Learner Centred Education (LCE) amidst Corona Virus in Selected Secondary Schools in Zambia: Challenges, New Trends and Way Forward
- October 18, 2021
- Posted by: RSIS
- Categories: Education, IJRISS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue IX, September 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186
Dr. Oliver Magasu (PhD)
Kwame Nkrumah University – Zambia
Abstract: The study focussed on establishing how teachers were using learner centred methods in their teaching amidst the Corona Virus protocols. In doing so, the study investigated the challenges and new trends that have emerged in teaching. A descriptive survey research design was employed. The sample included 40 participants drawn from five selected secondary schools in Kabwe district, Central Province, Zambia, through a non-probability sampling technique. Data was collected through interviews. The key findings were that the pandemic had changed the normal approach to teaching and this had affected the use of learner centred techniques in lessons. Teachers were now using lecture method. Furthermore, the protocols have prompted some teachers to using social media platforms such as WhatsApp groups to give notes and homework in day schools. Based on the findings, the study recommends among others that teachers should find other ways of using learner centred methods in their teaching and at the same time, they should do all it takes to reduce the spread of the pandemic. Furthermore, online teaching should be supported by embracing e-learning platforms that were interactive such as Zoom.
Key Words: Challenges; New Trends; Corona Virus; Learner Centred Methods
I. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Learner Centred Education (LCE) has been on top of the agenda in most educational policies throughout the world. According to Schilling and Koetting (2010) (in Hessein, Mtitu and Ogondiek, 2019), it is believed that the concept of LCE originated in developed countries, appearing first in the USA in 1970s as a result of public debates that criticised the quality of education which necessitated the formation of performance – based teacher education movements. LCE was introduced in German by 1970s and in the United Kingdom and Australia by 1990s (Marzano, 2010).
There seems to be consensus among scholars such as Kelly (1996); Magasu (2021); Roberts (1998) that LCE was first coined by Dewey in 1933. Dewey’s seminal work ‘How We Think’ (1910) set the ground for learner centred models by characterising teaching as a vessel which contributes to intellectual and moral development of a person. As the originator of LCE, Dewey (1910) rejected rote learning and emphasised that teachers should become lifelong learners of teaching, thoughtful about educational theory and how it translates into everyday practice
