Leadership development in a Representative Council of Learners (RCL) in a secondary school in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Strydom, Monica Petro
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/43054 , vital:25261
- Description: The purpose of this study was to answer two main research questions: How is leadership promoted on a Representative Council of Learners (RCL) and What leadership roles do learners on the council play in schools? Recent research suggests that although the democratisation of school governance has given all stakeholders a voice in how schools are being governed, it seems that learner voice is still largely silenced. Literature on this issue paints an uninspiring picture of learner under-involvement and marginalisation. In seeking underlying causes for this, this study is informed by notions of leadership for social justice. The study investigated the RCL at a public, fee-paying school in the Makana district of the Eastern Cape. By observing the daily functioning of the council, engaging with the learner leaders as well as teachers, parents and other role players, I developed a better understanding of the challenges the RCL faced as well as factors which promoted their role as learner leaders. This aided in answering the first key research question of how the RCL promotes leadership development. To answer the second key question, I needed to consider the perceptions of stakeholders concerned and how they saw the operation of the RCL. This study is situated in the interpretive research tradition and uses critical realism as its under-labourer. To support this study and to answer some of the aims of this research, Leontiev’s second generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, questionnaires an observation and document analysis. Data analysis took the form of identifying themes which emerged from the data. These formed the basis of my discussion and I was thus able to address the main research questions. Data revealed that learner leaders in schools are mainly managers and not really leaders; that learners are still very much marginalised as leaders and that they subsequently do not have a lot of say when it comes to how their schools are governed. It further emerged that despite formal legislation and guidelines which are in place to allow for the democratic rights of learners’ opinions to be heard in schools, historical and cultural forces account for parents and other role players’reluctance to allow learners to have too much of a say. I trust that the findings from this research will strengthen learner leadership structures in schools and perhaps provide guidelines on how learner leadership could be developed and managed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Strydom, Monica Petro
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/43054 , vital:25261
- Description: The purpose of this study was to answer two main research questions: How is leadership promoted on a Representative Council of Learners (RCL) and What leadership roles do learners on the council play in schools? Recent research suggests that although the democratisation of school governance has given all stakeholders a voice in how schools are being governed, it seems that learner voice is still largely silenced. Literature on this issue paints an uninspiring picture of learner under-involvement and marginalisation. In seeking underlying causes for this, this study is informed by notions of leadership for social justice. The study investigated the RCL at a public, fee-paying school in the Makana district of the Eastern Cape. By observing the daily functioning of the council, engaging with the learner leaders as well as teachers, parents and other role players, I developed a better understanding of the challenges the RCL faced as well as factors which promoted their role as learner leaders. This aided in answering the first key research question of how the RCL promotes leadership development. To answer the second key question, I needed to consider the perceptions of stakeholders concerned and how they saw the operation of the RCL. This study is situated in the interpretive research tradition and uses critical realism as its under-labourer. To support this study and to answer some of the aims of this research, Leontiev’s second generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, questionnaires an observation and document analysis. Data analysis took the form of identifying themes which emerged from the data. These formed the basis of my discussion and I was thus able to address the main research questions. Data revealed that learner leaders in schools are mainly managers and not really leaders; that learners are still very much marginalised as leaders and that they subsequently do not have a lot of say when it comes to how their schools are governed. It further emerged that despite formal legislation and guidelines which are in place to allow for the democratic rights of learners’ opinions to be heard in schools, historical and cultural forces account for parents and other role players’reluctance to allow learners to have too much of a say. I trust that the findings from this research will strengthen learner leadership structures in schools and perhaps provide guidelines on how learner leadership could be developed and managed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Exploring teacher leadership: A case study at a senior secondary school in the Ohangwena region, Namibia
- Authors: Hamatwi, Isak
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1275 , vital:20042
- Description: Leadership has been for long thought to centre on the actions of a positional head of the organisation crafting the vision and influencing followers’ behaviour based on his/her charisma and legal authority in a quest to achieve the set goals (Christie, 2010). However, contemporary views “emphasise leadership as relational” (Van der Mescht & Tyala, 2008, p. 226) and focuses more on the practice while taking form “in the interactions between leaders and followers” (Spillane, 2005, p. 146). Looking through the lens of distributed leadership and using the Grant’s (2008; 2012) model of teacher leadership as a data analytical tool, this research study aimed to explore the enactment of teacher leadership at a secondary school in the Ohangwena region, Namibia. The motivation of this research study was twofold; one, it was due to my personal interest in getting a deeper understanding of what constituted teacher leadership as a concept which is gaining momentum in the educational leadership discipline; two, it was due to the evident knowledge gap existing on the concept of teacher leadership as there seemed to be very less research done on the concept. Using observation schedules, survey questionnaires, semi-structured interview schedules and analysing documents as data collecting tools, the study was geared towards answering four research questions which were driving the study, namely; i) In what ways do teachers participate in the leadership activities of the school? ii) What is the nature of the relations of these leadership activities? iii) What factors that may constrain the leadership activities of these teachers? iv) How do the principal and the