An analysis of how visualisation processes can be used by teachers participating in an intervention programme to teach for conceptual understanding of geometry
- Authors: Muhembo, Gottfried Mbundu
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Geometry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Kavango East , Visualization , Mathematics teachers -- Namibia -- Kavango East , Effective teaching -- Namibia -- Kavango East , Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- Activity programs
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62439 , vital:28190
- Description: Visualisation in general and visualisation processes in particular have received much attention in the mathematics education research literature. Literature suggests that the appropriate use of visualisation helps learners to develop their conceptual understanding and skills of geometry as it allows them to visually interpret and understand fundamental mathematical and geometrical concepts. It is claimed that visual tools play an important role in communicating mathematical ideas through diagrams, gestures, images, sketches or drawings. Learning mathematics through visualisation can be a powerful tool to explore mathematical problems and give meaning to mathematical concepts and relationships between them. This interpretive case study focused on how selected teachers taught concepts in geometry through visualisation processes for conceptual understanding as a result of an intervention programme. The study was conducted at four high schools by four mathematics teachers in the Kavango East Region in Northern Namibia. The participants were involved in a three-week intervention programme and afterwards taught three lessons each on the topic of geometry. The data collection method of this research was: focus group and stimulus recall interviews, classroom observations and recorded videos. This research is located in constructivism. I used vertical and horizontal analysis strategies to analyse the data. My analytical instrument consisted of an observation schedule which I used in each lesson to identify how each of the visualisation processes was evident in each of the observed lessons. This study revealed that the participant teachers used visualisation processes in most of their lessons and these processes were used accurately in line with the requirements of the grade 8 mathematics syllabi. The visualisation processes were used through designed visual materials, posters and through the use of geometrical objects such as chalkboard ruler, protractor and compass. The results from this study also confirmed that visualisation processes can be a powerful instructional tool for enhancing learners’ conceptual understanding of geometry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Muhembo, Gottfried Mbundu
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Geometry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Kavango East , Visualization , Mathematics teachers -- Namibia -- Kavango East , Effective teaching -- Namibia -- Kavango East , Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- Activity programs
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62439 , vital:28190
- Description: Visualisation in general and visualisation processes in particular have received much attention in the mathematics education research literature. Literature suggests that the appropriate use of visualisation helps learners to develop their conceptual understanding and skills of geometry as it allows them to visually interpret and understand fundamental mathematical and geometrical concepts. It is claimed that visual tools play an important role in communicating mathematical ideas through diagrams, gestures, images, sketches or drawings. Learning mathematics through visualisation can be a powerful tool to explore mathematical problems and give meaning to mathematical concepts and relationships between them. This interpretive case study focused on how selected teachers taught concepts in geometry through visualisation processes for conceptual understanding as a result of an intervention programme. The study was conducted at four high schools by four mathematics teachers in the Kavango East Region in Northern Namibia. The participants were involved in a three-week intervention programme and afterwards taught three lessons each on the topic of geometry. The data collection method of this research was: focus group and stimulus recall interviews, classroom observations and recorded videos. This research is located in constructivism. I used vertical and horizontal analysis strategies to analyse the data. My analytical instrument consisted of an observation schedule which I used in each lesson to identify how each of the visualisation processes was evident in each of the observed lessons. This study revealed that the participant teachers used visualisation processes in most of their lessons and these processes were used accurately in line with the requirements of the grade 8 mathematics syllabi. The visualisation processes were used through designed visual materials, posters and through the use of geometrical objects such as chalkboard ruler, protractor and compass. The results from this study also confirmed that visualisation processes can be a powerful instructional tool for enhancing learners’ conceptual understanding of geometry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An exploration of leadership development in a learner representative structure in a secondary school, Oshana Region, Namibia
- Kadhepa-Kandjengo, Selma Ndeyapo
- Authors: Kadhepa-Kandjengo, Selma Ndeyapo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62450 , vital:28193
- Description: Before independence, Namibia inherited a system of Bantu education which was hierarchical, authoritarian and non-democratic. Upon independence, the educational sector went through numerous reforms which were meant to transform education and to make it more democratic, whereby all stakeholders can broadly participate. In spite of these reforms, leadership of schools has remained a hierarchical system, where a principal who, as an individual, runs the school without recognition of the potential leadership of others. Recent studies on leadership have called for shared leadership, whereby leadership is a practice, permeable to learner leaders and not associated with individuals. This research study aims to explore learner leadership development in the Learner Representative Council (LRC) structure at a secondary school in Namibia. The motivation of this research study was twofold - firstly, my personal interest in learner leadership was aroused by my teaching experience. The second reason was due to my realisation that the area was under-researched in Namibia, hence I wanted to fill the existing gap on learner leadership. The study critically engaged learners and teachers to help me get an understanding of learner leadership and the factors enabling learner leadership development. I also found that challenges which resulted in contradictions, hampered leadership development. The study took an interventionist approach and second generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory was used to surface tensions and contradictions affecting learner leadership development. Change Laboratory workshops enabled the expansive learning process with the 12 LRC members. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observation, document analysis and journaling. The study found that learner leadership was understood more in terms of traditional views of leadership, whereby a learner needed to possess certain qualities in order to lead. The findings further pointed out that the LRC members were mainly involved in managerial roles and not really leadership roles, as such, and they were not involved in decision-making at the school. Although provision for the LRC body is made in an Educational Act, historical and cultural forces account for teachers’ reluctance to support the LRC members, as well as for silence of learner voice. I hope that findings from this research study strengthen learner leadership structures in schools and contribute to the creation of knowledge on learner leadership in Namibia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kadhepa-Kandjengo, Selma Ndeyapo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62450 , vital:28193
- Description: Before independence, Namibia inherited a system of Bantu education which was hierarchical, authoritarian and non-democratic. Upon independence, the educational sector went through numerous reforms which were meant to transform education and to make it more democratic, whereby all stakeholders can broadly participate. In spite of these reforms, leadership of schools has remained a hierarchical system, where a principal who, as an individual, runs the school without recognition of the potential leadership of others. Recent studies on leadership have called for shared leadership, whereby leadership is a practice, permeable to learner leaders and not associated with individuals. This research study aims to explore learner leadership development in the Learner Representative Council (LRC) structure at a secondary school in Namibia. The motivation of this research study was twofold - firstly, my personal interest in learner leadership was aroused by my teaching experience. The second reason was due to my realisation that the area was under-researched in Namibia, hence I wanted to fill the existing gap on learner leadership. The study critically engaged learners and teachers to help me get an understanding of learner leadership and the factors enabling learner leadership development. I also found that challenges which resulted in contradictions, hampered leadership development. The study took an interventionist approach and second generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory was used to surface tensions and contradictions affecting learner leadership development. Change Laboratory workshops enabled the expansive learning process with the 12 LRC members. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observation, document analysis and journaling. The study found that learner leadership was understood more in terms of traditional views of leadership, whereby a learner needed to possess certain qualities in order to lead. The findings further pointed out that the LRC members were mainly involved in managerial roles and not really leadership roles, as such, and they were not involved in decision-making at the school. Although provision for the LRC body is made in an Educational Act, historical and cultural forces account for teachers’ reluctance to support the LRC members, as well as for silence of learner voice. I hope that findings from this research study strengthen learner leadership structures in schools and contribute to the creation of knowledge on learner leadership in Namibia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An investigation into how a guided learner leadership programme can foster authentic leadership in a boys’ boarding school environment
- Authors: Cuyler, Craig
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- South Africa Boarding schools -- South Africa Boys -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61756 , vital:28055
- Description: This study is located within the field of Educational Leadership and Management and the research was undertaken in a boys’ private boarding school in Grahamstown, South Africa. Learner Leadership within the ELM field of study, has gained much interest in recent times and as the process of democratisation within schools continues to take place, it is important that research efforts be more focused in this area. The lack of learner voice initiatives within South African schools, in spite of policies being in place that encourage it, has created the impression that learner leadership is far more about rhetoric than actual practice. This appears to be the case in private education as well, owing to practices that are reliant on hierarchy and tradition to cement their position within these schools. It was with this in mind that a formative peer mentoring intervention was put in place in a boarding house at St Andrew’s College, a private boys’ school in Grahamstown, South Africa, with the object of developing authentic leadership in a boarding house context. This study was framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory and sought to investigate how a guided learner leadership programme could foster authentic leadership in a boys’ boarding school context. The intervention consisted of three phases: 1) a pre-intervention questionnaire; 2) a Mentoring Course, during which Grade 12 learners were trained how to be mentors; and 3) a Mentoring Programme, during which Grade 12 learners were each allocated a Grade 8 learner to mentor during the course of the year. Data was collected during all three phases of the intervention and said data was obtained via questionnaires, interviews and from notes kept in an observation journal. The data was analysed inductively and later by using Cultural Historical Activity Theory, which acted as a lens through which data was interpreted. The findings reflected that learners responded well to the Mentoring Course and that they participated as active agents of change. It was during the Mentoring Programme, where contradictions became apparent and where the default to practices associated with hierarchy and tradition became evident. The Mentoring Programme did reflect some positive results, such as learners taking more ownership of the Programme and becoming critical of their own practice as mentors. This led to the further take-up of the Mentoring Programme in other boarding houses at St Andrew’s College after the intervention, and the course continues to grow and improve. My recommendations include that broader research be undertaken generally, to understand the role that tradition and hierarchy play, particularly in private schools, so that more authentic learner leadership can be put in place, and to conduct a longitudinal study to establish the success of the Mentoring Programme at St Andrew’s College specifically, over time.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Cuyler, Craig
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- South Africa Boarding schools -- South Africa Boys -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61756 , vital:28055
