An analysis of problems arising out of English medium instruction of pupils in ten Ciskeian schools, with particular reference to geography in standard eight
- Authors: Weimann, Alan Gilbert
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Geography -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Language and education -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Native language and education -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Students, Black -- Education -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Language arts -- South Africa -- Ciskei
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1342 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001408
- Description: Pupils in the Republic of South Africa in the T.B.V.C. States (Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei) are expected to commence study in all school subjects, except the first language (Xhosa, Tswana, Venda etc.) and the third language (Afrikaans), through the medium of English at the Std 3 level. English thus is the official medium of instruction for the greater part of the pupil's school experience. All examinations in all subjects (except those mentioned above) are set and answered through the medium of English. School textbooks from Std 3 upwards, in all subjects, are written in English. It is fairly safe to assert, therefore, that English should be the language life of the Higher Primary and Secondary School classroom. In 1953 a UNESCO report of proceedings of a conference held in 1951 maintained that the best medium for teaching a pupil was that of the mother-tongue. The report pleaded for mother-tongue instruction to be extended to as late a stage as possible in a pupil's school life (UNESCO 1953). While such a plea may be grounded on sound psychological and pedagogical reasoning, it is often ignored because of the realities existing within the educational system. The R.S.A. and the T.B.V.C. states are a case in point for as I have already mentioned, examinations, textbooks, and for that matter tertiary education at the post-matriculation level, all employ English as instructional medium. Pragmatism carries the day and the black pupil is compelled to use English. Other factors applicable to the South African context are the existence of many different ethnic groups, each with its own language, and the fact that a shortage of qualified and experienced teachers in many subjects and different levels within the schools has meant that often teachers whose first language is English are involved in teaching pupils from these various language groups
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- Date Issued: 1987
An analysis of selected grade 11 learners’ interactions with geometry tasks using visualization processes: a case study in Namibia
- Authors: Kabuku, Brian S
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- Activity programs , Geometry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Geometry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Cast studies , Visualization
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5949 , vital:20997
- Description: This case study was conducted at a secondary school where I teach, situated in the semi-rural setting of Bukalo village in Namibia, and sought to gain insights into the nature and role of visualisation processes employed when selected grade 11 learners interacted with selected geometry problems. According to Mariotti and Pensci (1994), visualisation takes place when "thinking is spontaneously accompanied and supported by images”, and helps students to understand the problem at hand. Visualisation is regarded as "making the unseen visible and imagery as the power to imagine the possible and the impossible” (Mason 1992). The study is located within an interpretive research paradigm in order to obtain in-depth understanding of the participants’ visualisation processes. Within this paradigm, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were adopted. The eight Grade 11 participants engaged with 12 items of the Geometry Visualisation Tasks (GVT) worksheets. Data was collected using video-recorded learners’ interactions with the GVT, observations, stimulated recall interviews and post-GVT interviews with the learners. During the data analysis stage, I used inductive analysis to determine patterns evident in learners ‘thinking processes’. My analytical framework consisted of indicators that were used to identify and classify visualisation processes for each task of the GVT for each participant. I adapted this framework from Ho (2010) and Ho, Ramful and Lowrie’s (2015) clarification of the representations. The findings from this study revealed that the use of visualisations facilitated meaningful learning when learners made use of these to develop and scaffold their conceptual understanding. The findings revealed that most learners used visualisation processes fairly to very accurately when solving geometry problems. They used visualisation processes by using sketches and diagrams that transformed a mathematical problem pictorially, connected their thinking to previous knowledge and experience, clarified the algebraic task and assisted them to understand the spatial relationships within each task.
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- Date Issued: 2017
An analysis of selected Grade 8 mathematics teachers’ use of gestures as visualisation tools to support mathematical meaning-making
- Authors: Haipinge, David Tuhafeni
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Gesture , Gesture in mathematics education , Visual learning , Visualization , Mathematics Study and teaching (Secondary) Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191969 , vital:45184
- Description: The purpose of this Namibian case study was to investigate how different types of gestures are used to support the construction of mathematical meaning making in teaching and learning. Gestures of three selected Grade 8 mathematics teachers were observed and analysed. This study was intended to answer the following research question: how do selected Grade 8 mathematics teachers use gestures as visualisation tools to support mathematical meaning making? The study was framed by an enactivist perspective and the research was oriented in the interpretive paradigm. Data were collected through video-recorded observations of three selected teachers and through stimulus recall interviews. In order to generate rich data and support validity, five lessons per selected teacher were video recorded. The study found that the participating teachers incorporated a variety of mathematical gestures into their lessons in order to support and provide mathematical meaning. Further, this study found that gestures facilitated meaning making in mathematics. The findings in the study suggest a need for mathematics teachers to be trained in using gestures appropriately to communicate mathematically in their lessons. In addition, this study discovered a new type of gesture – the overlapping gesture in addition to McNeill's (1992) types, namely: pointing gestures, metaphor gestures, beating gestures and iconic gestures. This case study also showed that the more experienced the teachers are, the more mathematical gestures they produce during their mathematics lessons. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2021
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- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
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
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.
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- Date Issued: 2015
An analysis of the distribution and use of teaching aids in mathematics in selected Windhoek secondary schools
- Authors: Dzambara, Tobias Munyaradzi
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia Teaching -- Aids and devices -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1344 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001410
- Description: This study investigates the types of mathematics teaching aids available at both public and private secondary schools in Windhoek. The study characterises their usage and source as well as teachers’ perceptions towards the use of such teaching resources in the Mathematics classroom. The study is grounded in an interpretive paradigm and employed a mixed methods approach to generate both quantitative and qualitative data in two sequential phases. Phase 1 of the research process, which involved 75 Mathematics teachers, took the form of an audit of the availability and use of teaching aids at 25 secondary schools in Windhoek. A case study methodology was adopted in Phase 2 which focused on five purposively selected schools that displayed different characteristics in terms of the availability of teaching resources. The study found that the majority of teachers at secondary schools in Windhoek have a positive attitude towards the importance and role of teaching aids in Mathematics, seeing them as promoters of hands-on engagement, visual reasoning, active participation and motivation amongst learners. However, in some instances schools are underresourced with respect to certain types of teaching aids, specifically graph boards, geoboards, geometric models and computers. A need for appropriate in-school support on the use of teaching aids was also identified
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- Date Issued: 2013
An analysis of the implementation of the Teaching Development Grant in the South African Higher Education Sector
- Authors: Moyo, Mtheto Temwa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- Aims and objectives -- South Africa , Government aid to higher education -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Evaluation , Education, Higher -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Educational leadership -- South Africa , Educational equalization -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , Teaching Development Grant (South Africa)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62225 , vital:28141
- Description: The South African government has attempted to address various transformation and efficiency challenges in the system through the steering mechanisms at its disposal. This study analyses the implementation of one of these mechanisms, the Teaching Development Grant (TDG), which is designed to enhance student learning through the improvement of teaching and teaching resources at South African universities. Since the inception as an earmarked grant ten years ago, a total of R5.5 billion has been allocated for the TDG. The study thus sought to answer the question: What are the factors enabling and constraining the use of the TDG to enhance teaching and student success at South African universities? A total of 275 TDG progress reports and budget plans were analysed alongside other TDG documentation such as TDG payment letters to universities and institutional submissions that universities made on the use of the TDG for the 2008 TDG Review. The TDG criteria and policy over the years were also included as data. The analysis used Archer’s (1995; 1996) morphogenesis/stasis framework, which is concerned with how change does or does not happen over time. Archer’s analytical dualism was used to identify the interplay of structural, cultural and agential mechanisms shaping the emergence of and practices associated with TDGs in order to make sense of the events and experiences in the data. One of the main findings of the study was that the historically-based differentiated nature of the South African higher education landscape constrained the implementation of the TDG. The stark resource differences in the sector has meant that the TDG has not fully translated into system-wide gains. In the initial years of TDG implementation from 2004 to 2013, most institutions did not use the TDG for teaching development initiatives per se, but rather spent the bulk of the funds on infrastructure and equipment. Such resource gaps have persisted and continue to compromise the academic enterprise at affected universities. The data also showed that universities which