Factors affecting the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in the Mthatha education district
- Authors: Gobingca, Berington Zanoxolo
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Curriculum planning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Curriculum change -- South Africa , Education -- South Africa -- Curricula
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9442
- Description: The current investigation was conducted in the Mthatha Education District. It sought to investigate factors affecting the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) in the Mthatha schools of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. Literature reviewed showed that teachers, as the key role players to the implementation of the curriculum in schools, are still experiencing difficulties in implementing the NCS. It is thus important to establish and investigate the factors affecting the implementation of the NCS. The research was both exploratory and explanatory in nature and adopted a mixed method approach. Questionnaires were distributed among 210 teachers who were randomly selected from 363 schools in the Mthatha Education District. Out of 210 teachers who were provided with questionnaires to fill out, it was 148 (70.5 percent) of them who completed and returned the questionnaires. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with 10 purposefully selected teachers to collect the data from those who participated by filling out the questionnaires. The researcher analysed the data both quantitatively and qualitatively. The data was presented, analysed and discussed according to themes derived from the main research question and sub-questions. The quantitative data (closed-ended statements) was analysed statistically by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). In the case of the qualitative data (open-ended statements in questionnaires and interviews), similar responses were analysed in themes as per the research question and sub-questions for easy interpretation. Note-taking and tape-recording were done during the interview sessions. Qualitative data were transcribed, coded and analysed. The findings which emerged from the study indicated that intermediate-phase teachers experienced difficulties in implementing the NCS. These were attributed to, amongst others, a lack of resources such as learning material and infrastructure, redeployment of teachers, a high learner teacher ratio, inadequate in-service training and support from the DoE. These factors need to be addressed to enhance the implementation of the NCS and to avoid the repetition of those shortcomings in any future envisaged changes to the curriculum such as the implementation of CAPS.
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- Date Issued: 2012
The effect of collective efficacy on the introdution of a new curriculum by mathematics teachers
- Authors: Hendricks, Winston Willie
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Curriculum change -- South Africa , Education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9508 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1008589 , Curriculum change -- South Africa , Education -- South Africa
- Description: The introduction of curriculum changes in mathematics has brought about challenges for both mathematics teachers and learners in South African schools. Apart from introducing new curriculum content to learners, teachers cope with factors which impact upon their collective efficacy (the sum total of the self-perceptions of all the teachers in a particular school regarding the conduciveness of effective teaching, learning and assessment processes) and on the teacher self-efficacy of mathematics teachers (the personal self-perceptions of mathematics teachers to execute their mandates effectively in the teaching, learning and assessment of mathematics ) which consequently lead to mathematics learners developing better concepts in mathematics. This study focuses on the impact of collective efficacy on the implementation of the New Curriculum Statement (NCS) for mathematics teachers, teaching in schools situated in previously disadvantaged communities. It is within the context of the constraints that these schools face, not only the socio-economic barriers, but also the willingness of all the teachers to develop a culture of teaching and learning, and the consequent impact it has on the effective teaching, learning and assessment of mathematics in the classrooms of these schools, that the effect of efficacious/non-efficacious teachers in these schools is investigated. A mixed method approach by using quantitative data (generated from questionnaires) and qualitative data (generated from interviews) probe the primary research question, which aims to investigate the effect of collective efficacy on the introduction of a new curriculum by mathematics teachers. The sub-questions probe the specific efficacy relations relating to the primary research question in terms of the perceptions and perspectives of all the teachers about their respective sample schools, how these perceptions and perspectives influence mathematics teachers in the manner they perceive their control over the teaching, learning and assessment processes in the mathematics classroom, and the consequent impact it has on mathematics learners developing better concepts and ultimately achieving better academic results in mathematics.
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- Date Issued: 2012