

[33] Fensham PJ, Gunstone RF, White RT, editors. The Content of Science: A Constructivist Approach to its Teaching and Learning. Abingdon: Routledge;

Enhancing Reflection within Situated

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86885*

[16] Wheldall K, editor. The Behaviourist in the Classroom. Abingdon: Routledge;

[18] Ndofirepi A, Mngomezulu B, Cross M. Internationalization, globalization and Africanization. In regionalization of African higher education. Rotterdam:

Sense Publishers; 2017. pp. 47-65

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in higher education. Journal of Educational Studies. 2007;**6**(2):40-49

Duke University Press; 2006

Service Reference; 2011

Verlag; 2017

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[20] Ferguson J. Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World Order. London:

Resistance and Access to Instructional Technologies: Assessing Future Trends in Education. Hershey: Information

[22] Woldegiorgis ET. Regionalization of Higher Education in Africa: The Operationalization of the African Union Higher Education Harmonization Strategy. Münster: LIT

[23] Nsamenang AB, Tchombé TM, editors. Handbook of African Education Theories and Practices: A Generative Teacher Education Curriculum. Cameroun: Human Development Resource Center (HDRC); 2011

[24] Speckman M, Mandew M. Perspectives on Student Affairs in South Africa. Cape Town: African

[17] Ncube L. African universities churn out 'useless graduates.' Chronicle [Internet]. 2017. Available from: https://www.chronicle.co.zw/ african-universities-churn-out-uselessgraduates/ [Accessed: April 15, 2019]

www.oecd.org/dev/africa/ [Accessed:

March 26, 2019]

2012

*A Philosophical Outlook on Africa's Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86885*

www.oecd.org/dev/africa/ [Accessed: March 26, 2019]

[16] Wheldall K, editor. The Behaviourist in the Classroom. Abingdon: Routledge; 2012

[17] Ncube L. African universities churn out 'useless graduates.' Chronicle [Internet]. 2017. Available from: https://www.chronicle.co.zw/ african-universities-churn-out-uselessgraduates/ [Accessed: April 15, 2019]

[18] Ndofirepi A, Mngomezulu B, Cross M. Internationalization, globalization and Africanization. In regionalization of African higher education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers; 2017. pp. 47-65

[19] Higgs P, van Wyk B. African philosophy and knowledge production in higher education. Journal of Educational Studies. 2007;**6**(2):40-49

[20] Ferguson J. Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World Order. London: Duke University Press; 2006

[21] D'Agustino S. Adaptation, Resistance and Access to Instructional Technologies: Assessing Future Trends in Education. Hershey: Information Service Reference; 2011

[22] Woldegiorgis ET. Regionalization of Higher Education in Africa: The Operationalization of the African Union Higher Education Harmonization Strategy. Münster: LIT Verlag; 2017

[23] Nsamenang AB, Tchombé TM, editors. Handbook of African Education Theories and Practices: A Generative Teacher Education Curriculum. Cameroun: Human Development Resource Center (HDRC); 2011

[24] Speckman M, Mandew M. Perspectives on Student Affairs in South Africa. Cape Town: African Minds; 2014

[25] Wambugu F, Kamanga D. Biotechnology in Africa. Emergence, Initiatives and Future. Nairobi, Kenya: Springer International Publisher Switzerland; 2014

[26] Ntamushobora F. Education for Holistic Transformation in Africa. Eugene: Wipf & Stock; 2015

[27] Drape TA, Rudd RD, Lopez F, Radford D. Challenges and solutions to higher education institutions in Africa. International Journal of Education. 2016;**8**(1):43-58

[28] Mohamedbhai G. Higher education in Africa: Facing the challenges in the 21st century. International Higher Education. 2011;**63**:17-21

[29] Frenken K, Hölzl W, de Vor F. The citation impact of research collaborations: The case of European biotechnology and applied microbiology (1988-2002). Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 2005;22(1-2):9-30

[30] Appana S. A review of benefits and limitations of online learning in the context of the student, the instructor and the tenured faculty. International Journal on E-Learning. 2008;**7**(1):5-22

[31] Kapfudzaruwa F, Nagao M, Mutisya E, editors. Youth Entrepreneurship and Africa's Sustainable Industrialization. Denver: Spears Media Press; 2018

[32] Azzarito L, Kirk D, editors. Pedagogies, Physical Culture, and Visual Methods. Abingdon: Routledge; 2013

[33] Fensham PJ, Gunstone RF, White RT, editors. The Content of Science: A Constructivist Approach to its Teaching and Learning. Abingdon: Routledge; 2013

[34] Stoner AM, Cennamo KS. Enhancing Reflection within Situated

**40**

pp. 74-94

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

2015

[9] Mouton J, Wildschut L, editors. Leadership and Management: Case Studies in Training in Higher Education in Africa. Cape Town: African Minds;

[10] British Council. Can higher education solve Africa's job crisis? Understanding graduate employability in Sub-Saharan Africa. Going Global 2014 [Internet]. 2014. Available from: http://www.britishcouncil.org/ education/ihe [Accessed: April 6, 2019]

[11] Kigotho W. Producing

[Accessed: April 18, 2019]

Transformation (ACET).

March 26, 2019]

Unemployable Graduates Wastes Time and Money. University World News [Internet]. 2015. Available from: https://

www.universityworldnews.com/ post.php?story=20150319130200274

[12] African Center for Economic

[13] Osazuwa J. 70% of Nigerian graduates unemployable, says economist. The Sun News [Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://www. sunnewsonline.com/70-of-nigeriangraduates-unemployable-says-

economist/ [Accessed: March 26, 2019]

[14] The Founder Magazine. Here is why graduates in Kenya may not have a job after university in Kenya [Internet]. 2016. Available from: https://www. transformify.org/blog/blogger-s-island/ here-is-why-graduates-in-kenya-maynot-have-a-job-after-university-inkenya [Accessed: April 26, 2019]

[15] African Economic Outlook (AEO). Promoting youth employment in Africa [Internet]. 2012. Available from: http://

Unemployment in Africa: No jobs for 50% of graduates [Internet]. 2016. Available from: http://acetforafrica.org/ highlights/unemployment-in-africa-nojobs-for-50-of-graduates/ [Accessed:

[1] Dahir AL. Africa has too few universities for its fast-growing population. Quartz Africa [Internet]. 2017. Available from: https://qz.com/ africa/878513/university-education-isstill-a-dream-many-in-africa-are-yetto-attain/ [Accessed: May 2, 2019]

**References**

[2] Webometrics. Ranking Web of Universities [Internet]. 2019. Available from: http://www.webometrics.info/en/ Africa [Accessed: March 26, 2019]

[3] Allan L. Descartes's method of doubt [Internet]. 2017. Available from: http:// www.rationalrealm.com/philosophy/ epistemology/descartes-method-ofdoubt.html [Accessed: May 5, 2019]

[4] Brock-Utne B. Whose Education for all?: The Recolonization of the African Mind. New York: Farmer Press; 2000

[5] Amponsah S, Omoregie CO, Boakye OA. African cultures and the challenges of quality education for sustainable development. In: Avoseh M, editor. Proceedings of the 2018 CIAE Pre-Conference. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: USA; 2018. pp. 49-56

[6] Avoseh MBM. A cross-cultural analysis of fighting poverty through

[7] Mosha HJ. The role of African universities in national development: A critical analysis. Comparative Education. 1986;**22**(2):93-109

[8] Mosha HJ. The role of African universities in national development: A critical analysis. In: Crossley M, Broadfoot P, Schweisfurth M, editors. Changing Education Contexts, Issues, and Identities: 40 Years of Comparative Education. New York: Routledge; 2007.

development. International Journal of Case Method Research and Application.

education and participatory

2009;**XXI**(1):10-18

Learning: Incorporating Mindfulness as an Instructional Strategy. Switzerland: Springer; 2018

[35] Filipenko M, Naslund J, editors. Problem-Based Learning in Teacher Education. Switzerland: Springer; 2016

[36] Hodgson A, editor. Policies, Politics and the Future of Lifelong Learning. Abingdon: Routledge; 2013

[37] Knust M, Hanft A, editors. Continuing Higher Education and Lifelong Learning: An International Comparative Study on Structures, Organizations, and Provision. Switzerland: Springer; 2009

[38] Fishbein M, Ajzen I. Predicting and Changing Behaviour: The Reasoned Action Approach. New York: Psychology Press; 2010

[39] Petersen F. Employability: It's about so much more than academic skills [Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/ employability-its-about-so-muchmore-than-academic-skills-18510274 [Accessed: April 26, 2019]

[40] Ten of the oldest universities in the world [Internet]. 2019. Available from: https://www.topuniversities. com/blog/10-oldest-universities-world [Accessed: March 26, 2019]

**43**

**Chapter 4**

**Abstract**

Education

for the poor in Africa.

**1. Introduction**

*Charles Enock Mulimba Ruyembe*

Approach to Pedagogy and

Scenarios Poor People Face in

the Pursuit of Basic and Higher

This chapter addresses some key issues related to pedagogical approaches and scenarios marginalised groups face in the pursuit of basic and higher education in African countries. Based on a case study carried out in Tanzania and South Africa, this chapter explores debates within the theory and practice of education and teaching environment, and elaborates what the notion pedagogy encompasses in the act of teaching and learning, inequality systems linked to opportunities offered by the new Information Technology, lack of quality teachers and infrastructure all focused to poor people entering the labour market. This chapter considers how pedagogical challenges can be diminished and overcome the growing knowledge and skills shortages. Finally, it offers recommendations towards turning both pedagogy and pedagogical challenges into a success story focused on investing in human capital

**Keywords:** pedagogy, unequal systems, Information Technology, human capital

Pedagogy is an increasingly important component of education now regarded as part and parcel of an academic discipline. Hence, the notion in this book chapter refers to a study of how knowledge and skills are exchanged in an educational environment. The action puts into consideration the 'interactions between teachers, students, and the learning environment and learning tasks' [1]. It also incorporates how teachers and students relate together and how the instructional approaches are employed in differentiated learning tasks and environment [2]. Due to recent developments in the educational context, education experts have heightened interest in examining pedagogy as an academic discipline and how the entire process influences the interactions and growth of learners during learning and thereafter. However, I argue that a major challenge with all such initiatives remains to be the scenario poor people face in the pursuit of their basic and higher education, respectively. In African countries, many poor populations due to pedagogical challenges are left behind simply because of their countries education policies do lack systematic planning and training or passionate and committed teachers thinking beyond existing pedagogical approaches, with focus to ensuring effective pedagogy that

#### **Chapter 4**

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

Learning: Incorporating Mindfulness as an Instructional Strategy. Switzerland:

[35] Filipenko M, Naslund J, editors. Problem-Based Learning in Teacher Education. Switzerland: Springer; 2016

[36] Hodgson A, editor. Policies, Politics and the Future of Lifelong Learning.

[38] Fishbein M, Ajzen I. Predicting and Changing Behaviour: The Reasoned Action Approach. New York: Psychology

[39] Petersen F. Employability: It's about so much more than academic skills [Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/ employability-its-about-so-muchmore-than-academic-skills-18510274

[40] Ten of the oldest universities in the world [Internet]. 2019. Available from: https://www.topuniversities. com/blog/10-oldest-universities-world

[Accessed: April 26, 2019]

[Accessed: March 26, 2019]

Abingdon: Routledge; 2013

[37] Knust M, Hanft A, editors. Continuing Higher Education and Lifelong Learning: An International Comparative Study on Structures, Organizations, and Provision. Switzerland: Springer; 2009

Springer; 2018

Press; 2010

**42**

## Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher Education

*Charles Enock Mulimba Ruyembe*

### **Abstract**

This chapter addresses some key issues related to pedagogical approaches and scenarios marginalised groups face in the pursuit of basic and higher education in African countries. Based on a case study carried out in Tanzania and South Africa, this chapter explores debates within the theory and practice of education and teaching environment, and elaborates what the notion pedagogy encompasses in the act of teaching and learning, inequality systems linked to opportunities offered by the new Information Technology, lack of quality teachers and infrastructure all focused to poor people entering the labour market. This chapter considers how pedagogical challenges can be diminished and overcome the growing knowledge and skills shortages. Finally, it offers recommendations towards turning both pedagogy and pedagogical challenges into a success story focused on investing in human capital for the poor in Africa.

**Keywords:** pedagogy, unequal systems, Information Technology, human capital

#### **1. Introduction**

Pedagogy is an increasingly important component of education now regarded as part and parcel of an academic discipline. Hence, the notion in this book chapter refers to a study of how knowledge and skills are exchanged in an educational environment. The action puts into consideration the 'interactions between teachers, students, and the learning environment and learning tasks' [1]. It also incorporates how teachers and students relate together and how the instructional approaches are employed in differentiated learning tasks and environment [2]. Due to recent developments in the educational context, education experts have heightened interest in examining pedagogy as an academic discipline and how the entire process influences the interactions and growth of learners during learning and thereafter. However, I argue that a major challenge with all such initiatives remains to be the scenario poor people face in the pursuit of their basic and higher education, respectively. In African countries, many poor populations due to pedagogical challenges are left behind simply because of their countries education policies do lack systematic planning and training or passionate and committed teachers thinking beyond existing pedagogical approaches, with focus to ensuring effective pedagogy that

occurs in the teaching environment aimed at preparing learners to the real-world learning relevance [3]. As Abrams [4] contends, policy makers, schools and teachers have largely assumed that schools were the key to ensuring young people got the best possible start, yet for many children, the path to failure began well before their first day to school [4, 5].

Now, what does the notion pedagogy encompass in the teaching and learning environment? This is a complex issue and hard to account for due to the fact that pedagogies vary to a great extent due to social, political, historical, duration or time and international perspectives from which they do emerge [3, 6]. Notwithstanding, far too little attention has been paid to the complex nature of pedagogy challenges facing teachers on the African continent. In fact, the case goes far beyond the pedagogical approaches employed during the teaching and learning exercise to an extent of experiencing some teachers' incompetence in their academic and teaching profession, and this result to perform their tasks below standard as it is going to be clarified in the next section. Therefore, many school children or students are badly taught [4], and the action draws a weak foundation for a child's learning [5]. Put another way, pedagogy is extended to the teachers' understanding of their role, the teaching profession and knowing how children most effectively learn, and most importantly, how teachers have to productively engage in the teaching exercise. Shulman [7] argues that in order to advance teacher reform, it is essential to develop 'codified representations of the practical pedagogical wisdom of able teachers' [7].

Numerous studies have attempted to explain about approaches to pedagogy and basic strategies to eliminate pedagogical challenges in the teaching and learning environment. For example, in [8–11], it argue that the best approach to teaching is the one based on the assumption that students learn best when they actively engage in the curriculum and when their interests forms the foundation for the curriculum's construction. Furthermore, the incorporation of innovation as a new way of applying ideas and the flow of technology and information in pedagogy has to be employed as a way of describing or employing *arts education* (education in arts or education through arts), see Bamford [12], as a way of enhancing learners' creativity and critical thinking capacity. In clarification, 'education in art' [12] implies teaching pupils or rather students for the practice and principles of different art disciplines, with a focus on stimulating their learning, critical thinking and problem-solving ability. At the same time, while enabling learners to construct their own cultural identities, 'education through art' [12] informs art as a vehicle for learning other subject contents and teaching other general educational outcomes [12–14]. Indeed, in the drastically changing technology and global competition for knowledge and skills development, pedagogy and pedagogical approaches must incorporate new ways of learning, the latest information and skills relevant to learner's survival in the real world. However, the crucial point to make here is about approaches to pedagogy and strategies to eliminate pedagogical challenges in the African context. My summative explanation for the pedagogical challenges in African countries is as follows: firstly, *the teaching and teacher education model in the African context* must focus on preparing teachers to work with students or learners from diverse cultural backgrounds [15]. Secondly, poor pedagogy or outdated teacher education and *teacher's ability or passion* (as an individual) to adapt teaching profession strategies or practices have let down young people in the pursuit of attaining quality education. Thirdly, goals or main objectives of education policy and the quality and quantity challenges facing African countries including challenges that were triggered with the implementation of, for example, an 'Education for All' (EFA) agenda have contributed to a steady deterioration of education and fuelling pedagogical challenges in Tanzania like in many developing countries since the late 1980s to present [16, 17]. Fourthly, lack of appropriate and adequate

**45**

*Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher…*

learning resources and infrastructure and external factors is in relation to the teaching profession. Fifthly, there are strategic ways related to how to meet students' needs as opposed to learner-centred theories of learning as it is believed that a learner possesses some qualities, potentials and resources embodied in a person whichstand as a portion of economic value of that particular person in its totality [18]. These resources, qualities and potentials sometimes regarded as human capital embodied in a person can be realised and invested through education and training, or interactions between teachers and students within the learning environment and learning tasks. Indeed, the pedagogy and its forms can motivate learners to meet their dreams in life, and can help in designing, paving way and strengthening of career pathways for students and overcoming the growing need of skills in Africa,

In that context, the current book chapter has been organised in the following ways: firstly, it gives a brief overview on approach to pedagogy, and what the notion pedagogy encompasses in the teaching and learning context; secondly, it reviews scenarios poor people face in observing their right to attainment of basic and higher education on the African continent (reference is made to a case study carried out in Tanzania and South Africa); thirdly, this book chapter discusses on infrastructure, learning resources and a pedagogy of teacher education in Africa; fourthly, it discusses pedagogy and inequality systems linked to new Information Technology (IT) opportunities in Africa; fifthly, the chapter identifies the marginalised population, their learning experiences and labour market challenges; and sixthly, it informs on the growing need of knowledge and skills and puts forth a need to invest in human capital. This chapter draws a conclusion by analysing some basic answers related to key research questions on a case study carried out in Tanzania and South Africa and puts forward some recommendations. In brief, this book chapter assesses how effective pedagogy as a broad method and practice within the teaching and learning environment can be characterised to real-world learning, and how pedagogical challenges can be eliminated so as to overcome the growing knowledge and skills shortages in Africa. Finally, the chapter gives recommendations towards turning both pedagogy and pedagogical challenges into a success story focused on investing in human capital with a vision to meet poor people's needs academically, socially,

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

likewise in other developing countries.

economically, culturally and emotionally.

