53 Pupil Perception of Good and Bad Teachers in Botswana Senior Secondary Schools R.S. Kapaale Introduction Fafunwa (1967:82) has noted that "of all the educational problems that beset the African countries today, none is as persistent or as compelling as the one relating 10 the training of a competent teacher" (my emphasis). This problem is still as compelling in the late 1980's as it was in the 1960's. Admittedly, the numbers of trained teachers have increased and the numbers of competent teachers have, hopefully, gone up too. The problem is still compelling because the successful implementation of development projects in each African country largely depends on there being competent or good teachers in that country. ("competenr and .good. are used inter-changeably in this discussion). It is teachers who are expected and required to provide trained manpower to man the various aspects of a nation's economy and positively orientate children towards the local environment so that they become useful citizens as adults. The National Commission on Education (19n: 127) in Botswana stated that "the quality of teaching is the most important influence on the iiiPUl.A.jjJ;~~ ------------;V;;;;oI.i'i8iNo.j;i1 - : BolSwalUl Journal or Africa. St1IcIie& 54 quality of the education provided in schools". Because of his/her importance "a good teacher ... is cherished by and indeed an asset to his society" (Kapaale, 1982-84:1). But it is not easy to distinguish the competent or good teacher from the incompetent or bad one. Jackson (1966:9) observed that "almost all the noble crusades that have set out in search of the best teacher and the best method - or even a better teacher and a better method - have returned empty-handed". Bridges (1986:5) found out that from an administrative point of view an incompetent teacher fail to: 1. Maintain discipline 2. treat students properly 3. impart subject matter properly 4. accept advice from superiors 5. produce the intended or desired results in the classroom. Doyle (1983:28-33) reviewed several studies on the subject and came out with the following characteristics of a good teacher: 1. presents subject matter clearly 2. keeps materials relevant 3. maintains classroom atmosphere conducive to learning 4. has genuine interest in students 5. is approachable 6. is friendly towards students 7. respects students as persons 8. is enthusiastic about his subject 9. has a sense of humour 10. seems to enjoy teaching PPULAUL;l:;:"iBoi;;\SWa;;;;;;I\.;'Jhoum;;;;.;j"I";;ior[jAyrnc.rl;' ;;n;;"SSitu;;dfuic;;"s ---- ~-: Vol. 8 N;.1 55 Perrott (1982:2) presents a list of characteristics similar to Doyles's on the good teacher. He says a good teacher is: 1. warm and understanding 2. organised and businesslike 3. stimulating and imaginative Hamachek (1975:33-42) reports a study done on high school seniors in the United States of America. Among the many characteristics these pupils mentioned were that a good teacher: 1. is helpful in school work 2. explains lessons and assignments clearly 3. has a sense of humour 4. is impartial 5. is approachable 6. knows subject matter. These are some of the characteristics which have been attributed to the competent or good teachers in some countries. Probably these are the characteristics that teacher education programmes attempt to promote in student/teachers. Purpose of the Study Much of the research that has been carried out on characteristics of a good teacher has been done in contexts that are far and different from Southern Africa. The study, therefore, is an attempt to bring the subject nearer home and get local characteristics attributed by Batswana students to good teachers on one hand and to bad ones on the other. Its findings should be of benefit to many present and Mure teachers in the l =PULA=--:-BoIswa-- ..-J-ouma--1 --Stud-ics--------------\V;;;oI . o-r-Afrjcu-' iisNNi:::o.tt 56 region. Generally, it was to get the opinions of pupils instead of those of teachers because pupils' responses relied on the experiences of the actual lessons they went through every day conducted by actual teachers in different subjects. Another aspect of the study is to afford teachers a chance to get feed-back on their performances as teachers. from pupils. Rarely are pupils given an opportunity at the end of a term and/or year to say what kinds of behaviours they like or dislike in and from their teachers. Yet being the .victims. of the teachers' actions students are probably in a much better position to give this type of feed back to their teachers. Furthermore, many teachers in the field seldom have the time to observe one another's lessons with a view to discussing those lessons afterwards. Staff-room discussions tend to focus on the strengths and weaknesses of pupils rather than those of teachers. This leaves, for many teachers, the Inspector from the Ministry of Education as the main source of occasional feedback concerning their teaching behaviour. This kind of study therefore provides valuable feedback _ the views of the consumers of the product-to the teacher educator, teacher and student teacher alike. MethOdology of the Study The Questionnaire A seven-item questionnaire was distributed to 300 pupils from four secondary schools. Out of the three hundred (300) copies of the questionnaire sent out, two hundred and sixty-five (265) were retumed. Of these, thirty-four (34) were unusable because they were badly filled' Th' In. IS left two hUndred and thirty-one (231) usable questionnaires (a n percent return rate). PiPULAiiLA~: BolawUIaB;;;;;;;;;;j;Jo;;;;um;;I;jI-;;jOfFjAfrica~' ;D;-;StucIics~k;' ;- ~~"':' Vol. 8 No.1 57 Respondents Four secondary schools with senior classes were involved in this research. The schools were randomly selected. Senior pupils were chosen because they were more mature and therefore capable of giving considered responses to questions concerning their teachers. Of