- Description: This study is located within the field of Educational Leadership and Management and the research was undertaken in a boys’ private boarding school in Grahamstown, South Africa. Learner Leadership within the ELM field of study, has gained much interest in recent times and as the process of democratisation within schools continues to take place, it is important that research efforts be more focused in this area. The lack of learner voice initiatives within South African schools, in spite of policies being in place that encourage it, has created the impression that learner leadership is far more about rhetoric than actual practice. This appears to be the case in private education as well, owing to practices that are reliant on hierarchy and tradition to cement their position within these schools. It was with this in mind that a formative peer mentoring intervention was put in place in a boarding house at St Andrew’s College, a private boys’ school in Grahamstown, South Africa, with the object of developing authentic leadership in a boarding house context. This study was framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory and sought to investigate how a guided learner leadership programme could foster authentic leadership in a boys’ boarding school context. The intervention consisted of three phases: 1) a pre-intervention questionnaire; 2) a Mentoring Course, during which Grade 12 learners were trained how to be mentors; and 3) a Mentoring Programme, during which Grade 12 learners were each allocated a Grade 8 learner to mentor during the course of the year. Data was collected during all three phases of the intervention and said data was obtained via questionnaires, interviews and from notes kept in an observation journal. The data was analysed inductively and later by using Cultural Historical Activity Theory, which acted as a lens through which data was interpreted. The findings reflected that learners responded well to the Mentoring Course and that they participated as active agents of change. It was during the Mentoring Programme, where contradictions became apparent and where the default to practices associated with hierarchy and tradition became evident. The Mentoring Programme did reflect some positive results, such as learners taking more ownership of the Programme and becoming critical of their own practice as mentors. This led to the further take-up of the Mentoring Programme in other boarding houses at St Andrew’s College after the intervention, and the course continues to grow and improve. My recommendations include that broader research be undertaken generally, to understand the role that tradition and hierarchy play, particularly in private schools, so that more authentic learner leadership can be put in place, and to conduct a longitudinal study to establish the success of the Mentoring Programme at St Andrew’s College specifically, over time.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An investigation into teaching mathematics using a visualisation approach to recontextualise indigenous knowledge
- Authors: Tshithigona, Gaus
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Ethnoscience Namibia , Mathematics Study and teaching (Elementary) Namibia , Visual learning , Visualization , Interdisciplinary approach to knowledge , Teacher effectiveness Namibia , Traditional ecological knowledge Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62461 , vital:28195
- Description: It can be argued that the Namibian curriculum is largely influenced by a Western epistemology. However, many studies suggest that learners make powerful meanings of mathematical concepts they are learning if they visualise these and experience them in relation to what they already know from their own cultural backgrounds. According to the Namibian National Curriculum for Basic Education (NNCBE, 2010), it is not only important for learners to acquire mathematical knowledge and skills, but also to develop and grow their identities, cultures and values as individuals. The aim of this study was to explore and investigate how selected mathematics teachers employ visualisation as a teaching approach to re-contextualise indigenous knowledge (IK). The study set out to explore how conceptual understanding is enhanced by participation in an intervention programme. The use of visualisation is considered an important mediating and pedagogical tool in the mathematics classroom to enhance the mathematics learning of learners. The research is informed by a socio-cultural theory of learning and is located within an interpretive paradigm. The study was conducted at four schools in the Oshana region of Namibia and involved four mathematics teachers who were purposefully selected due to their willingness to use visualisation-IK approaches in their teaching, based on their responses to the survey. The methodologies used are qualitative and quantitative case study. To gather data, document analysis, a survey, lesson observations and focus group interviews were used. The study found that most teachers in the Oshana region have an understanding of the effective use of visualisation-IK approaches. However, the study revealed that visualisation- IK approaches are mostly used in grades 4 to 7 mathematics classrooms. It also discovered that most of the visualisation approaches that teachers employed aligned well with the curriculum and promoted conceptual understanding in the teaching of mathematics. The results of the study showed that teachers have experience of the enabling and constraining factors in using a visualisation-IK approach to teaching mathematics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Tshithigona, Gaus
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Ethnoscience Namibia , Mathematics Study and teaching (Elementary) Namibia , Visual learning , Visualization , Interdisciplinary approach to knowledge , Teacher effectiveness Namibia , Traditional ecological knowledge Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62461 , vital:28195
- Description: It can be argued that the Namibian curriculum is largely influenced by a Western epistemology. However, many studies suggest that learners make powerful meanings of mathematical concepts they are learning if they visualise these and experience them in relation to what they already know from their own cultural backgrounds. According to the Namibian National Curriculum for Basic Education (NNCBE, 2010), it is not only important for learners to acquire mathematical knowledge and skills, but also to develop and grow their identities, cultures and values as individuals. The aim of this study was to explore and investigate how selected mathematics teachers employ visualisation as a teaching approach to re-contextualise indigenous knowledge (IK). The study set out to explore how conceptual understanding is enhanced by participation in an intervention programme. The use of visualisation is considered an important mediating and pedagogical tool in the mathematics classroom to enhance the mathematics learning of learners. The research is informed by a socio-cultural theory of learning and is located within an interpretive paradigm. The study was conducted at four schools in the Oshana region of Namibia and involved four mathematics teachers who were purposefully selected due to their willingness to use visualisation-IK approaches in their teaching, based on their responses to the survey. The methodologies used are qualitative and quantitative case study. To gather data, document analysis, a survey, lesson observations and focus group interviews were used. The study found that most teachers in the Oshana region have an understanding of the effective use of visualisation-IK approaches. However, the study revealed that visualisation- IK approaches are mostly used in grades 4 to 7 mathematics classrooms. It also discovered that most of the visualisation approaches that teachers employed aligned well with the curriculum and promoted conceptual understanding in the teaching of mathematics. The results of the study showed that teachers have experience of the enabling and constraining factors in using a visualisation-IK approach to teaching mathematics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An investigation of teachers’ experiences of a Geoboard intervention programme in area and perimeter in selected Grade 9 classes: a case study
- Authors: Mkhwane, Fezeka Felicia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa , Manipulatives (Education) , Effective teaching , Area measurement , Perimeters (Geometry) , Problem solving -- Study and teaching , Geoboard Intervention Programme , RUMEP
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61646 , vital:28045
- Description: The study was undertaken with three Grade 9 teachers at three selected schools which are part of RUMEP’s Collegial Cluster Schools’ programme that I coordinate. Collegial clusters are communities of teachers who aim at improving their practice by working on their own professional development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the selected Grade 9 teachers’ experiences of a Geoboard intervention programme. It also wanted to investigate the role that a Geoboard can play in the teaching and learning of area and perimeter of two-dimensional shapes. The research was a case-study within the interpretive paradigm. A variety of data collection techniques was used. These included baseline assessment tasks, observations during the intervention programme, post intervention assessment tasks and semistructured interviews with the participating teachers and a few learners from each participating school. The collected data was analysed using both the quantitative and qualitative methods. My research findings reveal that a Geoboard, as a manipulative, developed confidence in the participating teachers. In the interviews with teachers, it transpired that teachers’ skills in teaching area and perimeter of two-dimensional shapes had been sharpened. According to the interviews with learners, the use of a Geoboard led to better conceptual understanding of the area and perimeter, as learners no longer had to rely on formulae. Kilpatrick et al. (2001) refer to conceptual understanding as an integrated functional grasp of mathematical ideas. The post intervention assessment task showed a positive shift in learners’ performance. The average learner performance improved from 29% in the baseline assessment task to 61% in the post intervention assessment task. This shows that the use of a Geoboard led to meaningful learning of area and perimeter of two-dimensional shapes. The overall research findings reveal that the use of manipulatives has a positive impact in the teaching and learning of area and perimeter. Learners’ responses to the interview questions showed that there was better understanding of the two concepts, which enabled them to construct their own knowledge. They further said the Geoboard allowed them to be hands-on, which contributed to their active involvement in the lesson.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Mkhwane, Fezeka Felicia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa , Manipulatives (Education) , Effective teaching , Area measurement , Perimeters (Geometry) , Problem solving -- Study and teaching , Geoboard Intervention Programme , RUMEP
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61646 , vital:28045
- Description: The study was undertaken with three Grade 9 teachers at three selected schools which are part of RUMEP’s Collegial Cluster Schools’ programme that I coordinate. Collegial clusters are communities of teachers who aim at improving their practice by working on their own professional development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the selected Grade 9 teachers’ experiences of a Geoboard intervention programme. It also wanted to investigate the role that a Geoboard can play in the teaching and learning of area and perimeter of two-dimensional shapes. The research was a case-study within the interpretive paradigm. A variety of data collection techniques was used. These included baseline assessment tasks, observations during the intervention programme, post intervention assessment tasks and semistructured interviews with the participating teachers and a few learners from each participating school. The collected data was analysed using both the quantitative and qualitative methods. My research findings reveal that a Geoboard, as a manipulative, developed confidence in the participating teachers. In the interviews with teachers, it transpired that teachers’ skills in teaching area and perimeter of two-dimensional shapes had been sharpened. According to the interviews with learners, the use of a Geoboard led to better conceptual understanding of the area and perimeter, as learners no longer had to rely on formulae. Kilpatrick et al. (2001) refer to conceptual understanding as an integrated functional grasp of mathematical ideas. The post intervention assessment task showed a positive shift in learners’ performance. The average learner performance improved from 29% in the baseline assessment task to 61% in the post intervention assessment task. This shows that the use of a Geoboard led to meaningful learning of area and perimeter of two-dimensional shapes. The overall research findings reveal that the use of manipulatives has a positive impact in the teaching and learning of area and perimeter. Learners’ responses to the interview questions showed that there was better understanding of the two concepts, which enabled them to construct their own knowledge. They further said the Geoboard allowed them to be hands-on, which contributed to their active involvement in the lesson.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Assessing grade 9 learners' attitude towards their academic performance in mathematics in Pinetown education district, KwaZulu-Natal
- Authors: Olorunfemi, Sunday Olayinka
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8518 , vital:32859