School Management Team (SMT) encourage teacher leadership at the school? The study was of a qualitative nature located in the interpretive paradigm. A purposive sampling method was used to select research participants The findings of the study indicated that the research participants had a general understanding of what teacher leadership entails. Teachers enacted leadership across the four zones of Grant’s (2008; 2012) model of teacher leadership, though with very limited teacher leadership enactment in zone four. Zones one, two and three proved to be the popular media of teacher leadership enactment wherein teachers led in their classrooms enforcing discipline, serving as guides and caregivers to their learners (zone one). Teachers then extended their leadership outside their classrooms where they served as decision makers, curriculum developers for knowledge enhancement through reflective teaching and sport coaches (zone two). In Zone three, teachers led in committees’ structures, as mentors of learners, policy makers and as models of good practice. Zone four was the least media of teacher leadership. The data pointed to a host of factors that prevented teachers to assume leadership at the case study school, namely; ignorance and fear for accountability, policy and regulatory limitations, time limitations, limited skills and teachers as barriers to teacher leadership in terms of apathy, lack of confidence, negative attitude and anti-social behaviours as well as professional jealous. Nevertheless, the principal and the SMT emerged as catalysts for teacher leadership at the school as they enabled teacher leadership in a number of ways, namely, through delegation, motivation, free choice, open engagement, moral support and interdependence leadership practices. In the final analysis, the findings revealed that, leadership at the case study school was manifested as spontaneous collaborated leadership practices through institutionalised practices embarked upon with intuitive working relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Hamatwi, Isak
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1275 , vital:20042
- Description: Leadership has been for long thought to centre on the actions of a positional head of the organisation crafting the vision and influencing followers’ behaviour based on his/her charisma and legal authority in a quest to achieve the set goals (Christie, 2010). However, contemporary views “emphasise leadership as relational” (Van der Mescht & Tyala, 2008, p. 226) and focuses more on the practice while taking form “in the interactions between leaders and followers” (Spillane, 2005, p. 146). Looking through the lens of distributed leadership and using the Grant’s (2008; 2012) model of teacher leadership as a data analytical tool, this research study aimed to explore the enactment of teacher leadership at a secondary school in the Ohangwena region, Namibia. The motivation of this research study was twofold; one, it was due to my personal interest in getting a deeper understanding of what constituted teacher leadership as a concept which is gaining momentum in the educational leadership discipline; two, it was due to the evident knowledge gap existing on the concept of teacher leadership as there seemed to be very less research done on the concept. Using observation schedules, survey questionnaires, semi-structured interview schedules and analysing documents as data collecting tools, the study was geared towards answering four research questions which were driving the study, namely; i) In what ways do teachers participate in the leadership activities of the school? ii) What is the nature of the relations of these leadership activities? iii) What factors that may constrain the leadership activities of these teachers? iv) How do the principal and the School Management Team (SMT) encourage teacher leadership at the school? The study was of a qualitative nature located in the interpretive paradigm. A purposive sampling method was used to select research participants The findings of the study indicated that the research participants had a general understanding of what teacher leadership entails. Teachers enacted leadership across the four zones of Grant’s (2008; 2012) model of teacher leadership, though with very limited teacher leadership enactment in zone four. Zones one, two and three proved to be the popular media of teacher leadership enactment wherein teachers led in their classrooms enforcing discipline, serving as guides and caregivers to their learners (zone one). Teachers then extended their leadership outside their classrooms where they served as decision makers, curriculum developers for knowledge enhancement through reflective teaching and sport coaches (zone two). In Zone three, teachers led in committees’ structures, as mentors of learners, policy makers and as models of good practice. Zone four was the least media of teacher leadership. The data pointed to a host of factors that prevented teachers to assume leadership at the case study school, namely; ignorance and fear for accountability, policy and regulatory limitations, time limitations, limited skills and teachers as barriers to teacher leadership in terms of apathy, lack of confidence, negative attitude and anti-social behaviours as well as professional jealous. Nevertheless, the principal and the SMT emerged as catalysts for teacher leadership at the school as they enabled teacher leadership in a number of ways, namely, through delegation, motivation, free choice, open engagement, moral support and interdependence leadership practices. In the final analysis, the findings revealed that, leadership at the case study school was manifested as spontaneous collaborated leadership practices through institutionalised practices embarked upon with intuitive working relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
The role of teachers' resource centres from the perspective of school managers and teachers
- Authors: Mbambo, Markus S
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia Teaching -- Aids and devices -- Namibia Resource programs (Education) -- Namibia Teachers -- Namibia -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1754 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003638
