Investigating a mathematics recovery program for assessment and intervention with groups of Grade 4 learners
- Authors: Wasserman, Anelia
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Primary) , Mathematics -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2065 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020340
- Description: This study reports on the findings of my research, which was based on an intervention focused on recovery of early arithmetic strategies with one Grade 4 class of learners in a township school in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. Learners came from poor socio-economic backgrounds and initial evaluations showed that the majority of learners still relied on concrete methods, like tally counting, to perform addition and subtraction calculations even with numbers less than 10. This is not uncommon in the South African context especially with learners in low Socio-economic Status (SES) schools. The results of numerous assessments including the Department of Education’s Annual National Assessments point to a crisis in primary mathematics education where intermediate phase learners are generally operating several grade levels below the grade they are in. A large drop in mathematics performance is seen in the ANA results in grade 4 learners (the first grade of the transition from foundation phase to intermediate phase). Within this context, and my background in learning support for students, my research aimed to understand the possibilities and constraints of the implementation of a recovery program adapted from the widely implemented work of Wright et al. (2006, 2012). The primary adaptation made to the MR program involved administering the assessments and intervention with groups of (rather than individual) learners. Within the context of the many low SES under-resourced schools in SA, individualised interview based assessments and recovery is not seen as a possible remediation strategy. Drawing on a socio- constructivist perspective, my study used action research with one class of 23 learners and found that adaptation of the MR program for a group, based on eight recovery sessions, was useful for enabling some progress for all learners in terms of their early arithmetic strategies and conceptual place value. Although the need for a longer recovery period is acknowledged, the adapted program enabled some progress in levels and stages of conceptual knowledge (as conceptualized by Wright et al.’s (2006) Learning Framework in Number) for these two domains. The study concludes with some reflections and recommendations for the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Wasserman, Anelia
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Primary) , Mathematics -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2065 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020340
- Description: This study reports on the findings of my research, which was based on an intervention focused on recovery of early arithmetic strategies with one Grade 4 class of learners in a township school in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. Learners came from poor socio-economic backgrounds and initial evaluations showed that the majority of learners still relied on concrete methods, like tally counting, to perform addition and subtraction calculations even with numbers less than 10. This is not uncommon in the South African context especially with learners in low Socio-economic Status (SES) schools. The results of numerous assessments including the Department of Education’s Annual National Assessments point to a crisis in primary mathematics education where intermediate phase learners are generally operating several grade levels below the grade they are in. A large drop in mathematics performance is seen in the ANA results in grade 4 learners (the first grade of the transition from foundation phase to intermediate phase). Within this context, and my background in learning support for students, my research aimed to understand the possibilities and constraints of the implementation of a recovery program adapted from the widely implemented work of Wright et al. (2006, 2012). The primary adaptation made to the MR program involved administering the assessments and intervention with groups of (rather than individual) learners. Within the context of the many low SES under-resourced schools in SA, individualised interview based assessments and recovery is not seen as a possible remediation strategy. Drawing on a socio- constructivist perspective, my study used action research with one class of 23 learners and found that adaptation of the MR program for a group, based on eight recovery sessions, was useful for enabling some progress for all learners in terms of their early arithmetic strategies and conceptual place value. Although the need for a longer recovery period is acknowledged, the adapted program enabled some progress in levels and stages of conceptual knowledge (as conceptualized by Wright et al.’s (2006) Learning Framework in Number) for these two domains. The study concludes with some reflections and recommendations for the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Investigating teachers’ experiences of using multiple representations to teach fractions for conceptual understanding in 'Grades 5-7': a Namibian case study
- Authors: Iiyambo,Julia
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1296 , vital:20044
- Description: This study investigated teachers’ experiences of using multiple representations to teach fractions for conceptual understanding in ‘grades 5 – 7’. Three teachers were involved in the study and the main goal was to explore how teachers might work with the additional tools of multiple representations to improve the teaching of fractions for conceptual understanding. Different types of multiple representations such as written mathematical symbols, descriptive written words, pictorial representations, manipulations, concrete reality, oral representations, and experience-based representations and videos or power point presentations were examined. This investigation was carried out through a focus group workshop developed by the researcher and though observations of fraction teaching which took place in schools. The research focused on the teachers working to develop their use of multiple representations to teach fractions and how they implemented what they learned in the workshop into their own classroom teaching. This study was conducted using a qualitative case study design and was oriented in the interpretive paradigm. The three participating teachers in the focus group workshop were observed and interviewed individually. The purpose of observing teaching before the workshop was to observe how the selected teachers taught fractions and in particular to observe which types of representations they used and how these were used to enhance the conceptual understanding of the learners. Post teaching took place after the focus group workshop and the different multiple representations which were used in different lessons were observed and analyzed. The purpose of the interview was to gain an understanding of the teachers’ views of using multiple representations when teaching fractions for conceptual understanding. The data showed that teachers who participated in the focus group workshop worked positively to develop their use of multiple representations to teach fractions. They made sense of fractions and were able to look at representations in different ways to develop the meaning and concepts of fractions. Teachers developed an understanding of working with multiple representations and were able to make connections among concepts and the use of concrete representations. Teachers also developed their lesson plans effectively to involve a variety of teaching methods and multiple representations, despite the limited time available to them. Moreover, teachers used different modes of representation to improve learner engagement in learning activities. Lastly, teachers used multiple representations to teach in ways that improved the learners’ conception of fractions. On the basis of this research, it can be concluded that in-service workshops for teachers on the integration of multiple representative tools in the teaching of ‘Grades 5 – 7’ fractions could provide a valuable contribution to further developing the teaching of fractions in schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Iiyambo,Julia
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1296 , vital:20044
- Description: This study investigated teachers’ experiences of using multiple representations to teach fractions for conceptual understanding in ‘grades 5 – 7’. Three teachers were involved in the study and the main goal was to explore how teachers might work with the additional tools of multiple representations to improve the teaching of fractions for conceptual understanding. Different types of multiple representations such as written mathematical symbols, descriptive written words, pictorial representations, manipulations, concrete reality, oral representations, and experience-based representations and videos or power point presentations were examined. This investigation was carried out through a focus group workshop developed by the researcher and though observations of fraction teaching which took place in schools. The research focused on the teachers working to develop their use of multiple representations to teach fractions and how they implemented what they learned in the workshop into their own classroom teaching. This study was conducted using a qualitative case study design and was oriented in the interpretive paradigm. The three participating teachers in the focus group workshop were observed and interviewed individually. The purpose of observing teaching before the workshop was to observe how the selected teachers taught fractions and in particular to observe which types of representations they used and how these were used to enhance the conceptual understanding of the learners. Post teaching took place after the focus group workshop and the different multiple representations which were used in different lessons were observed and analyzed. The purpose of the interview was to gain an understanding of the teachers’ views of using multiple representations when teaching fractions for conceptual understanding. The data showed that teachers who participated in the focus group workshop worked positively to develop their use of multiple representations to teach fractions. They made sense of fractions and were able to look at representations in different ways to develop the meaning and concepts of fractions. Teachers developed an understanding of working with multiple representations and were able to make connections among concepts and the use of concrete representations. Teachers also developed their lesson plans effectively to involve a variety of teaching methods and multiple representations, despite the limited time available to them. Moreover, teachers used different modes of representation to improve learner engagement in learning activities. Lastly, teachers used multiple representations to teach in ways that improved the learners’ conception of fractions. On the basis of this research, it can be concluded that in-service workshops for teachers on the integration of multiple representative tools in the teaching of ‘Grades 5 – 7’ fractions could provide a valuable contribution to further developing the teaching of fractions in schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Investigating the nature of the linguistic challenges of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) 2013 Grade 4 Mathematics ANAs and learners’ and teachers’ experience of them.
- Authors: Sibanda, Lucy
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2079 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021312
- Description: The underperformance of South African learners in literacy and numeracy is a source of grave concern, especially at the transition from Grade 3 to Grade 4. The challenge that complicates this shift is to some extent linguistic, since at Grade 4 in South Africa the majority of learners begin learning in English, which is an additional language for most. The study adopts a sociocultural view of language and learning. Vygotsky’s influential theoretical work on language and learning, in which language is considered central to learning and learning is a social process embedded in sociocultural settings, informs the study. The introduction of the Annual National Assessments (ANAs) across primary and secondary grades in South Africa in mathematics and literacy in 2011 provides the context for this research. It is against this background that the present study aimed, through a case study approach of three Grade 4 classes of English additional language (EAL) learners, to achieve four things, namely: to investigate the linguistic challenges of the 2013 Grade 4 mathematics ANAs; to analyse the learners’ written responses to the 2013 mathematics ANA items; to explore the 2013 Grade 4 learners’ difficulties and experiences of the 2013 mathematics ANAs, and to investigate the Grade 4 mathematics teachers’ perspectives of the language of the ANAs. In order to achieve these aims, the data was collected in four phases. The first phase of the study addressed the nature of the linguistic challenges of the Department of Basic Education Grade 4 mathematics ANAs. Data collection occurred in two parts: 1) Comparing Grade 4 ANAs to exemplars provided and 2) Analysing the language of the 2013 mathematics ANAs. This was done through content analysis and Shaftel et al.’s (2006) linguistic complexity checklist. Findings for part 1 of the study revealed that there were several inconsistencies in the questioning format and language used in the ANAs and in the exemplars. Findings of the content analysis done on the 2013 mathematics ANA test items using Shaftel et al.’s (2006) linguistic complexity checklist and Vale’s (2013) Linguistic Complexity Index formula point to many linguistic complexities in several test items, particularly in relation to recurrent use of: 7 or more letter words, homophones, prepositional phrases and specific mathematics vocabulary across the majority of questions. In phase 2, the analysis of 106 learners’ written responses for the 2013 mathematics ANA questions revealed that for many of the questions the language used was unfamiliar for Grade 4 learners using English as an additional language. This was aggravated by the inclusion in the ANAs of linguistic forms learners would not have encountered in their workbooks or exemplars intended to prepare the learners for the assessments. Therefore, linguistic complexity of items was a key contributing factor to learners’ poor performance in the test. In the third phase, the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the 26 learners’ interviews revealed that during the task-based interviews, learners experienced difficulties in the following skills: reading, comprehension, transformation, process and encoding. The greatest difficulties were experienced in comprehension and in reading, especially in the two classes where the learners were less proficient in the English language. The fourth phase, in which two Grade 4 mathematics teachers’ perceptions of the linguistic demands of the Grade 4 mathematics ANAs were presented and analysed, the teachers’ perceptions indicated that the mathematical language was mostly too difficult for the Grade 4 learners. Teachers also were of the opinion that learners’ reading skills were poor and they struggled to comprehend what they read. A dilemma regarding whether teachers should assist learners during the ANAs, satisfying the local needs for mediating the language or whether they should comply with the ANA policy which states that they may not assist learners was expressed by one of the teachers. A range of language challenges that teachers managed with various strategies were raised. These included one teacher’s use of code-switching during the teaching of mathematics. The study concludes with implications and recommendations. These include that test designers should minimise the language complexity of test items, especially in the early transition grades of learning in English. Research should be conducted on possibilities for allowing teachers to provide linguistic mediation to ANA questions in these transition years of learners learning in English.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Sibanda, Lucy
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2079 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021312
- Description: The underperformance of South African learners in literacy and numeracy is a source of grave concern, especially at the transition from Grade 3 to Grade 4. The challenge that complicates this shift is to some extent linguistic, since at Grade 4 in South Africa the majority of learners begin learning in English, which is an additional language for most. The study adopts a sociocultural view of language and learning. Vygotsky’s influential theoretical work on language and learning, in which language is considered central to learning and learning is a social process embedded in sociocultural settings, informs the study. The introduction of the Annual National Assessments (ANAs) across primary and secondary grades in South Africa in mathematics and literacy in 2011 provides the context for this research. It is against this background that the present study aimed, through a case study approach of three Grade 4 classes of English additional language (EAL) learners, to achieve four things, namely: to investigate the linguistic challenges of the 2013 Grade 4 mathematics ANAs; to analyse the learners’ written responses to the 2013 mathematics ANA items; to explore the 2013 Grade 4 learners’ difficulties and experiences of the 2013 mathematics ANAs, and to investigate the Grade 4 mathematics teachers’ perspectives of the language of the ANAs. In order to achieve these aims, the data was collected in four phases. The first phase of the study addressed the nature of the linguistic challenges of the Department of Basic Education Grade 4 mathematics ANAs. Data collection occurred in two parts: 1) Comparing Grade 4 ANAs to exemplars provided and 2) Analysing the language of the 2013 mathematics ANAs. This was done through content analysis and Shaftel et al.’s (2006) linguistic complexity checklist. Findings for part 1 of the study revealed that there were several inconsistencies in the questioning format and language used in the ANAs and in the exemplars. Findings of the content analysis done on the 2013 mathematics ANA test items using Shaftel et al.’s (2006) linguistic complexity checklist and Vale’s (2013) Linguistic Complexity Index formula point to many linguistic complexities in several test items, particularly in relation to recurrent use of: 7 or more letter words, homophones, prepositional phrases and specific mathematics vocabulary across the majority of questions. In phase 2, the analysis of 106 learners’ written responses for the 2013 mathematics ANA questions revealed that for many of the questions the language used was unfamiliar for Grade 4 learners using English as an additional language. This was aggravated by the inclusion in the ANAs of linguistic forms learners would not have encountered in their workbooks or exemplars intended to prepare the learners for the assessments. Therefore, linguistic complexity of items was a key contributing factor to learners’ poor performance in the test. In the third phase, the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the 26 learners’ interviews revealed that during the task-based interviews, learners experienced difficulties in the following skills: reading, comprehension, transformation, process and encoding. The greatest difficulties were experienced in comprehension and in reading, especially in the two classes where the learners were less proficient in the English language. The fourth phase, in which two Grade 4 mathematics teachers’ perceptions of the linguistic demands of the Grade 4 mathematics ANAs were presented and analysed, the teachers’ perceptions indicated that the mathematical language was mostly too difficult for the Grade 4 learners. Teachers also were of the opinion that learners’ reading skills were poor and they struggled to comprehend what they read. A dilemma regarding whether teachers should assist learners during the ANAs, satisfying the local needs for mediating the language or whether they should comply with the ANA policy which states that they may not assist learners was expressed by one of the teachers. A range of language challenges that teachers managed with various strategies were raised. These included one teacher’s use of code-switching during the teaching of mathematics. The study concludes with implications and recommendations. These include that test designers should minimise the language complexity of test items, especially in the early transition grades of learning in English. Research should be conducted on possibilities for allowing teachers to provide linguistic mediation to ANA questions in these transition years of learners learning in English.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Managerial leadership in committees: a case study in a public rural combined school in the Ohangwena region, Namibia
- Authors: Vaeta, Simon
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1220 , vital:20036
- Description: The existing education legislations in Namibia call for school principals to put in place appropriate support mechanisms and create necessary internal conditions for leaders, including teachers who do not hold formal leadership positions, to exert their sphere of influence beyond the classroom and into school-wide leadership activities. The establishment of various committees in the school is to enhance and improve the performance of the school and to create a pleasant work environment and spirit of collaboration and teamwork (Namibia Ministry of Education, [MoE], 2005). Leadership in committees is one of the expectations of new education policy. The aim of this study was to explore the leadership practices within a range of committees in a public rural combined school in the Ohangwena region of Namibia. It further unpacked the purpose, roles and membership of each of the four committees; how these committees were established; what leadership functions the teachers as committee members exercised and what challenges inhibited their leadership practices within committees. The study provided recommendations for future research in the area of leadership practices in committees. This research is a case study. The study is designed within the qualitative interpretive paradigm. It is rooted in a social constructivist tradition and employs a range of data collection tools, namely document analysis, semi-structured interviews, observations and questionnaires to enhance the validity of findings. The study found that committees were established in line with the Namibian education legislation. However, the study found the principal lacked the experience and skills to use the committee system more effectively, and maintained the status quo. This resulted in the committees practising pure management responsibilities rather than leadership interest. The study also found that only the leadership tasks were distributed to the committees but the power was not distributed. It was revealed that committees were dormant; while they were named in school documents, they functioned variously, intermittently or not at all. The significance of the contradiction was there were no regulations to guide the conduct of committee members.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Vaeta, Simon
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1220 , vital:20036
- Description: The existing education legislations in Namibia call for school principals to put in place appropriate support mechanisms and create necessary internal conditions for leaders, including teachers who do not hold formal leadership positions, to exert their sphere of influence beyond the classroom and into school-wide leadership activities. The establishment of various committees in the school is to enhance and improve the performance of the school and to create a pleasant work environment and spirit of collaboration and teamwork (Namibia Ministry of Education, [MoE], 2005). Leadership in committees is one of the expectations of new education policy. The aim of this study was to explore the leadership practices within a range of committees in a public rural combined school in the Ohangwena region of Namibia. It further unpacked the purpose, roles and membership of each of the four committees; how these committees were established; what leadership functions the teachers as committee members exercised and what challenges inhibited their leadership practices within committees. The study provided recommendations for future research in the area of leadership practices in committees. This research is a case study. The study is designed within the qualitative interpretive paradigm. It is rooted in a social constructivist tradition and employs a range of data collection tools, namely document analysis, semi-structured interviews, observations and questionnaires to enhance the validity of findings. The study found that committees were established in line with the Namibian education legislation. However, the study found the principal lacked the experience and skills to use the committee system more effectively, and maintained the status quo. This resulted in the committees practising pure management responsibilities rather than leadership interest. The study also found that only the leadership tasks were distributed to the committees but the power was not distributed. It was revealed that committees were dormant; while they were named in school documents, they functioned variously, intermittently or not at all. The significance of the contradiction was there were no regulations to guide the conduct of committee members.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Presentation and representation of environmental problems and problem-solving methods and processes in the Grade 10 Geography syllabus: a Namibian case study
- Authors: Zokka, Herman Kankara
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2074 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021253
- Description: Environmental issues in Namibia are considered to be one of the major threats to the lives of the Namibian people (Namibia. Ministry of National Planning Commission [MNPC], 2004). This study explored problem solving as one of the teaching methods used in Grade 10 Geography syllabuses as a response to such environmental issues/risks. Geography provides learners with an understanding of the issues and risks in their world that need to be addressed in order to improve the quality of their lives and health of their environment. This study focused on how environmental problems and problem-solving methods are presented in the Namibian Grade 10 Geography syllabus and how these are represented and implemented through teacher intentionality and practice. The theoretical framework for this study was informed by two theories namely risk society and social constructivism. This study was conducted at three schools in the Rundu circuit in the Kavango region and one teacher was involved in the study at each school. This study was conducted within an interpretive research tradition and was qualitative in nature. The study used document analysis, focus group discussion and classroom observation as data generation methods. The findings of the study reveal that the complexity of environmental issues is highlighted in the syllabus and in teachers’ intentionality and practice. The findings also show that a limited variety of teaching methods were used in problem solving strategies. The study also found that problem solving was influenced by different constructivist learning principles. The study further found that limited numbers of problem-solving steps were used in the process of problem solving. The study concludes by calling for further research into problem solving strategies. This can be done to empower Geography teachers to use more complex problem solving strategies to deepen problem solving and to engage problems in more depth.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Zokka, Herman Kankara