- Description: The world education system is faced with many challenges. Learners’ performance in mathematics in particular is one of the main areas of concern. Over decades, Mathematics has become an indispensable tool in the march towards technological breakthrough. The use of Mathematics reveals how people deal with their various private, social, and civil lives. The indispensable implications of Mathematics in the society made it to become a compulsory subject in the primary and secondary education in most countries of the world. Nevertheless, despite its wide application of Mathematics in the society, there are still many learners particularly in secondary schools who struggle to achieve the best knowledge of Mathematics. As applicable to most countries of the world, the performance of learner in South Africa is not encouraging. For example, the performance of Grade 9 learners, Pinetown Education District in particular, is not improving. Attitude is one major factor identified among learners that gravely affects learner’s performance in Mathematics. The study adopted qualitative approach which is rooted in interpretive paradigm to frame and focus the study. Interpretive paradigm is consistent with the assumption that experience of the world is subjective and best understood in terms of individuals’ subjective meanings rather than the researcher’s objective definitions. The sample included 15 participants (which include three Mathematics educators and twelve Grade nine learners) selected purposefully across three secondary schools, with attitudes and performance as inclusion criteria. Data were obtained through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews conducted with the selected Mathematics educators and learners of the selected schools to obtain their views on the impact of the attitudes of Grade nine learners on their performances in the subject. The study found that the learners perceived difficulty in Mathematics because of the information that was passed to them through their parents or guardians, seniors and peers who have negative attitudes towards Mathematics; their previous performances at early grades; the nature of Mathematics itself; and that learners were not well prepared from primary schools. It was also indicated that many learners have negative attitude towards Mathematics whose behaviours in the classroom affected others who would have loved to enjoy Mathematics. The study also revealed that all stakeholders (the educators, school managements, policy makers and parents) have part to play in motivating the learners to engage more in Mathematics. Also the study found that qualified educators who will develop good and friendly classroom environment, employing a highly interactive teaching method and as well giving adequate homework and assignments to the learners are needed to teach Mathematics in secondary schools. The study revealed that learning resources are not made available to the learners. There study therefore potentially provides that, educators can help mould the learners with negative preset mind about Mathematics through their classroom behaviours. The study further provides that learning materials such as textbooks and other geometry tools be made available for the learners use at home. The study also, provides that consideration be given to Mathematics class in the morning hours. The study concluded by giving general recommendations for improving learners’ participation and attitudes towards learning Mathematics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Olorunfemi, Sunday Olayinka
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8518 , vital:32859
- Description: The world education system is faced with many challenges. Learners’ performance in mathematics in particular is one of the main areas of concern. Over decades, Mathematics has become an indispensable tool in the march towards technological breakthrough. The use of Mathematics reveals how people deal with their various private, social, and civil lives. The indispensable implications of Mathematics in the society made it to become a compulsory subject in the primary and secondary education in most countries of the world. Nevertheless, despite its wide application of Mathematics in the society, there are still many learners particularly in secondary schools who struggle to achieve the best knowledge of Mathematics. As applicable to most countries of the world, the performance of learner in South Africa is not encouraging. For example, the performance of Grade 9 learners, Pinetown Education District in particular, is not improving. Attitude is one major factor identified among learners that gravely affects learner’s performance in Mathematics. The study adopted qualitative approach which is rooted in interpretive paradigm to frame and focus the study. Interpretive paradigm is consistent with the assumption that experience of the world is subjective and best understood in terms of individuals’ subjective meanings rather than the researcher’s objective definitions. The sample included 15 participants (which include three Mathematics educators and twelve Grade nine learners) selected purposefully across three secondary schools, with attitudes and performance as inclusion criteria. Data were obtained through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews conducted with the selected Mathematics educators and learners of the selected schools to obtain their views on the impact of the attitudes of Grade nine learners on their performances in the subject. The study found that the learners perceived difficulty in Mathematics because of the information that was passed to them through their parents or guardians, seniors and peers who have negative attitudes towards Mathematics; their previous performances at early grades; the nature of Mathematics itself; and that learners were not well prepared from primary schools. It was also indicated that many learners have negative attitude towards Mathematics whose behaviours in the classroom affected others who would have loved to enjoy Mathematics. The study also revealed that all stakeholders (the educators, school managements, policy makers and parents) have part to play in motivating the learners to engage more in Mathematics. Also the study found that qualified educators who will develop good and friendly classroom environment, employing a highly interactive teaching method and as well giving adequate homework and assignments to the learners are needed to teach Mathematics in secondary schools. The study revealed that learning resources are not made available to the learners. There study therefore potentially provides that, educators can help mould the learners with negative preset mind about Mathematics through their classroom behaviours. The study further provides that learning materials such as textbooks and other geometry tools be made available for the learners use at home. The study also, provides that consideration be given to Mathematics class in the morning hours. The study concluded by giving general recommendations for improving learners’ participation and attitudes towards learning Mathematics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Assessing the perceptions of academic staff towards an academic staff development programme in a selected university in the Eastern Cape province
- Authors: Mankayi, Mandisa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: College teachers -- In-service training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Universities and colleges -- Employees -- Training of. -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8530 , vital:32869
- Description: Institutions of higher education offer diverse staff development programmes to all staff members as a means of improving their educational quality and standards. The current study investigated using interviews, if whether the academic staff perceived staff development as a means of skills development; what factors motivated academic staff to attend the skills development programmes offered by their organisation; and which staff development programmes are perceived to be contributing much to academic skills development in a selected university in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. Utilising a purposive sampling technique, the number of academic staff interviewed was 15 from five faculties. A structured interview guide was used to solicit responses from the selected participants. Questions in the interview schedule ranged from issues pertaining to their registration on the skills development programme and how their personal skills have improved due to the programme. Upon completing the interview with an audio recorder, it was then transcribed and a thematic analysis method was used. It was found that participants were not satisfied with the academic skills development programmes offered by the university. While most respondents seemed to be aware of the skills programme, many were adamant to provide conclusive evidence on the impact of the programmes. The major disjoint among the participants rested on the performance tools used by the university to promote staff, which was mainly based on research output. This view meant that teaching and learning were not recognized as a tool that can be used to improve staff skills development, and as such, the perception was that there was bias in the education system in terms of rewarding employees who participate in certain programmes. The majority of the participants stated that they do apply what they learn to their teaching approaches, although they felt they were not rewarded by the education system as a whole. The major implication coming from this study is that the duality of the education system in South Africa makes it harder to achieve an equilibrium were both academic staffs practicing teaching and learning, and researchers are seen as equals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Mankayi, Mandisa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: College teachers -- In-service training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Universities and colleges -- Employees -- Training of. -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8530 , vital:32869
- Description: Institutions of higher education offer diverse staff development programmes to all staff members as a means of improving their educational quality and standards. The current study investigated using interviews, if whether the academic staff perceived staff development as a means of skills development; what factors motivated academic staff to attend the skills development programmes offered by their organisation; and which staff development programmes are perceived to be contributing much to academic skills development in a selected university in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. Utilising a purposive sampling technique, the number of academic staff interviewed was 15 from five faculties. A structured interview guide was used to solicit responses from the selected participants. Questions in the interview schedule ranged from issues pertaining to their registration on the skills development programme and how their personal skills have improved due to the programme. Upon completing the interview with an audio recorder, it was then transcribed and a thematic analysis method was used. It was found that participants were not satisfied with the academic skills development programmes offered by the university. While most respondents seemed to be aware of the skills programme, many were adamant to provide conclusive evidence on the impact of the programmes. The major disjoint among the participants rested on the performance tools used by the university to promote staff, which was mainly based on research output. This view meant that teaching and learning were not recognized as a tool that can be used to improve staff skills development, and as such, the perception was that there was bias in the education system in terms of rewarding employees who participate in certain programmes. The majority of the participants stated that they do apply what they learn to their teaching approaches, although they felt they were not rewarded by the education system as a whole. The major implication coming from this study is that the duality of the education system in South Africa makes it harder to achieve an equilibrium were both academic staffs practicing teaching and learning, and researchers are seen as equals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Beginner teachers’ leadership development opportunities: an interventionist case study in a rural combined school in the Ohangwena region, Namibia
- Authors: Ndakolonkoshi, Klaudia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Teacher participation in administration -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Teacher effectiveness -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61603 , vital:28041
- Description: The emergence of distributed leadership theory encourages multiple involvement of individuals in leadership of the school, regardless of their leadership positions (Spillane, 2006). The manifestation of teacher leadership through distributed leadership theory grants opportunities to teachers to enact leadership roles. This study explored how the notion of teacher leadership is understood, the leadership roles existing for the beginner teachers, and the constraining and enabling factors to the practice of teacher leadership in a rural combined school in Ohangwena region, in Namibia. The study is a formative intervention adopting a case study approach located in a critical paradigm since it aimed to bring changes in the activity system of the beginner teachers. The data were collected from ten participants: four beginner teachers, four experienced teachers, the principal and the Head of Department. The data were generated using the following techniques: document analysis, interview, questionnaires, observation and Change Laboratory workshops. The data were analysed thematically using second generation of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Grant’s (2006, 2008, 2010) Teacher Leadership Model. The findings revealed that there were different understandings of the concept of teacher leadership. It was viewed as participation, influence, motivation and mentoring. It was also revealed that beginner teachers practiced leadership roles across the four zones of Grant’s (2006, 2008, 2010) Teacher Leadership Model, but to various extents. A high participation was noted in zone one within the classroom and zone two in curricular and extra-curricular activities and minimal participation was reported in zone three within the whole school development and zone four beyond the school into the community. Teacher leadership in the case study school was constrained by several factors, including teachers’ reluctance to lead, cultural beliefs, top-down leadership structure and lack of experience. Due to the minimal participation of beginner teachers in zone three and four, the findings suggested that the school should foster a collaborative culture, establish induction and mentoring committees in the school and encourage beginner teachers to take up leadership roles by providing opportunities for them to lead through delegation. In a series of Change Laboratory workshops (CLW) the principal and the Head of Department took up the responsibility of providing leadership training to the teachers to enable them to assume leadership roles in the school. In addition, participants agreed to establish induction and mentoring committees in the school to provide guidance and assistance to teacher leaders.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Ndakolonkoshi, Klaudia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Teacher participation in administration -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Teacher effectiveness -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61603 , vital:28041
