Editorial, Reform Forum Number 7

Educational Reform in Namibia is still on Going.

This seventh issue of the Reform Forum is evidence of the commitment of the Namibian educators to the new philosophy of education and at the same time evidence of that most of the education reform still continues. The Reform Forum as a publication will continue to stimulate open debate about educational reform, and contributions in this issue come entirely from Namibian educators.

The first article in this issue, entitled Becoming a Better Teacher in own classroom,is written by Miriam M. Katonyala, a Teacher Educator in the Department of Languages, Ongwediva College of Education, and it looks essentially on how teachers can become better teachers in their own classroom, regardless of whether they are highly trained or not. Concepts like reflection, preparation, observation, diagnostic teaching, reflection, and teachers’ conferences all these which are part of the new philosophy of educational reform in the country, and which are applied through the Basic Education Diploma (BETD) programme, are extensively used in this article.

Peter M. Mwala’s Professional Development is another example of a constructive and critical analysis of teachers who maintains after the Independence of Namibia many teachers have tried to upgrade their qualifications, but unfortunately higher qualifications do not always qualify teachers to improve their performance. Teachers normally study to get a degree in the easiest subjects that the university has to offer. Knowledge consequently is never ploughed back into the schools, nor does it enrich the process of learning at the school. Higher salaries are earned without increased productivity. The writer stresses here the importance of professional development rather, and urges "a critical attitude as essential for any professional teacher". He poses a question "what would make a professional teacher, and what should a professional teacher do in order to become more professional?".

The following five articles are papers presented by Namibian educators at the 18th annual seminar of the International Society for Teacher Education held from 17 -24 April 1998 in Skukuza Kruger National Park, in the Republic of South Africa.

Gudrun Reimers in School-based studies as part of the Basic Education Teacher Diploma in Namibia brings to the reader the strong and weak points of School-bases studies (SBS) which is part of the education development of the new teacher programme for colleges of education in Namibia, and how some of the weaknesses have been addressed in the process of implementation after Independence of Namibia, specifically at Windhoek College of Education.

John Nyambe and Immanuel Shipena, both Teacher Educators at Ongwediva College of Education, in their article Global Education on the threshold of a new millennium: the 21st century teacher for the new generation learner, seek to analyse the nature of global education which most of the 20th century teachers and learners have been exposed to. Furthermore they also outline an alternative approach to global education which is appropriate for the 21st century teacher and the new generation learner.

The article Noticing the Distribution of Time in Teacher Education: the case of Namibia, by Tuaunda T. Keeja, also a Teacher Educator and Head of Department at Windhoek College of Education, explains the question how time is utilised between teacher educators and student teachers at that college in particular, and at the other three colleges of education in general.

Alfred M. Ilukena, a Chief Education Officer at NIED/MBEC, in his article, Qualities and Competencies of the professional Teacher emphasise the qualities and competencies that make a professional teacher. He does not define qualities nor competencies in his article on the ground that competencies are contextually grounded and can only be noticed through performance or actual situation.

The article Student-centred teacher education for the learner-centred teachers: A Namibian perspective, by Irma Slabbert and Stuart Greenhalgh of the Windhoek College of Education, provides us with the background of the salient features of education policy in Namibia particularly as they relate to teacher education, and how Namibian student teachers choose profession through a series of school-based investigative studies including an action research project, and how this education policy can contribute to the cultivation of learner-centred approach to teaching.

In the last article Reasons for an ethos of diversity - a sermon to the converted, Marita Kotze, an Education Officer at NIED/MBEC, opens a discussion on relationship between the experiential, cognitive studies and how this can affect both human conduct and the possibility of faith in God.

The Editorial Committee