- Description: This study aimed to investigate the role played by the Teachers’ Resource Centre (TRC) in Namibia in helping schools to provide quality education. The TRC concept began in Britain in the 1960s, where it was introduced as a means of supporting the professional development of teachers and giving them access to a range of educational resources. From the 1970s, the concept was promoted further afield as an effective strategy for dealing with teachers’ needs. TRCs emerged in Namibia in the 1980s under the auspices of the then Department of Education of the South African government. By 1989, only four TRCs were in existence, namely, Katutura, Tsumeb, Otjiwarongo and Rundu, plus one in the whites-only training college in Windhoek. In September 1991, the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) in Namibia produced a five-year plan that led to the diversification of the TRC network in Namibia. Yet, despite the now widespread existence of TRCs, little is known of whether and to what extent their services are helping teachers to provide quality education. This constitutes a gap in the literature that this study hopes in part to fill. The study was conducted using a case study approach in three schools in the Kavango region of Namibia. It made use of questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and data analysis to gather and interpret data. The study’s finding is that TRCs are indeed beneficial to schools in their vicinity, despite their current limited capacities. However, TRCs should be better able to redress the poor quality of education in many schools due to a lack of resources, de-motivated teachers and other factors. This study therefore recommends that enough funds be made available for the TRCs to acquire the resources they need adequately to support quality educational processes. Furthermore, the study found that it is imperative for individuals in TRCs and schools to learn how to facilitate relevant transformation in their organisations’ efficiency and effectiveness. Thus the study recommends a transformational leadership approach as most appropriate for managing learning and bringing about successful change in these organisations. The significance of this research is that it sheds some light on the effectiveness of TRCs as a strategy for supporting teachers in the delivery of quality teaching. It also suggests potential areas in which stakeholders might usefully cooperate in their endeavours to realise quality education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Mbambo, Markus S
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia Teaching -- Aids and devices -- Namibia Resource programs (Education) -- Namibia Teachers -- Namibia -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1754 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003638
- Description: This study aimed to investigate the role played by the Teachers’ Resource Centre (TRC) in Namibia in helping schools to provide quality education. The TRC concept began in Britain in the 1960s, where it was introduced as a means of supporting the professional development of teachers and giving them access to a range of educational resources. From the 1970s, the concept was promoted further afield as an effective strategy for dealing with teachers’ needs. TRCs emerged in Namibia in the 1980s under the auspices of the then Department of Education of the South African government. By 1989, only four TRCs were in existence, namely, Katutura, Tsumeb, Otjiwarongo and Rundu, plus one in the whites-only training college in Windhoek. In September 1991, the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) in Namibia produced a five-year plan that led to the diversification of the TRC network in Namibia. Yet, despite the now widespread existence of TRCs, little is known of whether and to what extent their services are helping teachers to provide quality education. This constitutes a gap in the literature that this study hopes in part to fill. The study was conducted using a case study approach in three schools in the Kavango region of Namibia. It made use of questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and data analysis to gather and interpret data. The study’s finding is that TRCs are indeed beneficial to schools in their vicinity, despite their current limited capacities. However, TRCs should be better able to redress the poor quality of education in many schools due to a lack of resources, de-motivated teachers and other factors. This study therefore recommends that enough funds be made available for the TRCs to acquire the resources they need adequately to support quality educational processes. Furthermore, the study found that it is imperative for individuals in TRCs and schools to learn how to facilitate relevant transformation in their organisations’ efficiency and effectiveness. Thus the study recommends a transformational leadership approach as most appropriate for managing learning and bringing about successful change in these organisations. The significance of this research is that it sheds some light on the effectiveness of TRCs as a strategy for supporting teachers in the delivery of quality teaching. It also suggests potential areas in which stakeholders might usefully cooperate in their endeavours to realise quality education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
An investigation of the principal's leadership role in a successful rural school in Namibia
- Authors: Tjivikua, Uerivangera Chris
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Rural schools -- Namibia School principals -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1656 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003539
- Description: Rural schools are faced with numerous challenges and are often perceived to be academically unsuccessful. However, in spite of this perception there are some which manage to beat the odds by being academically successful year after year. This peculiar phenomenon of ‘unequal performance’ among rural schools struck my interest; hence my decision to investigate what it is that successful rural schools do to keep afloat in a turbulent environment where others around them collapsed. As the literature suggests that leadership play a key role in the success of an organisation, I focused my study on how the leadership role of the principal makes a rural school thrive. The study is situated in the interpretive paradigm and attempts to reveal participants’ perceptions and experiences of the principal’s leadership. My participants were the principal, circuit inspector, the School Board Chairperson, a Head of Department and the LRC president. These people were purposefully selected; the principal was selected because he is the one executing the roles hence he would be better informed about them while the others due to the positions they occupy, work closely with the principal. The research is a case study as it focused on a single case, and for data generation I employed semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis. The study revealed various characteristics that describe the leadership role of the principal. An overarching characteristic that emerged is that the principal is a balanced leader - he focuses on both task completion and consideration for people. Different characteristics that emerged from this balance leadership portrayed the principal of Ruacana Senior Secondary School to be a transformational and an instructional leader who believes that teaching and learning are the central activities of a school. Moreover he has been painted to be a team player and a servant leader who holds and practices the principle of ubuntu. The principal has also been described as a strategic and exemplary leader. It emerged that his exemplary leadership has moulded the practices of teachers and learners into a shared culture that supports academic excellence. The findings also depicted a paradoxical picture of the principal in that while he exhibits democratic procedures he is also perceived to be autocratic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
- Authors: Tjivikua, Uerivangera Chris
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Rural schools -- Namibia School principals -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1656 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003539
