The actual and expected roles of teachers integrating library resources into the curriculum: the case of teachers’colleges in Mbeya region
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Date
2010
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Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
This study was conducted to provide information about the actual and the desired performance of college tutors so that the management and pedagogical function of the library service, pre-service and in-service teacher training programmes might be improved. The fundamental assumption was that teachers’ roles are embedded in a teaching-learning environment, of which the library is a critical source and integral component. The “desired (expected) roles” were the expectations described in policy and curricula documents, and scholarly literature about the teachers’ roles in the library programme; “actual roles” represented the teacher’s actual practices. The empirical basis of the study consisted of interviews with management in teacher education, questionnaire for college tutors and students drawn from teachers’ colleges, textual materials and a library evaluation tool. A pattern matching approach was adopted to enable the researcher to match empirically determined (actual) and theoretically prescribed models of integrating the library into teaching. Findings revealed that the college tutors performed some activities which contributed to integration. They included designing and implementing instructional units which involved the use of library materials, grading students' resource-based units, and collaborating with the librarians in selecting materials for the library. However, there was still a large gap between theory and actual practices. The majority of the tutors still teach in the traditional way, whereby the teacher and basal textbooks are almost the only sources of knowledge. The expectation that, teachers will help their students to access, evaluate and use library/information resources intelligently does not match the actual practices of the tutors. The study identifies some promising areas in which stakeholders may want to focus their efforts to improve this aspect of the teachers, role.
Description
Available in print
Keywords
College teachers, Library resources, Mbeya region
Citation
Madulu, M.(2010) The actual and expected roles of teachers integrating library resources into the curriculum: the case of teachers’colleges in Mbeya region. Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam. Available at http://41.86.178.3/internetserver3.1.2/search.aspx