The Challenges Teachers Experience When Trying to Enhance Learners’ Epistemic Access in History

Abstract

Despite in-depth research that has been made on how rural teachers may enhance learners’ epistemic access, teachers still encounter challenges on enhancing learners’ epistemic access. This study aims to explore rural teachers’ experiences that make it challenging for them to enhance rural learners’ epistemic access in history. This study employed interpretivism paradigm and phenomenology design within qualitative research. Decoloniality was used as a theoretical framework. Purposive sampling was employed to select 20 participants, constituting of eight Grade 9 history learners, one parents of each learner, and four Grade 9 history teachers from 3 rural towns. Interviews, observations and document analysis were used to generate data, while thematic analysis was used to code, thematise, analyse and interpret the data. The findings and discussions revealed that rural learners’ epistemic access may be impeded by lack of teachers’ diversity awareness influence on learners’ epistemic access, inability to promote critical thinking, teacher pedagogy such as teacher-centeredness, the challenges of teachers in developing learners’ historical skills, and the inappropriate use of historical resources. These findings demonstrate coloniality of knowledge, which impedes learners’ epistemic access. Therefore, this study suggests that Department of Basic Education should introduce translanguaging effectively in rural schools, to teachers. Also, it should provide them with materials such as semiotic resources for the purpose of enhancing learners’ epistemic access in History.