- Description: The emergence of distributed leadership theory encourages multiple involvement of individuals in leadership of the school, regardless of their leadership positions (Spillane, 2006). The manifestation of teacher leadership through distributed leadership theory grants opportunities to teachers to enact leadership roles. This study explored how the notion of teacher leadership is understood, the leadership roles existing for the beginner teachers, and the constraining and enabling factors to the practice of teacher leadership in a rural combined school in Ohangwena region, in Namibia. The study is a formative intervention adopting a case study approach located in a critical paradigm since it aimed to bring changes in the activity system of the beginner teachers. The data were collected from ten participants: four beginner teachers, four experienced teachers, the principal and the Head of Department. The data were generated using the following techniques: document analysis, interview, questionnaires, observation and Change Laboratory workshops. The data were analysed thematically using second generation of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Grant’s (2006, 2008, 2010) Teacher Leadership Model. The findings revealed that there were different understandings of the concept of teacher leadership. It was viewed as participation, influence, motivation and mentoring. It was also revealed that beginner teachers practiced leadership roles across the four zones of Grant’s (2006, 2008, 2010) Teacher Leadership Model, but to various extents. A high participation was noted in zone one within the classroom and zone two in curricular and extra-curricular activities and minimal participation was reported in zone three within the whole school development and zone four beyond the school into the community. Teacher leadership in the case study school was constrained by several factors, including teachers’ reluctance to lead, cultural beliefs, top-down leadership structure and lack of experience. Due to the minimal participation of beginner teachers in zone three and four, the findings suggested that the school should foster a collaborative culture, establish induction and mentoring committees in the school and encourage beginner teachers to take up leadership roles by providing opportunities for them to lead through delegation. In a series of Change Laboratory workshops (CLW) the principal and the Head of Department took up the responsibility of providing leadership training to the teachers to enable them to assume leadership roles in the school. In addition, participants agreed to establish induction and mentoring committees in the school to provide guidance and assistance to teacher leaders.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Developing leadership and learner voice: a formative intervention in a Learner Representative Council in a Namibian secondary school
- Authors: Haipa, Vistorina
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Law and legislation -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62188 , vital:28136
- Description: Learner participation in leadership in Namibian schools was legislated in 2001 through the Namibian Education Act, No. 16 of 2001. This has then become a requirement for all secondary schools to establish a Learner Representative Council (LRC). However, this legislation only gives mandates to schools with grade 8-12. Despite the impetus of having a LRC in secondary schools, learner leadership and voice remains limited, given that we are 26 years into our democracy. This awakened my interest to conduct a study aimed at developing leadership and voice within the LRC in a Namibian secondary school. Additionally, this study was conducted to contribute to filling the gap in literature of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) studies in the field of Education Leadership and Management. In this critical case orientation, the LRC were the subjects and the object of the activity was voice and leadership development within the LRC. I investigated participants’ perspectives on LRC leadership opportunities that existed in the case study school as well as factors that enabled and constrained leadership and voice development within the LRC of Omukumo (pseudonym) Secondary School in the northern part of Namibia. My study adopted a formative intervention design, using qualitative methodologies such as document analysis, observation, interviews, questionnaires and Change Laboratory Workshops. This study was framed by the second generation of CHAT. CHAT in this study was used as a methodological and analytical tool to surface the contradictions. Additionally, data were analysed by means of constructing categories and themes. Five sets of findings emerged: (1) a lack of conceptual awareness of the construct ‘learner leadership’: learner leadership was understood in terms of the LRC, (2) LRC members were not really acknowledged as equal participants in the school decision-making due to unequal power relations between the teachers and the LRC members, (3) misinterpretation of LRC policy that speak about the establishment of learners club and inadequate LRC training hindered the development of voice and leadership within the LRC, (4) the overall leadership role assigned to the LRC was to oversee the adherence of the school rules, and last (5) learner leadership and voice was still developing in the case study school. My key recommendation based on the research findings is the need for on-going LRC training at regional level; a need for large scale comparative studies between two African countries (Namibia, & South Africa) on the topic of learner leadership development and last, a need for workshops to train teachers on the implementation of national policies in schools, in particular those that speak to issues of learner voice and leadership.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Haipa, Vistorina
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Law and legislation -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62188 , vital:28136
- Description: Learner participation in leadership in Namibian schools was legislated in 2001 through the Namibian Education Act, No. 16 of 2001. This has then become a requirement for all secondary schools to establish a Learner Representative Council (LRC). However, this legislation only gives mandates to schools with grade 8-12. Despite the impetus of having a LRC in secondary schools, learner leadership and voice remains limited, given that we are 26 years into our democracy. This awakened my interest to conduct a study aimed at developing leadership and voice within the LRC in a Namibian secondary school. Additionally, this study was conducted to contribute to filling the gap in literature of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) studies in the field of Education Leadership and Management. In this critical case orientation, the LRC were the subjects and the object of the activity was voice and leadership development within the LRC. I investigated participants’ perspectives on LRC leadership opportunities that existed in the case study school as well as factors that enabled and constrained leadership and voice development within the LRC of Omukumo (pseudonym) Secondary School in the northern part of Namibia. My study adopted a formative intervention design, using qualitative methodologies such as document analysis, observation, interviews, questionnaires and Change Laboratory Workshops. This study was framed by the second generation of CHAT. CHAT in this study was used as a methodological and analytical tool to surface the contradictions. Additionally, data were analysed by means of constructing categories and themes. Five sets of findings emerged: (1) a lack of conceptual awareness of the construct ‘learner leadership’: learner leadership was understood in terms of the LRC, (2) LRC members were not really acknowledged as equal participants in the school decision-making due to unequal power relations between the teachers and the LRC members, (3) misinterpretation of LRC policy that speak about the establishment of learners club and inadequate LRC training hindered the development of voice and leadership within the LRC, (4) the overall leadership role assigned to the LRC was to oversee the adherence of the school rules, and last (5) learner leadership and voice was still developing in the case study school. My key recommendation based on the research findings is the need for on-going LRC training at regional level; a need for large scale comparative studies between two African countries (Namibia, & South Africa) on the topic of learner leadership development and last, a need for workshops to train teachers on the implementation of national policies in schools, in particular those that speak to issues of learner voice and leadership.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Exploring National Certificate Vocational (NCV) level two learners’ misconceptions in algebraic functions through integrating GeoGebra during teaching and learning
- Authors: Ngwabe, Abongile
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Algebraic functions -- Study and teaching , Algebraic fields , Mathematical analysis -- Data processing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/33671 , vital:32963
- Description: This study focuses on exploring NCV level two learners’ misconceptions in algebraic functions through integrating GeoGebra Dynamic Software during teaching and learning. The research investigates how the integration of GeoGebra during teaching and learning algebraic functions influenced learners’ misconceptions in algebraic functions. Vygotsky’s sociocultural view of learning underpinned the process of teaching and learning during the study. The research was carried out at the TVET College in Port Elizabeth. The data was collected by means of pre-test and post-test, focus group interviews, GeoGebra intervention and observations. Created GeoGebra applets and a worksheet was used during the integration process. The data collected was analyzed and used to answer the research questions of this study. Research findings showed that the integration of GeoGebra during teaching and learning enhanced learners’ conceptual understanding in algebraic functions. There was a significance increase in the number of learners who showed ability to interpret algebraic functions based concepts after the engagement with GeoGebra applets.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Ngwabe, Abongile
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Algebraic functions -- Study and teaching , Algebraic fields , Mathematical analysis -- Data processing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/33671 , vital:32963
- Description: This study focuses on exploring NCV level two learners’ misconceptions in algebraic functions through integrating GeoGebra Dynamic Software during teaching and learning. The research investigates how the integration of GeoGebra during teaching and learning algebraic functions influenced learners’ misconceptions in algebraic functions. Vygotsky’s sociocultural view of learning underpinned the process of teaching and learning during the study. The research was carried out at the TVET College in Port Elizabeth. The data was collected by means of pre-test and post-test, focus group interviews, GeoGebra intervention and observations. Created GeoGebra applets and a worksheet was used during the integration process. The data collected was analyzed and used to answer the research questions of this study. Research findings showed that the integration of GeoGebra during teaching and learning enhanced learners’ conceptual understanding in algebraic functions. There was a significance increase in the number of learners who showed ability to interpret algebraic functions based concepts after the engagement with GeoGebra applets.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Exploring teachers’ attitudes to implementing blended learning: a case study
- Authors: Williams, Monique
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Blended learning -- South Africa , Educational technology -- South Africa Education, Higher -- South Africa Internet in education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/35829 , vital:33851
- Description: One of the many characteristics of the 21st century learner is that they are highly technologically skilled. This characteristic poses today’s teachers with many challenges in order to teach these learners and create optimal learning experiences. It is evident that teachers have their own preferred teaching methods which they believe work best and some teachers teach the way that they were taught at school in ways that have become part of their habitus. Blended learning is a teaching method that can promote effective learning experiences in the 21st century learning environment. This study focussed on teachers’ experiences with blended learning and their current ideas on how learners learn optimally and whether the practice of blended learning changed their ideas of learning. Furthermore, the study determined the teachers’ present technology acceptance and established teachers’ personal views regarding the challenges that teachers face to teach 21st century skills, what they think 21st century teaching is about and new insights on dealing with these challenges. Through experiencing blended learning teachers who made use of a textbook based teaching method made shifts not only to a blended approach, but also shifted their thinking away from what they prefer to what learners get out of the learning experience. Although challenges occur when using a blended teaching approach, their experiences with blended learning were mostly positive and they found learners to be more involved in the learning process. These outcomes created feelings of worthiness in the teachers since they create such positive learning opportunities for their learners. Although the teachers made shifts, some teachers continue to have a fear of technology since they had not received adequate training to incorporate technology into their teaching approaches. It is crucial for the DBE and schools to provide teachers with opportunities to improve their technological skills in order for teachers to create opportunities for blended learning experiences for the 21st century learner
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Williams, Monique
