Greener Journal of Educational Research

Greener Journal of  Educational Research Vol. 3(8), pp. 381-391, October 2013

 ISSN: 2276-7789 

Research Paper

Manuscript Number: 180913846

 

An Assessment of the Bachelor of Early Childhood Development Degree Programme in its Initial Stages at Zimbabwe Open University

 

^1*Ngara Rosemary, ²Ngwarai Richard, ³Ngara Rodgers

 

¹Lecturer and Coordinator –Education Department, Zimbabwe Open University.

²Lecturer and Coordinator -Department of Disability Studies and Special Needs Education, 

Zimbabwe Open University.

³Deputy Head -Liebenberg High School, Chivhu.

 

*Corresponding Authors’ Email: rosemaryngara @ gmail. com

Abstract:

The Bachelor of Early Childhood Education degree (BEDECD) is a teacher development programme which was introduced for study at Zimbabwe Open University in September 2010 in response to the need for more ECD-trained teachers. BEDECD is four year programme. It had run for three semesters at the time the study was conducted. The study was conducted at Zimbabwe Open University, in Masvingo region to assess opinions of students and lecturers on the implementation of the BEDECD curriculum, in the stated period. Generally, students and lecturers were of the opinion that modules designed for the programme had been useful and had recent data and the design of the modules was of high quality. Pre-Teaching Practice Microteaching was viewed by most participants as helpful but micro-teaching was not accorded adequate time. However, participants were generally, unhappy about the delayed provision of some modules in each of the semesters. Students felt that tutorials were in most cases fruitful as tutors were thoroughly prepared but students reported that tutors did not employ any media that could have driven home ideas and concepts at stake. The study recommended timeous provision of curriculum materials and feedback on assignments, among other things.
 
Keywords: Sub-theme: Teacher Education and Professional Development or Curriculum Reforms and Implementations.

Return to Content   View  Reprint (PDF) (300KB)