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2074 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021253
- Description: Environmental issues in Namibia are considered to be one of the major threats to the lives of the Namibian people (Namibia. Ministry of National Planning Commission [MNPC], 2004). This study explored problem solving as one of the teaching methods used in Grade 10 Geography syllabuses as a response to such environmental issues/risks. Geography provides learners with an understanding of the issues and risks in their world that need to be addressed in order to improve the quality of their lives and health of their environment. This study focused on how environmental problems and problem-solving methods are presented in the Namibian Grade 10 Geography syllabus and how these are represented and implemented through teacher intentionality and practice. The theoretical framework for this study was informed by two theories namely risk society and social constructivism. This study was conducted at three schools in the Rundu circuit in the Kavango region and one teacher was involved in the study at each school. This study was conducted within an interpretive research tradition and was qualitative in nature. The study used document analysis, focus group discussion and classroom observation as data generation methods. The findings of the study reveal that the complexity of environmental issues is highlighted in the syllabus and in teachers’ intentionality and practice. The findings also show that a limited variety of teaching methods were used in problem solving strategies. The study also found that problem solving was influenced by different constructivist learning principles. The study further found that limited numbers of problem-solving steps were used in the process of problem solving. The study concludes by calling for further research into problem solving strategies. This can be done to empower Geography teachers to use more complex problem solving strategies to deepen problem solving and to engage problems in more depth.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Restricted teacher leadership : a case study in a township high school in Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Fani, Pamela Pumla
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Educational leadership , School management and organization -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2059 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019882
- Description: The South African education system prior to 1994 was characterised by hierarchical management structures with top-down communication systems. After 1994, there was a policy call to shift leadership and management practices to more democratic ways of working. These policies required the principals to share their power with teachers, replacing the leader-follower system of leadership. The post-apartheid era in the South African education system marked a turning point where, in policy discourse at least, teachers were seen as leaders, opening the doors for teacher leadership. The aim of this study was to explore the enactment of teacher leadership in a township secondary school in the province of the Eastern Cape. It also sought to investigate the factors that enhanced or hindered this leadership enactment as teachers operated as leaders in their natural setting. Under the umbrella of distributed leadership as a theoretical framework, the research study was located within the interpretive paradigm and a qualitative case study was adopted. Three teacher leaders at the case study school were my primary participants. Data collection methods included interviews, questionnaires, observations, self-reflective journaling and telephonic conservations. I used Grant’s Model of teacher leadership as my analytical tool. My findings indicated that teacher leadership was enacted in all the zones of teacher leadership but to varying degrees. My teacher leaders enacted leadership in Zone 1 where they showed strong leadership in the classroom. They also enacted leadership in Zone 2 and 4 where they showed leadership in working with other teachers and learners outside the classroom in curricular and extra-curricular activities as well as in other neighbouring schools. However, in Zone 3 the School Management Team (SMT) controlled most of the leadership and management activities. Teacher leaders were not included in decision-making in this zone as the SMT thought that it was their sole duty. Teacher leadership in this school was thus characterised as ‘restricted’ following the characterisations of teacher leadership by Harris & Muijs (2007). Using Gunter’s (2005) categories of distributed leadership, I categorised the case study school as an example of authorised distributed leadership.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Fani, Pamela Pumla
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Educational leadership , School management and organization -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2059 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019882
- Description: The South African education system prior to 1994 was characterised by hierarchical management structures with top-down communication systems. After 1994, there was a policy call to shift leadership and management practices to more democratic ways of working. These policies required the principals to share their power with teachers, replacing the leader-follower system of leadership. The post-apartheid era in the South African education system marked a turning point where, in policy discourse at least, teachers were seen as leaders, opening the doors for teacher leadership. The aim of this study was to explore the enactment of teacher leadership in a township secondary school in the province of the Eastern Cape. It also sought to investigate the factors that enhanced or hindered this leadership enactment as teachers operated as leaders in their natural setting. Under the umbrella of distributed leadership as a theoretical framework, the research study was located within the interpretive paradigm and a qualitative case study was adopted. Three teacher leaders at the case study school were my primary participants. Data collection methods included interviews, questionnaires, observations, self-reflective journaling and telephonic conservations. I used Grant’s Model of teacher leadership as my analytical tool. My findings indicated that teacher leadership was enacted in all the zones of teacher leadership but to varying degrees. My teacher leaders enacted leadership in Zone 1 where they showed strong leadership in the classroom. They also enacted leadership in Zone 2 and 4 where they showed leadership in working with other teachers and learners outside the classroom in curricular and extra-curricular activities as well as in other neighbouring schools. However, in Zone 3 the School Management Team (SMT) controlled most of the leadership and management activities. Teacher leaders were not included in decision-making in this zone as the SMT thought that it was their sole duty. Teacher leadership in this school was thus characterised as ‘restricted’ following the characterisations of teacher leadership by Harris & Muijs (2007). Using Gunter’s (2005) categories of distributed leadership, I categorised the case study school as an example of authorised distributed leadership.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
The influence of introduced forest management practices on transformative social learning in a selected social-ecological forest community : a case of PFM and REDD projects at Pugu and Kazimzumbwi Forest Reserves in Tanzania
- Authors: Ferdinand, Victoria Ugulumu
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Forest management -- Tanzania , Forest reserves -- Tanzania , Transformative learning , Social ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2064 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020333
- Description: This research investigates the influence of introduced forest management approaches on transformative social learning in the community surrounding the Pugu and Kazimzumbwi forest reserves in Tanzania from 2000 to 2015. The term transformative social learning reflects an understanding of learning processes that emerge through conscious changes in the perspectives of individuals or communities while interacting with forest management practices. The investigation explores the learning (if any) that occurred in the community and how and why the learning occurred. It also explores whether the learning was social and transformative and examines the conditions that enable or constrain transformative social learning at the Pugu and Kazimzumbwi community. Thus, the three concepts of social learning, transformative learning, and social practices are central to the research. Participatory Forest Management (PFM) emerged globally in the early 1980s to mobilise rural capabilities and resources in development and environmental stewardship. The Pugu and Kazimzumbwi community was introduced to Participatory Forest Management (PFM) projects by the late 1990s. The recent global focus on empowering communities around forests has drawn attention towards transformational adaptation to climate change impacts and building resilience capacities. As a result, in 2011 the Pugu and Kazimzumbwi community started working with a project for Reduction of Emissions through Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD), which forms a key focus in this study as the most recently introduced PFM with embedded social learning assumptions. This research is designed and conducted as a qualitative case study. The research seeks to study the complex object of socially and contextually constructed learning through a systemic exploration of learning,using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, analysis of documents and archival records as well as observations and a reflexive workshop. Supportive information throughfield notes and audio voice and video recording was also generated. A contextual profile of the research site was conducted in March 2012, prior to the actual data collection in 2013 and 2014. Field explorations during the contextual profile helped to describe the research site and promote initial understanding of the context. During data collection, field inquiries based on interactive relationships between a researcher and participants stimulated practice memories and people’s living experiences with forestry and the introduced PFM projects under examination. Analysis of data employed analytical modes of induction, abduction and retroduction. Thick descriptions of learning obtained from fieldi based interactionswere produced before re-contextualising data through theoretical lenses. The research employed realist social theory by Archer (1995), under-laboured by critical realism, and practice theory advanced by Schatzki (2012) and Kemmis et al. (2014). The research process as a whole was underlaboured by the layered ontology of critical realism which proposes emergence of phenomena in open systems as shaped by interacting mechanisms which in this study were both material / ecological and social /political /economic /cultural. And more...
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Ferdinand, Victoria Ugulumu
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Forest management -- Tanzania , Forest reserves -- Tanzania , Transformative learning , Social ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2064 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020333
- Description: This research investigates the influence of introduced forest management approaches on transformative social learning in the community surrounding the Pugu and Kazimzumbwi forest reserves in Tanzania from 2000 to 2015. The term transformative social learning reflects an understanding of learning processes that emerge through conscious changes in the perspectives of individuals or communities while interacting with forest management practices. The investigation explores the learning (if any) that occurred in the community and how and why the learning occurred. It also explores whether the learning was social and transformative and examines the conditions that enable or constrain transformative social learning at the Pugu and Kazimzumbwi community. Thus, the three concepts of social learning, transformative learning, and social practices are central to the research. Participatory Forest Management (PFM) emerged globally in the early 1980s to mobilise rural capabilities and resources in development and environmental stewardship. The Pugu and Kazimzumbwi community was introduced to Participatory Forest Management (PFM) projects by the late 1990s. The recent global focus on empowering communities around forests has drawn attention towards transformational adaptation to climate change impacts and building resilience capacities. As a result, in 2011 the Pugu and Kazimzumbwi community started working with a project for Reduction of Emissions through Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD), which forms a key focus in this study as the most recently introduced PFM with embedded social learning assumptions. This research is designed and conducted as a qualitative case study. The research seeks to study the complex object of socially and contextually constructed learning through a systemic exploration of learning,using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, analysis of documents and archival records as well as observations and a reflexive workshop. Supportive information throughfield notes and audio voice and video recording was also generated. A contextual profile of the research site was conducted in March 2012, prior to the actual data collection in 2013 and 2014. Field explorations during the contextual profile helped to describe the research site and promote initial understanding of the context. During data collection, field inquiries based on interactive relationships between a researcher and participants stimulated practice memories and people’s living experiences with forestry and the introduced PFM projects under examination. Analysis of data employed analytical modes of induction, abduction and retroduction. Thick descriptions of learning obtained from fieldi based interactionswere produced before re-contextualising data through theoretical lenses. The research employed realist social theory by Archer (1995), under-laboured by critical realism, and practice theory advanced by Schatzki (2012) and Kemmis et al. (2014). The research process as a whole was underlaboured by the layered ontology of critical realism which proposes emergence of phenomena in open systems as shaped by interacting mechanisms which in this study were both material / ecological and social /political /economic /cultural. And more...
