PhD Theses (FoB)PhD theses approved by the Faculty of Businesshttp://hdl.handle.net/10311/13882024-03-29T09:10:17Z2024-03-29T09:10:17ZProspects and possibilities of accreditation standards as quality measure of early childhood education in BotswanaMswela, Naledi Binniehttp://hdl.handle.net/10311/20692021-03-19T00:01:23Z2019-06-01T00:00:00ZProspects and possibilities of accreditation standards as quality measure of early childhood education in Botswana
Mswela, Naledi Binnie
Despite many efforts targeted at bringing quality in the provision of Early Childhood Education (ECE) globally, Botswana still lags behind. In order to regulate and monitor ECE programs to ensure quality standards are upheld, this study aims to recommend accreditation as a quality measure to improve ECE services in Botswana. Accreditation is the mark of excellence awarded to a program by an independent third party, proving that the program meets certain criteria and satisfies requirements. This means that during accreditation programs would be presented with a certificate of approval to show that they have fulfilled the requirements and are thus qualifying; whereas those that would not have fulfilled the requirements would be denied the certificate of approval, resulting in programs either closing or improving the standards depending on the outcome of accreditation assessment.
This study aims to use the Minimal Accreditation Model (MAM), which is a model that fulfils the minimal standards for setting up an ECE program. Since Botswana ECE has not been accredited before, this model, which will initially be seeking only the basics from the service providers, will be the appropriate way to kick-start the accreditation process. The minimal model requires a minimum set of accreditation standards to be followed, such as having a formal authorizing body, having specified goals regarding to what each program intends to achieve and using quantitative indicators such as teacher-pupil ratio, adequate space with regards to teaching rooms, computers rooms and the library.
Since, the Minimal Accreditation Model (MAM) requires service providers to adhere to the approved standards to ensure that quality provision is provided for children enrolled in the ECE programs, this study explored perceptions of ECE teachers in the South East Region of Botswana (Gaborone) regarding aspects necessary to be included in the model, recommendations that can be made to the authorities in Botswana regarding accreditation and whether participants attach any importance to having accreditation standards to monitor the provision of ECE in Botswana.
The study employed a mixed-method research design, i.e. the qualitative and quantitative approaches. Since the study was interested in the views and perceptions of teachers in ECE, it was important to use the qualitative approach, and this was done by means of interviews. There were 13 interviews conducted and data was analysed using NVivo 12 qualitative data analysis tool.
Data was also collected through a survey questionnaire. 89 questionnaires from 58 ECE programs in South East District were used in the study. The ECE programs were divided into four categories: privately owned programs, government owned, church owned as well as institution owned. The rationale for using a survey was to cover a large sample of data in a manageable time frame. Data was analysed through Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Data was further refined by Factor Analysis (FA), both descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-Square) were used to interpret the data.
The rationale for the triangulation of the analytic techniques was to bring out certain aspects from each tool. In the PCA analysis, the study sought to bring out inferential statistics, how factors were associated, and through FA the most preferred aspects to be included in MAM were made evident. In the qualitative approach data was analysed using NVivo 12. A summary of all transcripts was compiled in which sub-themes were compared to come up with the overall themes that were later used to report the findings of the study. The findings of the study indicate that participants from all the categories of ECE agreed that aspects most crucial to be included in the Minimal Accreditation Model are ensuring safety measures for children, mission and vision policies and establishing strong parental involvement and partnership through Parents Teachers Associations (PTA). Other factors considered essential were the quality of teacher training and monitoring and evaluation of teachers’ performance. The study recommends that these aspects be included in the model to suit the Botswana context.
In conclusion some recommendations were made on how accreditation procedures could be improved which will in turn improve quality provision of ECE program in the country. The lessons learnt from this study are that teachers in Botswana are knowledgeable about ECE. ECE has advanced significantly in the past years especially in the privately owned programs as the majority of these programs are run by foreign nationals with solid background and qualifications in ECE.
Furthermore, there are adequate resources, facilities and trained teachers in the privately owned programs. Furthermore, the government and church owned programs have limited resources and unqualified teachers, and this impacts negatively on the quality of the provision. There is need to improve on facilities/materials as well as the training of teachers in these settings in order to provide better services for young learners, because quality ECE is essential for the holistic development of children. As it is, there is need for an accreditation model that can assist in the regulation as well as the monitoring of the ECE provision in Botswana.
A dissertation submitted to the Dept. of Primary Education, Faculty of Education, University of Botswana in partial fulfilment of the requirement of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Early Childhood Education. Citation: Mswela, N. B. (2019) Prospects and possibilities of accreditation standards as quality measure of early childhood education in Botswana, University of Botswana.
2019-06-01T00:00:00ZThe role of values and demographic characteristics on consumer decision-making styles, overall consumer satisfaction and re-purchase intentions of retail consumers in BotswanaOlukemi, Sangodoyin Olurantihttp://hdl.handle.net/10311/14242016-08-13T00:03:40Z2015-12-09T00:00:00ZThe role of values and demographic characteristics on consumer decision-making styles, overall consumer satisfaction and re-purchase intentions of retail consumers in Botswana
Olukemi, Sangodoyin Oluranti
The current study seeks to identify the role of values and demographic characteristics on consumer decision-making styles, and the implications on overall customer satisfaction and re-purchase intentions of retail consumers in Botswana. A structured questionnaire containing 80 items was administered to a sample of 390 male and 504 female retail consumers who were intercepted from various shopping malls in Gaborone and Francistown. The questionnaire also included questions on gender, age, income, education, occupation, and marital status. Data was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach Alpha, multiple regression and a series of t-tests.
The research identified seven consumer decision-making styles that best describe the behaviour of retail consumers in Botswana. The styles that emerged include: Perfectionistic/high–quality consciousness, Fashion-hedonistic consciousness, Novelty consciousness, Confused by over-choice, Habitual buying, Price equals quality, and Time- Energy Conserving. However, only three of seven styles namely; Perfectionistic/high–quality consciousness, fashion-hedonistic consciousness and time energy conserving achieved a reasonable degree of reliability.
The results further indicate that Perfectionism/high quality consciousness decision-making styles was more likely to be adopted by Botswana retail consumers who exhibit high levels of values such as recreation, sense of accomplishment, warm relationship with others and enjoyment in life when purchasing retail products. Time-energy conserving style was commonly adopted by consumers who attached high levels of importance to values such as self-respect, sense of accomplishment, excitement and warm relationship with others.
Fashion-hedonism was adopted by retail consumers with high levels of self-respect, excitement and fun seeking and enjoyment in life values when purchasing retail products in Botswana. This thesis also reflects that Perfectionism/high quality consciousness was significantly adopted by female, young, more educated and married retail consumers. Fashion-hedonistic consciousness was common among female, old and married retail consumers. Time-energy conserving was found to be common among male, old and less educated retail consumers.
Additionally, perfectionistic/high quality conscious consumers are more likely to be completely satisfied with retail products after purchase and will probably use the same style next time they go shopping. Fashion-hedonistic conscious consumers and time-energy conservers would be completely dissatisfied with retail product after purchase. Further analysis on the influence of consumer decision-making styles on re-purchase intention reiterate that perfectionism/high quality conscious consumers will probably use the same style next time they go shopping, while fashion-hedonistic consciousness consumers and time-energy conservers and will definitely not use the usual style of shopping when purchasing retail products. Overall, the results of this study facilitates a sound understanding of retail shopping behavior as well as the development of effective retail marketing strategies.
A thesis submitted to the University of Botswana Faculty of Business, Dept. of Marketing in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marketing.
Cite as: Olukemi, Sangodoyin O. (2015) The role of values and demographic characteristics on consumer decision-making styles, overall customer satisfaction and re-purchase intentions of retail consumers in Botswana, University of Botswana.
Supervisor: Prof. Rina Makgosa (PhD)
2015-12-09T00:00:00Z