- Description: Rural schools are faced with numerous challenges and are often perceived to be academically unsuccessful. However, in spite of this perception there are some which manage to beat the odds by being academically successful year after year. This peculiar phenomenon of ‘unequal performance’ among rural schools struck my interest; hence my decision to investigate what it is that successful rural schools do to keep afloat in a turbulent environment where others around them collapsed. As the literature suggests that leadership play a key role in the success of an organisation, I focused my study on how the leadership role of the principal makes a rural school thrive. The study is situated in the interpretive paradigm and attempts to reveal participants’ perceptions and experiences of the principal’s leadership. My participants were the principal, circuit inspector, the School Board Chairperson, a Head of Department and the LRC president. These people were purposefully selected; the principal was selected because he is the one executing the roles hence he would be better informed about them while the others due to the positions they occupy, work closely with the principal. The research is a case study as it focused on a single case, and for data generation I employed semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis. The study revealed various characteristics that describe the leadership role of the principal. An overarching characteristic that emerged is that the principal is a balanced leader - he focuses on both task completion and consideration for people. Different characteristics that emerged from this balance leadership portrayed the principal of Ruacana Senior Secondary School to be a transformational and an instructional leader who believes that teaching and learning are the central activities of a school. Moreover he has been painted to be a team player and a servant leader who holds and practices the principle of ubuntu. The principal has also been described as a strategic and exemplary leader. It emerged that his exemplary leadership has moulded the practices of teachers and learners into a shared culture that supports academic excellence. The findings also depicted a paradoxical picture of the principal in that while he exhibits democratic procedures he is also perceived to be autocratic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
Former BETD graduate's understanding and implementation of reflective practice in the Rundu region of Namibia
- Authors: Mwala, Maria Elizabeth
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia , Teachers -- Training of -- Namibia , Educational change -- Namibia , Teacher educators -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1547 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003429 , Education -- Namibia , Teachers -- Training of -- Namibia , Educational change -- Namibia , Teacher educators -- Namibia
- Description: The research, investigating how a selected group of former BETD graduates understand and implement the theory of reflective practice, is a qualitative case study carried out in the Kavango region of Namibia. The study was shaped by one of the major policy emphases in Namibia’s post independence teacher education reform process - that of developing reflective teachers who actively participate in curriculum planning and take educational decisions based on their own judgment. A basic assumption underlying the study is that effective educational practice is dependent on practitioners thinking about what they are doing and acting on their reflections to improve practice. The study found that a fundamental problem preventing these teachers from implementing reflective practice in accordance with the Namibian educational reform process, is that the participating teachers neither understand the exact meaning of reflective practice nor do they have a common or shared view of the concept, in spite of their common qualifications. A key contributing factor to their problems with implementing reflective practice is the lack of a deep understanding of the reform epistemology and pedagogy revealed by the three former BETD graduates selected for the research. These are the teachers referred to in the first paragraph: The first teacher is Helena, a teacher at Duduva primary school, the second teacher is Kalishe, also teaching at the same school as Helena and the third teacher is Darius at Ntja Junior secondary school. The qualitative approach employed for the study served to illuminate and highlight specific issues related to the implementation of reflective practice that will be of considerable value for the researcher in her capacity as a teacher educator. These included among others: • The teacher’s need for an understanding of the key principles on which reflection is based and how to translate these into practice. • The need for teachers to have a clear understanding of the role that learners play in the reflective process. • The need to revisit the Basic Education Teacher Diploma (BETD) education programme, because for teachers to reflect they need a sound subject knowledge on which to base their judgments. These aspects, as well as the identification of the factors in the school system that contribute to the failure of reflective practice, provide a foundation for finding real solutions to the problems identified.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
- Authors: Mwala, Maria Elizabeth
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia , Teachers -- Training of -- Namibia , Educational change -- Namibia , Teacher educators -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1547 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003429 , Education -- Namibia , Teachers -- Training of -- Namibia , Educational change -- Namibia , Teacher educators -- Namibia
- Description: The research, investigating how a selected group of former BETD graduates understand and implement the theory of reflective practice, is a qualitative case study carried out in the Kavango region of Namibia. The study was shaped by one of the major policy emphases in Namibia’s post independence teacher education reform process - that of developing reflective teachers who actively participate in curriculum planning and take educational decisions based on their own judgment. A basic assumption underlying the study is that effective educational practice is dependent on practitioners thinking about what they are doing and acting on their reflections to improve practice. The study found that a fundamental problem preventing these teachers from implementing reflective practice in accordance with the Namibian educational reform process, is that the participating teachers neither understand the exact meaning of reflective practice nor do they have a common or shared view of the concept, in spite of their common qualifications. A key contributing factor to their problems with implementing reflective practice is the lack of a deep understanding of the reform epistemology and pedagogy revealed by the three former BETD graduates selected for the research. These are the teachers referred to in the first