the two hundred and thirty-one pupils who responded correctly to the questionnaire, eighty-nine (89) were girls and one hundred and forty-two (142) were boys. Table 1 shows their distribution among the four schools by sex and average age. (Letters are used in place of actual school names). Table 1: Distribution of Respondents Among the Schools by Sex and Age Boys TotW Average Ag. School Girls - 35 60 17.0 A 25 -- 62 18.5 B 15 47 68 17.5 C 27 41 41 17.8 0 22 19 142 231 TOTAL 89 From Table 1 it can be noted that differences in total number of pupils within sexes, among the schools (except for school D), and in average age are not very large. Because they were randomly selected one can safely say that the opinions of these " . f th ., of the rest of the senior secondary pupils are fairly representatIve 0 e OpInions school pupils in the country. ________ ---=-::'--------------v.voI;;i..1sr'iNfoo::r.l PUlA: Botswana 10urnal of A{rica1I Studies 58 Analysis of Responses From the pupils' point of view, the questions were sensitive. As a result some of the pupils filled in the questions about the teacher they liked most and left the part about the teacher they did not like blank. Rather than filling in the part one pupil wrote: ., do not want to embarrass anybody •. Another one wrote: "' don't hate nobody, so do not try to make me hate some of the teachers cause I don' t hate nobody •. Table 2 : Frequency of Choice per Alternative Response Ouestionn81re ~em Girls Boys Total 1(8) Is the 1eacher 39 28 67 you like mOS1a (43.8%) (19.7%) female? 1(b) Is the laacher 50 114 you like most a 164 (56.2%) male? (80.3%) Total II 142 231 3(8) Is the 1eacher 31 you do not Hks 50 81 (35.5%) most 8 female (35.7%) 3(b) Is the laacher 57 you do not Uks 90 147 (64.7%) mosl a male? (64.2%) Total 88 140 228 1 NOTE' Three pu 'I 'r! . pi s, a 91 and two boys, did mot complete Question 3. PiPUlA:UD~. iBotawQii;;;;;;;J,JOlIrIllI;;;;;jI";or(;AfricaBlJ;l;' ;;:SbldielSb;ij;;. ;- -.".~ Vol. 8 No.1 59 Table 3 : FrequencyI R with w hi ch Different . Subjects were Mentioned n esponse to Questions 2 and 4 Question 4 I I Question2 I r Subject T escher fiked most "1escher disliked most English 35 21 History 32 IS 27 38 Mathematics 18 Biology 26 27 Selswana 24 18 Physics 20 27 Geography 16 5 15 Development Studies ------~- 7 14 Engfish Uerlllure ------------ 3 Agricu~ure 7 -- -------- ------------- -- --------- 6 Home Economics 5 ------- 30 Chemistry 5 -- 3 Woodwork 2 0 T ectmicaJ Drawing 2 10 Religious Education 1 '- 228 Total 231 NOTES: Three pupils did not indicate the subjects taught by the teacher they * disliked most Question 2: What subject does the teacher you like most teach you? Question 4: What subject does the teacher you do not like most teach you? Vol. 8 No.1 PULA: Bol8wuI Jourul of AfrjcU StDdieS 60 Table 4 : Distribution of Responses to Question 5 il Girts ! Boys j TobUS~1 a) I und ..... tand beller the subject 84 126 taught by the teacher I like most (94.4%) I (88.7%) I 210 Ii b) I und .....tand belle, the subject 5 16 taught by the teacher I do not (5.6%) 21 I (11/3%) like most. I Total 8fI 142 i 231 I NOTE: d the one you do not Question 5: Of these two teachers, the one you like most an.') ( 'rcle one below). like most, whose subject do you understand bette. ~ CI Discussion of Responses Sex and Beine Liked or Disliked The data in Table 2 do not seem to permit us to make a definite . s tatement as to whether or not sex has an influence on the teacher's being II e y . 'k d b most pupils. For, whereas the male teacher comes out as the most liked .. with a f requen cy of one hundred and sixty-four (71%) in Question 1, he is also in the lead in Question 3 as the teacher disliked most with a frequency of one hundred and forty-seven (64.5%). The female teacher is lagging behind in both questions with frequencies of sixty-seven (29%) and eighty-one (35.5%) respectively. The above pattem is the same eVen When the responses are analyzed accor d'In9 to schools. The male teacher is leading in both questions in all schools except school D Question 1 where amongst the girls, the female teacher has a frequency of sixteen as against six for the male; and SChool A Question 3 Where amongst the girls, the female teacher has a frequency of thirteen as against twelve for the male and a PiPUl..tCUD~'iib_..;.;...;;jJ;;OUru_I~of;(AAfifririca;;;.~S;;;ludiesdi':-- ~V;:olj",RSNNo.l 61 frequency of twenty-three as against twelve for the male amongst the boys. Analyzing pupils' responses according to the sex of pupils still gives us this hazy picture. We find that in Question 1 more girls, 56.2 percent, like the male teacher most. Yet in answer to question 3, the male teacher still comes out with more girls, 64.9 percent, as the most disliked teacher. The boys responses present this same picture: 80.3 percent are for the male teacher in Question 1 as against 19.7 percent for the female teacher, and 64.2 percent. in question 3 as against 35.7 percent for the ~~""", """,",~_--------------:~V.oI.i"i8i1No.~1 PULA: Botswana Journal of African Studies 62 Table 5: Distribution of Responses to Question Six 1hings that lavourate teacher does Frequency 1. Gives clear explanations in lessons 19.0 2. Understands pupils' problems and is willing to help 7.8 I 3. Is kind and gentle 7.6 4. Is patient 7.0 5. Is active and shows interest in the subject 6.2 6. Does not Iavour some pupils 5.8 7. Mows discussions and is willing to answer questions 5.3 8. Does not miss lessons without reasons 4.8 9. Is cheerful 4.8 10. Passes jokes in lessons 3.7 11. Is pol~e and respects pupils 3.4 12. Is punctual lor lessons 2.9 13. Does not beat pupils 2.9 14. Gives P8'entaJ advice 2.3 IS. Gives horne work 2.3 16. Gives tests 2.2 17. Is tidy/smart/neatly dressed 2.2 18. Is serious w~ his work 2.0 19. Marks homework and tests on time 1.8 20. Gives noles 1.3 21. Teaches in hiS/her spare time 1.3 22. Is beati!ullgood lool