File(s) not publicly available
Singing under the tree: does oral culture help lower primary teachers be learner-centred?
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 08:15 authored by Alison CroftThe work of experienced and student lower primary teachers in three schools in Southern Malawi was studied, using lesson observations, interviews and pupil tests. The use teachers make of songs is given as an example of how they use oral culture. The function of songs in lessons is mainly to manage the class rather than to teach content, in contrast to the emphasis in official curriculum materials. The ways in which songs indirectly support learning by ameliorating some of the difficult teaching and learning conditions are described. It is argued that teachers respond to the situation of the learners as a group, which leads to a critical examination of common interpretations of learner-centred teaching. Several implications of the study for teacher education and research are highlighted.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
International Journal of Education and DevelopmentISSN
0738-0593Publisher
ElsevierExternal DOI
Issue
3-4Volume
22Page range
321-337Pages
17.0Department affiliated with
- Education Publications
Notes
This paper reports on doctoral research for which the author was awarded a competitive scholarship through the DFID-funded MUSTER Project at Sussex. It is a rare attempt to study locally-respected good practice in African classrooms. It breaks new ground theoretically and empirically by explaining lower primary classroom practice as being rooted in a relatively collective and oral local culture. The paper makes a significant contribution to debates on achieving quality education in schools with extremely limited material resources.Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2012-02-06Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC