3.15 Views about teaching and related issues

Student teachers’ views were gathered by asking them to respond to a number of statements. There were four possible responses: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree. For ease of analysis these have been collapsed into the two categories of Agree and Disagree. Respondents were also asked to give their reasons for agreement or disagreement. This extra data makes possible further insights into the student teachers’ thinking at the start of their college programme. However, as the results were not subjected to statistical analysis for significance, the findings should be interpreted with caution.

3.15.1 Views on the Statement that “Teachers are born and not made”

Responses to the question whether teachers are born not made suggests that 50% disagree with this notion while a further 50% agree. Thus, half the student teachers agree with the statement while half disagree. The cross tabulation as reflected in Table 16 indicates that 54% of the female student teachers and 40% of the male student teachers disagree. In contrast, there is also a difference in the percentage of those who agree, with 60% of male student teachers and 46% of female student teachers agreeing with the statement.

Table 16: Level of agreement with the statement “Teachers are born not made” by Gender

Level of Agreement	Gender		Total
	Female	Male
Agree	28 (46%)	15 (60%)	43 (50%)
Disagree	33 (54%)	10 (40%)	43 (50%)
Total no. of respondents	61	25	86 (100%)

Reasons advanced for agreeing were: “although some trained (teachers) produce good result, those not so much educated still produce good results”; “made (trained) teachers do not last in the job, cannot handle students and they teach for money”. [It] does not mean that they know everything, its out of choice from COSC and ability to transmit knowledge”. Those who indicated that they disagree advanced reasons such as “that’s why there are teaching institutions”; “students go to NTTC because of not knowing that to do” and “as long as one can further studies you can be a good teacher”.

3.15.2 University education versus Teacher Training College

According to Table 17 the level of disagreement (76%) indicated that they were not so enthusiastic about going to university. “NTTC produces quality teachers, we must have a good foundation before university degree”. Other student teachers indicated that they disagree because they “intend to teach and build a good foundation at primary level”. There is a consistency about going back to teach in the primary schools throughout the different sections of this study where student teachers had to comment about their future plans. The cross tabulation though shows that more female student teachers (27%) compared to their male counterparts (19%) agreed that they would rather be at the university than at the college. Among the reasons advanced were: “NTTC is waste of time if you want to do a degree, peer pressure as well as examination results especially English, I am forced to do subjects that I do not like, for example Mathematics”. Those who disagree suggest that if it were possible to have got a good pass, they probably would have gone straight to university.

Table 17: Opinion on the statement “I would rather have gone to university than teacher training College” by gender

Level of agreement	Gender		Total
	Female	Male
Agree	17 (27%)	5 (19%)	22 (24%)
Disagree	47 (73%)	21 (81%)	68 (76%)
Total number of respondents	64	26	90 (100%)

3.15.3 statement “I prefer to teach in secondary school than at primary school”

Student teachers were asked to indicate the level to which they agreed with the statement “I prefer to teach in secondary school than at primary school”. Table 18 shows that more male student teachers (46 %) as opposed to 14% of the females prefer teaching in secondary school to the primary school. It would seem therefore that the male student teachers are more conscious about the status than their female counterparts or that perhaps they do not want to teach young children and too many subjects. Those who would rather teach in the secondary school indicate that “there is specialisation at the secondary school level unlike in primary school where one has to teach all the subjects. That it is easier to teach at this level because of availability of teaching materials and that the salaries for primary school teachers are low”. Generally however, a larger percentage of the entire population disagree (76%) with the idea of teaching in secondary school. Perhaps, student teachers feel they are being trained to teach at the primary school level and that this is the level that they should remain at. Some of the major reasons for those who disagreed with the statement are that: “Secondary school students are too naughty for my age - I would rather start at primary school”; “Because of my qualifications (Diploma)”; “I want to lay a good foundation and want to be a role model” and “small children learn fast”.

Table 18: Opinion on the Statement “I would rather teach in secondary school than a primary school” by Gender

Level of agreement	Gender		Total
	Female	Male
Agree	9 (14%)	12 (46%)	21 (24%)
Disagree	54 (86%)	14 (54%)	68 (76%)
Total no. of respondents	63	26	89 (100%)

3.15.4 Statement “Teaching is a very difficult job to do well”

Table 19 indicates that although more male than female student teachers agreed with the statement “teaching is a very difficult job to do well”, there is little difference in the overall amount of agreement. 58% of males and 51% of females agree with the statement. Those who agreed were of the feeling that there are a number of issues that contribute to teaching being a difficult job: planning, public expectations and teaching conditions. In their own words they had these to say “if a teacher does not plan for lessons”. “Because you have to be exemplary” and the fact that “even if one teaches well pupils still fail because not all students understand all teachers, some students are fast learners while others are not”. Another concern was about the fact that “living conditions makes it difficult here in Lesotho and that teaching requires patience and kindness”. Those who disagreed indicated that if one intended to be a teacher it shouldn’t be a difficult job but if you are forced into it then one will perceive it as difficult. The assumption being that if one is motivated, likes the profession and has been trained to teach well it should not be that difficult a job to do well. Analysed by age, the data showed a slight tendency for those aged 21 and below to perceive the job as more difficult than the older trainees did.