have access to additional funding other than state funding have been able to augment and advance their own funds and were thus able to at least partially counter late payments of the TDG, fluctuations in allocations, and the short-term nature of TDG budgets and inadequate allocations. This enabled relatively straightforward implementation of the teaching and learning enhancement programmes at these universities, while there were ongoing implementation difficulties at the universities with the lowest success rates, the very institutions the grant was most targeted to address. The study showed that the shortage of appropriate teaching and learning staff constrained the nature and type of interventions. Historically Disadvantaged Institutions in particular struggled to attract and retain the much-needed expertise. This emerged from multiple structural constraints such as geographical location, conditions of work, inefficient human resources systems, lack of access to financial resources for competitive packages, and instability in governance and management structures at some universities. Emerging from the data in the study is the fact that staffing challenges remain one of the core constraints in the implementation of the TDG. In particular, the data indicated that teaching and learning staff hired on the basis of TDG funds were generally hired as part-time or contract staff. This meant that their academic qualifications and experience in teaching development were limited and, in many cases, it meant that the posts were not filled at all. In some cases, the fluctuating budgets meant that some projects had to be downscaled or abandoned altogether. The study found that many of the interventions that were implemented had tenuous links to teaching and learning and, even where there were such links, these interventions were often based on fairly a-theoretical, common-sense understandings of what would develop teaching. In many universities, there was little evidence of institution-level planning of interventions aimed at fundamentally addressing the need for teaching development. The limited access to teaching and learning expertise across the sector was mirrored in the uneven distribution of expertise in administration, financial management, institutional planning and human resource divisions, which had implications for the establishment of monitoring systems and implementation processes of the TDG. The lack of strong systems and policies encouraged cultures that did not value transparency, accountability or compliance to the TDG policy. The role of corporate agency in the form of leadership and ownership of projects emerged as a key enabler in the implementation of the TDG. All of these structures shaped the ability of institutions to spend the TDG and in some cases millions of Rands in funds were not spent and so were withheld. The study found that the inability of some universities to spend was exacerbated by the problem of a lack of alignment between the DHET financial year and the academic year. Although the TDG has made a notable contribution to the advancement of teaching and learning (T&L) nationally, this study revealed that the blunt implementation of the TDG across the sector constrained the gains. In particular, the practice of withholding unspent funds focused only on the symptoms of underspending and not on the structural, cultural and agential mechanisms that led to such under-expenditure. The withheld funds were redirected by the government for national projects but as all universities including the well-resourced Historically Advantaged Institutions (HAIs) had access to these withheld funds this translated into a regressive distribution of the TDG. Limited capacity within DHET to direct, manage and monitor the grants has also had a constraining effect on their use and the secondment of a teaching and learning expert to the department was seen to be a significant but short-term enablement in this regard. The findings of how the TDG implementation has emerged in the South African higher education sector are particularly important at this point in time as the TDG together with the Research Development Grant will be reconfigured into a new grant called the University Capacity Development Grant as from 2018. This study provides significant insights into the structural, cultural, and agential enablements and constraints of this new grant being able to drive changes in the sector. The findings also provide insights into the implementation of other earmarked grants. , Boma la South Africa layesera kuthetsa mavuto omwe amadza posintha