**2. Poor people in the pursuit of basic and higher education**

Despite a fact that the right to education is a global issue and does not allow any room for exclusion or discrimination, many marginalised populations in African countries face diverse challenges. Scenarios poor people face in the pursuit of basic and higher education in African countries can never be isolated from challenges to effective interactions between teachers, students and the learning environment. Prior studies have noted some key stumbling blocks poor people face towards modern education attainment in Tanzania and South Africa like in many African countries. These include low school enrolment and high dropout rates due to poverty, distance from school, and cultural and geographical barriers which in totality contribute to low academic achievement [19]. Unwanted pregnancies of teenage students delineate as one of the prevailing issues, which has left many primary and secondary school going students without relevant skills to thrive in society [5, 20, 21]. The case of HIV/AIDs and sexual abuse in young people is high due to poverty. Nevertheless, it can be argued that pedagogy in both basic and higher educational context (in African countries) has rarely been given room to prepare learners for a more connected, more technological future with a focus of helping them to gain critical life

#### *Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

learning resources and infrastructure and external factors is in relation to the teaching profession. Fifthly, there are strategic ways related to how to meet students' needs as opposed to learner-centred theories of learning as it is believed that a learner possesses some qualities, potentials and resources embodied in a person whichstand as a portion of economic value of that particular person in its totality [18]. These resources, qualities and potentials sometimes regarded as human capital embodied in a person can be realised and invested through education and training, or interactions between teachers and students within the learning environment and learning tasks. Indeed, the pedagogy and its forms can motivate learners to meet their dreams in life, and can help in designing, paving way and strengthening of career pathways for students and overcoming the growing need of skills in Africa, likewise in other developing countries.

In that context, the current book chapter has been organised in the following ways: firstly, it gives a brief overview on approach to pedagogy, and what the notion pedagogy encompasses in the teaching and learning context; secondly, it reviews scenarios poor people face in observing their right to attainment of basic and higher education on the African continent (reference is made to a case study carried out in Tanzania and South Africa); thirdly, this book chapter discusses on infrastructure, learning resources and a pedagogy of teacher education in Africa; fourthly, it discusses pedagogy and inequality systems linked to new Information Technology (IT) opportunities in Africa; fifthly, the chapter identifies the marginalised population, their learning experiences and labour market challenges; and sixthly, it informs on the growing need of knowledge and skills and puts forth a need to invest in human capital. This chapter draws a conclusion by analysing some basic answers related to key research questions on a case study carried out in Tanzania and South Africa and puts forward some recommendations. In brief, this book chapter assesses how effective pedagogy as a broad method and practice within the teaching and learning environment can be characterised to real-world learning, and how pedagogical challenges can be eliminated so as to overcome the growing knowledge and skills shortages in Africa. Finally, the chapter gives recommendations towards turning both pedagogy and pedagogical challenges into a success story focused on investing in human capital with a vision to meet poor people's needs academically, socially, economically, culturally and emotionally.

#### **2. Poor people in the pursuit of basic and higher education**

Despite a fact that the right to education is a global issue and does not allow any room for exclusion or discrimination, many marginalised populations in African countries face diverse challenges. Scenarios poor people face in the pursuit of basic and higher education in African countries can never be isolated from challenges to effective interactions between teachers, students and the learning environment.

Prior studies have noted some key stumbling blocks poor people face towards modern education attainment in Tanzania and South Africa like in many African countries. These include low school enrolment and high dropout rates due to poverty, distance from school, and cultural and geographical barriers which in totality contribute to low academic achievement [19]. Unwanted pregnancies of teenage students delineate as one of the prevailing issues, which has left many primary and secondary school going students without relevant skills to thrive in society [5, 20, 21]. The case of HIV/AIDs and sexual abuse in young people is high due to poverty. Nevertheless, it can be argued that pedagogy in both basic and higher educational context (in African countries) has rarely been given room to prepare learners for a more connected, more technological future with a focus of helping them to gain critical life

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

first day to school [4, 5].

occurs in the teaching environment aimed at preparing learners to the real-world learning relevance [3]. As Abrams [4] contends, policy makers, schools and teachers have largely assumed that schools were the key to ensuring young people got the best possible start, yet for many children, the path to failure began well before their

Now, what does the notion pedagogy encompass in the teaching and learning environment? This is a complex issue and hard to account for due to the fact that pedagogies vary to a great extent due to social, political, historical, duration or time and international perspectives from which they do emerge [3, 6]. Notwithstanding, far too little attention has been paid to the complex nature of pedagogy challenges facing teachers on the African continent. In fact, the case goes far beyond the pedagogical approaches employed during the teaching and learning exercise to an extent of experiencing some teachers' incompetence in their academic and teaching profession, and this result to perform their tasks below standard as it is going to be clarified in the next section. Therefore, many school children or students are badly taught [4], and the action draws a weak foundation for a child's learning [5]. Put another way, pedagogy is extended to the teachers' understanding of their role, the teaching profession and knowing how children most effectively learn, and most importantly, how teachers have to productively engage in the teaching exercise. Shulman [7] argues that in order to advance teacher reform, it is essential to develop 'codified representations of the practical pedagogical wisdom of able teachers' [7]. Numerous studies have attempted to explain about approaches to pedagogy and basic strategies to eliminate pedagogical challenges in the teaching and learning environment. For example, in [8–11], it argue that the best approach to teaching is the one based on the assumption that students learn best when they actively engage in the curriculum and when their interests forms the foundation for the curriculum's construction. Furthermore, the incorporation of innovation as a new way of applying ideas and the flow of technology and information in pedagogy has to be employed as a way of describing or employing *arts education* (education in arts or education through arts), see Bamford [12], as a way of enhancing learners' creativity and critical thinking capacity. In clarification, 'education in art' [12] implies teaching pupils or rather students for the practice and principles of different art disciplines, with a focus on stimulating their learning, critical thinking and problem-solving ability. At the same time, while enabling learners to construct their own cultural identities, 'education through art' [12] informs art as a vehicle for learning other subject contents and teaching other general educational outcomes [12–14]. Indeed, in the drastically changing technology and global competition for knowledge and skills development, pedagogy and pedagogical approaches must incorporate new ways of learning, the latest information and skills relevant to learner's survival in the real world. However, the crucial point to make here is about approaches to pedagogy and strategies to eliminate pedagogical challenges in the African context. My summative explanation for the pedagogical challenges in African countries is as follows: firstly, *the teaching and teacher education model in the African context* must focus on preparing teachers to work with students or learners from diverse cultural backgrounds [15]. Secondly, poor pedagogy or outdated teacher education and *teacher's ability or passion* (as an individual) to adapt teaching profession strategies or practices have let down young people in the pursuit of attaining quality education. Thirdly, goals or main objectives of education policy and the quality and quantity challenges facing African countries including challenges that were triggered with the implementation of, for example, an 'Education for All' (EFA) agenda have contributed to a steady deterioration of education and fuelling pedagogical challenges in Tanzania like in many developing countries since the late 1980s to present [16, 17]. Fourthly, lack of appropriate and adequate

**44**

skills, thus making education improves learner's transition from birth, the world they live in, and from school to work in a short term [13, 22]. Other challenges as outlined before, it include the lack of adequate resources, infrastructure and active pedagogical approaches that can be used as tools to enable learners to realise their potentials and develop their capacities [5, 23].

Building on the principle of 'leaving no one behind' [24], the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Envision 2030 (SDGs), goal number 4 on 'Quality Education' argues for ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education that promotes life-long learning opportunities for all [24]. However, research reports show that making young people in poor countries to learn new information and skills that can sustain their needs in work and life remains to be a big challenge [14], and what happens is simply recruiting learners on passing examinations 'exam treadmill' until the day they exist from the education system [25]. Incidentally, many marginalised learners on their way towards attaining basic and higher education remain to be victims of external anti-social behaviour. These include: teenage pregnancies for female students; use of marijuana; homelessness; HIV/AIDs victims; orphans; high dropout rates; and those who lag behind others in terms of academic achievement [26]. All these outside forces in the learning environment paint the real lives of many poor young people on the African continent and, unfortunately, lead many of them to failure in education, work and life. As His Excellency, the late First President of Tanzania Mwalimu Nyerere said:

*'…Tanzania cannot be created if some people are very highly educated and others are completely illiterate. The illiterate ones will never be able to play their full part in the development of our country or of themselves, and they will always be in danger of being exploited by the great knowledge of others. Therefore, we should plan to overcome the existing high level of illiteracy' [27].*

In interpreting the above statement, study reports show that the proportion of illiterate women is increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa and in countries such as India and China. Hence, this is a stumbling block towards sustainable development [13]. Based on the situation, Baregu [28] and Twaweza [29] both argue for the worrying trends of education and pedagogy challenges in Tanzania by revealing that there is now a rising number of not only women but also young people completing both primary and secondary school education without the ability to read, write and have at least basic arithmetic skills. Commenting on education in South Africa, Carroll [30] argues that illiteracy rates to women are on the decline. However, the situation does not mean to have a satisfactory education system, an equitable employment environment and an adequate primary and secondary education in place. As a matter of fact, the scenario of education system in many African countries has been influenced by systems established in foreign and rich countries. Thus, in adopting such systems, difficulties and confusions have erupted in the use and applications, with specific in pedagogy and its forms [31]. The extracts from the respondents' comments and unit of analysis illustrate the above stipulated findings clearly:

*-I say, the current education system in Tanzania must change and include theory and practical. I mean work-based learning from primary schools to University level (…) arts education must be given priority, and be examinable so as to help in promoting youth employment (interview, respondent 4: in Mwanza Tanzania).*

**47**

*Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher…*

*-I see the system encouraging learners to cram what teachers say! aimed to pass examinations! (…) the teaching and learning system has very much adopted the 'banking concept of education' as mentioned by Paul Freire! This is a challenge! My opinion is that education must stimulate talents/ activate and nurture the creative capital embedded in students (Interview, respondent 2: in Dar-Es-Salaam* 

*-Yeah, my feeling is that our challenge lies at the education system. This does not nurture creative talents of poor young people with a vision for their future sustain-*

The above extracts identify a strong relationship between poor people and the pursuit of their attainment of basic and higher education. However, a change in the basic and higher education system, including a thorough elimination of outside forces or obstacles in the teaching and learning environment, was a feature of many

Lack of adequate and conducive teaching and learning environment (infrastructure) includes buildings or enough classrooms, desks, libraries, relevant and enough books and laboratories for science subjects which are just a few examples of challenges observed in many African education system. As a result, Africa has in place a vast number of children being badly taught or utterly untaught [32]. The implication is that there are too few schools and too many bad schools [33]. To illustrate, this study produced results that corroborate the findings of a great deal of previous

*-Yeah! I say, we still have a long way to go! The challenges in our education lies at poor infrastructure, lack of adequate learning resources and competent teachers. Hence, a change of the current education policy is essential for the positive impact* 

*-Aaa (.) our education system lacks the development of creativity and innovation within the learning environment. Education must go with practice not only theory (…) and other subjects as the learners go must be infused into arts education with no exception of social, cultural and economic issues (Focus group 1: Lindi,* 

The statements above are in sympathy with those of [15–17] focused on the interactions between a teacher, as a guide who must enable learner's academic growth, and a learner, as a person who possesses some level of qualities and potentials which can be realised. Finally, there is a need of a conducive learning environment and appropriate learning tasks. Based on the interpretation above, this section relatively refers to a case study of Gauteng's province (in South Africa) education system. The case study of Gauteng's education system provides valuable lessons based on two students in the same schooling system, in the same country and with the same curriculum but from schools with different learning resources*.* The end results were that one student from a well-resourced school passed with flying colours, while the other one from a poorly resourced school failed. Hence, this is what we termed as 'unequal education system' or 'levels of inequality' [34]. However, since 1994, Gauteng education department has been launched several

**2.1 Infrastructure, learning resources and pedagogy of teacher education**

*able lives (Focus group 3: in Bagamoyo, Tanzania).*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

*Tanzania).*

respondents' views.

work in the field [14] as follows:

*Tanzania).*

*(Focus group 2: in Mwanza, Tanzania).*

*Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

*-I see the system encouraging learners to cram what teachers say! aimed to pass examinations! (…) the teaching and learning system has very much adopted the 'banking concept of education' as mentioned by Paul Freire! This is a challenge! My opinion is that education must stimulate talents/ activate and nurture the creative capital embedded in students (Interview, respondent 2: in Dar-Es-Salaam Tanzania).*

*-Yeah, my feeling is that our challenge lies at the education system. This does not nurture creative talents of poor young people with a vision for their future sustainable lives (Focus group 3: in Bagamoyo, Tanzania).*

The above extracts identify a strong relationship between poor people and the pursuit of their attainment of basic and higher education. However, a change in the basic and higher education system, including a thorough elimination of outside forces or obstacles in the teaching and learning environment, was a feature of many respondents' views.

#### **2.1 Infrastructure, learning resources and pedagogy of teacher education**

Lack of adequate and conducive teaching and learning environment (infrastructure) includes buildings or enough classrooms, desks, libraries, relevant and enough books and laboratories for science subjects which are just a few examples of challenges observed in many African education system. As a result, Africa has in place a vast number of children being badly taught or utterly untaught [32]. The implication is that there are too few schools and too many bad schools [33]. To illustrate, this study produced results that corroborate the findings of a great deal of previous work in the field [14] as follows:

*-Yeah! I say, we still have a long way to go! The challenges in our education lies at poor infrastructure, lack of adequate learning resources and competent teachers. Hence, a change of the current education policy is essential for the positive impact (Focus group 2: in Mwanza, Tanzania).*

*-Aaa (.) our education system lacks the development of creativity and innovation within the learning environment. Education must go with practice not only theory (…) and other subjects as the learners go must be infused into arts education with no exception of social, cultural and economic issues (Focus group 1: Lindi, Tanzania).*

The statements above are in sympathy with those of [15–17] focused on the interactions between a teacher, as a guide who must enable learner's academic growth, and a learner, as a person who possesses some level of qualities and potentials which can be realised. Finally, there is a need of a conducive learning environment and appropriate learning tasks. Based on the interpretation above, this section relatively refers to a case study of Gauteng's province (in South Africa) education system. The case study of Gauteng's education system provides valuable lessons based on two students in the same schooling system, in the same country and with the same curriculum but from schools with different learning resources*.* The end results were that one student from a well-resourced school passed with flying colours, while the other one from a poorly resourced school failed. Hence, this is what we termed as 'unequal education system' or 'levels of inequality' [34]. However, since 1994, Gauteng education department has been launched several

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

develop their capacities [5, 23].