Table 19: Opinion on the Statement “Teaching is a very difficult job to do well” by gender

Level of agreement	Gender		Total
	Female	Male
Agree	32 (51%)	15 (58%)	47 (53%)
Disagree	31 (49%)	11 (42%)	42 (47%)
Total number of respondents	63	26	89 (100%)

3.15.5 Statement “Teaching experience is more important than educational qualifications in appointing head teachers”

According to Table 20, both groups of student teachers; those who taught before (72%) and those who did not teach (63%) share the same feeling that teaching experience is most important in appointing head teachers. Reasons advanced for agreeing were: “experienced teachers can manage the school easily, and or better” whereas those who disagree are of the feeling that “head teachers tend to get more money”. Student teachers who were of the opinion that teaching experience is more important than educational qualifications advanced the following reasons: “experienced teachers can manage the school easily, community and students tend to like and trust a teacher with longer experience”. Those who disagreed were of the feeling that “highly qualified teachers are better in administration and that they receive better pay”.

Table 20: Opinion on the Statement “Teaching Experience is more important than educational qualifications in Appointing Head Teachers”

Level of agreement	Teaching experience is important in appointing head-teacher		Total
	Taught before	Not taught before
Agree	18 (72%)	38 (63%)	56 (66%)
Disagree	7 (28%)	22 (37%)	19 (34%)
Total number of responses	25	60	85 (100%)

3.15.6 Statement “Teachers have more status than other professionals”

Student teachers were asked to indicate their opinion regarding the statement that teachers have more status than other professionals. It would seem that student teachers have a positive attitude towards the profession for which they are studying, in that overall student teachers agreed that teaching has more status than other professions. This was true for both male and female students.

Table 21: Opinion on the Statement “Teachers have more status than other professionals” by gender

Level of agreement	Gender		Total
	Female	Male
Agree	36 (77%)	18 (75%)	54 (76%)
Disagree	11 (24%)	6 (25%)	17 (24%)
Total number of responses	47	24	71 (100%)

3.15.7 Statement “Children-centred teaching tends to lower educational standards”

Table 22 presents the opinions of student teachers regarding the statement that “children-centred teaching tends to lower educational standards”. It would seem that of those who taught before, the majority of them (59%) tend to disagree that children-centred approaches lower the educational standards of the children. This response is even more strongly supported by the student teachers (67%) that did not teach prior to their entry into teacher training. The reasons advanced for agreeing are: “not every child is ready to learn on their own, 90% might be stubborn and naughty and that therefore teachers have to ensure class control”, that “pupils would not learn well and that they would think that they know everything”. On the contrary, student teachers seem to believe that “children learn more by doing than by listening” and that the method “helps them do things themselves and sometimes create pride for having discovered something good”. It is noteworthy that 20 students did not respond, suggesting they might be unclear about the concept.

Table 22: Opinion on the Statement “Children centred teaching tends to lower educational standards” by whether or not they taught before

Level of agreement	Teaching experience		Total
	Taught before	Not taught before
Agree	9 (41%)	16 (33%)	25 (36%)
Disagree	13 (59%)	32 (67%)	45 (64%)
Total number of responses	22	48	70 (100%)

3.15.8 Statement “Friends think I am fortunate to be training to be a teacher”

According to Table 23, more (77%) respondents from the foothill area of the country than those (67%) of the lowland regions believe that their friends think that they are fortunate to be undergoing training in teacher education. Generally, most respondents (63%) from various geographical areas tend to agree that their friends think they are fortunate to be training to become teachers. The reasons given include: “some of them have applied many times to be admitted to the training but still failed to get admission”. “Because teachers contribute very much to the development of the nation”. “Teaching is a long term job and teachers are safe and respected at all times”. Others indicated that their friends think that teaching is “an easy job and that teachers have a lot of free time”. Their positive feelings point to the importance of job security, the personal benefits as well as being fortune to get admission. Those who disagree indicated that “teaching is not good as some students tend to be stubborn and make fun of teachers”.

Table 23: Statement “My Friends think I am fortunate to be training to be a teacher” by geographical location

Level of agreement	Geographical location			Total
	Foothill	Lowland	Mountain
Agree	10 (77%)	37 (67%)	9 (56%)	56 (63%)
Disagree	3 (23%)	18 (33%)	7 (44%)	28 (37%)
Total number of responses	13	55	16	84 (100%)

3.15.9 Statement “When I qualify as a teacher I should be able to teach where I like”

Table 24 shows that a large proportion of student teachers (64%) from all geographical locations seem to agree with the notion of freedom to teach where one wants. This feeling is particularly so (76%) among candidates who came from mountainous areas. Perhaps they would not want to be restricted to the mountain regions. Those who agree were of the feeling that “this will make me apply the maximum effort” and “there is a shortage of teachers”. Those who disagree had this to say: “there are a lot of schools where qualified teachers are wanted” and that “there is a shortage of teachers in many parts of the country”. “I prefer to teach in the lowland but may be prevented by some situations such as lack of vacancies or not having a required qualification”. The reasons advanced tend to suggest that student teachers would prefer there to be some flexibility in the placement of teachers.

Table 24: Opinion on the Statement “When I qualify as a teacher I should be able to teach where I like” by location of district

Level of agreement	Location of district			Total
	Foothill	Lowland	Mountain
Agree	8 (57%)	37 (63%)	13 (76%)	58 (64%)
Disagree	6 (43.8%)	22 (37%)	4 (24%)	32 (36%)
Total	14	59	17	90 (100%)

3.15.10 Statement “Teachers cannot do much to improve the academic performance of low achieving students”

Table 25 shows that 87% of those student teachers who had teaching experience and 75% of those who did not have any, disagreed with the statement that teachers cannot do much to improve the academic performance of low achieving students, whereas 25% of those who had not taught before agreed. On the whole, 79% of student teachers think teachers can do something to improve the academic performance of low achieving students. It seems therefore that the majority of the student teachers believe something can be done about slow learners. There probably can be hope that this particular group would be going back to teaching with enthusiasm about helping all student teachers. They for example felt that teachers could do much by taking such students one by one and giving them some tutorial lessons. However, there was a group that agreed that not much could be done to improve the academic performance of slow learners. The reasons advanced focused on those teachers who are not committed to the world of teaching but happen to be in the profession for purposes of earning a salary.

Table 25: Opinion on the Statement that “Teachers cannot do much to improve the academic performance of low achieving students” by whether or not respondents taught before coming to NTTC

Level of agreement	Teachers cannot do much		Total
	Taught before	Did not teach before
Agree	3 (12.5%)	15 (25%)	18 (21%)
Disagree	21 (87.5%)	45 (75%)	66 (79%)
Total	24	60	84 (100%)

3.15.11 Statement “Young teachers have better ideas about teaching than old ones”

Responses of student teachers to the statement that young teachers have better ideas about teaching than old ones are presented in Table 26. Two thirds of all age groups (63% of the younger and 69% of the older) tend to disagree with the notion that young teachers have better ideas than experienced ones. In essence there seems to be an impression that experience helps one to cope with the teaching encounter. In their own words student teachers had this to say:

- old teachers know how to handle children with patience,

- old teachers are more knowledgeable about teaching, that they can tell good from bad experience,

- It depends on the individual teacher. Other teachers like salaries only whereas others aim at good results and it is (therefore) the qualification and not age that matters.

Those who agreed argued that young teachers “have been taught new methods that would enable them to do their best”. “Old teachers believe in beating students, causing some students to drop out of school” and that “young teachers are not lazy to stand in front of students or to mark them”.

Table 26: Extent to which respondents agree that “young teachers have better ideas about teaching than old teachers” by age groups

Level of agreement	Age group		Total
	21 years and below	22 years & above
Agree	19 (37%)	11 (31%)	30 (34%)
Disagreed	32 (63%)	25 (69%)	57 (66%)
Total number of respondents	51	36	87 (100%)

3.15.12 Statement “Teaching pupils facts is the most important thing a teacher can do”

The pattern emerging from Table 27, indicates that the majority (71%) of student teachers who taught before agree that the most important thing a teacher can do is to teach pupils facts that they need to know. This high percentage is supported by student teachers (76%) who had no teaching experience. The conclusion is that on the whole, student teachers, regardless of teaching experience share the same views. Those who agreed indicated that “facts are important to teach for children to understand life and do what is right in their lives and future”. Those who disagreed had this to say; “not only those facts but other facts are not in the syllabus like HIV/AIDS. Teachers must also bring those into teaching in order to help children understand life better”.

