Showing items 981 - 995 of 995

Your selections:

Vocabulary proficiency in English of students in the primary teachers' certificate course

  • Authors: Harlech-Jones, Brian Arthur
  • Date: 1981
  • Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) Vocabulary -- Study and teaching (Elementary)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1903 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006347
  • Description: This work investigates vocabulary proficiency in English of a group of students in the Primary Teacher's Certificate course. It is shown that this is the major certification course for teachers in Black education in South Africa, and, that primary school teachers are the major source of English for Black pupils for a considerable period, if not for the duration of their school education. The quality of the teachers' English thus has a major influence on that used by the pupils. In addition to the established needs for proficiency in a national and international medium such as English, it is emphasized that , with the increasing use of English as a medium of instruction, a lack of proficiency will adversely affect general scholastic achievement. The investigation proceeds by two means: (1) a series of vocabulary tests and (2) an error analysis (lexis and morphology) , based on scripts produced by the same group to whom the tests were administered. Prior to the presentation of the tests and the results and conclusions, there is a discussion of what constitutes vocabulary. This is introduced by a discussion of the dichotemy 'structure/lexis', primarily by reference to the writings on structuralism by Charles Fries - This discussion shows that the progress in vocabulary study is intimately related to the as-yet undeveloped state of investigations into the semantics of the language . There is a referenoe to the role of frequency-counts in vocabulary teaching with specific reference to Michael West's General Service List of English Words. In the absence of other prescribed standards of attainment in vocabulary, the General Service List serves as control for the tests , and is itself under examination as a possible major resource for vocabulary teaching. It is shown that structuralism has produced the instructional method known as 'audio- lingualism', which has gained wide credence, not least in the educational system through which the subjects of this study have passed. The contributions and defects of this method are discussed , with particular reference to its deleterious effect on vocabulary teaching. It is shown that vocabulary teaching becomes increasingly important in the later stages of language learning. There is reference to the current emphasis on ' commununicative' language teaching/learning, and it is shown that a major area of application is in the presentation of materials which embody an across-the-curriculum approach. The Pre- Tests are concerned only with the four major 'parts of speech ' and use only items from the General Service List ('G.S.L'). A particular feature is the development of tests based on the 'partial productivity of lexical rules' , which proved significantly effective in distinguishing between testees of high and low proficiency . The Final Tests, compiled from items which discriminated successfully in the Pre-Tests , are presented , and a Post- Final Test form of ultimately successful items is provided. There is a brief theoretical discussion of Error Analysis, and this is followed by the presentation of the categorization of lexical and morphological errors extracted from a corpus produced by the same group which provided subjects for the tests . There is comment on this categorization, which points to both the usefulness and shortcomings of such data . Amongst the conclusions and recommendations are the following: that vocabulary teaching has languished, both because of present inadequacies in semantic investigation, and because of the predominance of structuralism; that vocabulary teaching is important throughout , but particularly in the post-initial stages ; that word-counts (specifically the G. S. L.)have a valuable place in vocabulary teaching, as controls, prompts and suppliers of resource material ; that there is a wide range of proficiency amongst these subjects , even within the limits of a word-count such as the G.S.L. (the most frequent 2000 'words ' in English , with a samantic count, and related items formed by various processes) ; that this range of proficiency and the shortcomings shown are disturbing in teachers- in- training , who are also in their eleventh and twelfth years of formal instruction in English; that there is further cause for concern when it is remembered that their pupils will need English for success in a number of subjects , and will be instructed in English mainly by teachers. drawn from this group ; that there is some evidence of a relationship between vocabulary proficiency and the frequency of items in the G.S .L. (reinforcing the suggesting that the G.S .L. is a useful ' teaching tool ' ) ; that the categorization of errors shows that mastery of the · contents of the G. S. L. would , in theory , eliminate the great majority of errors attested in the categorization, and that mastery of even the most common areas of lexis and lexical formation cannot and should not be taken for granted; and that acquaintance with the contents of a word frequency-count , and with categorizations of errors , will sharpen teachers' perceptions as to the nature of their task and the directions in which vocabulary teaching should proceed.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1981

The relationship of academic aptitude and study habits to academic success : a study of first year students' experience of academic life with specific reference to the University of Fort Hare

  • Authors: Penny, Alan Joseph
  • Date: 1980
  • Subjects: Academic achievement , Student adjustment -- South Africa , College students, Black -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:1379 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001445
  • Description: Any enquiry follows some incident which has prompted the question that leads to the enquiry. This study was prompted by a review of the 1974 first year examination results at the University of Fort Hare. The average percentage pass rate for that year was 59.3%. The cynic may remark that this is no different to the first year pass rate at white South African universities (cf. Erens and Louw, 1978), but when it is realised that students entering Fort Hare, or any other black university for that matter, are a highly select group, these figures have more Impact. The consequences of failure in terms of the wastage of human potential are immense (cf. Auerbach, 1977) but are more critical when this occurs, as It does, "... in a society which is competitive rather than co-operative, where people are for ever being classified according to what they have rather than that they can contribute and where competition plus classification inevitably breeds fears." Bligh (1978). A review of the first year examination results for the five years from 1971 revealed an average pass rate of 55.5% and for 1976, 1977 and 1978 a marked decline to 39.32%. For the earlier period, Downing (1977) found that 19.69% of students completed their degree courses In the minimum number of years. For the latter period (1976 to 1978) this has dropped to 16.3%, which, with the figure for the earlier period, suggests that whilst the failure rate may be highest at the end of the first year, in subsequent years it is also high. In this respect Fort Hare differs from white universities where about 75% of students complete their degrees in minimum time (cf. Erens and Louw, 1978)
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1980

Relationships between certain personality factors and mathematics attainment in some selected schools in the range standards two to six

  • Authors: Ilsley, Jeffrey Robert
  • Date: 1978
  • Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Psychological aspects
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1973 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012544
  • Description: In the past the emphasis was given to intelligence as the 'sole major determining factor where academic success was concerned and Warburton (1969) wrote: The ignorance of educationists in the field of personality makes a striking contrast to their ability to estimate educational and intellectual capacity, imperfect as that may be. The understanding of children's personality and the teacher's ability to assess these traits is perhaps the most important topic in the whole field of education'. Where would we be today if we assumed that all children are of equal intelligence? We cannot therefore assume they are equally anxious, introverted and have the same persistence in the performing of a task, just as we cannot assume they have equal intellectual capabilities. " ... Any attempt to understand the complete causal chain associated with school attainment must include the effect of personality on the child's work in the school." (Eysenck , 1972). Intro. p. 1.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1978

Entrants to training college : an investigation into the ability in, aptitude for and attitude towards arithmetic and mathematics, displayed by entrants to training colleges for White persons in the Cape Province

  • Authors: Venter, Ian Andri
  • Date: 1973
  • Subjects: Arithmetic -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1916 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007283
  • Description: In many cases topics for research are presented to a student in capsulated, clearly defined terms, either as the result of his own experience or as a request by some institution. In other cases the topic takes shape but gradually, very often as the result of a student slowly becoming aware of a field of research through repeated observation of related factors. In some cases the aim of research is to determine whether there is a relationship between various factors; or disprove such in others the main aim may be to prove relationship in unequivocal terms. A large body of research is, however, concerned mainly with the statement of a problem or the finding of facts. The work presented in the following pages can be regarded as falling in the last-mentioned category. A vague suspicion was gradually strengthened by observation and experience until it finally crystallised to form the basis of the research. Facts and figures were gathered and analysed and some conclusions drawn, conclusions that gave rise to more questions and problems than fall within the scope of this work. It was, in fact, found that this research raised more questions than were answered by it and served mainly to underline the magnitude of the problem rather than to offer a solution.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1973

Peer-group leadership in schools

  • Authors: Bandey, Michael John
  • Date: 1972
  • Subjects: Leadership School discipline -- South Africa -- Cape of Good Hope School management and organization -- South Africa -- Cape of Good Hope Personality assessment of youth -- South Africa -- Cape of Good Hope
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1927 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007588
  • Description: For a number of years I have wondered why many of the prefects of some of the Grahamstown Schools have not become leaders in the particular sphere into which they chose to go after school. More than one head prefect that I have known has appeared to fade into anonymity after apparently leading his peers at school. I wondered if this was perhaps because at school he was not really a leader but simply an efficient policeman. Conversely, people who were not prefects at school often appeared as leaders in their chosen post-school careers. It seemed as if for some reason the prefect system at the schools concerned did not appreciably aid many pupils to develop their leadership potential or the selection procedures were inefficient. On investigating further I became more and. more interested in this topic until eventually, on discovering that the Rhodes University Education Department had a set of leadership scores, (calculated from a personality test) I undertook this investigation.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1972

A comparison of attitudes toward intensive competition among high school pupils

  • Authors: Potgieter, Justus R
  • Date: 1971
  • Subjects: Competition (Psychology) in adolescence Competition (Psychology) Interpersonal relations Motivation (Psychology)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1930 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007604
  • Description: From Preface: As a teacher with experience in competitive sport, the author became interested in the topic of athletic competition when joining the staff of an all-boys' school. The competitive aspect of sport at such a school can make quite an impression on an inexperienced teacher. The question then arose; Is this competitive atmosphere universal? Is this type of competition acceptable and desirable in our schools? Being a teacher of Physical Education as well as other subjects and also being actively involved in the coaching of senior sports teams the author regarded himself suitably qualified to investigate the matter of athletic competition in our schools.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1971

An investigation into religious instruction in state high schools in the Cape Province

  • Authors: Penny, Alan Joseph
  • Date: 1971
  • Subjects: Religious education -- South Africa -- Cape of Good Hope Religious education of teenagers
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1933 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007641
  • Description: From Preface: The question of religious instruction in Cape Schools first aroused my interest when I was subjected to anything but religious tnstruction during my own high school years. My desire to enquire into the whole position of religious instruction in the high school curriculum grew out of an essay on the role of religion in the education of the child which I wrote whilst reading for the B.Ed. degree. As background, I read Harold Loukes' classic Teenage Religion, and from then onwards, I felt that it was necessary to undertake an investigation of this kind in the Cape Province. My aim was not only prompted out of a desire to expose what I already knew to be an educationally and religiously unsound and unhealthy state of affairs, but more deeply because I, although an ignorant amateur in theology, am aware that too often the traditional religious foundations, poorly built by unintelligent teaching, are shaken, if not destroyed, by scientific discovery and material advancement.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1971

An investigation of the judgement of a sample of South African adolescent schoolchildren in certain areas of moral behaviour

  • Authors: Hayward, Fritz Reitz
  • Date: 1966
  • Subjects: Teenagers -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Youth -- South Africa -- Conduct of life , Multiculturalism -- Moral and ethical aspects , Moral education -- South Africa , Moral development -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:1998 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015009
  • Description: A. The Aims The modern adolescent is frequently accused of being morally lax; his judgement of moral issues is held in question; and parents, church and school are accused of having lost their influence on present-day youth. The writer wes lnterested in finding out whether these accusations could in fact be substantiated amongst a sample of adolescent school-children in a selected urban area. The aims of the research, therefore, were as follows :- (i) to investigate the judgement of these adolescents in certain given areas of moral behaviour, (ii) to determine whether there were any appreciable differences between the Afrikaans-speaking and English-speaking adolescents of the sample in their judgements of these moral issues, (iii) to determine whether there were any appreciable differences between adolescent boys and girls of the sample in their judgement of these moral issues, (iv) to explore the influences which caused the tested adolescents to re-act as they did.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1966

An investigation into the spelling ability of English-speaking and Afrikaans-speaking pupils in South African schools

  • Authors: Hayward, Fritz Reitz
  • Date: 1963
  • Subjects: English language -- Orthography and spelling -- Study and teaching , Afrikaans language -- Orthography and spelling -- Study and teaching
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1972 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012238 , English language -- Orthography and spelling -- Study and teaching , Afrikaans language -- Orthography and spelling -- Study and teaching
  • Description: The parlous state in which the English language finds itself in South Africa, both in its written and speech forms, is the cause ot grave concern to most English-speaking citizens, and to many Afrikaans-speaking people as well. This is the case not only in the commercial world and the civll service, but also in the schools and universities, and in fact in most walks of life. Although we are conscious of this state of affairs, and can quote many examples of the poor quality of English used, we have no measuring device through which we can assess exactly how bad the language used by any given group of people is. It is not possible to compare the performance in English of a certain school with standard English and to express the result as a percentage score. The aim of this investigation was to find out how well, or how badly, South African school children spell, and to compare the performances of English- and Afrikaansspeaking pupils. It was felt that the results would provide some concrete evidence and fairly accurate data which could be used to assess the standard of English spelling in our schools, and to pinpoint some of the major weaknesses. The writer hoped, thus, that the investigation might be of some practical usefulness to teachers of English spelling, and as spelling is basic to the written word and to some extent to the spoken word, it might make some small contribution to the drive towards better English in South African schools.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1963

The history and the problems of Bantu urban secondary education in the Eastern Cape, 1937-1954 (Ciskei region)

