Improving the quality of literacy learning in the content areas: situational analysis of secondary level education in Botswana

This report reviews and analyses current policy and practices regarding the quality of the literacy curriculum and assessment of secondary education in Botswana. Through a survey and interviews with various stakeholders in the country, the researchers of this report shed light on issues including transitional challenges between the primary and secondary levels of education as well as the need for solid competencies in literacy required by a truly participatory and student-centered approach to learning.

The authors provide recommendations, with the caveat that their findings are based on a somewhat limited situational analysis conducted over nine months. Therefore they present these recommendations as tentative and open for discussion and debate among the various stakeholders:

• the junior secondary curriculum could be aligned to the primary curriculum for a smooth transition, and information about students could be shared to inform instructional decisions in the secondary schools.Teacher training and professional development might include opportunities for teachers to observe and participate in both primary and secondary settings
• a culture of literacy could be developed in the secondary schools in which all teachers share in the important role of supporting students’ reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills across subject areas. This could be facilitated if more teachers were engaged in learning about content area literacies in their teacher training programs or in professional development contexts
• a culture of literacy might include access to information through computers and libraries, which could become centers of information literacy. More teachers would benefit from having a background in these areas
• more resources are needed in libraries and better access to the Internet is essential to promoting information literacy practices
• the secondary curriculum could be more student-centred, inquiry-based and integrated so that students are engaged in literacy-based problem solving and critical thinking across subject areas to address issues important in the development of Botswana and beyond
• educational policymakers need to reconsider the language policies based on the realities of classroom contexts and the complexities of language use in learning
• policymakers should also consider placing less emphasis on high stakes standardised testing and more emphasis on rich, formative assessments that can inform teachers’ instructional decision making
• the literacy skills students obtain should equip them to fit the variety of opportunities available to them. A literacy skills profile for students leaving junior secondary school should be constructed.