Table 27: Opinion on the Statement “The most important thing a teacher can do is to teach pupils facts that they need to know” by whether or not respondents taught before entering college

Level of agreement	Teaching experience		Total
	Taught before	Not taught before
Agree	17 (71%)	47 (76%)	64 (74%)
Disagree	7 (29%)	15 (24%)	22 (26%)
Total number of respondents	24	62	86

3.15.13 Statement “School pupils learn more by listening to the teacher than by asking questions”

According to Table 28, 78% of the student teachers who had not taught prior to being admitted in the college disagreed with the statement that pupils learn more by listening while only 60% of those who had a teaching experience shared the same feeling. This suggests experience makes them more didactic. Student teachers who agreed indicated that “teachers know it all because they have the syllabus; students do not have (the document), therefore teachers must teach and students must learn”. Those who disagreed, the majority of whom were those who had not taught before, had this to say “an intelligent pupil is flexible in class. The more he/she asks the better she/he understands” and that “listening to the teacher only is not good for learning”.

Table 28: Opinion on the Statement “School pupils learn more from listening to the teacher than from asking questions” by whether or not taught before entering the College.

Level of agreement	Teaching experience		Total
	Taught before	Not taught before
Agree	10 (40%)	13 (22%)	23 (27%)
Disagree	15 (60%)	47 (78%)	62 (73%)
Total number of respondents	25	60	85 (100%)

3.15.14 Statement “Primary school pupils cannot understand English so teachers have to use Sesotho”

A large proportion (84%) of the student teachers who taught prior to coming to college as well as those (79%) who did not have such an exposure tend to disagree that pupils in the primary schools cannot understand English so much that teachers have to teach in Sesotho. On the positive side, student teachers were of the opinion that “teaching in Sesotho leads to failure in examinations since they (examinations) are set in English”. “not all pupils understand English, so teachers should also teach in Sesotho. It should not be regular practice to teach in Sesotho”. Those who disagreed with the idea, the majority of whom had not taught before, had this to say: “primary pupils are capable of learning English from class 1, so teach in English”.

Table 29: Opinion on the Statement “Primary pupils cannot understand English so teachers have to use Sesotho” by whether taught before entering teacher training.

Level of agreement	Teaching experience		Total
	Taught before	Not taught before
Agree	4 (16%)	13 (21%)	17 (20%)
Disagree	21 (84%)	49 (79%)	61 (80%)
Total no. of respondents	25	62	87 (100%)

3.16.15 Statement “Corporal punishment should be available in school”

A large proportion of the student teachers who taught before (80%) tend to disagree with the notion that corporal punishment should be practised at school, while (72%) of those without teaching experience share the same feeling. This supports findings from other parts of this study that student teachers do not like the idea of corporal punishment. One of the reasons advanced was that “corporal punishment tends to make children become unnecessarily stubborn and naughty”. Those who agreed feel that corporal punishment helps learning to take place, but that it should not be excessive. Given the concern over corporal punishment expressed in other sections of this sub-study, it is a bit disturbing that there are some who believe corporal punishment should be available in school. It would seem that this trend of punishing students will be in the primary school system for sometime.

Table 30: Opinion on the Statement “Corporal punishment should be available in school” by whether or not respondents taught before.

Level of agreement	Teaching experience		Total
	Taught before	Not taught before
Agree	5 (20%)	16 (28%)	21 (26%)
Disagree	20 (80%)	41 (72%)	61 (74%)
Total	25	57	82 (100%)

3.15.16 Statement “Pupils need to be divided into ability groups to be taught well”

Both the student teachers with (56%) and without (69%) teaching experience agree that pupils need to be divided according to ability groups. Perhaps their understanding is that they may be able to give attention to the various ability groups according to each group’s demand. The group that agreed with this notion indicated that other pupils learn better from their group members/friends than from teachers and that teachers teach well when they handle small numbers instead of crowds.

Table 31: Opinion on the statement “Pupils need to be divided into ability groups to be taught well” by whether or not respondents taught before

Level of agreement	Teaching experience		Total
	Taught before	Not taught before
Agree	14 (56%)	42 (69%)	56 (65%)
Disagree	11 (44%)	19 (21%)	30 (35%)
Total number of respondents	25	61	86 (100%)

3.15.17 Statement “Teacher education should involve at least a year’s teaching practice”

Both the student teachers who had taught before (68%) and those without experience (70%) agreed with the statement that teacher education should involve a teaching practice component. They had this to say “theory will be put into practice through teaching practice and that teachers get to know the pupils better”. It would seem that prospective teachers value what they can get out of going on teaching practice, and would prefer it to be longer than it is at present.

Table 32: Opinion on the Statement “Teacher education should involve at least a year’s teaching practice” by whether or not the respondent has taught before

Level of agreement	Teaching experience		Total
	Taught before	Not taught before
Agree	17 (68%)	42 (70%)	59 (70%)
Disagree	7 (28%)	18 (30%)	25 (30%)
Total	25	60	84