Nyerere said:

skills, thus making education improves learner's transition from birth, the world they live in, and from school to work in a short term [13, 22]. Other challenges as outlined before, it include the lack of adequate resources, infrastructure and active pedagogical approaches that can be used as tools to enable learners to realise their potentials and

Building on the principle of 'leaving no one behind' [24], the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Envision 2030 (SDGs), goal number 4 on 'Quality Education' argues for ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education that promotes life-long learning opportunities for all [24]. However, research reports show that making young people in poor countries to learn new information and skills that can sustain their needs in work and life remains to be a big challenge [14], and what happens is simply recruiting learners on passing examinations 'exam treadmill' until the day they exist from the education system [25]. Incidentally, many marginalised learners on their way towards attaining basic and higher education remain to be victims of external anti-social behaviour. These include: teenage pregnancies for female students; use of marijuana; homelessness; HIV/AIDs victims; orphans; high dropout rates; and those who lag behind others in terms of academic achievement [26]. All these outside forces in the learning environment paint the real lives of many poor young people on the African continent and, unfortunately, lead many of them to failure in education, work and life. As His Excellency, the late First President of Tanzania Mwalimu

*'…Tanzania cannot be created if some people are very highly educated and others are completely illiterate. The illiterate ones will never be able to play their full part in the development of our country or of themselves, and they will always be in danger of being exploited by the great knowledge of others. Therefore, we should* 

In interpreting the above statement, study reports show that the proportion of illiterate women is increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa and in countries such as India and China. Hence, this is a stumbling block towards sustainable development [13]. Based on the situation, Baregu [28] and Twaweza [29] both argue for the worrying trends of education and pedagogy challenges in Tanzania by revealing that there is now a rising number of not only women but also young people completing both primary and secondary school education without the ability to read, write and have at least basic arithmetic skills. Commenting on education in South Africa, Carroll [30] argues that illiteracy rates to women are on the decline. However, the situation does not mean to have a satisfactory education system, an equitable employment environment and an adequate primary and secondary education in place. As a matter of fact, the scenario of education system in many African countries has been influenced by systems established in foreign and rich countries. Thus, in adopting such systems, difficulties and confusions have erupted in the use and applications, with specific in pedagogy and its forms [31]. The extracts from the respondents' comments and unit of analysis illustrate the above stipulated

*-I say, the current education system in Tanzania must change and include theory and practical. I mean work-based learning from primary schools to University level (…) arts education must be given priority, and be examinable so as to help in promoting youth employment (interview, respondent 4: in Mwanza Tanzania).*

*plan to overcome the existing high level of illiteracy' [27].*

**46**

findings clearly:

interventions, so as to eliminate these levels of inequality, including an equal distribution of teaching and learning resources. The levels of inequality in pedagogy and its forms well identified above depict the real situation in many African countries education systems. The two distinctive outcomes as stipulated are compared to a four-legged table made up of unequal-sized legs. Admittedly, the table will not stand in its up-right position instead it will topple [35]. The implication provides another valuable lesson related to the effects that a learner can experience in his future job prospects.

In the same manner, pedagogical challenges and implications of having too few schools and too many bad schools have been provided by a case study carried out in Tanzania. The study identifies short-falls and provides meaningful lessons related to the Tanzania's education system. These include, but are not restricted to, the lack of enough teachers in schools and inability to recruit quality or competent teachers and its effects to learners and the entire education outcomes. To illustrate, the incompetence of some teachers is now widely seen as a general gap in teacher education. The previous study reports that there is a weak foundation for children's learning and mastering of both English and Kiswahili languages in Tanzania. Hence, the main feature of the Tanzania's education system is that it is bilingual (English and Kiswahili). In examining children's competence in reading Kiswahili and English languages, the research found that by standard seven, five in 10 students leaving school have not acquired a basic English reading skill, which is equivalent to 53% of standard seven students. One out of 10 standard seven pupils was unable to read a Kiswahili language paragraph [29].

Tanzania like many African countries is experiencing many of its young people lacking literacy skills. UNESCO [13] reports that across the world, there are approximately 250 million children who cannot read, write and count well, and 200 million young people leave schools without adequate skills they need to thrive. Literacy includes the learner's capacity to read, write and count, and this is a vital aspect to the broader achievement of his academic, social and economic impact. Learners who fail to gain literacy skills at their earlier stages of learning are likely to fail in catching-up studies at latter stages and are significantly more likely to fail in their future lives. Unfortunately, in Tanzania, some teachers' incompetence has resulted in some defects to learners in phonological awareness (in both English and Kiswahili languages), how letters combinations correspond to speech sounds. I argue that the lack of having in place a good number of quality and qualified Kiswahili and English language teachers is due to the missing foundation in teacher education. Therefore, to eliminate the spoken and written Kiswahili language structure challenges to children, there is a need of improving teacher education, pedagogical approaches and teacher's knowledge, skills and ability to understand, use and appreciate various forms of communication so as to remove the failure to communicate fluently.

I argue that teachers cannot naturally acquire the outlined kind of expertise in Kiswahili language structure that is required of them for remediating and preventing literacy problems, unless we provide them with necessary training. The case study conducted in Tanzania [14] emphasises that having in place teachers who have adequate knowledge in sound-symbol correspondences in spoken and written Kiswahili language and appropriate methods will help to eliminate defects to learners in, for example, Kiswahili words such as 'Habari' (news) which most utter and write it as 'abari' (omitting H), and 'Hakuna' (nothing) many say 'akuna'. The word 'Rafiki' (friend) utter and write it as 'Lafiki' use 'L' instead of 'R' and in 'Karibu' (welcome), they say 'Kalibu'. Likewise, in a word 'dharau' (disrespect), some omit 'dh' and say 'Zarau'. As said previously, a vast number of children are badly taught [4]. Therefore, enhancing teacher's phonological awareness

**49**

countries [24].

socially and emotionally as well.

*Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher…*

and making them be well versed on how letter combinations correspond to speech sounds, and building their capacity in Kiswahili language structure will at last help children to enhance their capability in creative thinking and understanding

**2.2 Pedagogy and inequality systems linked to new Information Technology** 

In giving answers related to Question number 4, '*To what extent has the education policy and system inspired students to discover and improve their human capital in Tanzania/South Africa?*' Most respondents expressed their feelings as follows:

*-Aaaa (.) to me I can say, Pedagogy and pedagogical approaches in the learning environment most lack the inclusion of new IT opportunities focused on nurturing individual potentials, development of creativity and innovation so as to meet the* 

*-Poverty in our African countries contributes to the out-dated pedagogies we do experience in many of our rural and urban public schools. Hence, both teachers and students are never exposed to opportunities offered by the new Information Technology aimed at making them experience the real-world learning relevancy* 

*21st technological advancement (Focus group no 1: Dodoma Tanzania).*

*-Well, I see the education system with unequal distribution of resources.* 

*logical development (Interview, respondent 7: in Pretoria South Africa).*

*Unfortunately, that can never inspire students to discover and improve their skills and knowledge. Therefore, we can-not match with the drastic 21st Century techno-*

Based on the statements above, an implication of this is the possibility that many African countries are more likely not to attain 'Envision 2030' or SDGs numbers 4 and 10. As well stipulated, Goal 4 on quality education seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all, while Goal 10 insists on ensuring of reduced in-equality within and among

Digital literacy or new Information Technology (IT) offers opportunities and enhances pedagogy, literacy and skills in the modern education system. The use of new solution to existing challenges so as to benefit a good number of people including the poor and marginalised population is what can be characterised as innovation. The world is changing quickly, and the uses of new Information Technology do prepare students for a more connected interaction within the learning environment and teaching profession. However, I argue that an added value to effective pedagogy in the new learning environment can be observed by, for example, appropriate use of computers, Web 2.0 and use of cyber space, virtual exhibits, study tours, digital networking, video games and digital story telling that captures the elements of real-world learning. Such instructional interventions can make students to learn and understand challenging concepts easily, have the ability to enhance learner's awareness and can support students to reach their full potential, academically,

Indeed, technology and digital revolution have opened a new window for teachers as educators to go digital. However, the current study conducted in Tanzania and South Africa rationalises that using new Information Technology opportunities in pedagogy has brought about some education excellence inequalities between wellresourced schools mainly in urban areas as opposed to under-resourced schools

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

*(Focus group 2: Mwanza Tanzania).*

challenging concepts more easily.

**opportunities**

*Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

and making them be well versed on how letter combinations correspond to speech sounds, and building their capacity in Kiswahili language structure will at last help children to enhance their capability in creative thinking and understanding challenging concepts more easily.

#### **2.2 Pedagogy and inequality systems linked to new Information Technology opportunities**

In giving answers related to Question number 4, '*To what extent has the education policy and system inspired students to discover and improve their human capital in Tanzania/South Africa?*' Most respondents expressed their feelings as follows:

*-Aaaa (.) to me I can say, Pedagogy and pedagogical approaches in the learning environment most lack the inclusion of new IT opportunities focused on nurturing individual potentials, development of creativity and innovation so as to meet the 21st technological advancement (Focus group no 1: Dodoma Tanzania).*

*-Poverty in our African countries contributes to the out-dated pedagogies we do experience in many of our rural and urban public schools. Hence, both teachers and students are never exposed to opportunities offered by the new Information Technology aimed at making them experience the real-world learning relevancy (Focus group 2: Mwanza Tanzania).*

*-Well, I see the education system with unequal distribution of resources. Unfortunately, that can never inspire students to discover and improve their skills and knowledge. Therefore, we can-not match with the drastic 21st Century technological development (Interview, respondent 7: in Pretoria South Africa).*

Based on the statements above, an implication of this is the possibility that many African countries are more likely not to attain 'Envision 2030' or SDGs numbers 4 and 10. As well stipulated, Goal 4 on quality education seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all, while Goal 10 insists on ensuring of reduced in-equality within and among countries [24].

Digital literacy or new Information Technology (IT) offers opportunities and enhances pedagogy, literacy and skills in the modern education system. The use of new solution to existing challenges so as to benefit a good number of people including the poor and marginalised population is what can be characterised as innovation. The world is changing quickly, and the uses of new Information Technology do prepare students for a more connected interaction within the learning environment and teaching profession. However, I argue that an added value to effective pedagogy in the new learning environment can be observed by, for example, appropriate use of computers, Web 2.0 and use of cyber space, virtual exhibits, study tours, digital networking, video games and digital story telling that captures the elements of real-world learning. Such instructional interventions can make students to learn and understand challenging concepts easily, have the ability to enhance learner's awareness and can support students to reach their full potential, academically, socially and emotionally as well.

Indeed, technology and digital revolution have opened a new window for teachers as educators to go digital. However, the current study conducted in Tanzania and South Africa rationalises that using new Information Technology opportunities in pedagogy has brought about some education excellence inequalities between wellresourced schools mainly in urban areas as opposed to under-resourced schools

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

future job prospects.

Kiswahili language paragraph [29].

communicate fluently.

interventions, so as to eliminate these levels of inequality, including an equal

distribution of teaching and learning resources. The levels of inequality in pedagogy and its forms well identified above depict the real situation in many African countries education systems. The two distinctive outcomes as stipulated are compared to a four-legged table made up of unequal-sized legs. Admittedly, the table will not stand in its up-right position instead it will topple [35]. The implication provides another valuable lesson related to the effects that a learner can experience in his

In the same manner, pedagogical challenges and implications of having too few schools and too many bad schools have been provided by a case study carried out in Tanzania. The study identifies short-falls and provides meaningful lessons related to the Tanzania's education system. These include, but are not restricted to, the lack of enough teachers in schools and inability to recruit quality or competent teachers and its effects to learners and the entire education outcomes. To illustrate, the incompetence of some teachers is now widely seen as a general gap in teacher education. The previous study reports that there is a weak foundation for children's learning and mastering of both English and Kiswahili languages in Tanzania. Hence, the main feature of the Tanzania's education system is that it is bilingual (English and Kiswahili). In examining children's competence in reading Kiswahili and English languages, the research found that by standard seven, five in 10 students leaving school have not acquired a basic English reading skill, which is equivalent to 53% of standard seven students. One out of 10 standard seven pupils was unable to read a

Tanzania like many African countries is experiencing many of its young people

I argue that teachers cannot naturally acquire the outlined kind of expertise in Kiswahili language structure that is required of them for remediating and preventing literacy problems, unless we provide them with necessary training. The case study conducted in Tanzania [14] emphasises that having in place teachers who have adequate knowledge in sound-symbol correspondences in spoken and written Kiswahili language and appropriate methods will help to eliminate defects to learners in, for example, Kiswahili words such as 'Habari' (news) which most utter and write it as 'abari' (omitting H), and 'Hakuna' (nothing) many say 'akuna'. The word 'Rafiki' (friend) utter and write it as 'Lafiki' use 'L' instead of 'R' and in 'Karibu' (welcome), they say 'Kalibu'. Likewise, in a word 'dharau' (disrespect), some omit 'dh' and say 'Zarau'. As said previously, a vast number of children are badly taught [4]. Therefore, enhancing teacher's phonological awareness

lacking literacy skills. UNESCO [13] reports that across the world, there are approximately 250 million children who cannot read, write and count well, and 200 million young people leave schools without adequate skills they need to thrive. Literacy includes the learner's capacity to read, write and count, and this is a vital aspect to the broader achievement of his academic, social and economic impact. Learners who fail to gain literacy skills at their earlier stages of learning are likely to fail in catching-up studies at latter stages and are significantly more likely to fail in their future lives. Unfortunately, in Tanzania, some teachers' incompetence has resulted in some defects to learners in phonological awareness (in both English and Kiswahili languages), how letters combinations correspond to speech sounds. I argue that the lack of having in place a good number of quality and qualified Kiswahili and English language teachers is due to the missing foundation in teacher education. Therefore, to eliminate the spoken and written Kiswahili language structure challenges to children, there is a need of improving teacher education, pedagogical approaches and teacher's knowledge, skills and ability to understand, use and appreciate various forms of communication so as to remove the failure to

**48**

[34], usually found in rural settings in Africa. In clarification, passionate and committed teachers can enhance the capacity and status of the teaching profession by giving room to children to construct their own knowledge, needs and thinking skills [5]. Likewise, Pohl [36] contends that literacy, learning and employment need to get people to think creatively in the arts, think hypothetically in mathematics and think literally in social science. In that context, teachers stand as facilitators who guide learners throughout the entire process while providing them with real-world experiences beyond the classroom or training environment. The inequality systems linked to new Information Technology opportunities corroborate the findings of a case study based on three different learners from Gauteng Province in South Africa, namely 'Thandi, Sipho and Hennie'. The scenario was as follows:

*'Thandi has passed matriculation with flying colours. She has been accepted at the University of Cape Town but has no laptop. At least is tech-savvy… Sipho on the other hand is from a rural school and has performed well but is anxious about his course because it requires prior knowledge of information communication technology (ICT)…Hennie has no anxieties. He has it all' [34].*

The extract above paints out the inequalities in the teaching and learning environment which were brought about by poverty and the lack of exposure to new Information Technology (IT) opportunities specifically in African countries context. It highlights technological advancement and challenges faced by both teachers and learners in a process of transformation towards experiencing a generation of innovators in a drastic changing world. This chapter argues that the new Information Technology opportunity challenges teachers face in the context of pedagogy have neglected both teachers and learners in basic and higher education to explore and navigate on their own, meet their needs, and reach their full potential professionally, academically, socially and emotionally.

#### **2.3 Marginalised populations, learning experiences and labour market challenges**

One major challenge that has dominated the primary educational paradigm in Tanzania and it has effects to marginalised population's learning experiences is a focus on what students know, rather than how they use the information in the real-world settings [37]. Hence, the most valuable feature in the learners' expertise is how learners can apply what they have learnt in a new and creative way. As Sweeney [38] contends:

*'real-world learning connects students to career pathways, it empowers them to be effective decision makers, designers, inventors and communicators…it allows them to see and know how a chemical formula would assist him in his post-secondary life…role of chemistry in farming or trigonometry and geometry in the construction trades…and how are important to their future career and to their communities… if we want to prepare all our students for the careers of their future, the educators, community leaders and local companies must come together to help students experience academic concepts in culturally relevant, real-world ways' [38].*

Giving an overview on the labour market challenges to marginalised populations, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) report indicates that young people in many of the developing countries within the Sub-Saharan Africa region face labour market challenges [39]. Findings from the Integrated Labour Force Survey (ILFS) show that new entrants within the labour market in Tanzania range

**51**

**3. Conclusions**

*Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher…*

from 800,000 to 1 million annually and compete for only 40,000 existing job opportunities in the formal sector [40]. As Brown [41] suggests young people must concentrate on freelancing and self-employment or 'boundary-less careers' [42]. Undoubtedly, these are the most frequent types of employment or businesses in the arts, cultural and creative industries sector. A large and growing body of literature reports many disadvantaged young people in African rural and urban areas (both out of school or drop-outs at basic and higher level of education) leave schools without relevant knowledge and skills needed for them to thrive in their societies. The main challenges learners encounter include but are not restricted to poverty, quality of education, political will linked to policy, decision and law makers priorities and lack of guidance from birth (parents, guardians and families) to school, up

Strong evidence of how real-wold learning connects students to career pathways was found when participants were giving answers related to research question 1: '*What are your feelings and comments on the current education system in relation to the growing number of primary and secondary school leavers drifting from rural to urban areas in search of jobs in Tanzania?'* Many respondents expressed their feelings as

*-Yeah, it's true there is the drifting of these young people from rural to urban areas in search of jobs. I see that as a challenge related to our education system from primary level to secondary schools that-arts subjects are not taught and examinable* 

*-My feeling is that the education system (in Tanzania) is the one we inherited from the British… and still has the western education ideology or elements. Thus, education leaders having the white-collar job mentality (…) arts education has never been one aspect within their priority circuit. In that regard, good actors (students) have become politicians; good painters have become motor mechanics and the like!* 

*-I remember previously, the late Mwalimu Nyerere (first President of Tanzania) introduced education for self-reliance. I think it is high time that has to be re-introduced. Furthermore, Vocational Schools should be strengthened so as to introduce entrepreneurship skills to learners, thus, help young people in nurturing their talents and get self-employed. Finally, deliberate initiatives have to be taken by the Ministry of Education in strengthening arts education in schools from primary level to the University (overhaul the whole system) (Interview, respondent* 

Without ignoring debates hidden in the statements above, this book chapter has provided results that do suggest pedagogy and pedagogical challenges in the teaching and learning environment. The chapter has identified key challenges faced by marginalised students in the pursuit of attainment of basic and higher education in Tanzania and South Africa (as a case study) and corroborates the findings of a great

This chapter has devoted itself to assessing and discussing various themes related to pedagogy and pedagogical challenges poor people face in the pursuit of basic and higher education. For the outlined purpose, this book chapter has

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

to their time of entering the labour market [13].