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
The mediating processes within social learning: women’s food and water security practices in the rural Eastern Cape
- Authors: Rivers, Nina
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/888 , vital:20000
- Description: The focus of this study was to explore the implicit and explicit mediating processes within the social learning of women’s food and water security practices in the rural Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study was undertaken in response to a growing problem of learning resources being decontextualised and therefore being of little relevance or use to the everyday practices of the people they were developed for. The central thesis of this study is that if the mediating processes that shape practice and learning are understood then these practices and learning can be better supported. One of the main foci of this study therefore is the concept of mediation and the importance of understanding the implicit and explicit mediating processes that shape learning and practice within the context of rainwater harvesting and food gardening practices of rural women. The study interprets these as social learning processes after the work of Lev Vygotsky and post-Vygotskian learning and activity development research, which recognises that all learning is socially mediated. This study also attempts to show that ontological factors also shape social learning processes via structural mediations (which are often also socially structured over time in history). Working within the broad framework of change oriented social learning, education for sustainability and the southern African water and food nexus the study is focused around two central research questions: 1) What are the mediating processes evident in and surrounding the learning of rainwater harvesting in the context of women’s water and food security in rural communities? And 2) How can a question-based learning resource extend the learning practices in this context? Drawing on three sensitising concepts of dialectics, reflexivity and agency, the study worked with Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), underpinned by critical realism, to reveal how the learning of rainwater and food gardening practitioners is constrained and enabled by mediating processes. The theory of mediation provided a useful theoretical lens with which to examine data generated. A case study approach was used in two sites in the rural Eastern Cape. The first was Cata village in the Amathole district and the second was a peri-urban settlement called Glenconnor in the Cacadu district. Each case study is constituted within a networked activity system. The study also used a narrative inquiry approach in order to bring to life the case studies, activity systems and some of the dynamics of social learning within the study. The methodological tools of document analysis, observations, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to explore the implicit and explicit mediating processes that shape research participants’ rainwater harvesting and food gardening practices and their learning. Inductive, abductive and retroductive modes of inference were used to analyse data in and across case studies. One of the first findings of this study is that learning is embedded in and emergent from context in that it is mediated by implicit and explicit processes within each context. This makes such learning social, in the sense of social used by Vygotsky. The second finding showed that implicit and explicit mediation processes are constantly interacting in a dialectical process whether people are conscious of this interplay or not. This is an important dynamic to understand when trying to bring about societal transformation through education. Understanding the interaction between the implicit and explicit alerts researchers to the sociocultural dynamics inherent within social learning processes and therefore informs how learning resources and educational and development programmes should be designed and implemented. This study contributes to new knowledge in the environmental education field and the water knowledge sector. It makes a theoretical and empirical contribution to the body of knowledge concerned with socially mediated learning and situated learning approaches. The study illustrates how learning is embedded in context and also how learning emerges in relation to context via interactions between implicit and explicit mediation processes, and considers what this means for learning and development in the rural nexus of water and food security practices. This study also contributes to the growing body of post-Vygotskian social learning research in southern Africa that is being developed in the context of cultural historical activity theory as it shows the dialectical relationship that exists between implicit and explicit forms of mediation as these are embedded in, emergent from, and are externally mediated into activity systems in rural community contexts. This study contributes to a second area of knowledge: the water sector. With a background in anthropology which sensitised the researcher to contextual factors and approaching the study through an educational lens, the data has been worked with to surface and present the nuanced mediating processes that shape the learning and knowledge around water issues. This way of working and this focus on the socio-cultural is relatively new in the water sector in South Africa and gains significance in the light of an emergent interest in more complex social studies in the water sector which has traditionally been dominated by natural sciences and engineering. The significance of this study for rural South African women’s lives is that by understanding and taking account of their history, context, struggles and experiences, their learning and practices can be better supported through more relevant learning resources and programmes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Rivers, Nina
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/888 , vital:20000
- Description: The focus of this study was to explore the implicit and explicit mediating processes within the social learning of women’s food and water security practices in the rural Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study was undertaken in response to a growing problem of learning resources being decontextualised and therefore being of little relevance or use to the everyday practices of the people they were developed for. The central thesis of this study is that if the mediating processes that shape practice and learning are understood then these practices and learning can be better supported. One of the main foci of this study therefore is the concept of mediation and the importance of understanding the implicit and explicit mediating processes that shape learning and practice within the context of rainwater harvesting and food gardening practices of rural women. The study interprets these as social learning processes after the work of Lev Vygotsky and post-Vygotskian learning and activity development research, which recognises that all learning is socially mediated. This study also attempts to show that ontological factors also shape social learning processes via structural mediations (which are often also socially structured over time in history). Working within the broad framework of change oriented social learning, education for sustainability and the southern African water and food nexus the study is focused around two central research questions: 1) What are the mediating processes evident in and surrounding the learning of rainwater harvesting in the context of women’s water and food security in rural communities? And 2) How can a question-based learning resource extend the learning practices in this context? Drawing on three sensitising concepts of dialectics, reflexivity and agency, the study worked with Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), underpinned by critical realism, to reveal how the learning of rainwater and food gardening practitioners is constrained and enabled by mediating processes. The theory of mediation provided a useful theoretical lens with which to examine data generated. A case study approach was used in two sites in the rural Eastern Cape. The first was Cata village in the Amathole district and the second was a peri-urban settlement called Glenconnor in the Cacadu district. Each case study is constituted within a networked activity system. The study also used a narrative inquiry approach in order to bring to life the case studies, activity systems and some of the dynamics of social learning within the study. The methodological tools of document analysis, observations, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to explore the implicit and explicit mediating processes that shape research participants’ rainwater harvesting and food gardening practices and their learning. Inductive, abductive and retroductive modes of inference were used to analyse data in and across case studies. One of the first findings of this study is that learning is embedded in and emergent from context in that it is mediated by implicit and explicit processes within each context. This makes such learning social, in the sense of social used by Vygotsky. The second finding showed that implicit and explicit mediation processes are constantly interacting in a dialectical process whether people are conscious of this interplay or not. This is an important dynamic to understand when trying to bring about societal transformation through education. Understanding the interaction between the implicit and explicit alerts researchers to the sociocultural dynamics inherent within social learning processes and therefore informs how learning resources and educational and development programmes should be designed and implemented. This study contributes to new knowledge in the environmental education field and the water knowledge sector. It makes a theoretical and empirical contribution to the body of knowledge concerned with socially mediated learning and situated learning approaches. The study illustrates how learning is embedded in context and also how learning emerges in relation to context via interactions between implicit and explicit mediation processes, and considers what this means for learning and development in the rural nexus of water and food security practices. This study also contributes to the growing body of post-Vygotskian social learning research in southern Africa that is being developed in the context of cultural historical activity theory as it shows the dialectical relationship that exists between implicit and explicit forms of mediation as these are embedded in, emergent from, and are externally mediated into activity systems in rural community contexts. This study contributes to a second area of knowledge: the water sector. With a background in anthropology which sensitised the researcher to contextual factors and approaching the study through an educational lens, the data has been worked with to surface and present the nuanced mediating processes that shape the learning and knowledge around water issues. This way of working and this focus on the socio-cultural is relatively new in the water sector in South Africa and gains significance in the light of an emergent interest in more complex social studies in the water sector which has traditionally been dominated by natural sciences and engineering. The significance of this study for rural South African women’s lives is that by understanding and taking account of their history, context, struggles and experiences, their learning and practices can be better supported through more relevant learning resources and programmes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
The role of leadership in shaping organisational culture in a school in Namibia.
- Authors: Nangolo, Filemon
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2075 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021303
- Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of leadership in shaping the culture of a rural combined school in Oshikoto Region, northern Namibia. This school had previously performed poorly in terms of Grade 10 examination statistics for many years. However, after the appointment of a new Principal, the academic performance of the school has improved tremendously over for the past five years. Having been a teacher, Head of Department, Deputy Principal, Principal, and later an Inspector of Education, I had long held the view that the academic performance of the school depended entirely on the type of leadership the school had. Equally, I have always been aware of the negative impact of the past segregation and the discriminatory education provided by the colonial masters in South Africa and South West Africa/Namibia. The poor education provided to South Africans and the then South West Africa /Namibia posed a serious challenge to the leadership and management of schools as the majority of Principals, if not all, were poorly and inadequately trained to provide the necessary skills needed for one to be a successful Principal. Given this background, I tried to use a case study to explore the role of leadership in shaping the culture of the organisation. Research suggests that there is a strong relationship between organisational culture and school effectiveness. This study was guided by Schein’s three levels of organisational culture namely artifacts, espoused values and basic assumptions (Schein, 1992, p. 17). From these arise the following research questions: What do artifacts (symbols, structures, procedures and policies) reveal about the school culture? What are the espoused values shaping the school culture? What basic assumptions underpin the leadership of the school culture? How does leadership contribute to the creation and maintenance of a positive organisational culture at a school? The data was collected by using three different data collection methods namely, observation, document analysis and interviewing different people who hold leadership positions in the school. These were the Principal, a Head of Department, School Board chairperson, a teacher in the school management team (SMT) and a class monitor. With regard to data analysis, I first immersed myself in the data and I developed themes that formed the basis of my discussion with my research questions in mind. The analysis revealed that leadership plays a pivotal role in shaping the culture at the case study school. However, it emerged that despite the existence of a strong culture at the case study school, as with all other organisations, there are some challenges that limit the school to realise its goal of 100 % A-B symbols in all subjects.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Nangolo, Filemon
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2075 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021303
- Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of leadership in shaping the culture of a rural combined school in Oshikoto Region, northern Namibia. This school had previously performed poorly in terms of Grade 10 examination statistics for many years. However, after the appointment of a new Principal, the academic performance of the school has improved tremendously over for the past five years. Having been a teacher, Head of Department, Deputy Principal, Principal, and later an Inspector of Education, I had long held the view that the academic performance of the school depended entirely on the type of leadership the school had. Equally, I have always been aware of the negative impact of the past segregation and the discriminatory education provided by the colonial masters in South Africa and South West Africa/Namibia. The poor education provided to South Africans and the then South West Africa /Namibia posed a serious challenge to the leadership and management of schools as the majority of Principals, if not all, were poorly and inadequately trained to provide the necessary skills needed for one to be a successful Principal. Given this background, I tried to use a case study to explore the role of leadership in shaping the culture of the organisation. Research suggests that there is a strong relationship between organisational culture and school effectiveness. This study was guided by Schein’s three levels of organisational culture namely artifacts, espoused values and basic assumptions (Schein, 1992, p. 17). From these arise the following research questions: What do artifacts (symbols, structures, procedures and policies) reveal about the school culture? What are the espoused values shaping the school culture? What basic assumptions underpin the leadership of the school culture? How does leadership contribute to the creation and maintenance of a positive organisational culture at a school? The data was collected by using three different data collection methods namely, observation, document analysis and interviewing different people who hold leadership positions in the school. These were the Principal, a Head of Department, School Board chairperson, a teacher in the school management team (SMT) and a class monitor. With regard to data analysis, I first immersed myself in the data and I developed themes that formed the basis of my discussion with my research questions in mind. The analysis revealed that leadership plays a pivotal role in shaping the culture at the case study school. However, it emerged that despite the existence of a strong culture at the case study school, as with all other organisations, there are some challenges that limit the school to realise its goal of 100 % A-B symbols in all subjects.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
The role of training and organizational support in strengthening GIS interns’ (‘incubants’) participation in workplace occupations: a case study of the Groen Sebenza internship project
- Authors: Madiba, Morakane
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1330 , vital:20047
- Description: The cases in this study are embedded within a multi-layered, nested case study design. An in-depth exploration of each case is provided with a view to understand the ways in which the internship training in the incubation model strengthens the learning, experience, knowledge, skills and interest of the university graduate interns/incubants to prepare them for full participation in their communities of practice in workplaces. The case study of Groen Sebenza internship project works across more than 40 partnering organisations. It is using incubation model for the first time in the biodiversity sector which is why its training needs to be investigated. To examine this question “In what way can training and the organizational support, of the incubation model strengthen the learning, experience, knowledge, skills and interest of interns/incubants to prepare them towards full participation in workplace roles and responsibilities in biodiversity occupations?” the research was undertaken in the context of university graduate incubants/interns in the Geographic Information System (GIS) field from three host-organizations; Limpopo Economic Development Environment and Tourism (LEDET), Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) and South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). The participants of the study were purposefully selected. Data was collected twice (i.e. after the first seven months and then a follow-up interview was conducted after a further five months) during the first twelve months of the project in the form of interviews and observations. There was also ongoing data collected in the form of documents which focused on their participation in workplaces and training. Data was analysed using different layers of qualitative content analysis and examination of documents at different stages of the study. Through immersion with the data and literature insights were developed regarding the enablers and constraints of the training in the incubation model related to the GIS interns. These included:- 1. The twelve months period spent by the GIS incubants in the Groen Sebenza internship project was not enough to prepare them towards full participation in workplace roles and responsibilities in biodiversity occupations. 2. Internship training is not just a ‘passing insignificant episode of the lives of the incubants/newcomers’ [specifically those from disadvantaged communities] but is a ‘real source of hope’. 3. The investigated institutions (and their members) need to make a real effort to improve if they want to stay relevant and useful in the Groen Sebenza internship project. 4. The incubants and mentors need to make the process of reflexivity real and practical. 5. The 2.5 years incubation model has high potential to work if the institutions, the mentors and the mentees involved in GIS improve the challenges mentioned in the study. Drawing from the data and literature I have discussed and recommended a model which could assist in improving the internship programmes specifically for the university students who are from underprivileged communities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Madiba, Morakane
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1330 , vital:20047
- Description: The cases in this study are embedded within a multi-layered, nested case study design. An in-depth exploration of each case is provided with a view to understand the ways in which the internship training in the incubation model strengthens the learning, experience, knowledge, skills and interest of the university graduate interns/incubants to prepare them for full participation in their communities of practice in workplaces. The case study of Groen Sebenza internship project works across more than 40 partnering organisations. It is using incubation model for the first time in the biodiversity sector which is why its training needs to be investigated. To examine this question “In what way can training and the organizational support, of the incubation model strengthen the learning, experience, knowledge, skills and interest of interns/incubants to prepare them towards full participation in workplace roles and responsibilities in biodiversity occupations?” the research was undertaken in the context of university graduate incubants/interns in the Geographic Information System (GIS) field from three host-organizations; Limpopo Economic Development Environment and Tourism (LEDET), Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) and South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). The participants of the study were purposefully selected. Data was collected twice (i.e. after the first seven months and then a follow-up interview was conducted after a further five months) during the first twelve months of the project in the form of interviews and observations. There was also ongoing data collected in the form of documents which focused on their participation in workplaces and training. Data was analysed using different layers of qualitative content analysis and examination of documents at different stages of the study. Through immersion with the data and literature insights were developed regarding the enablers and constraints of the training in the incubation model related to the GIS interns. These included:- 1. The twelve months period spent by the GIS incubants in the Groen Sebenza internship project was not enough to prepare them towards full participation in workplace roles and responsibilities in biodiversity occupations. 2. Internship training is not just a ‘passing insignificant episode of the lives of the incubants/newcomers’ [specifically those from disadvantaged communities] but is a ‘real source of hope’. 3. The investigated institutions (and their members) need to make a real effort to improve if they want to stay relevant and useful in the Groen Sebenza internship project. 4. The incubants and mentors need to make the process of reflexivity real and practical. 5. The 2.5 years incubation model has high potential to work if the institutions, the mentors and the mentees involved in GIS improve the challenges mentioned in the study. Drawing from the data and literature I have discussed and recommended a model which could assist in improving the internship programmes specifically for the university students who are from underprivileged communities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Understanding how grade 8 Physical Science teachers make use of learners’ prior everyday knowledge when teaching static electricity: A case study
- Authors: Iyambo, Toini
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1320 , vital:20046
- Description: Over the last decade of my teaching I have been grappling with how to incorporate learners’ prior everyday knowledge into my Physical Science lessons to enable me to close the gap between school science and everyday knowledge. I conducted this case study in two schools, one in Omusati region and one in Ohangwena Region, Namibia. Its purpose was to investigate how grade 8 Physical Science teachers make use of learners’ prior everyday knowledge when teaching the topic of static electricity. Underpinned by an interpretive paradigm, the study made use of document analysis, observation (lessons were also video-taped) and semi-structured interviews to generate the data. Three data generating techniques were used for triangulation and validation purposes. To further validate the data, transcripts of video-taped lessons and interviews were sent back to the research participants for member checking. The main findings of my study are that teachers did incorporate learners’ prior knowledge in the lesson presentation on static electricity. It emerged from the study that, learners possess a great deal of prior everyday scientific and non-scientific knowledge and experiences about static electricity that they had acquired from their communities. Also, mobilization of learners' everyday knowledge and experiences about static electricity enabled learner engagement during the science lessons. Likewise, engaging learners in demonstrations on static electricity helped them to make meaning of the scientific concepts involved in the topic. It also emerged from this study that teachers face challenges of lack of documentation of indigenous knowledge which is potentially a form of prior knowledge, language barriers and a lack of resources. Based on my research findings, I therefore, recommend that learners' prior everyday knowledge and experiences about static electricity should be incorporated during the teaching and learning process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Iyambo, Toini
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1320 , vital:20046
- Description: Over the last decade of my teaching I have been grappling with how to incorporate learners’ prior everyday knowledge into my Physical Science lessons to enable me to close the gap between school science and everyday knowledge. I conducted this case study in two schools, one in Omusati region and one in Ohangwena Region, Namibia. Its purpose was to investigate how grade 8 Physical Science teachers make use of learners’ prior everyday knowledge when teaching the topic of static electricity. Underpinned by an interpretive paradigm, the study made use of document analysis, observation (lessons were also video-taped) and semi-structured interviews to generate the data. Three data generating techniques were used for triangulation and validation purposes. To further validate the data, transcripts of video-taped lessons and interviews were sent back to the research participants for member checking. The main findings of my study are that teachers did incorporate learners’ prior knowledge in the lesson presentation on static electricity. It emerged from the study that, learners possess a great deal of prior everyday scientific and non-scientific knowledge and experiences about static electricity that they had acquired from their communities. Also, mobilization of learners' everyday knowledge and experiences about static electricity enabled learner engagement during the science lessons. Likewise, engaging learners in demonstrations on static electricity helped them to make meaning of the scientific concepts involved in the topic. It also emerged from this study that teachers face challenges of lack of documentation of indigenous knowledge which is potentially a form of prior knowledge, language barriers and a lack of resources. Based on my research findings, I therefore, recommend that learners' prior everyday knowledge and experiences about static electricity should be incorporated during the teaching and learning process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Understanding how the incorporation of indigenous knowledge (IK) enables or constrains the teaching and learning of alcoholic fermentation in Life Sciences in Grade 11
- Authors: Mutanho, Chrispen
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1264 , vital:20041
- Description: There is growing interest in the role of indigenous knowledge (IK) in science education in many parts of the world. In South Africa, this comes against the backdrop of a long history of cultural alienation, neglect and suppression of the IK of the indigenous people by colonial governments. Hence, the first post-independence National Curriculum Policy Statement (Curriculum, 2005) and its subsequent modified versions emphasised the need to redress the imbalances of the past so as to make science accessible to learners from diverse cultural backgrounds. However, literature reveals that the efforts to implement an IK-based curriculum are constrained by the lack of clarity, knowledge and skills on how to effectively make use of IK in the classroom situation so as to bring about effective teaching and learning. Against this background, this study sought to understand how the incorporation of IK enables or constrains the teaching and learning of alcoholic fermentation. Underpinned by an interpretive paradigm, a qualitative case study was conducted at a high school in Mthatha District in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study comprised of a sample of ten Life Sciences teachers from four neighbouring high schools, two Grade 11 Life Sciences teachers and their classes and two focus groups of six learners from each class. Convenience and purposive sampling were used to select the participants and the research site. The study made use of a questionnaire, document analysis, lesson observation, stimulated recall interviews and focus group interviews to generate data. The questionnaire sought to get an overview of Life Sciences teachers’ attitudes, opinions and experiences on incorporating IK in science teaching. The data gathered were then used as baseline information to inform the main study. The lesson observations, stimulated recall interviews and the focus group interviews sought to understand how the incorporation of IK enables or constrains the teaching and learning of alcoholic fermentation. Document analysis, lesson observation, stimulated recall interviews and focus group interviews were conducted to understand the experience of incorporating IK in a real life classroom situation. The study was informed by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural constructivism and Shulman’s pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) theory. From Vygotsky’s theory I borrowed the idea of mediated learning, scaffolding (Bruner, 1986), zone of proximal development (ZPD), as well as the use of language and cultural artefacts as tools of analysis of the classroom interaction between the teacher and the learners during the teaching-learning process. Shulman’s theory of PCK was also used to analyse how teachers apply IK in teaching Science. The data obtained were coded inductively and presented in tables, graphs and thick descriptive texts to make it easy to understand. The findings of this research show that incorporating IK improved the teaching-learning process by arousing learners’ interest in science, increasing learners’ participation and motivation, meaning making, language use, questioning and engagement in the learning process. Teaching became learner-centred, for it was directed by learners’ questions. Collaborative learning through group discussions, debates, arguments and brainstorming emerged to be an effective way of engaging learners in learning. The teachers used probing to encourage critical thinking before scaffolding learners. However, even though teachers generally accept IK as valuable in their teaching they lack the pedagogical content knowledge to effectively incorporate it into meaningful teaching and learning. Furthermore, teachers viewed cultural diversity as a constraint to their efforts to incorporate IK in teaching science. On the contrary, their learners held the view that having cultural diversity in classrooms created an opportunity to learn from other people’s cultures. Variables such as experience and difference in the cultural background of learners and teachers alike, tended to affect the teachers’ ability to incorporate IK.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Mutanho, Chrispen
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1264 , vital:20041
- Description: There is growing interest in the role of indigenous knowledge (IK) in science education in many parts of the world. In South Africa, this comes against the backdrop of a long history of cultural alienation, neglect and suppression of the IK of the indigenous people by colonial governments. Hence, the first post-independence National Curriculum Policy Statement (Curriculum, 2005) and its subsequent modified versions emphasised the need to redress the imbalances of the past so as to make science accessible to learners from diverse cultural backgrounds. However, literature reveals that the efforts to implement an IK-based curriculum are constrained by the lack of clarity, knowledge and skills on how to effectively make use of IK in the classroom situation so as to bring about effective teaching and learning. Against this background, this study sought to understand how the incorporation of IK enables or constrains the teaching and learning of alcoholic fermentation. Underpinned by an interpretive paradigm, a qualitative case study was conducted at a high school in Mthatha District in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study comprised of a sample of ten Life Sciences teachers from four neighbouring high schools, two Grade 11 Life Sciences teachers and their classes and two focus groups of six learners from each class. Convenience and purposive sampling were used to select the participants and the research site. The study made use of a questionnaire, document analysis, lesson observation, stimulated recall interviews and focus group interviews to generate data. The questionnaire sought to get an overview of Life Sciences teachers’ attitudes, opinions and experiences on incorporating IK in science teaching. The data gathered were then used as baseline information to inform the main study. The lesson observations, stimulated recall interviews and the focus group interviews sought to understand how the incorporation of IK enables or constrains the teaching and learning of alcoholic fermentation. Document analysis, lesson observation, stimulated recall interviews and focus group interviews were conducted to understand the experience of incorporating IK in a real life classroom situation. The study was informed by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural constructivism and Shulman’s pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) theory. From Vygotsky’s theory I borrowed the idea of mediated learning, scaffolding (Bruner, 1986), zone of proximal development (ZPD), as well as the use of language and cultural artefacts as tools of analysis of the classroom interaction between the teacher and the learners during the teaching-learning process. Shulman’s theory of PCK was also used to analyse how teachers apply IK in teaching Science. The data obtained were coded inductively and presented in tables, graphs and thick descriptive texts to make it easy to understand. The findings of this research show that incorporating IK improved the teaching-learning process by arousing learners’ interest in science, increasing learners’ participation and motivation, meaning making, language use, questioning and engagement in the learning process. Teaching became learner-centred, for it was directed by learners’ questions. Collaborative learning through group discussions, debates, arguments and brainstorming emerged to be an effective way of engaging learners in learning. The teachers used probing to encourage critical thinking before scaffolding learners. However, even though teachers generally accept IK as valuable in their teaching they lack the pedagogical content knowledge to effectively incorporate it into meaningful teaching and learning. Furthermore, teachers viewed cultural diversity as a constraint to their efforts to incorporate IK in teaching science. On the contrary, their learners held the view that having cultural diversity in classrooms created an opportunity to learn from other people’s cultures. Variables such as experience and difference in the cultural background of learners and teachers alike, tended to affect the teachers’ ability to incorporate IK.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
A comparison of Grade 10 Mathematics classroom-based test items and the end-of-year national examinations, using Stein's framework of cognitive demands : a Namibian case study
- Authors: Ihonya, Saima Namupa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Ohangwena , Educational tests and measurements -- Namibia -- Ohangwena , Cognitive learning , Critical thinking , Examinations -- Namibia -- Ohangwena
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2032 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017343
- Description: This study researched the nature of tasks used in Grade 10 mathematics tests and end-of-year national examinations. The study was carried out in three, purposively selected, Grade 10 schools in the Ohangwena region in Northern Namibia. For the purpose of this study, a mixed method approach was employed to analyse a combination of both quantitative and qualitative data. A sample of three tests per mathematics teacher from the three participating schools and national examinations question papers for the past three consecutive years (2011-2013) were analysed using Stein, Smith, Henningsen, & Silver’s (2000) framework of cognitive demand. The study was divided into two phases. Phase 1 was the analysis of teacher test items and national examination items in terms of their cognitive demand. Phase 2 involved semi-structured interviews with three selected teachers to probe their views and find out their basis for selecting test items. The findings of this study revealed that there was no substantial difference in the distribution of the levels of cognitive demand in both tests and national examinations items. The study, however, showed that mainly tasks requiring only procedures without connections dominated the tests and the examinations. The number of higher level tasks in both tests and examinations analysed was low. There was no single task coded at level 4 in any of the teachers’ tests. Only 2% of tasks could be classified at level 4 in the examination items. The study also revealed that since tests and examinations assess the same learning objectives from the syllabus, most of the test items set by teachers were extracted from the national examinations question papers. The paper recommends that more tasks at a higher level category need to be included in assessment tasks to promote critical thinking amongst learners.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Ihonya, Saima Namupa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Ohangwena , Educational tests and measurements -- Namibia -- Ohangwena , Cognitive learning , Critical thinking , Examinations -- Namibia -- Ohangwena
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2032 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017343
- Description: This study researched the nature of tasks used in Grade 10 mathematics tests and end-of-year national examinations. The study was carried out in three, purposively selected, Grade 10 schools in the Ohangwena region in Northern Namibia. For the purpose of this study, a mixed method approach was employed to analyse a combination of both quantitative and qualitative data. A sample of three tests per mathematics teacher from the three participating schools and national examinations question papers for the past three consecutive years (2011-2013) were analysed using Stein, Smith, Henningsen, & Silver’s (2000) framework of cognitive demand. The study was divided into two phases. Phase 1 was the analysis of teacher test items and national examination items in terms of their cognitive demand. Phase 2 involved semi-structured interviews with three selected teachers to probe their views and find out their basis for selecting test items. The findings of this study revealed that there was no substantial difference in the distribution of the levels of cognitive demand in both tests and national examinations items. The study, however, showed that mainly tasks requiring only procedures without connections dominated the tests and the examinations. The number of higher level tasks in both tests and examinations analysed was low. There was no single task coded at level 4 in any of the teachers’ tests. Only 2% of tasks could be classified at level 4 in the examination items. The study also revealed that since tests and examinations assess the same learning objectives from the syllabus, most of the test items set by teachers were extracted from the national examinations question papers. The paper recommends that more tasks at a higher level category need to be included in assessment tasks to promote critical thinking amongst learners.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An analysis of the certificate of the theory of accounting knowledge and knower structures : a case study of professional knowledge
- Authors: Mkhize, Thandeka Fortunate
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Accounting -- Study and teaching (Higher) , Dropout behavior, Prediction of , Knowledge, Theory of , Knowledge and learning , Critical realism , Education -- Philosophy , Educational sociology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2057 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019771
- Description: This research project explores issues around the poor throughput and high dropout rate in the Certificate of the Theory of Accounting (CTA) by focusing on Accounting knowledge as an object of study. The CTA was identified as a serious block in the steps that one needs to go through on the journey to becoming a Chartered Accountant. Having a clear understanding of Accounting knowledge can lead to finding ways that can make the subject more accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. This study contributes to understanding Accounting knowledge at the CTA level with the aim of clearly delineating its legitimate knowledge and knower structures. It answers the following two research questions: • What constitutes legitimate knowledge structures in the CTA? • What constitutes legitimate knower structures in the CTA? Academics from nine universities and representatives of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) participated in this study. Data was collected through interviews, observation and document analysis. Eighteen CTA lecturers and two members of the SAICA management team were interviewed. Three universities provided documents on their practices, which included learner guides, examination papers, suggested answers, lecture notes, tutorials and other curriculum documents for each of the four CTA subjects. SAICA provided the competency framework and examinable pronouncements. A conference that was jointly hosted by SAICA and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation was observed. This study used Critical Realism as its ontological underpinnings and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) as its substantive theory. It used the Specialisation and Autonomy principles of LCT to analyse the data. Specialization establishes the ways agents and discourses within a field are constructed as special, different or unique and thus deserving of distinction and status (Maton, 2014). The principle of Autonomy is concerned with the extent to which the field is self-governing and can do things of its own free-will (Maton, 2004). The study found that the CTA has a hierarchical knowledge structure, which means that when new knowledge is created in Accounting it is integrated into existing knowledge, resulting in coherent and integrated knowledge. CTA also has a hierarchical curriculum structure. While horizontal curriculum structures evolve through the replacement of existing knowledge by new approaches and content, a hierarchical curriculum typically grows through integration and subsumption of new knowledge into pre-existing knowledge and it relies on the acquisition of knowledge developed in previous modules or levels of study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mkhize, Thandeka Fortunate
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Accounting -- Study and teaching (Higher) , Dropout behavior, Prediction of , Knowledge, Theory of , Knowledge and learning , Critical realism , Education -- Philosophy , Educational sociology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2057 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019771
- Description: This research project explores issues around the poor throughput and high dropout rate in the Certificate of the Theory of Accounting (CTA) by focusing on Accounting knowledge as an object of study. The CTA was identified as a serious block in the steps that one needs to go through on the journey to becoming a Chartered Accountant. Having a clear understanding of Accounting knowledge can lead to finding ways that can make the subject more accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. This study contributes to understanding Accounting knowledge at the CTA level with the aim of clearly delineating its legitimate knowledge and knower structures. It answers the following two research questions: • What constitutes legitimate knowledge structures in the CTA? • What constitutes legitimate knower structures in the CTA? Academics from nine universities and representatives of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) participated in this study. Data was collected through interviews, observation and document analysis. Eighteen CTA lecturers and two members of the SAICA management team were interviewed. Three universities provided documents on their practices, which included learner guides, examination papers, suggested answers, lecture notes, tutorials and other curriculum documents for each of the four CTA subjects. SAICA provided the competency framework and examinable pronouncements. A conference that was jointly hosted by SAICA and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation was observed. This study used Critical Realism as its ontological underpinnings and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) as its substantive theory. It used the Specialisation and Autonomy principles of LCT to analyse the data. Specialization establishes the ways agents and discourses within a field are constructed as special, different or unique and thus deserving of distinction and status (Maton, 2014). The principle of Autonomy is concerned with the extent to which the field is self-governing and can do things of its own free-will (Maton, 2004). The study found that the CTA has a hierarchical knowledge structure, which means that when new knowledge is created in Accounting it is integrated into existing knowledge, resulting in coherent and integrated knowledge. CTA also has a hierarchical curriculum structure. While horizontal curriculum structures evolve through the replacement of existing knowledge by new approaches and content, a hierarchical curriculum typically grows through integration and subsumption of new knowledge into pre-existing knowledge and it relies on the acquisition of knowledge developed in previous modules or levels of study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An exploration of the school nutrition programme's potential to catalyse community-based environmental learning : a case study of a rural Eastern Cape school
- Authors: Tshabeni, Veliswa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: National School Nutrition Programme (South Africa) , School children -- Food -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Children -- Nutrition -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Environmental education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social learning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Food security -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2063 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020306
- Description: The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which a School Nutrition Programme can catalyse community-based environmental learning and promote food security in the school and the community. This is an interpretive case study of a junior secondary school in the rural Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The school is located in an area characterised by high levels of poverty and under-nutrition. The school’s food garden, a central focus of this study, contributes to the School Nutrition Programme, which falls under the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP). The aim of the NSNP is to alleviate poverty in public schools. This case study was conducted by means of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis and field observations. The data set was analysed, firstly, to ascertain if the School Nutrition Programme functions as a community of practise (Wenger, 1998). Thereafter, the data set was analysed to identify the knowledge related to food security and environmental sustainability that is learned and shared in the School Nutrition Programme, and also how such learning took place. The study found that the School’s Nutrition Programme was indeed operating as a community of practice and that it created a platform for sharing explicit and tacit knowledge and skills related to food security and environmental sustainability. The case study also revealed the contextual and experience-based nature of knowledge related to food cultivation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Tshabeni, Veliswa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: National School Nutrition Programme (South Africa) , School children -- Food -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Children -- Nutrition -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Environmental education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social learning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Food security -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2063 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020306
- Description: The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which a School Nutrition Programme can catalyse community-based environmental learning and promote food security in the school and the community. This is an interpretive case study of a junior secondary school in the rural Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The school is located in an area characterised by high levels of poverty and under-nutrition. The school’s food garden, a central focus of this study, contributes to the School Nutrition Programme, which falls under the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP). The aim of the NSNP is to alleviate poverty in public schools. This case study was conducted by means of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis and field observations. The data set was analysed, firstly, to ascertain if the School Nutrition Programme functions as a community of practise (Wenger, 1998). Thereafter, the data set was analysed to identify the knowledge related to food security and environmental sustainability that is learned and shared in the School Nutrition Programme, and also how such learning took place. The study found that the School’s Nutrition Programme was indeed operating as a community of practice and that it created a platform for sharing explicit and tacit knowledge and skills related to food security and environmental sustainability. The case study also revealed the contextual and experience-based nature of knowledge related to food cultivation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An exploration of the structural, cultural and agential conditions that shape life skills teachers' responses and experiences in teaching sexuality and HIV and AIDS
- Authors: Hakaala, Beatha Ndinelao
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Life skills -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Sex instruction -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , HIV infections -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , AIDS (Disease) -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2029 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017340
- Description: This paper reports findings on how Namibian secondary school Life Skills teachers are exercising their agency to teach or not to teach Sexuality and HIV and AIDS, a subject which is regarded as sensitive and has been surrounded by secrecy and has issues which are cloaked by silence and taboos. The aim of the study was to explore the structural and cultural factors that shape the responses and experiences of Life Skills teachers in teaching sexuality and HIV and AIDS. The study was conducted through observations and interviews with four full-time Life Skills teachers. Document analysis was carried out throughout the study in which lesson plans, portfolios, assessment forms, Life Skills syllabuses, schemes of works, national curriculum documents and subject policy on HIV and AIDS were analysed. The data were analysed by identifying categories, codes and themes using the analytic dualism framework, and the literature review was used to summarise the findings. The study revealed that all teachers operate in an environment that consists of the National structures such as high teacher: learner ratio in their classrooms that they have to teach Life Skills and do day to day counselling, a lack of teaching and learning support material that they should use to scaffold the learning of sexuality and HIV and AIDS, and little time allocated to Life Skills teaching. The same study also revealed that the teaching of Life Skills is hampered by the cultural structures which emerged from teachers’ discourses as evidenced from the data which shows that cultural properties have powers that condition teachers in teaching sexuality and HIV and AIDS. This included learners’ silence in sex-related discussion versus teachers’ position; discourses on the importance of full-time Life Skills teachers in school; comfort in teaching selected topics in Life Skills; Life Skills teachers’ perceptions on parents’ feelings on teaching sexuality and HIV and AIDS in schools, and perceptions on the Life Skills teachers’ position and teaching sexuality and sex education. While the findings revealed that teachers are conditioned by the structural and cultural conditions that acted as constraints to teaching sexuality and HIV and AIDS, the observations revealed agency on their part. The study finding depicts instances where teachers acted in agreement or in contravention of the structural and cultural pressures or conditions in their environments.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Hakaala, Beatha Ndinelao
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Life skills -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Sex instruction -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , HIV infections -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , AIDS (Disease) -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2029 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017340
- Description: This paper reports findings on how Namibian secondary school Life Skills teachers are exercising their agency to teach or not to teach Sexuality and HIV and AIDS, a subject which is regarded as sensitive and has been surrounded by secrecy and has issues which are cloaked by silence and taboos. The aim of the study was to explore the structural and cultural factors that shape the responses and experiences of Life Skills teachers in teaching sexuality and HIV and AIDS. The study was conducted through observations and interviews with four full-time Life Skills teachers. Document analysis was carried out throughout the study in which lesson plans, portfolios, assessment forms, Life Skills syllabuses, schemes of works, national curriculum documents and subject policy on HIV and AIDS were analysed. The data were analysed by identifying categories, codes and themes using the analytic dualism framework, and the literature review was used to summarise the findings. The study revealed that all teachers operate in an environment that consists of the National structures such as high teacher: learner ratio in their classrooms that they have to teach Life Skills and do day to day counselling, a lack of teaching and learning support material that they should use to scaffold the learning of sexuality and HIV and AIDS, and little time allocated to Life Skills teaching. The same study also revealed that the teaching of Life Skills is hampered by the cultural structures which emerged from teachers’ discourses as evidenced from the data which shows that cultural properties have powers that condition teachers in teaching sexuality and HIV and AIDS. This included learners’ silence in sex-related discussion versus teachers’ position; discourses on the importance of full-time Life Skills teachers in school; comfort in teaching selected topics in Life Skills; Life Skills teachers’ perceptions on parents’ feelings on teaching sexuality and HIV and AIDS in schools, and perceptions on the Life Skills teachers’ position and teaching sexuality and sex education. While the findings revealed that teachers are conditioned by the structural and cultural conditions that acted as constraints to teaching sexuality and HIV and AIDS, the observations revealed agency on their part. The study finding depicts instances where teachers acted in agreement or in contravention of the structural and cultural pressures or conditions in their environments.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An investigation into an afterschool intervention programme aimed at improving learners' mental computation skills
- Authors: Moyo, Kwethemba Michael
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: After-school programs -- Namibia , Mental arithmetic , Mental arithmetic -- Study and teaching (Secondary) , Mental arithmetic -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Activity programs , Mathematical ability
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2041 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017352
- Description: This case study centres round an afterschool intervention programme aimed at enhancing mental computation skills of Grade 8 learners at a secondary school in the Erongo educational region of Namibia. Nine research participants took part in the study, and the mental computational strategies exhibited by these participants constitutes the unit of analysis. The study is anchored within an interpretive paradigm and is theoretically underpinned by constructivist epistemology. Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell’s (2001) model of mathematical proficiency provides the conceptual framework supporting the study. The research was carried out in four sequential phases – an initial pre-test, the intervention itself, a follow-up post-test, and a focus group discussion. The study highlights the underdevelopment of mental computation skills and the associated lack of appropriate mental computational strategies in secondary school learners. It is recommended that appropriate time within the school curriculum be allocated for the development of learners’ mental computation skills.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Moyo, Kwethemba Michael
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: After-school programs -- Namibia , Mental arithmetic , Mental arithmetic -- Study and teaching (Secondary) , Mental arithmetic -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Activity programs , Mathematical ability
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2041 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017352
- Description: This case study centres round an afterschool intervention programme aimed at enhancing mental computation skills of Grade 8 learners at a secondary school in the Erongo educational region of Namibia. Nine research participants took part in the study, and the mental computational strategies exhibited by these participants constitutes the unit of analysis. The study is anchored within an interpretive paradigm and is theoretically underpinned by constructivist epistemology. Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell’s (2001) model of mathematical proficiency provides the conceptual framework supporting the study. The research was carried out in four sequential phases – an initial pre-test, the intervention itself, a follow-up post-test, and a focus group discussion. The study highlights the underdevelopment of mental computation skills and the associated lack of appropriate mental computational strategies in secondary school learners. It is recommended that appropriate time within the school curriculum be allocated for the development of learners’ mental computation skills.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An investigation into how Grade 11 Biology teachers mediate learning through code-switching from English to Oshiwambo : a case study
- Authors: Kanime, Justina Kashuupulwa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Biology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Omusati , English language -- Namibia -- Omusati , Ndonga language -- Namibia -- Omusati , Code switching (Linguistics) -- Namibia -- Omusati , Pedagogical content knowledge , Native language and education -- Namibia -- Omusati
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2034 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017345
- Description: This study aimed to investigate how Grade 11 Biology teachers mediate learning through code-switching from English to Oshiwambo. It was triggered by my experience as a teacher when I came to observe that the majority of teachers still use the home language during their lessons though the language policy for schools in Namibia clearly states that English should be used as a medium of instruction from Grade Four onwards. The research was carried out at Happy Secondary School (pseudonym), a rural government school in Omusati Region, Namibia. It was a qualitative case study underpinned by an interpretive paradigm. The unit of analysis was the mediation of learning through codeswitching from English to Oshiwambo. Document analysis, questionnaires, interviews (semistructured, focus group, stimulated recall interviews) and lesson observations were used as data gathering techniques, to ensure adequate coverage, validity and trustworthiness of the data gathered. The study adopted Vygotsky’s social constructivism and the socio-cultural perspective in conjunction with Shulman’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as the theoretical frameworks. The data analysis process entailed organising data into themes from which four analytical statements were then derived in relation to the research questions. The study found that both Biology teachers and learners view code-switching as a useful tool in making learners understand the biological concepts. The study revealed that Biology teachers code-switch from English to Oshiwambo to make learners understand better, increase participation, explain concepts, elaborate, for disciplinary purposes, when giving examples of everyday knowledge events and when asking questions. The study also revealed that learners code-switch mainly for good communication, easier self-expression, due to loss of words, when unprepared to explain concepts and due to fear of making mistakes. It emerged, however, that both teachers and learners experience some challenges when codeswitching from English to Oshiwambo is used to mediate learning in Biology lessons. These include time constraints, lack of biological terms in Oshiwambo, different Oshiwambo dialects and the language policy. In addition, learners also lose the opportunity to learn English and find it difficult to answer questions in the examinations. The study revealed that Biology teachers and learners try to overcome these challenges by good lesson preparation, mini-teaching, using English/Oshindonga dictionaries or simply by adhering to the language policy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Kanime, Justina Kashuupulwa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Biology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Omusati , English language -- Namibia -- Omusati , Ndonga language -- Namibia -- Omusati , Code switching (Linguistics) -- Namibia -- Omusati , Pedagogical content knowledge , Native language and education -- Namibia -- Omusati
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2034 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017345
- Description: This study aimed to investigate how Grade 11 Biology teachers mediate learning through code-switching from English to Oshiwambo. It was triggered by my experience as a teacher when I came to observe that the majority of teachers still use the home language during their lessons though the language policy for schools in Namibia clearly states that English should be used as a medium of instruction from Grade Four onwards. The research was carried out at Happy Secondary School (pseudonym), a rural government school in Omusati Region, Namibia. It was a qualitative case study underpinned by an interpretive paradigm. The unit of analysis was the mediation of learning through codeswitching from English to Oshiwambo. Document analysis, questionnaires, interviews (semistructured, focus group, stimulated recall interviews) and lesson observations were used as data gathering techniques, to ensure adequate coverage, validity and trustworthiness of the data gathered. The study adopted Vygotsky’s social constructivism and the socio-cultural perspective in conjunction with Shulman’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as the theoretical frameworks. The data analysis process entailed organising data into themes from which four analytical statements were then derived in relation to the research questions. The study found that both Biology teachers and learners view code-switching as a useful tool in making learners understand the biological concepts. The study revealed that Biology teachers code-switch from English to Oshiwambo to make learners understand better, increase participation, explain concepts, elaborate, for disciplinary purposes, when giving examples of everyday knowledge events and when asking questions. The study also revealed that learners code-switch mainly for good communication, easier self-expression, due to loss of words, when unprepared to explain concepts and due to fear of making mistakes. It emerged, however, that both teachers and learners experience some challenges when codeswitching from English to Oshiwambo is used to mediate learning in Biology lessons. These include time constraints, lack of biological terms in Oshiwambo, different Oshiwambo dialects and the language policy. In addition, learners also lose the opportunity to learn English and find it difficult to answer questions in the examinations. The study revealed that Biology teachers and learners try to overcome these challenges by good lesson preparation, mini-teaching, using English/Oshindonga dictionaries or simply by adhering to the language policy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An investigation into how Grade 11 Physical Science teachers mediate learning of the topic stoichiometry : a case study
- Authors: Kanime, Mwene Kashiiwandapo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Oshikoto , Stoichiometry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Oshikoto , Pedagogical content knowledge , Learning -- Namibia -- Oshikoto , Teacher effectiveness -- Namibia -- Oshikoto
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2035 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017346
- Description: Stoichiometry is proven to be one of the difficult topics for learners in the NSSC Physical Science syllabus due to its abstract nature. Over the years the Examiner’s reports reveal that learners' performance is very poor in this topic. In addition, learners fear the topic and have developed a negative attitude toward it. It is against this background that I decided to carry out a qualitative case study; investigating how teachers mediate the learning of stoichiometry. The study was conducted at two schools in the Oshikoto Region, Namibia and it involved two grade 11 Physical Science teachers. The study is located within the interpretive paradigm and made use of interviews, document analysis and lesson observations (which were video-taped and transcribed) followed by stimulated recall interviews to generate data. The generated data were analyzed using the inductive approach whereby themes were identified. The themes were later used to develop analytical statements in relation to my research questions and these were used to interpret the data. Moreover, the study adopted the notion of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) proposed by Shulman (1986, 1987) as well as Vygotsky's (1978) mediation of learning and social constructivism as the theoretical frameworks. The data were validated by triangulation, member checking as well as using the stimulated recall interviews while watching the videos with each participant. The findings of the study show that teachers use several tools to mediate the learning process and this includes the use of language, learners' prior knowledge and analogies. In addition, it emerged in this study that teachers are faced with a number of challenges when mediating learning of this topic. Hence, the study recommends that teachers should develop their pedagogical content knowledge for them to effectively eliminate the challenges faced as well as to come up with the best teaching strategies which they can use to mediate learning and help learners make sense of the topic stoichiometry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Kanime, Mwene Kashiiwandapo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Oshikoto , Stoichiometry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Oshikoto , Pedagogical content knowledge , Learning -- Namibia -- Oshikoto , Teacher effectiveness -- Namibia -- Oshikoto
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2035 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017346
- Description: Stoichiometry is proven to be one of the difficult topics for learners in the NSSC Physical Science syllabus due to its abstract nature. Over the years the Examiner’s reports reveal that learners' performance is very poor in this topic. In addition, learners fear the topic and have developed a negative attitude toward it. It is against this background that I decided to carry out a qualitative case study; investigating how teachers mediate the learning of stoichiometry. The study was conducted at two schools in the Oshikoto Region, Namibia and it involved two grade 11 Physical Science teachers. The study is located within the interpretive paradigm and made use of interviews, document analysis and lesson observations (which were video-taped and transcribed) followed by stimulated recall interviews to generate data. The generated data were analyzed using the inductive approach whereby themes were identified. The themes were later used to develop analytical statements in relation to my research questions and these were used to interpret the data. Moreover, the study adopted the notion of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) proposed by Shulman (1986, 1987) as well as Vygotsky's (1978) mediation of learning and social constructivism as the theoretical frameworks. The data were validated by triangulation, member checking as well as using the stimulated recall interviews while watching the videos with each participant. The findings of the study show that teachers use several tools to mediate the learning process and this includes the use of language, learners' prior knowledge and analogies. In addition, it emerged in this study that teachers are faced with a number of challenges when mediating learning of this topic. Hence, the study recommends that teachers should develop their pedagogical content knowledge for them to effectively eliminate the challenges faced as well as to come up with the best teaching strategies which they can use to mediate learning and help learners make sense of the topic stoichiometry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An investigation into how Grade 7 Natural Science teachers mediate learning through code-switching from English to Silozi in the Zambezi region of Namibia : a case study
- Authors: Denuga, Hildred Malilo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia -- Case studies , Code switching (Linguistics) , Language and education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2026 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017337
- Description: The Namibian government’s language policy for schools has opted for English as the official language of education. But the use of English in Namibian schools has nevertheless presented certain challenges. Although the Ministry of Education has chosen English as the language of instruction from upper primary (Grade 4) up to the tertiary level, it has been found that English proficiency is poor among both learners and teachers. It is against this backdrop that this study sought to investigate how Grade 7 Natural Science teachers mediate learning through code-switching from English to Silozi in the Zambezi Region of Namibia. The study explored Natural Science teachers’ perceptions and experiences of code-switching, how they and their learners make sense of concepts in science classes when code-switching is applied, and lastly, how code-switching from English to Silozi enables or constrains learning in Natural Science classes. The main question is: How do Grade 7 Natural Science teachers mediate learning through code-switching from English to Silozi? A qualitative case study underpinned by an interpretive paradigm was carried out at Zebra School (pseudonym) in the Zambezi Region of Namibia with two participant teachers. My unit of analysis was mediation of learning through code-switching, and data were obtained from lesson observations, questionnaires, interviews and document analysis. A variety of data gathering technique was employed for triangulation purposes to enhance the validity and trustworthiness of the data. During the data analysis process, data were grouped into common themes and subsequently organized into analytical statements in relation to the research questions. It was found that code-switching was widely employed in Grade 7 Natural Science classes in the Zambezi Region. It was also found that teachers code-switch to help learners understand the subject content, to explain concepts, to emphasize points and to include learners’ participation in the subject. The findings also revealed that some few teachers were against code-switching because examinations are written in English and the language policy does not recommend code-switching. Notwithstanding this, since the majority of teachers do code-switch to support their learners’ understanding in science classes, I recommend that education curriculum planners should include code-switching in the curriculum guidelines, and that the practice should be officially acknowledged as a legitimate strategy for teachers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Denuga, Hildred Malilo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia -- Case studies , Code switching (Linguistics) , Language and education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2026 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017337
- Description: The Namibian government’s language policy for schools has opted for English as the official language of education. But the use of English in Namibian schools has nevertheless presented certain challenges. Although the Ministry of Education has chosen English as the language of instruction from upper primary (Grade 4) up to the tertiary level, it has been found that English proficiency is poor among both learners and teachers. It is against this backdrop that this study sought to investigate how Grade 7 Natural Science teachers mediate learning through code-switching from English to Silozi in the Zambezi Region of Namibia. The study explored Natural Science teachers’ perceptions and experiences of code-switching, how they and their learners make sense of concepts in science classes when code-switching is applied, and lastly, how code-switching from English to Silozi enables or constrains learning in Natural Science classes. The main question is: How do Grade 7 Natural Science teachers mediate learning through code-switching from English to Silozi? A qualitative case study underpinned by an interpretive paradigm was carried out at Zebra School (pseudonym) in the Zambezi Region of Namibia with two participant teachers. My unit of analysis was mediation of learning through code-switching, and data were obtained from lesson observations, questionnaires, interviews and document analysis. A variety of data gathering technique was employed for triangulation purposes to enhance the validity and trustworthiness of the data. During the data analysis process, data were grouped into common themes and subsequently organized into analytical statements in relation to the research questions. It was found that code-switching was widely employed in Grade 7 Natural Science classes in the Zambezi Region. It was also found that teachers code-switch to help learners understand the subject content, to explain concepts, to emphasize points and to include learners’ participation in the subject. The findings also revealed that some few teachers were against code-switching because examinations are written in English and the language policy does not recommend code-switching. Notwithstanding this, since the majority of teachers do code-switch to support their learners’ understanding in science classes, I recommend that education curriculum planners should include code-switching in the curriculum guidelines, and that the practice should be officially acknowledged as a legitimate strategy for teachers.
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- Date Issued: 2015