paragraph: The first teacher is Helena, a teacher at Duduva primary school, the second teacher is Kalishe, also teaching at the same school as Helena and the third teacher is Darius at Ntja Junior secondary school. The qualitative approach employed for the study served to illuminate and highlight specific issues related to the implementation of reflective practice that will be of considerable value for the researcher in her capacity as a teacher educator. These included among others: • The teacher’s need for an understanding of the key principles on which reflection is based and how to translate these into practice. • The need for teachers to have a clear understanding of the role that learners play in the reflective process. • The need to revisit the Basic Education Teacher Diploma (BETD) education programme, because for teachers to reflect they need a sound subject knowledge on which to base their judgments. These aspects, as well as the identification of the factors in the school system that contribute to the failure of reflective practice, provide a foundation for finding real solutions to the problems identified.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
A study of the criteria teachers use when selecting learning material
- Authors: Koch, Lynn
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Textbooks -- South Africa -- Evaluation Curriculum planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1780 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003665
- Description: This study investigates the criteria teachers use when selecting and evaluating learning support material, in particular, English second language textbooks. The study seeks to determine what informs the criteria that teachers use for selection. The study is conducted against the backdrop of Curriculum 2005 (C2005) and outlines the C2005 revision process and the subsequent introduction of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). Through a series of focus group interviews, the researcher explores the criteria teachers use for evaluation. Many of the teachers in this study did not have clearly articulated criteria; rather, they drew on implicit criteria and mentioned favoured qualities or attributes that they looked for in a textbook. In addition, the teachers in the focus groups used criteria that had been ‘told’ rather than ‘owned’ and had not developed their own sets of criteria. This research concludes that teachers are caught between two conflicting sets of criteria: those of their pre-service training and those of the new curriculum, which is currently being mediated to them through brief orientations. Drawing on recent literature, the researcher argues that in order to shift deep-seated literacy practices, teacher training needs to be prolonged, in-depth and ongoing.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Koch, Lynn
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Textbooks -- South Africa -- Evaluation Curriculum planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1780 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003665
- Description: This study investigates the criteria teachers use when selecting and evaluating learning support material, in particular, English second language textbooks. The study seeks to determine what informs the criteria that teachers use for selection. The study is conducted against the backdrop of Curriculum 2005 (C2005) and outlines the C2005 revision process and the subsequent introduction of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). Through a series of focus group interviews, the researcher explores the criteria teachers use for evaluation. Many of the teachers in this study did not have clearly articulated criteria; rather, they drew on implicit criteria and mentioned favoured qualities or attributes that they looked for in a textbook. In addition, the teachers in the focus groups used criteria that had been ‘told’ rather than ‘owned’ and had not developed their own sets of criteria. This research concludes that teachers are caught between two conflicting sets of criteria: those of their pre-service training and those of the new curriculum, which is currently being mediated to them through brief orientations. Drawing on recent literature, the researcher argues that in order to shift deep-seated literacy practices, teacher training needs to be prolonged, in-depth and ongoing.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
A survey of Butterworth senior secondary school teachers' views on the relationship between teacher involvement in decision-making and morale
- Authors: Nongwe, Tozamile Johnson
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Education -- South Africa -- Decision making Decision making -- Case studies Teacher morale Vuli-Valley Senior Secondary School
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1787 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003672
- Description: Tbe purpose of this survey was to investigate Butterworth Senior Secondary School teachers' views on the relationship between teacher involvement in decision-making and morale. Out of four Butterworth Senior Secondary Schools with a population of about eigbhy six teachers, thirty teachers were willing participants in the research study. The teachers come from a homogeneous background (Xhosa-speaking). Questionnaires were administered to tbe sample subjects (population). The results (responses) of these teacbers (respondents) were then analyzed. After the analysis of their results, it became clear that there is a relationship between teacher involvement in decision-making and morale. Thus, the findings did not support the null hypothesis which stated that Butterworth Senior Secondary Scbool teachers see no relationship between their involvement in decision-making and morale.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Nongwe, Tozamile Johnson
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Education -- South Africa -- Decision making Decision making -- Case studies Teacher morale Vuli-Valley Senior Secondary School
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1787 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003672
- Description: Tbe purpose of this survey was to investigate Butterworth Senior Secondary School teachers' views on the relationship between teacher involvement in decision-making and morale. Out of four Butterworth Senior Secondary Schools with a population of about eigbhy six teachers, thirty teachers were willing participants in the research study. The teachers come from a homogeneous background (Xhosa-speaking). Questionnaires were administered to tbe sample subjects (population). The results (responses) of these teacbers (respondents) were then analyzed. After the analysis of their results, it became clear that there is a relationship between teacher involvement in decision-making and morale. Thus, the findings did not support the null hypothesis which stated that Butterworth Senior Secondary Scbool teachers see no relationship between their involvement in decision-making and morale.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
An investigation into teachers' perceptions of female secondary school principals in Kwazulu-Natal