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Blended learning -- South Africa , Educational technology -- South Africa Education, Higher -- South Africa Internet in education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/35829 , vital:33851
- Description: One of the many characteristics of the 21st century learner is that they are highly technologically skilled. This characteristic poses today’s teachers with many challenges in order to teach these learners and create optimal learning experiences. It is evident that teachers have their own preferred teaching methods which they believe work best and some teachers teach the way that they were taught at school in ways that have become part of their habitus. Blended learning is a teaching method that can promote effective learning experiences in the 21st century learning environment. This study focussed on teachers’ experiences with blended learning and their current ideas on how learners learn optimally and whether the practice of blended learning changed their ideas of learning. Furthermore, the study determined the teachers’ present technology acceptance and established teachers’ personal views regarding the challenges that teachers face to teach 21st century skills, what they think 21st century teaching is about and new insights on dealing with these challenges. Through experiencing blended learning teachers who made use of a textbook based teaching method made shifts not only to a blended approach, but also shifted their thinking away from what they prefer to what learners get out of the learning experience. Although challenges occur when using a blended teaching approach, their experiences with blended learning were mostly positive and they found learners to be more involved in the learning process. These outcomes created feelings of worthiness in the teachers since they create such positive learning opportunities for their learners. Although the teachers made shifts, some teachers continue to have a fear of technology since they had not received adequate training to incorporate technology into their teaching approaches. It is crucial for the DBE and schools to provide teachers with opportunities to improve their technological skills in order for teachers to create opportunities for blended learning experiences for the 21st century learner
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Innovative teaching strategies for empowering foundation phase teachers in an inclusive classroom
- Authors: Kusterer, Gail Lee
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Inclusive education -- South Africa , Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa Classroom management -- South Africa Foundation phase
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30951 , vital:31234
- Description: The introduction of Inclusive Education into South African schools has been fraught with difficulty and this, coupled with the poor matric pass rate, has become a cause for major concern. Many teachers are unprepared for the challenge of teaching learners with diverse learning needs. Innovative and creative teaching strategies need to be implemented in order to address the learning needs of all the learners so that all learners can achieve their maximum potential and exit school with the school leaving certificate they seek. Consequently, the aim of this research was to identify creative and innovative teaching strategies which could be implemented by teachers in order to address this diversity. Furthermore, it was hoped that such creative teaching strategies would encourage cognitive learning whereby the study material was fully comprehended and could be used by the learners in different contexts. Music and games were identified as innovative and creative ways in which learners could be encouraged to apply the study material to mock real-life scenarios without having to suffer the consequences of incorrect choices. Since all children love to sing and play, it was believed that the introduction of music and games into the classroom would put the fun back into learning. The study was a qualitative study, with Grade Three teachers, learners and their parents being the participants. The data was generated through the use of observations, a teacher journal, questionnaires and focus group interviews. The findings of this study indicated that the learners benefitted from the introduction of music and games into the classroom as they began to read, write and do calculations more effectively. Not only did their academic skills improve, but music and games had the incidental positive consequence of improving their behaviour. This meant that they were better able to comply with classroom rules and conducted their relationships with others in a more respectful and understanding manner. The study concludes with suggestions on strategies that can be implemented by teachers and parents in order to improve the learning and behaviour of the learners. An improvement in the overall academic achievement of the learners may result in an improvement in the matric pass rate in South Africa as a whole, as well as an improvement in tolerance for and understanding of our fellow man.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kusterer, Gail Lee
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Inclusive education -- South Africa , Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa Classroom management -- South Africa Foundation phase
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30951 , vital:31234
- Description: The introduction of Inclusive Education into South African schools has been fraught with difficulty and this, coupled with the poor matric pass rate, has become a cause for major concern. Many teachers are unprepared for the challenge of teaching learners with diverse learning needs. Innovative and creative teaching strategies need to be implemented in order to address the learning needs of all the learners so that all learners can achieve their maximum potential and exit school with the school leaving certificate they seek. Consequently, the aim of this research was to identify creative and innovative teaching strategies which could be implemented by teachers in order to address this diversity. Furthermore, it was hoped that such creative teaching strategies would encourage cognitive learning whereby the study material was fully comprehended and could be used by the learners in different contexts. Music and games were identified as innovative and creative ways in which learners could be encouraged to apply the study material to mock real-life scenarios without having to suffer the consequences of incorrect choices. Since all children love to sing and play, it was believed that the introduction of music and games into the classroom would put the fun back into learning. The study was a qualitative study, with Grade Three teachers, learners and their parents being the participants. The data was generated through the use of observations, a teacher journal, questionnaires and focus group interviews. The findings of this study indicated that the learners benefitted from the introduction of music and games into the classroom as they began to read, write and do calculations more effectively. Not only did their academic skills improve, but music and games had the incidental positive consequence of improving their behaviour. This meant that they were better able to comply with classroom rules and conducted their relationships with others in a more respectful and understanding manner. The study concludes with suggestions on strategies that can be implemented by teachers and parents in order to improve the learning and behaviour of the learners. An improvement in the overall academic achievement of the learners may result in an improvement in the matric pass rate in South Africa as a whole, as well as an improvement in tolerance for and understanding of our fellow man.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Interrogating teacher leadership development through a formative intervention: a case study in a rural Secondary School in northern Namibia
- Authors: Iyambo, David Kandiwapa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia , School management and organization -- Namibia , Teachers -- Training of -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61547 , vital:28035
- Description: The Namibian education system has undergone major policy shifts from a ‘top-down’ hierarchical leadership practice to a more shared and democratic form of leadership in schools. These policies compel principals and school management team members to involve level-one teachers in decision-making and other leadership roles within their schools and beyond. However, to this end, the goals envisaged by policies for teachers to participate in, and contribute to the overall school leadership activities and decision-making have not been fully realised. This was due to the inherent hierarchy of the ‘top-down’ system and autocratic leadership style which remains powerful within the current school practice. Against this backdrop, this study interrogated how teacher leadership can be developed in a rural Secondary School in northern Namibia. The underlying cultural-historical conditions that promoted or constrained teacher leadership development were surfaced. Opportunities for changes in leadership practices through a formative intervention were developed. Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was utilised as a theoretical and analytical framework in this study together with Grant’s Model of Teacher Leadership (2006; 2008; 2010). Five level-one teachers, two school management members and a school board chairperson were selected as research participants by means of a purposive sampling method. Furthermore, the study used document analysis, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and change laboratory workshops as main tools for data generation. The findings revealed that participants understood the concept of teacher leadership differently and that teachers in the case study school were leading in all four zones of teacher leadership model (Grant, 2006; 2008; 2012) although their roles differed. However, the study also found that teacher leadership development was mostly intensified by managerial structures. It appeared from the findings of this study that conditions such as the role of the school management team (SMT) members in promoting teacher leadership development, a supportive organisational culture, and provision of learning support amongst staff members through the attendance of workshops emerged as factors promoting the development of teachers as leaders. The study also revealed that there were many cultural and historical tensions that constrained the practice of teacher leadership development in school. Thus, the study argues that limited leadership training and an inherent ‘top-down’ hierarchical style of leadership was the main underlying systemic causes that constrained teachers to be developed as leaders. Through the change laboratory workshops, the findings suggested that there was a need for continuous professional development initiatives and leadership training, as alternative way for the realisation of teacher leadership development. Finally, a recommendation that leadership aspects should be constituted in pre-and in-service professional development training as an ongoing practice is made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Iyambo, David Kandiwapa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia , School management and organization -- Namibia , Teachers -- Training of -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61547 , vital:28035
- Description: The Namibian education system has undergone major policy shifts from a ‘top-down’ hierarchical leadership practice to a more shared and democratic form of leadership in schools. These policies compel principals and school management team members to involve level-one teachers in decision-making and other leadership roles within their schools and beyond. However, to this end, the goals envisaged by policies for teachers to participate in, and contribute to the overall school leadership activities and decision-making have not been fully realised. This was due to the inherent hierarchy of the ‘top-down’ system and autocratic leadership style which remains powerful within the current school practice. Against this backdrop, this study interrogated how teacher leadership can be developed in a rural Secondary School in northern Namibia. The underlying cultural-historical conditions that promoted or constrained teacher leadership development were surfaced. Opportunities for changes in leadership practices through a formative intervention were developed. Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was utilised as a theoretical and analytical framework in this study together with Grant’s Model of Teacher Leadership (2006; 2008; 2010). Five level-one teachers, two school management members and a school board chairperson were selected as research participants by means of a purposive sampling method. Furthermore, the study used document analysis, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and change laboratory workshops as main tools for data generation. The findings revealed that participants understood the concept of teacher leadership differently and that teachers in the case study school were leading in all four zones of teacher leadership model (Grant, 2006; 2008; 2012) although their roles differed. However, the study also found that teacher leadership development was mostly intensified by managerial structures. It appeared from the findings of this study that conditions such as the role of the school management team (SMT) members in promoting teacher leadership development, a supportive organisational culture, and provision of learning support amongst staff members through the attendance of workshops emerged as factors promoting the development of teachers as leaders. The study also revealed that there were many cultural and historical tensions that constrained the practice of teacher leadership development in school. Thus, the study argues that limited leadership training and an inherent ‘top-down’ hierarchical style of leadership was the main underlying systemic causes that constrained teachers to be developed as leaders. Through the change laboratory workshops, the findings suggested that there was a need for continuous professional development initiatives and leadership training, as alternative way for the realisation of teacher leadership development. Finally, a recommendation that leadership aspects should be constituted in pre-and in-service professional development training as an ongoing practice is made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Investigating Grade 3 learners’ changing mathematical proficiency in a maths club programme focused on number sense progression