  • Authors: Dyasi, Hubert Mongameli
  • Date: 1961
  • Subjects: Black people -- Education -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Black people -- Education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- History
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1997 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014827
  • Description: 1. Reasons for Choosing the Topic. Much has been written about secondary education in England, Continental Europe, the United States, Canada, China and other countries mainly "because Secondary Education has been one of the most prized of all formal types of education ... because it has been the rung of the educational ladder that has led to opportunity and preferment". Very little research work has been done on Bantu secondary education in the Ciskei, and still less about Bantu urban secondary education. This is a shortcoming since the Ciskei has been one of the most important educational areas for the Bantu in the Union of South Africa and the territories outside her borders. It was here that the experiment of Bantu day secondary schools was carried out. It could aptly have been said of the Ciskei, too, that "experimental work (destined one day to blaze into a consuming fire) has been carried on, where men and women of faith and inspiration have lit up some dark corner of the field, and where teachers of genius have defied tradition and convention, gone their own way in scorn of consequence, and have lit a candle which will never be put out". The Bantu Urban Day Secondary Schools started amidst conflicting opinions as regards their advantages and disadvantages. Difficulties were encountered and efforts made to overcome them. The present writer attempts to show how the problems of these schools were overcome and to assess the progress that was made. 2. Need for the Study. There is a great need for the study of the history and problems of Bantu Urban Day Secondary education because for many years to come these schools will have to serve an increasing number of urban Bantu pupils. The results of the research may serve as a guide to teachers appointed to these schools. The important history of these institutions preserved only in the minds of old men and women, may be lost to posterity. There is also a great need to bring to light the unique problems confronting these schools. 3. Scope of Dissertation. The dissertation limits itself to Bantu Urban Day secondary education, in specific areas of the Ciskei. Two secondary and two high schools have been chosen for special study. Bantu Urban Day Secondary Schools are those schools which are situated in areas under the jurisdiction of municipalities or town councils irrespective of whether the school admits largely pupils who are outside such an area or only those within it or both. The entrance qualification to these schools has always been a pass in Standard VI (normally after eight years of primary or elementary schooling). For the Bantu pupil the Junior Certificate Course was of three years' duration. The successful completion of the J.C. course qualified pupils to train as nurses, in the case of girls, and agricultural demonstrators in the case of boys. Both sexes could undertake studies for Native Primary Higher Teachers' Course, and the Senior Certificate Course or the Matriculation leading to university degrees.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1961

The contribution of the Anglican church to education in the Cape

  • Authors: Rawlins, G E
  • Date: 1960
  • Subjects: Church and education -- South Africa , Church of England -- Education -- South Africa , Education -- South Africa -- Cape of Good Hope
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1978 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013055
  • Description: In his "Onderwys in Kaapland, 1652 - 1939", Dr. P.S. du Toit makes special references to the educational work of the Anglican Church, indicating that there is some contribution. This attitude has as its aim to expose more of the reef of which the outcrops receive attention by Dr. du Toit ... much can happen between 1807 and 1829, and some of what did is described in these pages. One of Dr. du Toit's interests is the effect of the attempt to make English and instruction in English the basis of all education. Chap. 1, p. 1.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1960

The junior secondary course of the Cape Province and the dull-normal child : (a pilot study based on research in the Border area and the North-Eastern districts)

The historical development of geography as a subject in the schools of the Cape Province (1772-1951)

  • Authors: Knox, John Charles
  • Date: 1959
  • Subjects: Geography -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Cape of Good Hope
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:1974 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012702 , Geography -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Cape of Good Hope
  • Description: As the title indicates, this is a study of the historical emergence of geography as a subject in Cape schools, and covers the period 1772-1951. The account is not merely descriptive and factual, for wherever possible an attempt is made to assess the nature and scope of the geography which was taught at different periods in relation to modern, authoritative ideas concerning the pedagogic application of the subject in the school. The work as a whole is predominantly concerned with the historical development of geography in the secondary school. However, in the initial four chapters the slight and insubstantial nature of the available data precludes the possibility of differentiating between geoeraphy of primary standard and that of secondary standard, and in these early chapters all references to the subject are consequently generalized. In Chapter 5, which deals with the period during which Langham Dale was Superintendent-Genera l of Education, geography of secondary standard becomes distinguishable from that of primary standard for the first time, and from this point onwards the two are differentiated to the fullest extent possible, and the former is chiefly emphasized. The entire study is presented against a broad background of relevant, educational developments of a general nature.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1959

A measuring device in spelling

  • Authors: Knipe, V H
  • Date: 1949
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:21161 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6650
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1949

A standardisation of Professor Spearman’s “A measure of 'intelligence' for use in schools” and a discussion of the methods of factorial analysis as applied to the study of ability

  • Authors: Butler, J E
  • Date: 1949
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: vital:20970 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5740
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1949
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact