期刊名称：The Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa (JSDA)
电子版ISSN：1520-5509
出版年度：2011
卷号：13
期号：4
出版社：Institute of Sustainable Development in Africa
摘要：This study tracked the implementation of a policy directive that was intended to reform primary teacher education in
Zimbabwe. The primary purpose of the study was to assess the degree of implementation of the policy since almost eight
years have gone by without any visible changes on the primary teacher education landscape. A case study methodology was
used to collect relevant data from two teacher colleges. The sample consisted of 100 prospective students who were pursuing
a teaching diploma at two teachers’ colleges; 24 teacher educators equally drawn from the two institutions involved in
primary teacher training. The results of the study indicate that the policy has been open to interpretation by participants at
different implementation sites. At the management level, the policy message has been translated to mean quality provision of
pre-existing programs instead of rationalization and standardization of disparate teacher education programs. Similarly, in the
two colleges investigated have also responded differently to the policy. In one of the colleges investigated the policy seems
to have has been adopted for opportunistic reasons whereas in the other the policy has been rejected completely At school
level the supposed beneficiaries of the program namely mentors and student teachers find the programme alienating and
burdensome . The underlying cause for this flows from two possible sources namely the cost of the program in terms of time
and effort demanded of frontline users without commensurate benefits and incentives. In addition, the policy directive lacks
specificity in terms of aspects of primary teacher education that were to be unified or integrated. More significantly, user
conditions in teacher colleges and schools characterised by financial resource limitations and lack of staff commitment to the
policy were found to be serious constraints in the implementation of the policy.. In light of these findings, this study
recommends a major revisit to all processes of the policy conceptualisation, formulation, design and implementation. More
specifically there is need to craft a new policy vision through widespread consultations of all stake holders for a unified
primary teacher education programme. This can only be achieved through the involvement of all stakeholders at national,
college and school levels
