An analysis of some school history textbooks with special reference to styles of concept presentation
- Authors: Matoti, Sukude Mangwevandile
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: History -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Textbooks -- Evaluation , South Africa -- History -- Textbooks
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1343 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001409
- Description: The aim of this study was to find out whether the school history textbooks used in Transkei Junior and Senior secondary schools were adequate in helping pupils meet the demands of their course. The results of the study would be used as argument for or against the assumption that the type of textbooks used in Transkei schools, through their inadequacy in equipping the pupils with the necessary skills for "doing" history, do contribute to the high failure rate in history, especially that they are in most schools, the only recourse for both the teacher and the pupil. In particular the study intended to see what strategies the history textbooks used to aid concept understanding which is crucial to the understanding of history. Twenty three criteria, fourteen objective and nine subjective were used to assess the books for readability and for strategies which might aid concept understanding. Eight books were assessed: four Std 5 and four Std 8 books. The results showed that only three of the eight books catered for the development of skills of learning history and were suited to the level of the pupiils for whom they were intended . History textbooks therefore need to be improved so as to foster the skills of learning history. Their inadequacy could be a contributory factor to the high rate of failure. In-service and pre-service training in methods of textbook analysis can assist in textbook selection and for changes in methods of teaching to supplement shortcomings in books which are commonly used
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- Date Issued: 1990
Perceptions of the gap between theory and practice in the preparation of English language teachers at the Lesotho College of Education
- Authors: Molete, Bakae
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Lesotho College of Education Education -- Research -- Lesotho Teachers -- Training of -- Lesotho Student teaching -- Lesotho English language -- Study and teaching -- Lesotho Observation (Educational method) English teachers -- Training of -- Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1936 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007682
- Description: The distinction between theory and practice can be traced back to Aristotle (384-322 B.C). Theory has been seen as the preserve of the academician who, through research, produces knowledge for the practitioner to use in his/her practice. This research sets out to investigate perceptions of the respondents with regard to the extent to which theory is applicable in practice. It does this in the context of teacher training at the Lesotho College of Education, (LCE), a teacher training college in Lesotho. In this research project; a case study of 5 students from the LCE who had been on teaching practice, their mentor teachers on teaching practice, and a college lecturer who had observed said students on teaching practice was used. Data was collected by means of focus group interviews and semi-structured interviews. Relevant documents in the form of classroom observation forms were also used. The findings from the data analysis revealed that students on teaching practice had, to a great extent, had difficulties in applying what they had learned at the college when they got to teaching practice. Difficulties were mainly experienced in the areas of classroom and time management as well as in the application of the teaching methods learned at the college. This research takes a closer look at these difficulties. It investigates their probable causes and, finally, suggests ways of responding to them.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Research portfolio
- Authors: Hoveka, E P
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia Teaching -- Namibia Curriculum planning -- Namibia Educational change -- Namibia English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1733 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003616
- Description: The purpose of this study is to look at English Second Language IGCSE Core Curriculum for Grades 11 and 12. The criteria that has been identified and selected for analysis as stipulated by the Ministry of Basic Education and Culture Language policy Document of 1996 reads as follows: The aim of teaching English as a language should be to enable the learners to increase their participation in the learning processes. This aim was selected as the criteria for investigation because the notion of active participation by the learners in the teaching and learning process places the learners in a different perspective. In other words, the learners are to be seen as possessors of knowledge rather than ‘empty vessels’ as depicted by the behaviourist approach (Van Harmelen 1999). This idea of a learner-centred approach as embedded in Social Constructivism approach is the foundation on which the Namibian Education Reform Process is based. The justification for selecting these particular criteria for close inspection in the English Second Language Curriculum was sparked by the professional attachment of the researcher into teaching English Second Language to Grades 11 and 12 at the Herman Gmeiner Technical School in Swakopmund. The researcher is also serving as a subject head for this particular discipline. Furthermore, evaluating and analyzing the English Second Language curriculum on this particular objective, the researcher hopes to uncover or come to an understanding of how our educational practices have moved from what was practiced under the behavioural approach and to discover the needs of teachers in terms of implementing the new curriculum in their daily practices as educators. Having the criteria stated, the study will focus on how the data was collected and the type of methodology used to gather this information.
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- Date Issued: 2004
Social learning processes in a citrus farming community of practice
- Authors: Downsborough, Linda
- Date: 2007
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1878 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005859
- Description: Learning takes place in a number of ways. Situated learning for example, tries to shift the focus from the individual as a learner to the learner participating in the social world and from learning as a strictly cognitive process to a more encompassing view of social practice. The overall aim of this research was to gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which learning takes place in and between members of a citrus farming community, in other words it was to investigate the social learning processes. The research was undertaken in Patensie, a citrus farming community of the Gamtoos River Valley, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Data was generated through the use of interviews and informal discussions with participants together with document analysis, such as minutes of meetings. I also made observations of the learning interactions that were evident and also the interactions that were evident in the area as a whole. The data was analysed in two phases, the first involved reading across the interview transcripts and organizing the data under broad themes while the second phase made use of an analytical framework, a Community of Practice perspective to further analyze and engage with the data. I drew quite strongly on the ideas of situated learning, Communities of Practice and the notion of Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991) as a means to understand, interpret and describe the social learning processes. The research highlighted that in this case study, citrus farmers learn in a number of sociological ways, for example through intergenerational learning (in the family), learning from each other in a Community of Practice, learning from private consultants and extensions officers as well as from other organizations and institutions. It also considered how farmers' learning had influenced land use practice in the area. This brought to the fore an emerging partnership with a conservation agent based on providing economic incentives to farmers to engage in sustainable landuse practices. It is hoped that this research may inform future educational endeavours by shedding light on the social learning processes and by drawing attention to key aspects of learning that may previously have been overlooked in research.
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- Date Issued: 2007