*(Interview, respondent 2: in Dodoma Tanzania).*

*(Interview, respondent 3: In Dar-es-salaam).*

deal of other previous works in the field [11, 14, 34, 35].

*4: in Dar-es-salaam).*

follows:

*Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

from 800,000 to 1 million annually and compete for only 40,000 existing job opportunities in the formal sector [40]. As Brown [41] suggests young people must concentrate on freelancing and self-employment or 'boundary-less careers' [42]. Undoubtedly, these are the most frequent types of employment or businesses in the arts, cultural and creative industries sector. A large and growing body of literature reports many disadvantaged young people in African rural and urban areas (both out of school or drop-outs at basic and higher level of education) leave schools without relevant knowledge and skills needed for them to thrive in their societies. The main challenges learners encounter include but are not restricted to poverty, quality of education, political will linked to policy, decision and law makers priorities and lack of guidance from birth (parents, guardians and families) to school, up to their time of entering the labour market [13].

Strong evidence of how real-wold learning connects students to career pathways was found when participants were giving answers related to research question 1: '*What are your feelings and comments on the current education system in relation to the growing number of primary and secondary school leavers drifting from rural to urban areas in search of jobs in Tanzania?'* Many respondents expressed their feelings as follows:

*-Yeah, it's true there is the drifting of these young people from rural to urban areas in search of jobs. I see that as a challenge related to our education system from primary level to secondary schools that-arts subjects are not taught and examinable (Interview, respondent 2: in Dodoma Tanzania).*

*-My feeling is that the education system (in Tanzania) is the one we inherited from the British… and still has the western education ideology or elements. Thus, education leaders having the white-collar job mentality (…) arts education has never been one aspect within their priority circuit. In that regard, good actors (students) have become politicians; good painters have become motor mechanics and the like! (Interview, respondent 3: In Dar-es-salaam).*

*-I remember previously, the late Mwalimu Nyerere (first President of Tanzania) introduced education for self-reliance. I think it is high time that has to be re-introduced. Furthermore, Vocational Schools should be strengthened so as to introduce entrepreneurship skills to learners, thus, help young people in nurturing their talents and get self-employed. Finally, deliberate initiatives have to be taken by the Ministry of Education in strengthening arts education in schools from primary level to the University (overhaul the whole system) (Interview, respondent 4: in Dar-es-salaam).*

Without ignoring debates hidden in the statements above, this book chapter has provided results that do suggest pedagogy and pedagogical challenges in the teaching and learning environment. The chapter has identified key challenges faced by marginalised students in the pursuit of attainment of basic and higher education in Tanzania and South Africa (as a case study) and corroborates the findings of a great deal of other previous works in the field [11, 14, 34, 35].

#### **3. Conclusions**

This chapter has devoted itself to assessing and discussing various themes related to pedagogy and pedagogical challenges poor people face in the pursuit of basic and higher education. For the outlined purpose, this book chapter has

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

namely 'Thandi, Sipho and Hennie'. The scenario was as follows:

*ogy (ICT)…Hennie has no anxieties. He has it all' [34].*

professionally, academically, socially and emotionally.

**challenges**

Sweeney [38] contends:

[34], usually found in rural settings in Africa. In clarification, passionate and committed teachers can enhance the capacity and status of the teaching profession by giving room to children to construct their own knowledge, needs and thinking skills [5]. Likewise, Pohl [36] contends that literacy, learning and employment need to get people to think creatively in the arts, think hypothetically in mathematics and think literally in social science. In that context, teachers stand as facilitators who guide learners throughout the entire process while providing them with real-world experiences beyond the classroom or training environment. The inequality systems linked to new Information Technology opportunities corroborate the findings of a case study based on three different learners from Gauteng Province in South Africa,

*'Thandi has passed matriculation with flying colours. She has been accepted at the University of Cape Town but has no laptop. At least is tech-savvy… Sipho on the other hand is from a rural school and has performed well but is anxious about his course because it requires prior knowledge of information communication technol-*

The extract above paints out the inequalities in the teaching and learning environment which were brought about by poverty and the lack of exposure to new Information Technology (IT) opportunities specifically in African countries context. It highlights technological advancement and challenges faced by both teachers and learners in a process of transformation towards experiencing a generation of innovators in a drastic changing world. This chapter argues that the new Information Technology opportunity challenges teachers face in the context of pedagogy have neglected both teachers and learners in basic and higher education to explore and navigate on their own, meet their needs, and reach their full potential

**2.3 Marginalised populations, learning experiences and labour market** 

One major challenge that has dominated the primary educational paradigm in Tanzania and it has effects to marginalised population's learning experiences is a focus on what students know, rather than how they use the information in the real-world settings [37]. Hence, the most valuable feature in the learners' expertise is how learners can apply what they have learnt in a new and creative way. As

*'real-world learning connects students to career pathways, it empowers them to be effective decision makers, designers, inventors and communicators…it allows them to see and know how a chemical formula would assist him in his post-secondary life…role of chemistry in farming or trigonometry and geometry in the construction trades…and how are important to their future career and to their communities… if we want to prepare all our students for the careers of their future, the educators, community leaders and local companies must come together to help students experi-*

Giving an overview on the labour market challenges to marginalised populations, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) report indicates that young people in many of the developing countries within the Sub-Saharan Africa region face labour market challenges [39]. Findings from the Integrated Labour Force Survey (ILFS) show that new entrants within the labour market in Tanzania range

*ence academic concepts in culturally relevant, real-world ways' [38].*

**50**

discussed themes related to the term and notion 'pedagogy' encompasses in a range of factors including intelligence, gender and culture. It has reviewed different scenarios marginalised people face on their way of attaining basic and higher education on the African continent with vivid examples from a case study carried out in Tanzania and South Africa. Challenges related to infrastructure in the teaching and learning environment, lack of adequate learning resources and the essence of recruiting quality teachers within the teaching profession have been outlined. Again, this chapter has discussed pedagogy and inequality systems linked to new Information Technology opportunities within African countries. Hence, the thematic area insisted on teachers or schools to prepare learners for a more connected and technological future [22] so as to succeed in their future lives. Finally, it has identified the marginalised population and their learning experiences as opposed to the labour market challenges. The section has informed on the growing need of knowledge and skills and referred to a need of investing in human capital and social relation*.* As a matter of fact, human capital and social relation can be regarded as carriers of knowledge that facilitate young people to learn new things, reinforce old ideas, solve problems progressively, make decisions, be creative and, finally, establish a next generation of innovators with a vast new range of opportunities [14, 43, 44].

In a summary form, the study findings mainly based on the case study carried out in Tanzania and South Africa suggest, firstly, African governments must invest heavily in their country's education systems. Education at its wide scope is an investment sector due to the fact that it deals with human capital [16] and, in every aspect, is 'as hard as building bridges and roads*'* [45]. Secondly, the study findings show that 'at an ultimate stage, competition among nations will be among education systems…for the most productive and richest countries will be those with the best education and training in place, and well implemented' see [46]. Thirdly, education and effective pedagogy at its broad spectrum must meet needs of poor and marginalised populations socially, economically, culturally and emotionally. Fourthly, African governments must work on key stumbling blocks to education success. These well-identified obstacles include but are not restricted to low school enrolment and high dropout rates, poverty, distance from school, pregnancies at tender age, pedagogical challenges that affect and make students to leave schools without relevant knowledge and skills to thrive in society.

The current study suggests that teaching and learning must connect students to real-world learning. In clarification, education and pedagogy must connect learners to their future career pathways. Finally, this book chapter suggests that African governments must revisit and re-work on the problem of having too few good schools and too many bad schools. This has resulted to a vast number of children being badly taught or utterly untaught [4] due to government's inability to recruit competent or quality and enough teachers to cater the need. Other related challenges to be put into consideration and practice for the success of pedagogy and the education system in the African settings include infrastructure challenges, lack of adequate teaching and learning resources and inequality systems linked to new Information Technology opportunities in schools.

**53**

**Author details**

Charles Enock Mulimba Ruyembe

provided the original work is properly cited.

Karibu Cultural Contact (KCC), Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

\*Address all correspondence to: cruyembe@yahoo.com

*Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher…*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

*Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

#### **Author details**

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

new range of opportunities [14, 43, 44].

relevant knowledge and skills to thrive in society.

Technology opportunities in schools.

discussed themes related to the term and notion 'pedagogy' encompasses in a range of factors including intelligence, gender and culture. It has reviewed different scenarios marginalised people face on their way of attaining basic and higher education on the African continent with vivid examples from a case study carried out in Tanzania and South Africa. Challenges related to infrastructure in the teaching and learning environment, lack of adequate learning resources and the essence of recruiting quality teachers within the teaching profession have been outlined. Again, this chapter has discussed pedagogy and inequality systems linked to new Information Technology opportunities within African countries. Hence, the thematic area insisted on teachers or schools to prepare learners for a more connected and technological future [22] so as to succeed in their future lives. Finally, it has identified the marginalised population and their learning experiences as opposed to the labour market challenges. The section has informed on the growing need of knowledge and skills and referred to a need of investing in human capital and social relation*.* As a matter of fact, human capital and social relation can be regarded as carriers of knowledge that facilitate young people to learn new things, reinforce old ideas, solve problems progressively, make decisions, be creative and, finally, establish a next generation of innovators with a vast

In a summary form, the study findings mainly based on the case study carried out in Tanzania and South Africa suggest, firstly, African governments must invest heavily in their country's education systems. Education at its wide scope is an investment sector due to the fact that it deals with human capital [16] and, in every aspect, is 'as hard as building bridges and roads*'* [45]. Secondly, the study findings show that 'at an ultimate stage, competition among nations will be among education systems…for the most productive and richest countries will be those with the best education and training in place, and well implemented' see [46]. Thirdly, education and effective pedagogy at its broad spectrum must meet needs of poor and marginalised populations socially, economically, culturally and emotionally. Fourthly, African governments must work on key stumbling blocks to education success. These well-identified obstacles include but are not restricted to low school enrolment and high dropout rates, poverty, distance from school, pregnancies at tender age, pedagogical challenges that affect and make students to leave schools without

The current study suggests that teaching and learning must connect students to real-world learning. In clarification, education and pedagogy must connect learners to their future career pathways. Finally, this book chapter suggests that African governments must revisit and re-work on the problem of having too few good schools and too many bad schools. This has resulted to a vast number of children being badly taught or utterly untaught [4] due to government's inability to recruit competent or quality and enough teachers to cater the need. Other related challenges to be put into consideration and practice for the success of pedagogy and the education system in the African settings include infrastructure challenges, lack of adequate teaching and learning resources and inequality systems linked to new Information

**52**

Charles Enock Mulimba Ruyembe Karibu Cultural Contact (KCC), Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania

\*Address all correspondence to: cruyembe@yahoo.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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[3] Murphy P. Defining pedagogy. In: Equity in the Classroom. UK: Routledge; 2003. pp. 17-30

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[10] Hearn G, Roodhouse S, Blakey J. From value chain to value creating

ecology: Implications for creative industries development policy. International Journal of Cultural Policy. 2007;**13**(4):419-436

[11] Ruyembe CEM. Arts education and pedagogy in the learning profile in Tanzania: Current trends. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Arts Education. Springer; 2017. pp. 109-123

[12] Bamford A et al. The Wow Factor: Global Research Compendium on the Impact of the Arts in Education (Second Edition). Berlin: Waxmann; 2009

[13] UNESCO. Education for all Global Monitoring Report: Youth and Skills Putting Education to Work (Second Edition). Paris: UNESCO; 2012

[14] Ruyembe CEM. Practical Linkages between Cultural Policy and Education Policy in Promoting a Creative Workforce for Youth. Tanzania: Queensland University of Technology; 2015

[15] Davis NaC BB. Preparing teachers to work with culturally diverse students: A teacher education model. Journal of Teacher Education. 1989;**40**(5):9-16

[16] Brock-Utne B. WhoseEducation for all?: The Recolonization of the African Mind. Routledge; 2000

[17] Rajani R. Situational Analysis of Children in Tanzania. UNICEF: Dar-Es-Salaam; 2001

[18] Odden AR. Strategic Management of Human Capital in Education:Improving Instructional Practice and Student Learning in Schools. New York: Routlegde; 2011

[19] Zeelen J, Linden JD, Nampota D, Ngabirano M. The Burden of Education Exclusion:Understanding and

**55**

*Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher…*

[30] Carroll J. Huffingtonpost [Internet]. UK. 2017. Available from: https://www. huffingtonpost.co.uk/jackie-carroll/ heres-why-the-decreasing-rateof-illiteracy-among-women-is-anu\_a\_23070668/?guccounter=1&guce\_ref errer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2 xlLmNvbS8&guce\_referrer\_sig=AQ AAADGY0YlUJoG5wgOhSOBnF22 jnoYg0NHdQSRMOJ9nD53pwEpm 92c\_qljvYyKIDqAnJutFjM5uvTxPGv AeSW06Cy4T6b6ExpC4E7vps\_9MXd fnbofqIQCguPdd-wh6Bce2pbuYwp\_ K22vBI7slCELIepsSEaO9\_ JhmC\_ gv\_00Af4Rw [Accessed: 18-05-2019]

[31] Polat F. Inclusion in education: A step towards social justice. International Journal of Educational Development.

[32] Fleming M. Arts in Education and Creativity: A Review of the Literature. London: Creative Partnerships; 2008

[33] McClure J. Educational Documents England and Wales 1816 to the Present Day. Fifth ed. First published in 1965 by. London: Methuen: Chapman and Hall;

[34] Sekhonyane M. Gauteng's education inequality is being addressed. Mail & Guardian. 2019. Available from: https:// mg.co.za/article/2019-04-05-00 gautengs-education-inequality-is-being-

addressed [Accessed: 18-5-2019]

[35] Lefusi P. In Gauteng's education inequality is being addressed. 2019. Available from: https://mg.co.za/ article/2019-04-05-00-gautengseducation-inequality-is-beingaddressed[Accessed: 18-05-2019]

[36] Pohl M. Thinking Skills. St. Kilda Victoria, Australia: Insight Publications

[37] Bentley T, Kimberly S. The Creative Age: Knowledge and Skills for the New Economy. London: Demos; 1999

Pty, Limited; 2013

2011;**31**(1):50-58

1986

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

Challenging Early School Leaving in Africa. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense

[20] Fundi S. The influence of initiation culture on early school leaving amongst girls: Experience from the coastal region of Tanzania. In: Zeelen et al., editors. The Burden of Education Exclusion: Understanding and Challenging Early School Leaving in Africa. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers; 2010

[21] Onyango-Obbo C. What others say: Handling student pregnancy in Africa. The Citizen Newspaper, Online edition of Thursday October 24, 2013. 2013

[22] Hub Spot. The Evolution of Digital

[23] Kuleana. The State of Education in Tanzania: Crisis and Opportunity.

[24] UN. Transforming our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York: United Nations; 2015

[25] Carberry N. Exam treadmill not the answer to deliver world-class school system. Information Daily, online edition of Thursday November 21, 2013. 2013

[26] United Nations. UN General Assembly Resolution 50/81: World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and beyond. New York:

[27] Nyerere JK. Elimu haina mwisho. Dar-Es-Salaam: Government Printers. 1971

[28] Baregu M. Worrying trends of education in Tanzania as illiteracy expands. 9/08/2017. Dar\_Es-salaam:

2017 9/08/2017. Report No

Uwezo Net, 2013

[29] Twaweza. Are our Children

Learning/Annual Learning Assessment Report 2012. Dar-Es-salaam, Tanzania:

United Nations; 1996

Citizenship Infographic. 2019

Mwanza: Kuleana; 1999

Publishers; 2010

*Approach to Pedagogy and Scenarios Poor People Face in the Pursuit of Basic and Higher… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88521*

Challenging Early School Leaving in Africa. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers; 2010

[20] Fundi S. The influence of initiation culture on early school leaving amongst girls: Experience from the coastal region of Tanzania. In: Zeelen et al., editors. The Burden of Education Exclusion: Understanding and Challenging Early School Leaving in Africa. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers; 2010

[21] Onyango-Obbo C. What others say: Handling student pregnancy in Africa. The Citizen Newspaper, Online edition of Thursday October 24, 2013. 2013

[22] Hub Spot. The Evolution of Digital Citizenship Infographic. 2019

[23] Kuleana. The State of Education in Tanzania: Crisis and Opportunity. Mwanza: Kuleana; 1999

[24] UN. Transforming our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York: United Nations; 2015

[25] Carberry N. Exam treadmill not the answer to deliver world-class school system. Information Daily, online edition of Thursday November 21, 2013. 2013

[26] United Nations. UN General Assembly Resolution 50/81: World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and beyond. New York: United Nations; 1996

[27] Nyerere JK. Elimu haina mwisho. Dar-Es-Salaam: Government Printers. 1971

[28] Baregu M. Worrying trends of education in Tanzania as illiteracy expands. 9/08/2017. Dar\_Es-salaam: 2017 9/08/2017. Report No

[29] Twaweza. Are our Children Learning/Annual Learning Assessment Report 2012. Dar-Es-salaam, Tanzania: Uwezo Net, 2013

[30] Carroll J. Huffingtonpost [Internet]. UK. 2017. Available from: https://www. huffingtonpost.co.uk/jackie-carroll/ heres-why-the-decreasing-rateof-illiteracy-among-women-is-anu\_a\_23070668/?guccounter=1&guce\_ref errer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2 xlLmNvbS8&guce\_referrer\_sig=AQ AAADGY0YlUJoG5wgOhSOBnF22 jnoYg0NHdQSRMOJ9nD53pwEpm 92c\_qljvYyKIDqAnJutFjM5uvTxPGv AeSW06Cy4T6b6ExpC4E7vps\_9MXd fnbofqIQCguPdd-wh6Bce2pbuYwp\_ K22vBI7slCELIepsSEaO9\_ JhmC\_ gv\_00Af4Rw [Accessed: 18-05-2019]

[31] Polat F. Inclusion in education: A step towards social justice. International Journal of Educational Development. 2011;**31**(1):50-58

[32] Fleming M. Arts in Education and Creativity: A Review of the Literature. London: Creative Partnerships; 2008

[33] McClure J. Educational Documents England and Wales 1816 to the Present Day. Fifth ed. First published in 1965 by. London: Methuen: Chapman and Hall; 1986

[34] Sekhonyane M. Gauteng's education inequality is being addressed. Mail & Guardian. 2019. Available from: https:// mg.co.za/article/2019-04-05-00 gautengs-education-inequality-is-beingaddressed [Accessed: 18-5-2019]

[35] Lefusi P. In Gauteng's education inequality is being addressed. 2019. Available from: https://mg.co.za/ article/2019-04-05-00-gautengseducation-inequality-is-beingaddressed[Accessed: 18-05-2019]

[36] Pohl M. Thinking Skills. St. Kilda Victoria, Australia: Insight Publications Pty, Limited; 2013

[37] Bentley T, Kimberly S. The Creative Age: Knowledge and Skills for the New Economy. London: Demos; 1999

**54**

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

ecology: Implications for creative industries development policy.

[11] Ruyembe CEM. Arts education and pedagogy in the learning profile in Tanzania: Current trends. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Arts Education. Springer; 2017. pp. 109-123

[12] Bamford A et al. The Wow Factor: Global Research Compendium on the Impact of the Arts in Education (Second Edition). Berlin: Waxmann; 2009

[13] UNESCO. Education for all Global Monitoring Report: Youth and Skills Putting Education to Work (Second Edition). Paris: UNESCO; 2012

[14] Ruyembe CEM. Practical Linkages between Cultural Policy and Education

[15] Davis NaC BB. Preparing teachers to work with culturally diverse students: A teacher education model. Journal of Teacher Education. 1989;**40**(5):9-16

[16] Brock-Utne B. WhoseEducation for all?: The Recolonization of the African

[17] Rajani R. Situational Analysis of Children in Tanzania. UNICEF: Dar-Es-

[18] Odden AR. Strategic Management of Human Capital in Education:Improving Instructional Practice and Student Learning in Schools. New York:

[19] Zeelen J, Linden JD, Nampota D, Ngabirano M. The Burden of Education

Exclusion:Understanding and

Mind. Routledge; 2000

Salaam; 2001

Routlegde; 2011

Policy in Promoting a Creative Workforce for Youth. Tanzania: Queensland University of Technology;

2015

2007;**13**(4):419-436

International Journal of Cultural Policy.

[1] Murphy P. Defining pedagogy. In: Hall K, Murphy P, Soler J, editors. Pedagogy and Practice: Culture and Identities. London: SAGE Publications;

[2] Tomlinson CA. Learning profiles & achievement. The School Administrator.

[3] Murphy P. Defining pedagogy. In: Equity in the Classroom. UK: Routledge;

[4] Abrams F. Learning to Fail: How Society Lets Young People down.

[5] Ruyembe CEM. Strategies for Youth Employment in Tanzania: A Creative Industries Approach. Germany: Lap Lambert Academic Publishing; 2017

[6] Alexander R. Essays on Pedagogy.

Canada: Routledge; 2009

London: Routledge; 2013

1987;**57**(1):1-23

Publishers; 2013

University; 2012

[7] Shulman L. Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review.

[8] Vavrus F, Bartlett L. Pittsburgh Studies in Comparative and

International Education Series, Volume 2: Teaching in Tension: International Pedagogies, National Policies, and Teachers' Practices. Tanzania: Sense

[9] Wangwe S, Piirainen KA, Koria M, Ngoc TC, Wennberg M, Lemola T, et al. An Analysis of the Drivers for Emerging SectoralInnovation Systems in Developing Economies: Cases Tanzania and Vietnam (ESIS) Final Report. Finland, Helsinki: RMC Aalto

[10] Hearn G, Roodhouse S, Blakey J. From value chain to value creating

2008. pp. 28-39

**References**

2009;**66**(2):28-34

2003. pp. 17-30

[38] Sweeney E. How to help Newark students answer the question I asked in high school: "When will I ever use this?" Chalkbeat Newsletter. 2019

[39] ILO. Global employment trends for youth. A generation at risk. Geneva: International Labour Organization; 2013. p. 2013

[40] National Bureau of statistics. Unemployment estimates for year 2011: Integrated Labour Force Survey. 2011. Available from: http://www. nbs.go.tz/index.php?option=com\_con tent&view=article&id=186:unem ployment-estimates-for-the-year-2011&catid=100:labour-force-andees&Itemid=135 [Accessed: 16-5-2013]

[41] Brown R. Promoting entrepreneurship in arts education. In: Henry C, editor. Entrepreneurship in the Creative Industries: An International Perspective. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing; 2007

[42] Bridgstock R. Skills for creative industries graduate success. Education and Training. 2011;**53**(1):9-26

[43] NESTA. A compendium of innovation methods: NESTA. 2019. Available from: https://www.nesta.org. uk/report/compendium-innovationmethods/ [Accessed: 19-06-2019]

[44] Hearn G, Rooney D. Knowledge policy; challenges for the 21st century. 2008

[45] Burnett N, Patrinos HA. Response to critiques of priorities and strategies for education: A World Bank review. International Journal of Educational Development. Great Britain. 1996;**16**(3):273

[46] Kickbusch IS. Health literacy: Addressing the health and education divide. Health Promotion International. 2001;**16**(3):289-297

**57**

**Chapter 5**

*Duncan Mhakure*

graduate QL tutorial.

**1. Introduction**

lesson study, students' productive struggles

**Abstract**

Using the Research Tutorial as

Professional Development in an

This chapter is part of a larger research project that seeks to investigate sustainable ways of improving group-based tutoring in higher education courses. A growing body of research into teaching and learning in higher education acknowledges that higher education institutions are regarded as bastions of active teaching and learning that encourage students' deep learning and critical engagement. However, existing research also suggests that there is a lack of active participation by students during learning activities in tutorials; one of the reasons is the poor quality of the interactions between tutors and students during tutorials. Postgraduate students, who make up the majority of tutors, receive little formal training and lack sophisticated instructional skills on how to facilitate tutorials. By using an example, this chapter argues for the use of a research tutorial as a training strategy for tutor professional development (TPD) in an undergraduate Quantitative Literacy (QL) intervention course. The research methodology employed in this study is the lesson study. A research tutorial is a tutorial designed by both tutors and researchers that is used for TPD purposes. Suggestions for future research include focussing on how tutors notice, and attend to, the students' productive struggles during an under-

**Keywords:** peer tutoring, research tutorial, deep learning, cooperative learning,

Tutoring in small groups to facilitate cooperative learning is not a new approach in higher education. While tutoring plays an important role in student learning, thus improving throughput and helping students to achieve their professional goals [1–3], the majority of the tutors who engage in tutoring do not receive any formal training [4–6]. This chapter, which is research-based, proposes the use of the research tutorial as a training strategy for TPD in higher education courses. The process of tutoring embodies broad features and characteristics, for instance: academic and educational dimensions; administrative issues—tracking students' performance; classroom practices—teaching of the discipline content; peer tutoring—as observed in many universities, among others. This chapter's focus is on the discourses of student-tutor classroom practices—in other words, what

a Training Strategy for Tutor

Undergraduate Course

#### **Chapter 5**

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

[38] Sweeney E. How to help Newark students answer the question I asked in high school: "When will I ever use this?"

[39] ILO. Global employment trends for youth. A generation at risk. Geneva: International Labour Organization;

[40] National Bureau of statistics. Unemployment estimates for year 2011: Integrated Labour Force Survey. 2011. Available from: http://www. nbs.go.tz/index.php?option=com\_con tent&view=article&id=186:unem ployment-estimates-for-the-year-2011&catid=100:labour-force-andees&Itemid=135 [Accessed: 16-5-2013]

[41] Brown R. Promoting

Elgar Publishing; 2007

entrepreneurship in arts education. In: Henry C, editor. Entrepreneurship in the Creative Industries: An International Perspective. Northampton, MA: Edward

[42] Bridgstock R. Skills for creative industries graduate success. Education

and Training. 2011;**53**(1):9-26

[43] NESTA. A compendium of innovation methods: NESTA. 2019. Available from: https://www.nesta.org. uk/report/compendium-innovationmethods/ [Accessed: 19-06-2019]

[44] Hearn G, Rooney D. Knowledge policy; challenges for the 21st century.

[45] Burnett N, Patrinos HA. Response to critiques of priorities and strategies for education: A World Bank review. International Journal of Educational

Development. Great Britain.

[46] Kickbusch IS. Health literacy: Addressing the health and education divide. Health Promotion International.

1996;**16**(3):273

2001;**16**(3):289-297

Chalkbeat Newsletter. 2019

2013. p. 2013

**56**

2008

## Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development in an Undergraduate Course

*Duncan Mhakure*

### **Abstract**

This chapter is part of a larger research project that seeks to investigate sustainable ways of improving group-based tutoring in higher education courses. A growing body of research into teaching and learning in higher education acknowledges that higher education institutions are regarded as bastions of active teaching and learning that encourage students' deep learning and critical engagement. However, existing research also suggests that there is a lack of active participation by students during learning activities in tutorials; one of the reasons is the poor quality of the interactions between tutors and students during tutorials. Postgraduate students, who make up the majority of tutors, receive little formal training and lack sophisticated instructional skills on how to facilitate tutorials. By using an example, this chapter argues for the use of a research tutorial as a training strategy for tutor professional development (TPD) in an undergraduate Quantitative Literacy (QL) intervention course. The research methodology employed in this study is the lesson study. A research tutorial is a tutorial designed by both tutors and researchers that is used for TPD purposes. Suggestions for future research include focussing on how tutors notice, and attend to, the students' productive struggles during an undergraduate QL tutorial.

**Keywords:** peer tutoring, research tutorial, deep learning, cooperative learning, lesson study, students' productive struggles

#### **1. Introduction**

Tutoring in small groups to facilitate cooperative learning is not a new approach in higher education. While tutoring plays an important role in student learning, thus improving throughput and helping students to achieve their professional goals [1–3], the majority of the tutors who engage in tutoring do not receive any formal training [4–6]. This chapter, which is research-based, proposes the use of the research tutorial as a training strategy for TPD in higher education courses. The process of tutoring embodies broad features and characteristics, for instance: academic and educational dimensions; administrative issues—tracking students' performance; classroom practices—teaching of the discipline content; peer tutoring—as observed in many universities, among others. This chapter's focus is on the discourses of student-tutor classroom practices—in other words, what

are the interaction dynamics and mathematical discourses that can be observed in student-tutor interactions during tutoring. A South African higher education context is used as an example of this model of TPD. While this chapter is based in the South African higher education teaching and learning context, international readership, particularly individuals who deal with teaching and tutoring in higher education and/or other learning institutions, including schools, will also find the contents interesting. In other words, the target readership includes both South African and international teachers and lecturers. This chapter is composed of nine sections: *first*, a summary of the chapter—the abstract; *second*, an introduction to the chapter; *third*, the context of teaching and learning in higher education; *fourth*, the interdependence of cooperative learning and tutoring; *fifth*, the research tutorial framework; *sixth*, the operationalisation of a research tutorial; *seventh*, the conclusion; *eighth,* acknowledgements; *ninth,* conflict of interest*; tenth,* appendix: research tutorial—percentage change*;* and *last,* the references.

#### **2. The context of teaching and learning in higher education**

A growing body of research into teaching and learning in higher education acknowledges that higher education institutions are regarded as bastions of active teaching and learning that 'promote students' deep learning and critical engagement' ([2]; p. 64). However, existing research also suggests that there is a lack of active participation by students during learning activities in tutorials; one of the reasons for this is the poor quality of the interactions between tutors and students during tutorials [7, 8]. In the context of this chapter, and from a historical perspective, tutoring as a tradition has been in existence since the twelfth century, when the British schools used tutors in special pedagogical positions to assist in the academic development of individual students in schools and higher education institutions [9, 10]. In addition, tutoring was historically used in early European colleges and among the Bourgeois classes and royalty as a form of instruction within these institutions and/or classes [11, 12]. The Latin word *tutor* means 'defender, guardian', and is in turn derived from the Latin verb *tueri*, which means 'to look after, to observe, to guard' ([10], p. 184).

It is true that higher education globally is facing an increasing number of challenges due to the student body becoming more diverse in terms of age, 'ethno-cultural, socio-economic and even linguistic backgrounds' ([13], p. 118), motivation, learning needs, and students' preparedness, among others [14, 15]. In addition, higher education institutions are also faced with perennial under-funding, which is exacerbated by rapid technological advancement [14]. The South African higher education context is no different from that of other countries, particularly third world countries: institutions of higher learning are mandated to address other social challenges, such as the growing demands of accessibility and equity [16, 17], including issues of student retention and throughput, particularly among undergraduate students. Throughout the world, despite universities' efforts to retain students, only half of all students complete their studies in the regulation time [18, 19]. Comparing retention rates between countries is not an easy endeavour, because individual countries measure completion rates differently. For instance, according to [20, 21], the completion rates of the following countries were: Australia (23%), Denmark (24%), Japan (26%), and Ireland (21%); although these figures appear low, they were in fact some of the countries that experienced higher rates In the context of South African higher education, the completion rate in 2011 was 27%—meaning that only 27 out of every 100 students, on average, completed their studies within the regulation time. In other words, 27% of the students did not take an extra semester or year to complete their degree programme. In the United States

**59**

for the students' future life [37].

*Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development…*

and negative effect on the quality of teaching and learning [26–28].

**3. The interdependence of cooperative learning and tutoring**

The teaching and learning space in higher education is complex and challenging. As already alluded to in this chapter, the greater diversity among higher education students from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds and the creation of learning environments where high levels of student engagement are prioritised, is adding to these difficulties [2, 24, 29]. Research suggests that the introduction of cooperative learning (CL) [30–32], through the tutoring of small groups, for instance, could assist in creating conducive learning environments, which would be better able to address students' lack of active participation and engagement [33, 34].

Understanding the interdependence between CL and tutoring is important in the context of this chapter. CL is defined as 'the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximise their own and each other's learning' ([35], p. 3). CL represents a shift from lecturing passive big groups of students to tutoring smaller groups, where a tutor is in charge of a small group. In CL, the instruction focusses, through the guidance of a tutor, on stimulating and encouraging student-student and student-tutor interactions during tutoring [35, 36]. These interactions promote a deeper conceptual understanding among students, and foster the development of higher order, social, and critical skills, which are valuable

Student-tutor and student-student interactions discussed in this chapter take place during peer tutoring in the higher education context. In a general sense, peer tutoring entails individuals of the same group or social standing teaching each other, when one of the group members has more expertise or is more knowledgeable than the others [4, 38]. While in higher education peer tutoring is regarded as an integral part of academic development and support programs designed to assist at-risk students, defining the construct of peer tutoring is perceived to be complex, and at times contested [9, 12]. Variations of peer tutoring include: oneto-one tutoring, tutoring small groups—where a tutor oversees a small group of students, and online tutoring—which is used to support students studying through distance education, among others. In this chapter, peer tutoring embodies cross-age tutoring, where postgraduate students in quantitative disciplines assume the role of tutors to undergraduate students in a QL course, and where each tutor deals with

of America, studies show that more than 40% of the students who enrolled in 2007 failed to complete their degrees by 2013 [22]. There are many factors that contribute to the low rates of study completion and student retention in universities; these include, but are not limited to: predominant lecturing style of teaching in a large classroom with many students—this style does not encourage students' participation during learning; no monitoring of students' attendance as a pre-requisite for writing or passing the final examinations; and the fact that academic staff are inundated with duties other than teaching, such as grade revision and their own research studies [14]. In recent years, the use of podcasts to record lectures, though positive in many other ways, has contributed to students' lack of active participation in teaching and learning activities. Studies have also shown that contextual factors that hinder students' participation have to do with how institutions allocate resources to student development and learning opportunities that encourage student participation [23–25]. All the factors contributing to low completion and retention rates, in addition to causing high levels of frustration among students and academic staff, furthermore place a huge social and financial burden on the country's fiscus, particularly in countries with free education—such as Norway, and have a significant

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90150*

*Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90150*

of America, studies show that more than 40% of the students who enrolled in 2007 failed to complete their degrees by 2013 [22]. There are many factors that contribute to the low rates of study completion and student retention in universities; these include, but are not limited to: predominant lecturing style of teaching in a large classroom with many students—this style does not encourage students' participation during learning; no monitoring of students' attendance as a pre-requisite for writing or passing the final examinations; and the fact that academic staff are inundated with duties other than teaching, such as grade revision and their own research studies [14]. In recent years, the use of podcasts to record lectures, though positive in many other ways, has contributed to students' lack of active participation in teaching and learning activities. Studies have also shown that contextual factors that hinder students' participation have to do with how institutions allocate resources to student development and learning opportunities that encourage student participation [23–25]. All the factors contributing to low completion and retention rates, in addition to causing high levels of frustration among students and academic staff, furthermore place a huge social and financial burden on the country's fiscus, particularly in countries with free education—such as Norway, and have a significant and negative effect on the quality of teaching and learning [26–28].

The teaching and learning space in higher education is complex and challenging. As already alluded to in this chapter, the greater diversity among higher education students from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds and the creation of learning environments where high levels of student engagement are prioritised, is adding to these difficulties [2, 24, 29]. Research suggests that the introduction of cooperative learning (CL) [30–32], through the tutoring of small groups, for instance, could assist in creating conducive learning environments, which would be better able to address students' lack of active participation and engagement [33, 34].

#### **3. The interdependence of cooperative learning and tutoring**

Understanding the interdependence between CL and tutoring is important in the context of this chapter. CL is defined as 'the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximise their own and each other's learning' ([35], p. 3). CL represents a shift from lecturing passive big groups of students to tutoring smaller groups, where a tutor is in charge of a small group. In CL, the instruction focusses, through the guidance of a tutor, on stimulating and encouraging student-student and student-tutor interactions during tutoring [35, 36]. These interactions promote a deeper conceptual understanding among students, and foster the development of higher order, social, and critical skills, which are valuable for the students' future life [37].

Student-tutor and student-student interactions discussed in this chapter take place during peer tutoring in the higher education context. In a general sense, peer tutoring entails individuals of the same group or social standing teaching each other, when one of the group members has more expertise or is more knowledgeable than the others [4, 38]. While in higher education peer tutoring is regarded as an integral part of academic development and support programs designed to assist at-risk students, defining the construct of peer tutoring is perceived to be complex, and at times contested [9, 12]. Variations of peer tutoring include: oneto-one tutoring, tutoring small groups—where a tutor oversees a small group of students, and online tutoring—which is used to support students studying through distance education, among others. In this chapter, peer tutoring embodies cross-age tutoring, where postgraduate students in quantitative disciplines assume the role of tutors to undergraduate students in a QL course, and where each tutor deals with

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

research tutorial—percentage change*;* and *last,* the references.

**2. The context of teaching and learning in higher education**

A growing body of research into teaching and learning in higher education acknowledges that higher education institutions are regarded as bastions of active teaching and learning that 'promote students' deep learning and critical engagement' ([2]; p. 64). However, existing research also suggests that there is a lack of active participation by students during learning activities in tutorials; one of the reasons for this is the poor quality of the interactions between tutors and students during tutorials [7, 8]. In the context of this chapter, and from a historical perspective, tutoring as a tradition has been in existence since the twelfth century, when the British schools used tutors in special pedagogical positions to assist in the academic development of individual students in schools and higher education institutions [9, 10]. In addition, tutoring was historically used in early European colleges and among the Bourgeois classes and royalty as a form of instruction within these institutions and/or classes [11, 12]. The Latin word *tutor* means 'defender, guardian', and is in turn derived from the Latin verb *tueri*, which means 'to look after, to observe, to guard' ([10], p. 184). It is true that higher education globally is facing an increasing number of challenges due to the student body becoming more diverse in terms of age, 'ethno-cultural, socio-economic and even linguistic backgrounds' ([13], p. 118), motivation, learning needs, and students' preparedness, among others [14, 15]. In addition, higher education institutions are also faced with perennial under-funding, which is exacerbated by rapid technological advancement [14]. The South African higher education context is no different from that of other countries, particularly third world countries: institutions of higher learning are mandated to address other social challenges, such as the growing demands of accessibility and equity [16, 17], including issues of student retention and throughput, particularly among undergraduate students. Throughout the world, despite universities' efforts to retain students, only half of all students complete their studies in the regulation time [18, 19]. Comparing retention rates between countries is not an easy endeavour, because individual countries measure completion rates differently. For instance, according to [20, 21], the completion rates of the following countries were: Australia (23%), Denmark (24%), Japan (26%), and Ireland (21%); although these figures appear low, they were in fact some of the countries that experienced higher rates In the context of South African higher education, the completion rate in 2011 was 27%—meaning that only 27 out of every 100 students, on average, completed their studies within the regulation time. In other words, 27% of the students did not take an extra semester or year to complete their degree programme. In the United States

are the interaction dynamics and mathematical discourses that can be observed in student-tutor interactions during tutoring. A South African higher education context is used as an example of this model of TPD. While this chapter is based in the South African higher education teaching and learning context, international readership, particularly individuals who deal with teaching and tutoring in higher education and/or other learning institutions, including schools, will also find the contents interesting. In other words, the target readership includes both South African and international teachers and lecturers. This chapter is composed of nine sections: *first*, a summary of the chapter—the abstract; *second*, an introduction to the chapter; *third*, the context of teaching and learning in higher education; *fourth*, the interdependence of cooperative learning and tutoring; *fifth*, the research tutorial framework; *sixth*, the operationalisation of a research tutorial; *seventh*, the conclusion; *eighth,* acknowledgements; *ninth,* conflict of interest*; tenth,* appendix:

**58**

a small group of students [4, 39]. Hence, this chapter uses the word 'tutoring' to refer to peer tutoring of undergraduate students in small groups, with each group facilitated by a senior student/postgraduate student.

Recent lines of research on higher education teaching and learning have shown that institutionalised tutoring is regarded as one of the strategies of encouraging the active participation of students and fostering more proactive interventions that address students' deficits [9]. In addition, undergraduate students need more direct learning, such as provided during tutoring, to help them with assessing their own knowledge deficits [1]. Ideally, a tutor should address undergraduate knowledge deficits by fostering greater student engagement and participation in tutorials. Morano and Riccomini [40] assert that tutoring is one of the instructional strategies that can be used to address 'high order learning objectives including comprehension, application, and problem solving' (p. 104) that are strongly emphasised across all higher education disciplines. It should not be deduced, however, that this chapter is suggesting that tutoring is the only solution of all learning challenges in higher education. Having said that, my position is that tutoring, as a part of university teaching-learning approach can indeed improve the throughput and retention of students and help them to achieve their professional goals [3]. By means of the example in this chapter, I argue for the use of a research tutorial as an effective training strategy of tutor professional development (TPD) in an undergraduate Quantitative Literacy (QL) intervention course. To express it as a research question: How can a research lesson be used as a training strategy for TPD in an undergraduate course?

Higher education studies in many disciplines concur that tutors as facilitators for student learning should be trained through workshops and/or seminars to be equipped with the necessary didactical skills [41]. By collaborating with the relevant discipline's course convenors and/or coauthoring course materials, as part of tutor training, tutors can further develop familiarity with the instructional strategies that promote student learning [42]. Central to the debates on how tutoring improves students' active participation and engagement in learning activities is the efficacy of the tutor training program. Academic development programmes in which tutor training is a key feature tend to contribute more to students' success than do those without tutor training [9]. In other words, tutor training programmes enhance the facilitating of the tutorials, by providing opportunities for feedback and peer interactions that empower tutors to provide better learning experiences during tutorials [6, 43]. McFarlane [44] concurs and posits that 'tutoring in higher education from a tutor's perspective suggests that tutors lack training in tutoring and may lack clarity as to the purpose of the role' (p. 77). One of the key focuses of tutor training is how to transfer the knowledge, skills and behaviours acquired by tutors to real tutoring settings [45]. It is clear that the quality of tutors is one cause for the variations in student learning during tutorials, and that the quality of tutoring programmes directly influences the quality of tutors [46]. In accordance with [47], the word 'quality' in the context of tutoring programmes refers to 'both changes in the environment in which education [tutoring] takes place and the detachable gains in learners' [students'] knowledge, skills and values' (p. 13). Here the word detachable gains are gains that apply outside the tutorial, such as, self-regulation. Despite increase in tutor training programmes and their benefits in developing students' higher order cognitive skills, as already illustrated in this chapter, many more studies on tutor training are emerging [15, 45, 46].

#### **4. The research tutorial framework**

In this section, an alternative tutor training model is presented. The origins of this model are based on the construct of the lesson study framework and the notion of

**61**

*Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development…*

the research lesson—both of which have been popularised in mathematics education, particularly in schools [48–50]. As a form of continuous professional development (CPD) for mathematics teachers, [50] asserts that a lesson study is an approach:

*in which teachers [tutors and academics] work together to: formulate goals for student learning and long-term development; collaboratively plan a 'research lesson' [research tutorial] designed to bring to life these goals; conduct the lesson [tutorial] in a classroom, with a team member teaching [tutoring] and others gathering evidence on student learning and development; and discuss the evidence gathered during the lesson [tutorial], using it to improve the lesson [tutorial], the unit, and* 

Within the context of this chapter, a lesson study framework as a form of TPD for tutors is a tutor-enquiry based CPD whose specific emphasis is to reflect on tutoring classroom practices and students' cognition, thus developing the tutor's expertise and learning within a higher education context [49, 51]. Tutor-enquiry based training using a lesson study, and more specifically a research tutorial, is a possible solution for the TPD of tutors in higher education. A research tutorial is a tutorial that is jointly planned (prepared), implemented, and evaluated through reflections by both tutors and researchers within a discipline and/or degree programme. This chapter uses the term 'researchers' to refer to: academics, such as lecturers and convenors of higher education courses, as well as other higher education stakeholders in higher education, whose interests lie in tutor development. As such, the research tutorial is examined through three lenses [52]: The first is *the researcher lens,* which encourages tutors to act as researchers in identifying problems of practice (such as students' productive struggles), designing appropriate strategies to solve them, and using the findings to inform and improve the success of their tutoring interventions. While the role of the tutor is to help students to learn, there is general acceptance that undergraduate students, through no fault of their own, find it difficult to assess their own knowledge deficits [1]. It is one of the tutor's roles to design and provide interventions to ameliorate such knowledge deficit challenges among students [53], ideally, by gathering information about the level of understanding among the students in the group [54, 55]. The second, *the curriculum development lens,* looks at how tutors sequence learning tutorial activities and align them to the students' learning and cognition during tutorials. In addition, the act of tutoring involves further challenging the students' cognition, particularly with respect to simplification, clarification, and exemplification of learning tasks [39]. Lastly, *the student lens*, is about how tutors predict possible solutions and challenges to students' learning tasks, and how they use these predictions to inform further student engagement. In addition, this lens refers to how tutors use their knowledge about students, and their knowledge of their peers as resources for planning, facilitating and evaluating students' interactions during tutorials. It is relevant to mention that the tutor's main role is to create an environment that supports student learning; often, however, tutors find themselves dealing with students' other distressing and intensely personal issues, which

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90150*

*instruction more generally (p. 95)*

are not part of their discipline context [44, 56].

Considering what has been said earlier, this chapter discusses tutoring in an undergraduate course—viz. the QL course, so the context presented is very specific to this course. While tutors have many different roles, the focus in this chapter is on classroom practice and discourse, in other words, on facilitating the discipline content. Only postgraduate students from quantitative disciplines are interviewed and, if selected, are eligible to be tutors for this course. Successful candidates are required to attend a compulsory orientation seminar before assuming their tutoring duties, and before being subjected to further training, as defined by the research

*Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90150*

the research lesson—both of which have been popularised in mathematics education, particularly in schools [48–50]. As a form of continuous professional development (CPD) for mathematics teachers, [50] asserts that a lesson study is an approach:

*in which teachers [tutors and academics] work together to: formulate goals for student learning and long-term development; collaboratively plan a 'research lesson' [research tutorial] designed to bring to life these goals; conduct the lesson [tutorial] in a classroom, with a team member teaching [tutoring] and others gathering evidence on student learning and development; and discuss the evidence gathered during the lesson [tutorial], using it to improve the lesson [tutorial], the unit, and instruction more generally (p. 95)*

Within the context of this chapter, a lesson study framework as a form of TPD for tutors is a tutor-enquiry based CPD whose specific emphasis is to reflect on tutoring classroom practices and students' cognition, thus developing the tutor's expertise and learning within a higher education context [49, 51]. Tutor-enquiry based training using a lesson study, and more specifically a research tutorial, is a possible solution for the TPD of tutors in higher education. A research tutorial is a tutorial that is jointly planned (prepared), implemented, and evaluated through reflections by both tutors and researchers within a discipline and/or degree programme. This chapter uses the term 'researchers' to refer to: academics, such as lecturers and convenors of higher education courses, as well as other higher education stakeholders in higher education, whose interests lie in tutor development. As such, the research tutorial is examined through three lenses [52]: The first is *the researcher lens,* which encourages tutors to act as researchers in identifying problems of practice (such as students' productive struggles), designing appropriate strategies to solve them, and using the findings to inform and improve the success of their tutoring interventions. While the role of the tutor is to help students to learn, there is general acceptance that undergraduate students, through no fault of their own, find it difficult to assess their own knowledge deficits [1]. It is one of the tutor's roles to design and provide interventions to ameliorate such knowledge deficit challenges among students [53], ideally, by gathering information about the level of understanding among the students in the group [54, 55]. The second, *the curriculum development lens,* looks at how tutors sequence learning tutorial activities and align them to the students' learning and cognition during tutorials. In addition, the act of tutoring involves further challenging the students' cognition, particularly with respect to simplification, clarification, and exemplification of learning tasks [39]. Lastly, *the student lens*, is about how tutors predict possible solutions and challenges to students' learning tasks, and how they use these predictions to inform further student engagement. In addition, this lens refers to how tutors use their knowledge about students, and their knowledge of their peers as resources for planning, facilitating and evaluating students' interactions during tutorials. It is relevant to mention that the tutor's main role is to create an environment that supports student learning; often, however, tutors find themselves dealing with students' other distressing and intensely personal issues, which are not part of their discipline context [44, 56].

Considering what has been said earlier, this chapter discusses tutoring in an undergraduate course—viz. the QL course, so the context presented is very specific to this course. While tutors have many different roles, the focus in this chapter is on classroom practice and discourse, in other words, on facilitating the discipline content. Only postgraduate students from quantitative disciplines are interviewed and, if selected, are eligible to be tutors for this course. Successful candidates are required to attend a compulsory orientation seminar before assuming their tutoring duties, and before being subjected to further training, as defined by the research

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

lesson be used as a training strategy for TPD in an undergraduate course?

Despite increase in tutor training programmes and their benefits in developing

studies on tutor training are emerging [15, 45, 46].

**4. The research tutorial framework**

students' higher order cognitive skills, as already illustrated in this chapter, many more

In this section, an alternative tutor training model is presented. The origins of this model are based on the construct of the lesson study framework and the notion of

Higher education studies in many disciplines concur that tutors as facilitators for student learning should be trained through workshops and/or seminars to be equipped with the necessary didactical skills [41]. By collaborating with the relevant discipline's course convenors and/or coauthoring course materials, as part of tutor training, tutors can further develop familiarity with the instructional strategies that promote student learning [42]. Central to the debates on how tutoring improves students' active participation and engagement in learning activities is the efficacy of the tutor training program. Academic development programmes in which tutor training is a key feature tend to contribute more to students' success than do those without tutor training [9]. In other words, tutor training programmes enhance the facilitating of the tutorials, by providing opportunities for feedback and peer interactions that empower tutors to provide better learning experiences during tutorials [6, 43]. McFarlane [44] concurs and posits that 'tutoring in higher education from a tutor's perspective suggests that tutors lack training in tutoring and may lack clarity as to the purpose of the role' (p. 77). One of the key focuses of tutor training is how to transfer the knowledge, skills and behaviours acquired by tutors to real tutoring settings [45]. It is clear that the quality of tutors is one cause for the variations in student learning during tutorials, and that the quality of tutoring programmes directly influences the quality of tutors [46]. In accordance with [47], the word 'quality' in the context of tutoring programmes refers to 'both changes in the environment in which education [tutoring] takes place and the detachable gains in learners' [students'] knowledge, skills and values' (p. 13). Here the word detachable gains are gains that apply outside the tutorial, such as, self-regulation.

facilitated by a senior student/postgraduate student.

a small group of students [4, 39]. Hence, this chapter uses the word 'tutoring' to refer to peer tutoring of undergraduate students in small groups, with each group

Recent lines of research on higher education teaching and learning have shown that institutionalised tutoring is regarded as one of the strategies of encouraging the active participation of students and fostering more proactive interventions that address students' deficits [9]. In addition, undergraduate students need more direct learning, such as provided during tutoring, to help them with assessing their own knowledge deficits [1]. Ideally, a tutor should address undergraduate knowledge deficits by fostering greater student engagement and participation in tutorials. Morano and Riccomini [40] assert that tutoring is one of the instructional strategies that can be used to address 'high order learning objectives including comprehension, application, and problem solving' (p. 104) that are strongly emphasised across all higher education disciplines. It should not be deduced, however, that this chapter is suggesting that tutoring is the only solution of all learning challenges in higher education. Having said that, my position is that tutoring, as a part of university teaching-learning approach can indeed improve the throughput and retention of students and help them to achieve their professional goals [3]. By means of the example in this chapter, I argue for the use of a research tutorial as an effective training strategy of tutor professional development (TPD) in an undergraduate Quantitative Literacy (QL) intervention course. To express it as a research question: How can a research

**60**

tutorial framework. It is during the orientation seminar that tutors, and researchers discuss the learning needs of the students in the course, as well as the curricular goals of the course. In addition, the orientation seminar is used to assess the developmental needs of tutors before they engage in tutoring.

The research tutorial framework that the chapter is proposing consists of four phases. The characteristics of this framework make it an effective tool for TPD, because 'it is site-based, practice-oriented, focussed on student learning, collaboration-based, and research-oriented' ([57], p. 2). In other words, the framework can be adapted to address the needs of the tutors and student learning in a variety of contexts. **Figure 1** shows the four phases of the research tutorial framework, viz. *setting goals, planning, implementing, and debriefing*, and how these are related to each other [58].

Firstly, in the *setting goals phase*, tutors and researchers meet formally to discuss the specific students' needs, and the curriculum goal for the undergraduate QL


**63**

*Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development…*

course. Between Phases 1 and 2, tutors and researchers engage in brainstorming activities, where pertinent mathematical concepts and potential students' concep-

Secondly, in the *planning phase*, the tutors and the researchers develop a plan for the research tutorial and why it should take a specific format, which is usually informed by the students' needs. Since research tutorials are evidence driven, tutors and researchers decide on the nature of the data collection strategies to be used. Part of the discussions look at how to anticipate and respond to the students' conceptual

As defined in this chapter, case students are, for example, three students known to the tutors and the researchers, around whom the tutorial is planned. In other words, the planning phase looks at specific named students in a tutorial in each of the three categories: low, average, and high performers, and designs the tutorial around their needs. So, each of the tutorial planning activities is focused at addressing the needs of these case students, and by extension the rest of the students in the

Part of the emphasis of the planning stage is on creating a learning environ-

listening to each other; *supportive*—tutors create an environment where individuals' views are valued and respected; *cumulative*—tutors and students create new and coherent lines of cognition by using each other's ideas as learning resources; and *purposeful*—tutors' and students' and/or group interactions are guided by students' educational needs and curriculum goals [2, 64]. This is contrary to studies on tutor-student interactions, which have found that classroom discourses are predominantly tutor-centred, in that tutors ask the questions and students respond, using short answers in the form of 'yes' or 'no' [65, 66], as in the case of classroom discourses observed in schools [67]. Between Phases 2 and 3, tutors and researchers finalise their data collection strategies, by doing trial runs and preparing students for the implementation of the planned activities from Phase 2. Thirdly, in the *implementation phase*, one of the tutors facilitates the tutorials, using the guidelines established in Phase 2; the tutorial activities are both videoand audio-recorded. The other tutors and the researchers act as observers, using a pre-determined observation guide to monitor student-tutor and student-student interactions. Samples of the students' work are also collected as evidence for the students' ways of working. The facilitator and the observers keep a keen interest on the three case students' interactions, and predictions are made on how they are likely to perform during the research tutorial. Between Phases 3 and 4, tutors and researchers reflect on the accomplishments of the research tutor during the implementation phase and on the research tutorial in general—this is done informally, and by developing and sharing notes made during the previous three phases.

Fourthly, during the *debriefing phase*, tutors and researchers hold a post-research tutorial meeting, where data collected, and notes made during the previous three phases—setting goals, planning and implementation—are analysed. In addition, it includes discussions pertinent to the research tutorial itself, such as: classroom discourses, student and tutor learning moments and/or strategies, accomplishment of learning, and meeting of curriculum goals. Discussions around the three case students take place, looking specifically at whether the predictions about their interactions were correct. Between research tutorial Phases 4 and 1, evidence collected in the previous four phases is used by tutors and researchers to inform decisions on:

ment that promotes the construct of dialogic talk, which requires tutors to use high order questioning that promotes critical thinking [60]—for example, Socratic questioning [61], and feedback that promotes alternative discourses [62, 63]. Pertinent characteristics of dialogic talk are: *collective*—an all-inclusive

interaction between students and tutors; *reciprocal*—tutors and students

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90150*

tual learning challenges are discussed.

challenges using so-called 'case students'.

group [48, 59].

**Figure 1.** *Phases of a research tutorial.*

*Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90150*

course. Between Phases 1 and 2, tutors and researchers engage in brainstorming activities, where pertinent mathematical concepts and potential students' conceptual learning challenges are discussed.

Secondly, in the *planning phase*, the tutors and the researchers develop a plan for the research tutorial and why it should take a specific format, which is usually informed by the students' needs. Since research tutorials are evidence driven, tutors and researchers decide on the nature of the data collection strategies to be used. Part of the discussions look at how to anticipate and respond to the students' conceptual challenges using so-called 'case students'.

As defined in this chapter, case students are, for example, three students known to the tutors and the researchers, around whom the tutorial is planned. In other words, the planning phase looks at specific named students in a tutorial in each of the three categories: low, average, and high performers, and designs the tutorial around their needs. So, each of the tutorial planning activities is focused at addressing the needs of these case students, and by extension the rest of the students in the group [48, 59].

Part of the emphasis of the planning stage is on creating a learning environment that promotes the construct of dialogic talk, which requires tutors to use high order questioning that promotes critical thinking [60]—for example, Socratic questioning [61], and feedback that promotes alternative discourses [62, 63]. Pertinent characteristics of dialogic talk are: *collective*—an all-inclusive interaction between students and tutors; *reciprocal*—tutors and students listening to each other; *supportive*—tutors create an environment where individuals' views are valued and respected; *cumulative*—tutors and students create new and coherent lines of cognition by using each other's ideas as learning resources; and *purposeful*—tutors' and students' and/or group interactions are guided by students' educational needs and curriculum goals [2, 64]. This is contrary to studies on tutor-student interactions, which have found that classroom discourses are predominantly tutor-centred, in that tutors ask the questions and students respond, using short answers in the form of 'yes' or 'no' [65, 66], as in the case of classroom discourses observed in schools [67]. Between Phases 2 and 3, tutors and researchers finalise their data collection strategies, by doing trial runs and preparing students for the implementation of the planned activities from Phase 2.

Thirdly, in the *implementation phase*, one of the tutors facilitates the tutorials, using the guidelines established in Phase 2; the tutorial activities are both videoand audio-recorded. The other tutors and the researchers act as observers, using a pre-determined observation guide to monitor student-tutor and student-student interactions. Samples of the students' work are also collected as evidence for the students' ways of working. The facilitator and the observers keep a keen interest on the three case students' interactions, and predictions are made on how they are likely to perform during the research tutorial. Between Phases 3 and 4, tutors and researchers reflect on the accomplishments of the research tutor during the implementation phase and on the research tutorial in general—this is done informally, and by developing and sharing notes made during the previous three phases.

Fourthly, during the *debriefing phase*, tutors and researchers hold a post-research tutorial meeting, where data collected, and notes made during the previous three phases—setting goals, planning and implementation—are analysed. In addition, it includes discussions pertinent to the research tutorial itself, such as: classroom discourses, student and tutor learning moments and/or strategies, accomplishment of learning, and meeting of curriculum goals. Discussions around the three case students take place, looking specifically at whether the predictions about their interactions were correct. Between research tutorial Phases 4 and 1, evidence collected in the previous four phases is used by tutors and researchers to inform decisions on:

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

opmental needs of tutors before they engage in tutoring.

each other [58].

tutorial framework. It is during the orientation seminar that tutors, and researchers discuss the learning needs of the students in the course, as well as the curricular goals of the course. In addition, the orientation seminar is used to assess the devel-

The research tutorial framework that the chapter is proposing consists of four phases. The characteristics of this framework make it an effective tool for TPD, because 'it is site-based, practice-oriented, focussed on student learning, collaboration-based, and research-oriented' ([57], p. 2). In other words, the framework can be adapted to address the needs of the tutors and student learning in a variety of contexts. **Figure 1** shows the four phases of the research tutorial framework, viz. *setting goals, planning, implementing, and debriefing*, and how these are related to

Firstly, in the *setting goals phase*, tutors and researchers meet formally to discuss the specific students' needs, and the curriculum goal for the undergraduate QL

**62**

**Figure 1.**

*Phases of a research tutorial.*

whether selected concepts in the research tutorial need to be re-taught; whether changes to the tutorial are required to make it more accessible to students; whether new strategies to improve deep learning should be pursued; and how interactions and engagement by students and tutors in research tutorial classroom practices can be enhanced.

#### **5. The operationalisation of a research tutorial**

Having presented the research tutorial framework in the previous section, in this section the discussion centres on how the framework can be operationalised in a Humanities first year undergraduate QL course with a specific research tutorial on the *percentage change* concept—see appendix. According to the research tutorial framework, the participants in the operationalisation of the tutor training are: three researchers, five tutors—all postgraduate students, and a research assistant. All participants take part in all the research tutorial activities. While the research tutorial posed two questions, the focus of the discussion in this chapter is on question 1 only, as shown in the appendix.

Students enrolled in this QL course mainly do Psychology as a major; however, students from other social sciences disciplines, such as social work, are also admitted to the course. Readers need to note that the majority of the students who enrolled in the QL course obtained low grades in their final year of high school and are characterised by their low interest in mathematics or learning activities that require an understanding of numbers and their applications. The construct of QL embodies 'the ability to understand, interpret, evaluate, and apply numerical [mathematical and statistical] data, as well as the ability to communicate mathematical ideas in various formats' [68]. On a practical level, QL promotes quantitative reasoning and logical thinking that assist students when dealing with quantitative issues, both in their discipline and in the real world, as informed, literate, and democratic citizens. Using the research tutorial shown in the appendix as an example, the following section illustrates how the four research tutorial phases—setting goals, planning, implementation, and debriefing—can be used for tutor training or TPD.

Firstly, in the *setting goals phase*, the curriculum goals of the topic, viz. *percentage changes*, is partly introduced during the orientation and induction of the tutors. The specific curriculum goals of the research tutorial are discussed in detail for each tutorial. For instance, in this research tutorial, the objectives of the research tutorial are: *calculate a percentage change and use growth factors to find quantities before and after an increase; read percentage changes from charts, tables, and texts; interpret charts in terms of percentage changes; communicate information about percentage changes*—*by writing statements describing the percentage changes in context; and calculate the orders of magnitudes.* These research tutorial objectives were agreed upon with an interrater reliability of above 90%; in other words, a consensus was reached by tutors and researchers that these were indeed the key objective of the tutorial.

Secondly, in the *planning stage*, which is about planning for data collection, one of the tutors, for example, asked the question: 'How do I address the students' productive struggles within the context of the tutorial objectives?'. In this stage, the research tutorial is also observed from the students' perspective, i.e. 'now as the student you will be trying to grapple with percentage change concepts from the tutorial to make sense of certain issues being raised … and [look at how] the tutors respond to the students' [researcher]. During the planning stage, tutors recorded that question 1 (c) read: 'What was the percentage change in murder figures from 2005/6 to

**65**

*Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development…*

2006/7 for Mpumalanga and Northern Cape?' And that this should be scaffolded to its current form—see appendix. This scaffolding was intended to allow a better understanding of the question by the students. In addition, the observers also focused on the extent to which the tutor accomplishes the objectives and the nature

Thirdly, in the *implementation phase,* in this research tutorial one tutor facilitates, another tutor acts as an observer, and a research assistant acts as a second observer; all tutor-student interactions are recorded. By 'attending'—recognising and/or noticing, identifying, and responding to the students' productive struggles on the concept of percentage changes—tutors sought to address the tutorial objectives [69–71]. In other words, the construct of the mathematical noticing framework includes: attending to, interpreting, and deciding how the tutor's responses to the students' productive struggles plays a critical role during the facilitation of the research tutorial [72]. The research assistant posits that, 'Students seem confused on all the information necessary to include in a definition as in question 1 (a)'. In response, the tutor tells students to 'look at the title of the chart and try to answer the questions: who? what? where?—and when?' [tutor] [73]. Part of the students' productive struggles can be attributed to a 'sense or meaning making', i.e. uncertainty in explaining, and expressing misconceptions and errors [74–76]. For instance, a student displays a misconception in question 1 (c) (ii): 'students think that using the percentage change, she/he can conclude that there were more murders in the Northern Cape than Mpumalanga' [observer]. When asked by the tutor to explain his/her answer, the student responded that, 'Mpumalanga had a decrease while the Northern Cape has had an increase in the amount of murders'. The tutor used directed guidance, by asking leading questions to get students to explain their reasoning; for example, in question 1 (c) (ii), the tutor asked the student why she/ he chose yes, even though that was the incorrect answer [73]. These are just a few examples of the student-tutor interactions that took place during the implementation of the research tutorial. The three case students were monitored; one tutor posited that 'the predictions of the three case students were correct, since all of them performed as anticipated' [tutor]. Studies have shown that the tutors' [teachers'] predictions about case students are usually incorrect, probably because the

Lastly, the *debriefing phase* constitutes the reflections on the research tutorial by both the tutors and the researchers, looking at how the data collected can inform and improve both student learning and tutoring on the concept of percentage. Students' productive struggles were specifically experienced in respect of question 1 (h). Tutors' reflections acknowledge that 'Question 1 (h) presented the most uncertainty for students. All of them struggled with the mathematical conceptual understanding of the question' [tutor]. Students appeared to have a misconception that they could just find an average of the nine provinces' percentages given to find the overall murder percentage of South Africa—this was a misconception because students were failing to understand that the provincial percentages and the national percentage (3.6%) were calculated using different absolute totals. Evidence collected during the implementation phase of the research tutorial showed that, even where scaffolding was done, students still found it challenging to understand the application of growth factors—derived from percentage changes, and to use them to solve authentic real word problems. While none of the tutors suggested that the research tutorial should be re-taught, tutors were concerned about the misconceptions and errors students had shown during the tutorial. In the main, the tutors recommended that the students needed more practical exercises on solving problems relating to growth factors, particularly where real-world contexts are concerned.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90150*

tutors poorly assessed the case students [48].

of students-tutor interactions.

#### *Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90150*

2006/7 for Mpumalanga and Northern Cape?' And that this should be scaffolded to its current form—see appendix. This scaffolding was intended to allow a better understanding of the question by the students. In addition, the observers also focused on the extent to which the tutor accomplishes the objectives and the nature of students-tutor interactions.

Thirdly, in the *implementation phase,* in this research tutorial one tutor facilitates, another tutor acts as an observer, and a research assistant acts as a second observer; all tutor-student interactions are recorded. By 'attending'—recognising and/or noticing, identifying, and responding to the students' productive struggles on the concept of percentage changes—tutors sought to address the tutorial objectives [69–71]. In other words, the construct of the mathematical noticing framework includes: attending to, interpreting, and deciding how the tutor's responses to the students' productive struggles plays a critical role during the facilitation of the research tutorial [72]. The research assistant posits that, 'Students seem confused on all the information necessary to include in a definition as in question 1 (a)'. In response, the tutor tells students to 'look at the title of the chart and try to answer the questions: who? what? where?—and when?' [tutor] [73]. Part of the students' productive struggles can be attributed to a 'sense or meaning making', i.e. uncertainty in explaining, and expressing misconceptions and errors [74–76]. For instance, a student displays a misconception in question 1 (c) (ii): 'students think that using the percentage change, she/he can conclude that there were more murders in the Northern Cape than Mpumalanga' [observer]. When asked by the tutor to explain his/her answer, the student responded that, 'Mpumalanga had a decrease while the Northern Cape has had an increase in the amount of murders'. The tutor used directed guidance, by asking leading questions to get students to explain their reasoning; for example, in question 1 (c) (ii), the tutor asked the student why she/ he chose yes, even though that was the incorrect answer [73]. These are just a few examples of the student-tutor interactions that took place during the implementation of the research tutorial. The three case students were monitored; one tutor posited that 'the predictions of the three case students were correct, since all of them performed as anticipated' [tutor]. Studies have shown that the tutors' [teachers'] predictions about case students are usually incorrect, probably because the tutors poorly assessed the case students [48].

Lastly, the *debriefing phase* constitutes the reflections on the research tutorial by both the tutors and the researchers, looking at how the data collected can inform and improve both student learning and tutoring on the concept of percentage. Students' productive struggles were specifically experienced in respect of question 1 (h). Tutors' reflections acknowledge that 'Question 1 (h) presented the most uncertainty for students. All of them struggled with the mathematical conceptual understanding of the question' [tutor]. Students appeared to have a misconception that they could just find an average of the nine provinces' percentages given to find the overall murder percentage of South Africa—this was a misconception because students were failing to understand that the provincial percentages and the national percentage (3.6%) were calculated using different absolute totals. Evidence collected during the implementation phase of the research tutorial showed that, even where scaffolding was done, students still found it challenging to understand the application of growth factors—derived from percentage changes, and to use them to solve authentic real word problems. While none of the tutors suggested that the research tutorial should be re-taught, tutors were concerned about the misconceptions and errors students had shown during the tutorial. In the main, the tutors recommended that the students needed more practical exercises on solving problems relating to growth factors, particularly where real-world contexts are concerned.

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

**5. The operationalisation of a research tutorial**

be enhanced.

only, as shown in the appendix.

tutor training or TPD.

whether selected concepts in the research tutorial need to be re-taught; whether changes to the tutorial are required to make it more accessible to students; whether new strategies to improve deep learning should be pursued; and how interactions and engagement by students and tutors in research tutorial classroom practices can

Having presented the research tutorial framework in the previous section, in this section the discussion centres on how the framework can be operationalised in a Humanities first year undergraduate QL course with a specific research tutorial on the *percentage change* concept—see appendix. According to the research tutorial framework, the participants in the operationalisation of the tutor training are: three researchers, five tutors—all postgraduate students, and a research assistant. All participants take part in all the research tutorial activities. While the research tutorial posed two questions, the focus of the discussion in this chapter is on question 1

Students enrolled in this QL course mainly do Psychology as a major; however, students from other social sciences disciplines, such as social work, are also admitted to the course. Readers need to note that the majority of the students who enrolled in the QL course obtained low grades in their final year of high school and are characterised by their low interest in mathematics or learning activities that require an understanding of numbers and their applications. The construct of QL embodies 'the ability to understand, interpret, evaluate, and apply numerical [mathematical and statistical] data, as well as the ability to communicate mathematical ideas in various formats' [68]. On a practical level, QL promotes quantitative reasoning and logical thinking that assist students when dealing with quantitative issues, both in their discipline and in the real world, as informed, literate, and democratic citizens. Using the research tutorial shown in the appendix as an example, the following section illustrates how the four research tutorial phases—setting goals, planning, implementation, and debriefing—can be used for

Firstly, in the *setting goals phase*, the curriculum goals of the topic, viz. *percentage changes*, is partly introduced during the orientation and induction of the tutors. The specific curriculum goals of the research tutorial are discussed in detail for each tutorial. For instance, in this research tutorial, the objectives of the research tutorial are: *calculate a percentage change and use growth factors to find quantities before and after an increase; read percentage changes from charts, tables, and texts; interpret charts in terms of percentage changes; communicate information about percentage changes*—*by writing statements describing the percentage changes in context; and calculate the orders of magnitudes.* These research tutorial objectives were agreed upon with an interrater reliability of above 90%; in other words, a consensus was reached by tutors

and researchers that these were indeed the key objective of the tutorial.

Secondly, in the *planning stage*, which is about planning for data collection, one of the tutors, for example, asked the question: 'How do I address the students' productive struggles within the context of the tutorial objectives?'. In this stage, the research tutorial is also observed from the students' perspective, i.e. 'now as the student you will be trying to grapple with percentage change concepts from the tutorial to make sense of certain issues being raised … and [look at how] the tutors respond to the students' [researcher]. During the planning stage, tutors recorded that question 1 (c) read: 'What was the percentage change in murder figures from 2005/6 to

**64**

From this illustrative example of a specific QL-based research tutorial on percentage changes, the cyclical characteristic of the research tutorial can be observed. While this example is based on a research tutorial, the framework can also be applied to subsequent tutorials, thus adding to continuity within the TPD. The author is not claiming that the research tutorial framework proposed in this chapter addresses all the challenges associated with students' lack of engagement during tutorials but does posit that it provides an alternative approach to tutor training, an area that is under-researched in higher education disciplines.

#### **6. Conclusion**

Tutoring and tutor training by using a research tutorial framework, as proposed in this chapter, are critical components of higher education learning and teaching that are intrinsically linked to the students' deep learning strategies, in other words, meaning-making and development of complex conceptualisation of discipline content, which lead to enhanced student engagements and interactions during learning, improved throughputs, and greater access [77, 78]. The tutor training discussed in this study, through the use of a research tutorial, seeks to address discipline-specific skills development of tutors in an undergraduate QL course, and does not address 'generic tutoring skills such as presentation skills, taking control of a tutorial session and responding in an emotionally responsible and mature manner to students' requests and actions' ([79], p. 29). Discipline-specific skills development includes but is not limited to: mastery of disciplinary content knowledge—QL content; supporting students' productive struggles within the discipline content; designing and implementing new instructional strategies during tutorials; and promoting mathematical and statistical classroom discourses during tutorials. As demonstrated in this chapter, TPD by means of an evidence-driven research tutorial can have huge implications for promoting students' active engagements and supporting their productive struggles during learning. The author argues that the role of tutors has become more complex, given the diversity and unpreparedness of the students enrolled in higher education institutions. Given also that there is an expectation for tutors to use student-centred alternative approaches, and that most of the tutors are postgraduate students without formal tutor training, there is a strong need for university departments to develop TPD, like the one described in this chapter. In conclusion, there is a need to research the effectiveness of the research tutorial as an alternative TPD method, with a focus on disciplinary content and classroom discourses. In addition, future research should include focussing on how tutors notice, and attend to the students' productive struggles during an undergraduate QL tutorial through deep questioning.

#### **Acknowledgements**

The contents of this book chapter have been developed under the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED), University of Cape Town—Research Development Grant. However, the contents of the chapter do not necessarily represent the views of CHED.

**67**

*Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development…*

a.Describe in full the meaning of the number 14 in the bar on the chart.

best describes the value for the Western Cape:

the Northern Cape than in Mpumalanga?

How many murders were there in 2006/7?

How many murders were there in 2006/7?

g.How many murders were there in Gauteng in 2005/6?

percentage change values for the nine provinces?

in murders? What is the percentage change for this province?

to 2006/7 was more than 4%.

to 2006/7 was almost 5%.

Mpumalanga and Northern Cape?

changed in the province.

b.Consider the following statements based on the chart and select the one that

i. The percentage change in murder figures in the Western Cape from 2005/6

ii.The percentage change in murder figures in the Western Cape from 2005/6

c.What was the percentage change in murder figures from 2005/6 to 2006/7 for

i. In each case say what this means about how the number of murders has

d.Which province had the smallest percentage change (irrespective of the sign)

e.It is known that the number of murders in the Free State in 2005/6 was 876.

f. It is known that the number of murders in Mpumalanga in 2005/6 was 874.

h.The percentage change for RSA is given as 3.6%. Is this value the average for the

ii.Can you use the answer in (i) to conclude that there were more murders in

The chart below has been adapted from data in *The Annual Report of the South African Police Service for 2006/2007*. The questions relate to the chart and to the

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90150*

table alongside.

**Appendix: Research tutorial—percentage change**

#### **Conflict of interest**

The author declares that no conflict of interest exists.

*Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90150*

### **Appendix: Research tutorial—percentage change**

*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

area that is under-researched in higher education disciplines.

graduate QL tutorial through deep questioning.

The author declares that no conflict of interest exists.

**Acknowledgements**

**Conflict of interest**

represent the views of CHED.

**6. Conclusion**

From this illustrative example of a specific QL-based research tutorial on percentage changes, the cyclical characteristic of the research tutorial can be observed. While this example is based on a research tutorial, the framework can also be applied to subsequent tutorials, thus adding to continuity within the TPD. The author is not claiming that the research tutorial framework proposed in this chapter addresses all the challenges associated with students' lack of engagement during tutorials but does posit that it provides an alternative approach to tutor training, an

Tutoring and tutor training by using a research tutorial framework, as proposed in this chapter, are critical components of higher education learning and teaching that are intrinsically linked to the students' deep learning strategies, in other words, meaning-making and development of complex conceptualisation of discipline content, which lead to enhanced student engagements and interactions during learning, improved throughputs, and greater access [77, 78]. The tutor training discussed in this study, through the use of a research tutorial, seeks to address discipline-specific skills development of tutors in an undergraduate QL course, and does not address 'generic tutoring skills such as presentation skills, taking control of a tutorial session and responding in an emotionally responsible and mature manner to students' requests and actions' ([79], p. 29). Discipline-specific skills development includes but is not limited to: mastery of disciplinary content knowledge—QL content; supporting students' productive struggles within the discipline content; designing and implementing new instructional strategies during tutorials; and promoting mathematical and statistical classroom discourses during tutorials. As demonstrated in this chapter, TPD by means of an evidence-driven research tutorial can have huge implications for promoting students' active engagements and supporting their productive struggles during learning. The author argues that the role of tutors has become more complex, given the diversity and unpreparedness of the students enrolled in higher education institutions. Given also that there is an expectation for tutors to use student-centred alternative approaches, and that most of the tutors are postgraduate students without formal tutor training, there is a strong need for university departments to develop TPD, like the one described in this chapter. In conclusion, there is a need to research the effectiveness of the research tutorial as an alternative TPD method, with a focus on disciplinary content and classroom discourses. In addition, future research should include focussing on how tutors notice, and attend to the students' productive struggles during an under-

The contents of this book chapter have been developed under the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED), University of Cape Town—Research Development Grant. However, the contents of the chapter do not necessarily

**66**

The chart below has been adapted from data in *The Annual Report of the South African Police Service for 2006/2007*. The questions relate to the chart and to the table alongside.

	- i. The percentage change in murder figures in the Western Cape from 2005/6 to 2006/7 was more than 4%.
	- ii.The percentage change in murder figures in the Western Cape from 2005/6 to 2006/7 was almost 5%.
	- i. In each case say what this means about how the number of murders has changed in the province.
	- ii.Can you use the answer in (i) to conclude that there were more murders in the Northern Cape than in Mpumalanga?

If yes, confirm the calculation of the value. If no, say how the figure of 3.6% would have been calculated.

	- i. Complete the proportion in the following sentence:
	- ii.The Northern Cape had only \_.… .…of all murders in South Africa in 2006/7.

### **Author details**

Duncan Mhakure

Department of Academic Development Programme, Centre for Higher Education Development, University of Cape Town, South Africa

\*Address all correspondence to: duncan.mhakure@uct.ac.za

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**69**

*Using the Research Tutorial as a Training Strategy for Tutor Professional Development…*

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i. Complete the proportion in the following sentence:

in 2006/7 bigger than that of the Northern Cape?

would have been calculated.

number.

Cape? Express the answer as a percentage.

ii.The Northern Cape had only \_.…

If yes, confirm the calculation of the value. If no, say how the figure of 3.6%

i. What proportion of all murders in 2006/7 was committed in the Western

j. In 2006/7 how many times as big was the number of murders in South Africa as the number of murders in the Northern Cape? Write your answer as a whole

c.By how many orders of magnitude was the Eastern Cape's number of murders

Department of Academic Development Programme, Centre for Higher Education

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

Development, University of Cape Town, South Africa

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**68**

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environments to stimulate deep approaches to learning: Factors encouraging or discouraging their effectiveness. Educational Research

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education. 2013;**14**(3):175-187

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*Pedagogy in Basic and Higher Education - Current Developments and Challenges*

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students. Journal of Nursing Education.

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[67] O'Boyle A. The dialogic

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Change. 2014;**31**(1):1-7

2008:131-150

1995;**9**(4):249-264

ON; 2010

2017;**56**(4):240-242

2014;**19**(3):289-300

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[56] Race P. Making Personal Tutoring Work. Leeds: Leeds Met Press; 2010. Available from: https://www.leedsmet. ac.uk/publications/files/100705.7240. LoRes.pdf [Accessed 10 January 2014]

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2014;**106**(1):69-85

Springer; 2011. pp. 1-12

2014;**40**(4):511-529

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[59] Mhakure D. School-based mathematics teacher professional learning: A theoretical position on the lesson study approach. South African Journal of Education. 2019;**39**(Suppl. 1): 8; Art 1754. Available from: https://doi.

org/10.15700/saje.v39ns1a1754

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**72**

[72] Choy BH. Productive Mathematical Noticing: What It Is and Why It Matters. Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia; 2013

[73] Zeybek Z. Productive struggle in a geometry class. International Journal of Research in Education and Science. 2016;**2**(2):396-415

[74] Granberg C. Discovering and addressing errors during mathematics problem-solving—A productive struggle? The Journal of Mathematical Behavior. 2016;**42**:33-48

[75] Warshauer HK. Productive struggle in middle school mathematics classrooms. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. 2015;**18**(4):375-400

[76] Warshauer HK. Strategies to support productive struggle. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. 2015;**20**(7):390-393

[77] Entwistle N, McCune V. The conceptual bases of study strategy inventories. Educational Psychology Review. 2004;**16**(4):325-345

[78] Gorsky P, Caspi A, Trumper R. Campus-based university students' use of dialogue. Studies in Higher Education. 2006;**31**(1):71-87

[79] Beukes C, Maree S. Lessons learned: Reflections on training student tutors. Contemporary Issues in Education Research. 2011;**4**(9):29-38

Section 3

Students in Basic and Higher

Education

75

Section 3