- Authors: Hebe, Gasenakeletso Ennie
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mathematical ability -- Testing , Education, Elementary -- South Africa , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Activity programs , Mathematics -- Remedial teaching , South African Numeracy Chair Project (SANCP)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62200 , vital:28137
- Description: Recent international reports, for example TIMSS (2011 & 2015), point to serious challenges in South African learner performance in Mathematics and Science. Of greatest concern is that research findings (e.g. Graven, Venkat, Westaway and Tshesane 2013) suggest that many South African learners show signs of mathematical knowledge gaps in the lower grades. Hence, there is a need to address challenges of this nature very early in Foundation Phase. This study was undertaken with a view to contribute towards addressing mathematical challenges encountered by learners in Foundation Phase. This empirical enquiry was undertaken under the auspices of the South African Numeracy Chair Project (SANCP) at Rhodes University whose mission is to develop sustainable ways of improving quality teaching and learning of Mathematics in South Africa. A relatively new SANCP programme called Pushing for Progression (PfP) run as part of the after-school Maths Clubs to develop the number sense and four Operations in learners was used to achieve the research aims of this study. Research participants were drawn from the Maths Clubs established by the researcher in a small rural town of Ottosdal in the North West Province of South Africa. This Study is grounded on the Vygotskian perspective and uses the interpretivist qualitative research method for data collection and analysis. Sampling was done opportunistically by enlisting participants (12 teachers and 117 learners) on the basis of their availability and willingness to participate. Pre- and post-assessment of learners’ proficiency on the four Basic Operations was conducted at the beginning and at the end of the research project, respectively. This was done to determine the impact of the project on learner performance. Data analysis was done thematically and through the comparison of learner results of the pre- and post-assessment. The findings point to the effectiveness of the PfP Programme in learner performance. This can be deduced from improved scores between pre- and post-assessment and the observations made by participant-teachers on their respective club learners’ mathematical proficiencies. Accordingly, based on the findings, this study recommends, inter alia, that since the PfP programme is still in its early stages, similar research be conducted elsewhere. Additionally, the Department of Basic Education could consider exploring the PfP programme as one of several other strategies to help improve learner proficiency in Mathematics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Hebe, Gasenakeletso Ennie
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mathematical ability -- Testing , Education, Elementary -- South Africa , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Activity programs , Mathematics -- Remedial teaching , South African Numeracy Chair Project (SANCP)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62200 , vital:28137
- Description: Recent international reports, for example TIMSS (2011 & 2015), point to serious challenges in South African learner performance in Mathematics and Science. Of greatest concern is that research findings (e.g. Graven, Venkat, Westaway and Tshesane 2013) suggest that many South African learners show signs of mathematical knowledge gaps in the lower grades. Hence, there is a need to address challenges of this nature very early in Foundation Phase. This study was undertaken with a view to contribute towards addressing mathematical challenges encountered by learners in Foundation Phase. This empirical enquiry was undertaken under the auspices of the South African Numeracy Chair Project (SANCP) at Rhodes University whose mission is to develop sustainable ways of improving quality teaching and learning of Mathematics in South Africa. A relatively new SANCP programme called Pushing for Progression (PfP) run as part of the after-school Maths Clubs to develop the number sense and four Operations in learners was used to achieve the research aims of this study. Research participants were drawn from the Maths Clubs established by the researcher in a small rural town of Ottosdal in the North West Province of South Africa. This Study is grounded on the Vygotskian perspective and uses the interpretivist qualitative research method for data collection and analysis. Sampling was done opportunistically by enlisting participants (12 teachers and 117 learners) on the basis of their availability and willingness to participate. Pre- and post-assessment of learners’ proficiency on the four Basic Operations was conducted at the beginning and at the end of the research project, respectively. This was done to determine the impact of the project on learner performance. Data analysis was done thematically and through the comparison of learner results of the pre- and post-assessment. The findings point to the effectiveness of the PfP Programme in learner performance. This can be deduced from improved scores between pre- and post-assessment and the observations made by participant-teachers on their respective club learners’ mathematical proficiencies. Accordingly, based on the findings, this study recommends, inter alia, that since the PfP programme is still in its early stages, similar research be conducted elsewhere. Additionally, the Department of Basic Education could consider exploring the PfP programme as one of several other strategies to help improve learner proficiency in Mathematics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Leadership development within a Learner Representative Council (LRC) in a rural secondary school in the Oshana region, Namibia
- Authors: Da Silva, Rolens
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Student participation in administration Namibia , Student government Namibia , Educational leadership Namibia , Qualitative research
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62808 , vital:28282
- Description: The Namibian Education Act (Namibia. Education Act No. 16 of 2001) mandates state secondary school learners to be included in school leadership through a body of learners known as the Learner Representative Council (LRC). The few studies carried out on the LRC in schools reveal that very little has been achieved in terms of learner leadership development. This study explored and provided insight into possible reasons for this, and recommendations. The research questions driving the study were: How is learner leadership currently understood and practised in the school? What are the enabling and constraining factors in the school as far as learner leadership development is concerned? And what can be done to promote learner leadership development? This study is an interpretive case study of learner leadership in the LRC in a Namibian state secondary school in the Oshana region. The conceptual framework used was distributed leadership. The Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was used as an analytical tool. The research participants were the LRC members, school principal, Heads of Departments representing the school management members, the School Board Chairperson representing parents and the LRC liaison teacher and were all purposively selected. Data was collected through document analysis, open-ended questionnaires, interviews and non-participant observation. Data analysis took the form of inductively – identifying themes emerged from the data and deductively – using CHAT to surface the systemic contradictions within the learners’ activity system. The data revealed that learner leadership was mostly understood from a management perspective and equated with the formal authority of the LRC in the school. The data further revealed that the LRC performed more leadership roles stretched from inside the classroom, outside the classroom, on the School Board and outside the school. To capture this complexity, I developed a model which may prove useful for future studies of learner leadership. The data also indicated that much support was offered to the LRC members in the school; for example, support from the LRC liaison teacher, the School Management Team and generally from the school, through LRC leadership training. Using CHAT, the findings revealed that the historical context and cultural conventions contradicted the LRC leadership development in the school. In line with a distributed leadership theory, the study recommends that learner leadership should not be limited by position and authority but should be exercised by all learners, through the development and establishment of learner leader clubs in the school. The study also recommends that schools should embark on change initiatives which challenge their traditionally held beliefs and attitudes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Da Silva, Rolens
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Student participation in administration Namibia , Student government Namibia , Educational leadership Namibia , Qualitative research
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62808 , vital:28282
- Description: The Namibian Education Act (Namibia. Education Act No. 16 of 2001) mandates state secondary school learners to be included in school leadership through a body of learners known as the Learner Representative Council (LRC). The few studies carried out on the LRC in schools reveal that very little has been achieved in terms of learner leadership development. This study explored and provided insight into possible reasons for this, and recommendations. The research questions driving the study were: How is learner leadership currently understood and practised in the school? What are the enabling and constraining factors in the school as far as learner leadership development is concerned? And what can be done to promote learner leadership development? This study is an interpretive case study of learner leadership in the LRC in a Namibian state secondary school in the Oshana region. The conceptual framework used was distributed leadership. The Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was used as an analytical tool. The research participants were the LRC members, school principal, Heads of Departments representing the school management members, the School Board Chairperson representing parents and the LRC liaison teacher and were all purposively selected. Data was collected through document analysis, open-ended questionnaires, interviews and non-participant observation. Data analysis took the form of inductively – identifying themes emerged from the data and deductively – using CHAT to surface the systemic contradictions within the learners’ activity system. The data revealed that learner leadership was mostly understood from a management perspective and equated with the formal authority of the LRC in the school. The data further revealed that the LRC performed more leadership roles stretched from inside the classroom, outside the classroom, on the School Board and outside the school. To capture this complexity, I developed a model which may prove useful for future studies of learner leadership. The data also indicated that much support was offered to the LRC members in the school; for example, support from the LRC liaison teacher, the School Management Team and generally from the school, through LRC leadership training. Using CHAT, the findings revealed that the historical context and cultural conventions contradicted the LRC leadership development in the school. In line with a distributed leadership theory, the study recommends that learner leadership should not be limited by position and authority but should be exercised by all learners, through the development and establishment of learner leader clubs in the school. The study also recommends that schools should embark on change initiatives which challenge their traditionally held beliefs and attitudes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Leadership development within a learner representative council: a Namibian primary school case study
- Authors: Tjihuro, Jaqueline
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization Namibia , Educational leadership Namibia , Student participation in administration Namibia , Student government Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61558 , vital:28036
- Description: Learners in Namibian primary schools are seemingly not brave enough to stand and raise their voice on issues that concern them. This is what Shekupakela-Nelulu (2008) wrote after a study she conducted on the Learners’ Representative Council (LRC) of a school in Namibia. She refers to a time when “the involvement of students in school affairs was seen by the regime as a political act and attempts by student leaders to involve themselves in educational issues were often quashed” (ibid., p. i). This situation will be all too familiar to South African readers, where a public holiday, Youth Day, was declared to mark the apartheid regime’s brutal treatment of learner protestors on June 16, 1976. While Namibia has not experienced events of such magnitude, the notion of learner voice is equally problematic and worthy of investigation. The absence of leadership development opportunities for learners has led to this research study which seeks to answer the central research question: How can learner leadership be developed in a LRC? I used an interpretive paradigm, adopting a qualitative approach in the study. Concurrently, the study was framed and guided by the second generation of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as an analytical tool to achieve my research goal. The following questions guided the study in two phases. Phase one: What were the perceived causes for the nonsustainability of the learner leadership (LL) club at the school? Phase two: How is the notion of learner leadership understood in the school? How is leadership developed on the LRC? What enables and constrains leadership development of learners on the LRC? The research participants were thirty LRC members from grades 6 and 7 and15 teachers who teach the LRC members. The principal and three HOD’s were also research participants being part of the Senior Management team. One of the HOD’s also fulfils the role of the guardian teacher to the LRC. A school board chairperson also participated in the Change Laboratory Workshop. Data was generated through multiple data sources such as questionnaires, individual interviews, a focus group interview and observation. The findings from phase one of the study revealed that the learner leadership club’s intervention was a success during the 2014 academic year, but the absence of the learner leadership club as an extra-mural activity affected the sustainability of the club into the next academic year 2015. Findings from phase two revealed that leadership opportunities did exist at the school for learner leadership development. However, a few challenges emerged relating to traditional views of leadership and constraining factors that could affect learner leadership development at the school. Thus, Change Laboratory workshops were held to find solutions to the challenges, in order to promote and enhance learner leadership development, hopefully for the future of the Namibian child.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Leadership development within a learner representative council: a Namibian primary school case study
- Authors: Tjihuro, Jaqueline
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization Namibia , Educational leadership Namibia , Student participation in administration Namibia , Student government Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61558 , vital:28036
- Description: Learners in Namibian primary schools are seemingly not brave enough to stand and raise their voice on issues that concern them. This is what Shekupakela-Nelulu (2008) wrote after a study she conducted on the Learners’ Representative Council (LRC) of a school in Namibia. She refers to a time when “the involvement of students in school affairs was seen by the regime as a political act and attempts by student leaders to involve themselves in educational issues were often quashed” (ibid., p. i). This situation will be all too familiar to South African readers, where a public holiday, Youth Day, was declared to mark the apartheid regime’s brutal treatment of learner protestors on June 16, 1976. While Namibia has not experienced events of such magnitude, the notion of learner voice is equally problematic and worthy of investigation. The absence of leadership development opportunities for learners has led to this research study which seeks to answer the central research question: How can learner leadership be developed in a LRC? I used an interpretive paradigm, adopting a qualitative approach in the study. Concurrently, the study was framed and guided by the second generation of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as an analytical tool to achieve my research goal. The following questions guided the study in two phases. Phase one: What were the perceived causes for the nonsustainability of the learner leadership (LL) club at the school? Phase two: How is the notion of learner leadership understood in the school? How is leadership developed on the LRC? What enables and constrains leadership development of learners on the LRC? The research participants were thirty LRC members from grades 6 and 7 and15 teachers who teach the LRC members. The principal and three HOD’s were also research participants being part of the Senior Management team. One of the HOD’s also fulfils the role of the guardian teacher to the LRC. A school board chairperson also participated in the Change Laboratory Workshop. Data was generated through multiple data sources such as questionnaires, individual interviews, a focus group interview and observation. The findings from phase one of the study revealed that the learner leadership club’s intervention was a success during the 2014 academic year, but the absence of the learner leadership club as an extra-mural activity affected the sustainability of the club into the next academic year 2015. Findings from phase two revealed that leadership opportunities did exist at the school for learner leadership development. However, a few challenges emerged relating to traditional views of leadership and constraining factors that could affect learner leadership development at the school. Thus, Change Laboratory workshops were held to find solutions to the challenges, in order to promote and enhance learner leadership development, hopefully for the future of the Namibian child.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Learner voice and leadership: a study of a Learner Representative Council in a primary school in Namibia
- Authors: Kapuire, Dominika Bertha
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia , School management and organization -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Education, Primary -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62177 , vital:28135
- Description: Numerous literature world-wide emphasises the significance of learner voice and leadership in schools. These concerns are not new to the education system of Namibia, because the education system is shaped by policy which encourages the voices of all stakeholders in the schools. The Education Act 16 of 2001 introduced the Learner Representative Council (LRC) as a legitimised body in secondary schools which represents learners in school level decision-making. Learner Representative Council members in secondary schools are allowed to sit in on School Board meetings and voice their concerns about issues at the school. The Act also involved parents, allowing them to air their views on behalf of their children, by becoming part of the School Board. Although this is what the Act 16 of 2001 introduced, recent researchers have urged for the need to develop learner voice and leadership in schools, as many schools have turned a blind eye to its significance. This is also what prompted me to conduct a study on the development of learner voice and leadership. This research was conducted within the context of learner leadership at a primary school in the Otjozondjupa region, Namibia, focusing on the school’s existing Learner Representative Council (LRC). The study explores the underlying reasons for the current problems in the LRC structure and beyond, opening up leadership opportunities, and promoting learner voice at the school. Participants in the research were drawn from learners, teachers, heads of department, and the principal. As a qualitative case study in the interpretive paradigm, the study employed a range of data collection strategies - questionnaires, interviews, focus group interviews, observation and Change Laboratory (CL) workshops - to gather data to answer key research questions: How is the LRC currently involved in the leadership of the school? What are the factors inhibiting the development of learner leadership in the school? What opportunities exist for the development of learner voice and leadership within the LRC? How can learner voice and leadership be developed through Change Laboratory (CL) workshops? The research was underpinned by the second generation of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as an analytical framework. CHAT had the potential to bring problems and challenges into focus, which was then used to open up expansive learning in the CL workshops. Data collected from the participants was surfaced as mirror data in these workshops. The study showed that the LRC was not active in their leadership roles and that they were not given enough opportunities to function freely in their roles. These learners were under a traditional system of leadership, whereby teachers had all the control and say in the learners’ leadership roles. The development of learner leadership was only recognised through the leadership training camp. Many factors that inhibited the development of learner voice and leadership also emerged in the study. Lastly, the notion of developing learner voice was also not understood by some teachers, which showed in their contradicting views. This study recommends that learner leadership should be developed, starting at an early age in the primary school. It also recommends that learners, however young, should be given a platform to contribute to the decision making at their schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kapuire, Dominika Bertha
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia , School management and organization -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Education, Primary -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62177 , vital:28135
- Description: Numerous literature world-wide emphasises the significance of learner voice and leadership in schools. These concerns are not new to the education system of Namibia, because the education system is shaped by policy which encourages the voices of all stakeholders in the schools. The Education Act 16 of 2001 introduced the Learner Representative Council (LRC) as a legitimised body in secondary schools which represents learners in school level decision-making. Learner Representative Council members in secondary schools are allowed to sit in on School Board meetings and voice their concerns about issues at the school. The Act also involved parents, allowing them to air their views on behalf of their children, by becoming part of the School Board. Although this is what the Act 16 of 2001 introduced, recent researchers have urged for the need to develop learner voice and leadership in schools, as many schools have turned a blind eye to its significance. This is also what prompted me to conduct a study on the development of learner voice and leadership. This research was conducted within the context of learner leadership at a primary school in the Otjozondjupa region, Namibia, focusing on the school’s existing Learner Representative Council (LRC). The study explores the underlying reasons for the current problems in the LRC structure and beyond, opening up leadership opportunities, and promoting learner voice at the school. Participants in the research were drawn from learners, teachers, heads of department, and the principal. As a qualitative case study in the interpretive paradigm, the study employed a range of data collection strategies - questionnaires, interviews, focus group interviews, observation and Change Laboratory (CL) workshops - to gather data to answer key research questions: How is the LRC currently involved in the leadership of the school? What are the factors inhibiting the development of learner leadership in the school? What opportunities exist for the development of learner voice and leadership within the LRC? How can learner voice and leadership be developed through Change Laboratory (CL) workshops? The research was underpinned by the second generation of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as an analytical framework. CHAT had the potential to bring problems and challenges into focus, which was then used to open up expansive learning in the CL workshops. Data collected from the participants was surfaced as mirror data in these workshops. The study showed that the LRC was not active in their leadership roles and that they were not given enough opportunities to function freely in their roles. These learners were under a traditional system of leadership, whereby teachers had all the control and say in the learners’ leadership roles. The development of learner leadership was only recognised through the leadership training camp. Many factors that inhibited the development of learner voice and leadership also emerged in the study. Lastly, the notion of developing learner voice was also not understood by some teachers, which showed in their contradicting views. This study recommends that learner leadership should be developed, starting at an early age in the primary school. It also recommends that learners, however young, should be given a platform to contribute to the decision making at their schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
On becoming literate in English: a literate life history study of selected Grade 12 learners in a Namibian secondary school
- Authors: Kangootui, Angela Lydia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Omaheke , Second language acquisition -- Omaheke , Language and languages -- Study and teaching -- Namibia -- Omaheke , Namibia. Ministry of Basic Education, Sport, and Culture
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62252 , vital:28147
- Description: This study sought to investigate English literate journeys of selected Grade 12 learners who come from educationally disempowering home backgrounds, and who ‘meet’ informal and/or formal exposure to English language mainly within the confines of school hours. Located within the qualitative, interpretive life history study design, the study used questionnaire and learners’ autobiographies to generate data. These data were then subjected to explore the literate journey of these learners in English as a second language through a comprehensive descriptive analysis. The study was conducted in an urban high school in Omaheke region, Namibia, and the research site and study participants were selected purposively. Theoretically, the study drew from Krashen’s (1981) Second Language Acquisition Theory, which offered this study the five hypotheses that were used as categories to generate, analyse, interpret and discuss data. Research findings reveal that, for various reasons discussed in the study, there is minimal parental involvement in the English literacy journey of their children at home. These include parents not reading regularly to their children, not encouraging visits to the library and the shortage of literacy materials such as newspapers and magazines. The educational level of parents is also a major contributing factor in the literacy journey of their children. The contribution of the community towards the literacy journey in English as a second language of these learners was minimal since the vernacular languages or Afrikaans were used to communicate. At the school level it was found that the attitude of some teachers was a hindrance, as was the way they taught. The use of the mother tongue during teaching also had an effect on the literacy development of the learners. Although the different methods used by various teachers at school level contributed in a way towards literacy development of the learners at school, the huge number of learners in the classrooms was a force to be reckoned with. It is hoped that the study’s findings will assist the Ministry of Basic Education Arts and Culture (MBEAC) in Namibia in informing the type of syllabus content and pedagogical practices to be utilised in teaching English as a Second Language.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kangootui, Angela Lydia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Omaheke , Second language acquisition -- Omaheke , Language and languages -- Study and teaching -- Namibia -- Omaheke , Namibia. Ministry of Basic Education, Sport, and Culture
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62252 , vital:28147
- Description: This study sought to investigate English literate journeys of selected Grade 12 learners who come from educationally disempowering home backgrounds, and who ‘meet’ informal and/or formal exposure to English language mainly within the confines of school hours. Located within the qualitative, interpretive life history study design, the study used questionnaire and learners’ autobiographies to generate data. These data were then subjected to explore the literate journey of these learners in English as a second language through a comprehensive descriptive analysis. The study was conducted in an urban high school in Omaheke region, Namibia, and the research site and study participants were selected purposively. Theoretically, the study drew from Krashen’s (1981) Second Language Acquisition Theory, which offered this study the five hypotheses that were used as categories to generate, analyse, interpret and discuss data. Research findings reveal that, for various reasons discussed in the study, there is minimal parental involvement in the English literacy journey of their children at home. These include parents not reading regularly to their children, not encouraging visits to the library and the shortage of literacy materials such as newspapers and magazines. The educational level of parents is also a major contributing factor in the literacy journey of their children. The contribution of the community towards the literacy journey in English as a second language of these learners was minimal since the vernacular languages or Afrikaans were used to communicate. At the school level it was found that the attitude of some teachers was a hindrance, as was the way they taught. The use of the mother tongue during teaching also had an effect on the literacy development of the learners. Although the different methods used by various teachers at school level contributed in a way towards literacy development of the learners at school, the huge number of learners in the classrooms was a force to be reckoned with. It is hoped that the study’s findings will assist the Ministry of Basic Education Arts and Culture (MBEAC) in Namibia in informing the type of syllabus content and pedagogical practices to be utilised in teaching English as a Second Language.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Parents’ perceptions about male teachers’ underpresentation in the foundation phase : a study in the East London Education District
- Authors: Kewuti, Nomfihlakalo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Male preschool teachers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15914 , vital:40563
- Description: Foundation Phase in many schools is dominated by females and there are no or few male teachers in these grades. Foundation Phase comprises both boys and girls and if girls need female teachers to teach them, so the boys also need male teachers. One of the reasons why males do not want to teach in the Foundation Phase is the gender stereotype that Foundation Phase is a woman’s job, which deprive young learners the benefits that they could enjoy by having male teachers in their early years. The objectives of this study were to establish the parents’ perceptions about male teachers’ underrepresentation in the Foundation Phase; to determine how parents and their children can benefit from being taught by male teachers in the FP; to ascertain what challenges parents perceive are experienced by male teachers in the FP and to ascertain how SGB parent component can attract male teachers for FP teaching in their schools. The study was conducted in the East London Education District from three primary schools in urban, semi-urban and rural school settings. The schools selected were those that have male teachers in the FP in Grade R, 1, 2 and 3. A purposeful sample of nine parents who have children in male teacher classes in the Foundation Phase were used; three parents from each school. Qualitative data were generated through semi-structured interviews and observations, using phenomenology design. Thematic analysis was conducted on the basis of the themes that emerged from the participants’ responses to the research questions. This study adopted an interpretive paradigm to get an understanding of parents’ perceptions about male teachers’ underrepresentation in the FP from parents who have children in the male teacher classes in the FP. The findings indicated that parents feel a need for male teachers in the FP to act as disciplinarians. They also noted that their children who are taught by male teachers have good behaviours. Benefits like gender equality, improvement in sports, confidence of learners in doing their work and grooming and balancing for higher levels. It has appeared that parents also understand that male teachers experience challenges of being unaccepted by the parents of learners and also by their female colleagues. These challenges stem from the fact that teaching in FP is associated with being nannies which is a female duty; males are associated with child abuse and are thought to be paedophiles and there a great lack of trust due to these associations pointed at them. Parents in their responses have shown that they are for the view that the SGB parent component should ensure that male teachers are employed in the FP by recommending them (male teachers) in the posts at Foundation Phase level and that it should be adopted in their schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kewuti, Nomfihlakalo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Male preschool teachers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15914 , vital:40563
- Description: Foundation Phase in many schools is dominated by females and there are no or few male teachers in these grades. Foundation Phase comprises both boys and girls and if girls need female teachers to teach them, so the boys also need male teachers. One of the reasons why males do not want to teach in the Foundation Phase is the gender stereotype that Foundation Phase is a woman’s job, which deprive young learners the benefits that they could enjoy by having male teachers in their early years. The objectives of this study were to establish the parents’ perceptions about male teachers’ underrepresentation in the Foundation Phase; to determine how parents and their children can benefit from being taught by male teachers in the FP; to ascertain what challenges parents perceive are experienced by male teachers in the FP and to ascertain how SGB parent component can attract male teachers for FP teaching in their schools. The study was conducted in the East London Education District from three primary schools in urban, semi-urban and rural school settings. The schools selected were those that have male teachers in the FP in Grade R, 1, 2 and 3. A purposeful sample of nine parents who have children in male teacher classes in the Foundation Phase were used; three parents from each school. Qualitative data were generated through semi-structured interviews and observations, using phenomenology design. Thematic analysis was conducted on the basis of the themes that emerged from the participants’ responses to the research questions. This study adopted an interpretive paradigm to get an understanding of parents’ perceptions about male teachers’ underrepresentation in the FP from parents who have children in the male teacher classes in the FP. The findings indicated that parents feel a need for male teachers in the FP to act as disciplinarians. They also noted that their children who are taught by male teachers have good behaviours. Benefits like gender equality, improvement in sports, confidence of learners in doing their work and grooming and balancing for higher levels. It has appeared that parents also understand that male teachers experience challenges of being unaccepted by the parents of learners and also by their female colleagues. These challenges stem from the fact that teaching in FP is associated with being nannies which is a female duty; males are associated with child abuse and are thought to be paedophiles and there a great lack of trust due to these associations pointed at them. Parents in their responses have shown that they are for the view that the SGB parent component should ensure that male teachers are employed in the FP by recommending them (male teachers) in the posts at Foundation Phase level and that it should be adopted in their schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Researching the development of a programme that merges mathematics and music in Grade R
- Authors: Stevenson-Milln, Carolyn
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mathematics Study and teaching (Elementary) Activity programs , Music and children , Music, Influence of , Music Africa , Action research in education
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61928 , vital:28084
- Description: This small-scale case study explores the potential for synergy between music and mathematics learning in early childhood education whereby music can be used to help enhance children’s mathematical proficiency. Informal observations of the young learners participating in an Early Number Fun programme initiated by the South African Numeracy Chair Project suggested that many children struggled to exercise executive functioning and self-regulated skills, and struggled also with fluency in basic numeracy concepts such as understanding pattern. This case study was set up to investigate the effect of the development and implementation of a programme in which African music and mathematics learning, (particularly in relation to pattern and sequencing) were blended. The study’s core aim was to contribute to strengthening learners’ executive function and self-regulated learning competencies, both of which are important to learners’ developing agency over their own learning. An Action-Research-embedded-in-Design-Research approach was employed. This allowed an iterative process in developing a new mode of learning through blending music and mathematics. The theory of enactivism provided a theoretical framework to the study. The basic assumptions of an enactive perspective are shared understanding and joint action through engagement (as exemplified through group interaction between learner and teacher, and learning through action). The programme was developed and implemented with ongoing refinements in two Grade R classrooms. Data collected through observation, interviewing, document analysis and the keeping of a reflective research journal, are qualitative in nature. Analysis of the data indicate that the use of African block notation, as a rhythmic medium was well within reach of the participating children, such that at the end of each 16 session intervention programme, learners at both research sites demonstrated their capacity to: • Focus their attention on one activity while a different activity was taking place alongside them. • Watch, listen and only then act. • Practise their numbers through play: to count out and to write up to 16 and beyond. • Notate, read and interpret rhythmic patterns through block notation and instrumentation. The findings suggest the intervention programme could be continued over a longer period for maximum benefit, possibly through following Grade R learners through to Grade 1. The findings further suggest that fun with rhythmic, number-based patterning can assist learners’ development of executive function and self-regulated learning skills.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Stevenson-Milln, Carolyn
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mathematics Study and teaching (Elementary) Activity programs , Music and children , Music, Influence of , Music Africa , Action research in education
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61928 , vital:28084
- Description: This small-scale case study explores the potential for synergy between music and mathematics learning in early childhood education whereby music can be used to help enhance children’s mathematical proficiency. Informal observations of the young learners participating in an Early Number Fun programme initiated by the South African Numeracy Chair Project suggested that many children struggled to exercise executive functioning and self-regulated skills, and struggled also with fluency in basic numeracy concepts such as understanding pattern. This case study was set up to investigate the effect of the development and implementation of a programme in which African music and mathematics learning, (particularly in relation to pattern and sequencing) were blended. The study’s core aim was to contribute to strengthening learners’ executive function and self-regulated learning competencies, both of which are important to learners’ developing agency over their own learning. An Action-Research-embedded-in-Design-Research approach was employed. This allowed an iterative process in developing a new mode of learning through blending music and mathematics. The theory of enactivism provided a theoretical framework to the study. The basic assumptions of an enactive perspective are shared understanding and joint action through engagement (as exemplified through group interaction between learner and teacher, and learning through action). The programme was developed and implemented with ongoing refinements in two Grade R classrooms. Data collected through observation, interviewing, document analysis and the keeping of a reflective research journal, are qualitative in nature. Analysis of the data indicate that the use of African block notation, as a rhythmic medium was well within reach of the participating children, such that at the end of each 16 session intervention programme, learners at both research sites demonstrated their capacity to: • Focus their attention on one activity while a different activity was taking place alongside them. • Watch, listen and only then act. • Practise their numbers through play: to count out and to write up to 16 and beyond. • Notate, read and interpret rhythmic patterns through block notation and instrumentation. The findings suggest the intervention programme could be continued over a longer period for maximum benefit, possibly through following Grade R learners through to Grade 1. The findings further suggest that fun with rhythmic, number-based patterning can assist learners’ development of executive function and self-regulated learning skills.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018