Navigating the Free Basic Education Landscape, Southern Africa | Chapter 5 | An Overview of Literature, Language and Education Research Vol. 1

The universal education agenda is to make education accessible, affordable, inclusive, and equitable to the destitute. Sedulous efforts are diligently carried out to the realization of this vision to ameliorate individuals academically and socially while meliorating emotional developmental needs. As need be, without exception, it is exigent for everyone to be erudite. For this to happen, it had to start from the ground up, achievable with the exordium of free basic education (FBE) with no child left behind policy maugre socio-economic background. This will be a paradigm shift against educational discrimination and inequalities, serving as a means for all to acquire knowledgeable skills and break the cycle of the underprivileged not having admittance. The study ferrets out insights on FBE from 17 Eswatini public primary educational communities, the study identified its benefits, trammels, impact on education, and panaceas. The empirical pragmatic procedure utilized the mixed method to present factual outcomes that can be generalized. Data was gathered from 70 educators (principals, in-service, and pre-service) and 15 learners by convenience, purposive, and referral approaches through surveys, distributed in person and virtually. Educators got the drift and thus had synchronized responses on the merits of free education as a benefact to the marginalized. The proem of FBE is menaced by innumerable impediments, a variety of topics are indexed from the visited schools, ranging from a population explosion of learners disproportionate to teaching-learning facilities/resources, educators’ deficit in attending to individualized learner needs, inadequate educational coaches, declined learner discipline, and English lingo as a barrier to education. Educators’ and learners’ perceptions of automatic promotional policy detrimental to quality education and the new curriculum are sought. FBE is a noble vision, worthy of achieving its goals, it is anticipated that the research would highlight and elucidate patterns of educational disadvantage in FBE for all relevant stakeholders to necessitate reformations to ensure its sustainable success.

 

Author(s)details:-

 

Epilogue Jedishkem
Ngwani Teachers’ College, Eswatini.

 

Jesfaith Jedishkem
C/O 474, Nhlangano, Eswatini.

 

Please See the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/aoller/v1/499

Arts Across Eswatini: Pedagogical Outcomes | Chapter 9 | Recent Research Advances in Arts and Social Studies Vol. 8

The zeitgeist of childhood is characterized by ebullience, which requires creative imaginations to accommodate and express emotional ideas, the power of arts is germane in making this happen at this epoch. Eswatini elementary curriculum formally boarded the creative artistic train in 2018, the competency-based expressive arts as a core subject started as a pilot research, implemented in the precocious stage of grade one to advance skill and aptitude at an early age; and then progressed to upper grades. This is to challenge learners to meet high but realistic expectations geared toward articulate competencies to meet sustainable development goals. National Curriculum reviews investigated outcomes and experiences of the refined subject, as reported by Mamba and Zulu in Times of Eswatini, they stressed the need for the country to embrace the arts with all serosity as it is quintessential in bridging the gap in joblessness in the country, a national focus. Jedishkem and co-authors concurred, that regardless of a college qualification, the arts are dependent variables needed for success in the current world economy. Recognizing and nurturing creative growth aesthetically is relevant to skill development and enhances holistic education. The study was conducted over the course of over fourteen thirty-minute periods in mid-2023, detailed research was carried out in a singular subject area by datum recording first-hand data on classroom phenomena on the outcomes of Expressive Arts from seven elementary public schoolrooms involving over 350 learners and 7 pre-service educators in Eswatini. Instructors’ training and knowledge of the arts were probed, besides reflections on art pedagogy. Adept educators communicated their pleasure in teaching the subject, unfortunately, the inept deemed it a fifth wheel. They neither take it seriously nor look forward to artsy sessions since there is a wide knowledge skill gap and social competencies. Introduction to the art variants of dance, drama, music, and visual art enabled learners to be inspired to perform before audiences or even be part of an audience having the chance to exhibit their creative abilities. Guided by the textbooks they were exposed to techniques relevant to specific art trajectories that deepened their understanding of themselves, others, and the world at large fostering imagination despite the extrapolated demerits of inexpert instructors amidst unresourceful dire straits.

Author(s) Details:

Epilogue Jedishkem,
Ngwane Teachers College, Eswatini.

Jesfaith Jedishkem,
Freelance Artist Researcher, C/O 474, Eswatini.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/RRAASS-V8/article/view/14289