- Authors: Ngcobo, Thandi Moira
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: Women school principals -- South Africa Sex discrimination in employment -- South Africa Teachers -- South Africa -- Attitudes School management and organization -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1601 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003483
- Description: There are few female teachers who hold principal positions in schools, especially in secondary schools. This study investigates teachers' perceptions of secondary school female principals' leadership abilities and styles.It also investigates whether teachers' perceptions are influenced either by their sexes or experience or lack of experience of working with female principals. The reseacher hopes that this research findings will help to either: develop and improve female leadership (where it is found to be wanting); and or influence authorieties to appoint more female teachers to head secondary schools. The literature surveyed revealed that the appointment of principals in seconday schools is discriminatory against female teachers. It further revealed that principals (mainly male) do not prepare female teachers for management and leadership positions. As a result female potential leaders become demotivated. This is unfortunate as research has found that female principals are as effective as leaders as male principals are. One disadvantage of having a small number of female leaders in education is that this results in an education that only reflects the male perspectives and values. This in turn alienates girls' perspectives from education. In order to establish teachers' perceptions of female secondary school principals a survey of the percptions of teachers in the Maphumolo circuit of female principals in this area was first carried out by means of a questionnaire. This was followed by a case study of one female principal. In depth, semi-stuctured interviews were undertaken with the principal and three teachers working with her in order to establish this principal's leadership style and the teachers' feelings towards her. A statistical analysis of the survey and a conten~ ~alysis of the case study were carried out. These revealed that the majority of teachers perceive female principals as effective and transformational leaders. These perceptions were found to be minimally influenced by either the teachers' sexes or experience of working with female principals. The..majority of those teachers who perceived female principals negatively tended to be males and to be from a group of teachers who had never worked with female principals. Recommendations for the increase of the number of female principals in secondary schools and for the improvement ofleadership in these schools are made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
- Authors: Ngcobo, Thandi Moira
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: Women school principals -- South Africa Sex discrimination in employment -- South Africa Teachers -- South Africa -- Attitudes School management and organization -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1601 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003483
- Description: There are few female teachers who hold principal positions in schools, especially in secondary schools. This study investigates teachers' perceptions of secondary school female principals' leadership abilities and styles.It also investigates whether teachers' perceptions are influenced either by their sexes or experience or lack of experience of working with female principals. The reseacher hopes that this research findings will help to either: develop and improve female leadership (where it is found to be wanting); and or influence authorieties to appoint more female teachers to head secondary schools. The literature surveyed revealed that the appointment of principals in seconday schools is discriminatory against female teachers. It further revealed that principals (mainly male) do not prepare female teachers for management and leadership positions. As a result female potential leaders become demotivated. This is unfortunate as research has found that female principals are as effective as leaders as male principals are. One disadvantage of having a small number of female leaders in education is that this results in an education that only reflects the male perspectives and values. This in turn alienates girls' perspectives from education. In order to establish teachers' perceptions of female secondary school principals a survey of the percptions of teachers in the Maphumolo circuit of female principals in this area was first carried out by means of a questionnaire. This was followed by a case study of one female principal. In depth, semi-stuctured interviews were undertaken with the principal and three teachers working with her in order to establish this principal's leadership style and the teachers' feelings towards her. A statistical analysis of the survey and a conten~ ~alysis of the case study were carried out. These revealed that the majority of teachers perceive female principals as effective and transformational leaders. These perceptions were found to be minimally influenced by either the teachers' sexes or experience of working with female principals. The..majority of those teachers who perceived female principals negatively tended to be males and to be from a group of teachers who had never worked with female principals. Recommendations for the increase of the number of female principals in secondary schools and for the improvement ofleadership in these schools are made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
An investigation into the influence of an inset programme on teacher cognitions
- Authors: Bell, David Ian
- Date: 1995
- Subjects: Teachers -- In-service training -- South Africa Teachers -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1608 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003490
- Description: This study was based upon a concern about the quality of education in South Africa and a concern about the quality of NGO and other INSET interventions. Many organisations purport to address the issues of education, most of them doing so from the very comfortable position of the moral high ground (the position adopted where the political - correctness of the intervention outweighs the quality and impact) rather than from the position of having the capacity to deliver a quality service (a position from which they can effect genuine educational transformation toward quality education for all). With the rapid social, political and educational changes taking place at present, it is necessary for most organisations to assess their positions in respect of their ability to effect quality changes within the broad educational terrain. This study is an attempt to investigate the influence of one particular programme, that of the Centre for Cognitive Development, as it effects changes in teacher cognitions. It is argued that teachers are the catalysts for and agents of educational and social change and that these changes require the thinking and beliefs of individual teachers which inform their practices and behaviours, both personally and as professionals, to be addressed. These beliefs need to be critically reflected upon by the teachers themselves and through this process of reflection, teachers need to be empowered to take responsibility for the quality of teaching and learning. This concern was addressed by selecting a sample of teachers from within one such INSET intervention and through the use of a questionnaire, investigating whether teachers cognitions had changed, as a result of the INSET programme. It was hypothesised that changes in teacher cognitions would occur as a result of the INSET programme and that these cognitive or gestalt shifts could be categorised as Attributional shifts, Efficacy shifts, shifts in teachers perceived Locus of Control (Control Beliefs) and changes in general Pedagogic Beliefs. The statistical analysis of the data indicated varying degrees and trends of significant change. However, the complexity of the social context of teaching and the impact of this on teacher beliefs and cognitions, especially those of teachers who have been most affected (disempowered) by social and personal oppression, cannot be under-estimated and even minor shifts reflected in this investigation should be seen as positive changes none-the-less.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1995
- Authors: Bell, David Ian
- Date: 1995
- Subjects: Teachers -- In-service training -- South Africa Teachers -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1608 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003490
- Description: This study was based upon a concern about the quality of education in South Africa and a concern about the quality of NGO and other INSET interventions. Many organisations purport to address the issues of education, most of them doing so from the very comfortable position of the moral high ground (the position adopted where the political - correctness of the intervention outweighs the quality and impact) rather than from the position of having the capacity to deliver a quality service (a position from which they can effect genuine educational transformation toward quality education for all). With the rapid social, political and educational changes taking place at present, it is necessary for most organisations to assess their positions in respect of their ability to effect quality changes within the broad educational terrain. This study is an attempt to investigate the influence of one particular programme, that of the Centre for Cognitive Development, as it effects changes in teacher cognitions. It is argued that teachers are the catalysts for and agents of educational and social change and that these changes require the thinking and beliefs of individual teachers which inform their practices and behaviours, both personally and as professionals, to be addressed. These beliefs need to be critically reflected upon by the teachers themselves and through this process of reflection, teachers need to be empowered to take responsibility for the quality of teaching and learning. This concern was addressed by selecting a sample of teachers from within one such INSET intervention and through the use of a questionnaire, investigating whether teachers cognitions had changed, as a result of the INSET programme. It was hypothesised that changes in teacher cognitions would occur as a result of the INSET programme and that these cognitive or gestalt shifts could be categorised as Attributional shifts, Efficacy shifts, shifts in teachers perceived Locus of Control (Control Beliefs) and changes in general Pedagogic Beliefs. The statistical analysis of the data indicated varying degrees and trends of significant change. However, the complexity of the social context of teaching and the impact of this on teacher beliefs and cognitions, especially those of teachers who have been most affected (disempowered) by social and personal oppression, cannot be under-estimated and even minor shifts reflected in this investigation should be seen as positive changes none-the-less.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1995
An investigation into pupils' knowledge of and attitudes towards AIDS : a survey of four private schools
- Authors: Robinson, Margaret
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1348 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001414
- Description: Because of the extent and immediacy of the problem of AIDS in the RSA and because this disease, which is mainly transmitted by voluntary human behaviour, has no cure, the need for educational programmes to curtail the spread of AIDS is seen as of prime importance in the RSA. At present there is little published research about the levels of knowledge of AIDS attained by pupils in junior and senior schools, nor of the attitudes they have towards the disease. It was felt that without this information, it would be difficult to develop appropriate AIDS education programmes. In this research, questionnaires were administered to investigate the knowledge of and attitudes towards the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome - (AIDS) - of the standards 5, 7 and 9 pupils at four private schools. These three age groups were chosen in order to look at the possible effects of the maturation process on these pupils' perceptions of AIDS. A questionnaire was also completed by selected school personnel to provide background information on any existing AIDS education in the schools. A pilot study was carried out with a small group of pupils in order to establish the areas of concern being expressed by senior school pupils. The results of the survey have shown that while there is a gradation in the knowledge levels of the pupils in standards 5, 7 and 9, there is a need for more intensive teaching of AlDS at or before the transition from junior to senior school. That the pupils perceive a need for school-based education, particularly in order to acquire knowledge of prevention strategies, was evident. The attitudes of the majority of the pupils towards AIDS sufferers were found to be tolerant or circumspect, although there was evidence of intolerance from some quarters. The fears of the pupils were found to stem largely from the unique characteristics of the disease and a lack of knowledge of how to protect themselves against it. In developing guidelines for a programme of AIDS education for the South African schools, the programmes and interventions currently operative in the USA, Great Britain, Europe and two African countries were considered. This research has raised a number of questions, the answers to which will he important in the development of future programmes of AIDS education
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991
- Authors: Robinson, Margaret
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1348 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001414
- Description: Because of the extent and immediacy of the problem of AIDS in the RSA and because this disease, which is mainly transmitted by voluntary human behaviour, has no cure, the need for educational programmes to curtail the spread of AIDS is seen as of prime importance in the RSA. At present there is little published research about the levels of knowledge of AIDS attained by pupils in junior and senior schools, nor of the attitudes they have towards the disease. It was felt that without this information, it would be difficult to develop appropriate AIDS education programmes. In this research, questionnaires were administered to investigate the knowledge of and attitudes towards the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome - (AIDS) - of the standards 5, 7 and 9 pupils at four private schools. These three age groups were chosen in order to look at the possible effects of the maturation process on these pupils' perceptions of AIDS. A questionnaire was also completed by selected school personnel to provide background information on any existing AIDS education in the schools. A pilot study was carried out with a small group of pupils in order to establish the areas of concern being expressed by senior school pupils. The results of the survey have shown that while there is a gradation in the knowledge levels of the pupils in standards 5, 7 and 9, there is a need for more intensive teaching of AlDS at or before the transition from junior to senior school. That the pupils perceive a need for school-based education, particularly in order to acquire knowledge of prevention strategies, was evident. The attitudes of the majority of the pupils towards AIDS sufferers were found to be tolerant or circumspect, although there was evidence of intolerance from some quarters. The fears of the pupils were found to stem largely from the unique characteristics of the disease and a lack of knowledge of how to protect themselves against it. In developing guidelines for a programme of AIDS education for the South African schools, the programmes and interventions currently operative in the USA, Great Britain, Europe and two African countries were considered. This research has raised a number of questions, the answers to which will he important in the development of future programmes of AIDS education
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991
The orientation of the standard six pupil transferring from primary to secondary schooling
- Authors: Pollock, Graeme Mackenzie
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: Student adjustment , Students, Transfer of
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1377 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001443
- Description: Pupils entering High School for the first time experience many problems of orientation and adjustment. This study arose from the conviction that something could be done to alleviate this time of stress to the benefit of both pupil and school alike. A brief review of literature showed that despite a fair amount of research having been done in Britain and the United States, there is still a dearth of information relating directly to the South African situation. Most transition studies differentiate between factors affecting academic adjustment, those relating to personal adjustment after transfer, and those which involve adjustment to environmental factors. In general studies approached orientation pogrammes from two perspectives - those that handled orientation as an event with its concomitant administrative and practical advantages, and those that saw it to be a process which has more person-focussed advantages. Most researchers agree that each school has its own needs and that the orientation programme should reflect those needs. Many favour a problem-solving approach to the design of any programme and emphasize the need for constant evaluation of the programme to maintain relevance and effectiveness. A low-key investigation into adjustment problems faced by new pupils in the High School was conducted by means of a questionnaire. Three main areas of information were investigated: attitude to school; personal adjustment as indicated by the self-concept; and general impression of Secondary School. The results confirmed that problems of orientation and adjustment are experienced by pupils in the South African Education System and revealed a framework upon which an orientation programme could be based. An overview of existing orientation programme objectives stresses the fact that orientation must be concerned with the total adjustment of the child - personal, academic and environmental - and that, of necessity, it involves the whole family. An orientation programme is outlined and expanded upon in order to provide a framework upon which other programmes could be designed, specific to the particular needs of the schools involved. Finally, certain observations are offered which may lead to a better understanding of the demands of the orientation process
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1988
- Authors: Pollock, Graeme Mackenzie
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: Student adjustment , Students, Transfer of
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1377 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001443
- Description: Pupils entering High School for the first time experience many problems of orientation and adjustment. This study arose from the conviction that something could be done to alleviate this time of stress to the benefit of both pupil and school alike. A brief review of literature showed that despite a fair amount of research having been done in Britain and the United States, there is still a dearth of information relating directly to the South African situation. Most transition studies differentiate between factors affecting academic adjustment, those relating to personal adjustment after transfer, and those which involve adjustment to environmental factors. In general studies approached orientation pogrammes from two perspectives - those that handled orientation as an event with its concomitant administrative and practical advantages, and those that saw it to be a process which has more person-focussed advantages. Most researchers agree that each school has its own needs and that the orientation programme should reflect those needs. Many favour a problem-solving approach to the design of any programme and emphasize the need for constant evaluation of the programme to maintain relevance and effectiveness. A low-key investigation into adjustment problems faced by new pupils in the High School was conducted by means of a questionnaire. Three main areas of information were investigated: attitude to school; personal adjustment as indicated by the self-concept; and general impression of Secondary School. The results confirmed that problems of orientation and adjustment are experienced by pupils in the South African Education System and revealed a framework upon which an orientation programme could be based. An overview of existing orientation programme objectives stresses the fact that orientation must be concerned with the total adjustment of the child - personal, academic and environmental - and that, of necessity, it involves the whole family. An orientation programme is outlined and expanded upon in order to provide a framework upon which other programmes could be designed, specific to the particular needs of the schools involved. Finally, certain observations are offered which may lead to a better understanding of the demands of the orientation process
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1988
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