ndi kulongosola zinthu kudzera mu njira zosiyanasiyana. Kafukufukuyu akuunikira imodzi mwa njirazi yotchedwa Teaching Development Grant (TDG) yomwe inakonzedwa polimbikitsa maphunziro kudzera mukagwiritsidwe ntchito ka zipangizo zophunzitsira ndi zophunzirira za makono m’sukulu za ukachenjede ku South Africa. Ndalama zapafupifupi R5.5 billion ndi zomwe zaperekedwa kuti zigwiritsidwe nchito mu ndondomekoyi kuchokera pa nthawi yomwe inakhazikitsidwa; zaka khumi zapitazo. Kafukufukuyu anayesera kuyankha funso loti: Ndi zinthu ziti zomwe zimalimbikitsa kapena kubwezeretsa m’mbuyo kagwiritsidwe ntchito ka (TDG) polimbikitsa kuchita bwino kwa aphunzitsi ndi ophunzira m’sukulu za ukachenjede? Zikalata zosonyeza makhonzedwe a ophunzira, ndondomeko za kayendetseredwe ka chuma, zikalata za malipiridwe ndi zikalata zopezeka m’sukulu zaukachenjedezi zokhudzana ndi njira ya TDG zomwe zakhala zikugwiritsidwa ntchito zaka khumi zapitazi zinatengedwanso ngati uthenga wofunika koposa. Kauniuniyu anatsalira njira yotchedwa ‘Archer’s (1995/1996) Morphogenesis/Status Framework’ yomwe imafotokozera momwe kusintha kumachitikira pena kulepherekera. Njira younikira ya Archer: yothandizira pofufuza momwe kayendetsedwe ka bungwe, chikhalidwe komanso anthu oyendetsa bungwe amathandizira poonetsera momwe TDG imakhalira inagwiritsidwa ntchito poyesera kumvetsa zochitika komanso zopezeka mu kafukufukuyu. Chimodzi mwa zotsatira za kafukufukuyu n’chakuti kagwiritsidwe ntchito ka TDG kamabwezeredwa m’mbuyo ndi momwe sukulu za ukachenjede ku South Africa zidapangidwira. Kusiyana kwa usiwa wa zipangizo m’sukuluzi kudapangitsa kuti njira ya TDG isaonetse zipatso kwenikweni. Mu zaka zoyambirira itangokhazikidwitsa (2007 - 2013), sukulu zambiri sizidagwiritse ntchito TDG polimbikitsa kaphunzitsidwe. M’malo mwake ndalama zankhaninkhani zidagwiritsidwa ntchito pa zomangamanga ndi kugulira zipangizo. Usiwa wa zipangizowu ulipobe ndipo ukusokoneza mbali ya maphunziro m’sukulu zokhudzidwazi. Kafukufukuyu anasonyezanso kuti sukulu zomwe zimalandira thandizo lowonjezera pa lomwe zimalandira ku boma zakhala zikuyesetsa kuthana ndi vuto lopereka mochedwa ndalama za mundondomeko ya TDG ndi dongosolo la m’mene ndalamazi zigwirire ntchito. Izi zinawachititsa kuti asapeze mavuto ambiri polimbikitsa ndondomeko za kaphunzitsidwe ndi kaphunziridwe pomwe ena amavutika nazo. Enawa n’kukhala sukulu zomwe sizimachita bwino, zomwenso thandizoli lidalunjika pa izo kuti zithandizike. Kafukufukuyu anasonyeza kuti kuchepa kwa aphunzitsi kudapsinja zochitika zokhudza njirayi. Sukulu zosachita bwino kuchokera kalezi zidavutika kupeza ndi kusunga ogwira ntchito ake. Izi zimakhala choncho kaamba ka zifukwa zosiyanasiyana monga komwe sukuluyo ili, malamulo a ntchito, kupanda ukadaulo kwa oyang’anira antchitowa, kutalikirana ndi njira zina zopezera ndalama komanso kusakhazikika kwa anthu m’maudindo. Zina zotulukanso mu mfundo zotoledwazi zinaulula kuti vuto lina lalikulu linali ogwira ntchito. Polimbikitsa njira ya TDG, zimatanthauza kuti aphunzitsi omwe azilembedwa azikhala osakhazikika pa sukuluzi kapena a kontarakiti. Izi zimatanthauza kuti maphunziro ndi luntha lawo zimayenera kukhala zochepera. Mwanjira ina, tikhonza kunena kuti ogwira ntchitoyi panalibe. Nthawi zina, kusinthasintha kwa ndondomeko zachuma madongosolo ena kusiyidwa kapena kuchitika mosalongosoka. Kafukufukuyu anasonyezanso kuti zambiri mwa mfundo zomwe zinayikidwa kuti zigwiritsidwe ntchito zinali zosathandiza kwenikweni polimbikitsa maphunzirowa. Ndipo komwe mfundozi zinakhazikitsidwa, zinali chabe kufotokozera zinthu zodziwika kale ndi kale zokhudza zomwe zingalimbikitse uphunzitsi. M’sukulu zambiri za ukachenjede, pali umboni wochepa wa mfundo zomwe zinaikidwiratu ndi cholinga chopititsa patsogolo uphunzitsiwu. Kusowa kwa ukadaulo pa maphunzirowa kunaonekanso makamaka m’madera monga a oyendetsa sukuluzi, oyang’ana za chuma, olongosola malo onse komanso oyang’anira antchito. Panalibe kugawana anthuwa mofanana. Izi zidakhudza kwambiri kalondolondo ndinso kayendetsedwe ka TDG. Kusowa kwa ndondomeko zabwino ndi malamulo okhazikika kunalimbikitsa chikhalidwe cha chinyengo ndi kusatsatira mfundo za mundondomekoyi popereka utsogoleri ndi umwini ndiye unali wofunika polimbikitsa ndondomekoyi. Madongosolo otere anathandiza kuti sukulu zigwiritse ntchito njira ya TDG ndipo pena ndalama mamiliyoni zibwezedwe. Kafukufukuyu anaonetsa kuti kulephera kwa sukulu zina kugwiritsa ntchito ndalama kunachitika kaamba kosazindikira malire a chaka cha DHET ndi chaka cha maphunziro. Ngakhale njira ya TDG yathandizako kagwiritsidwe ntchito ka zipangizo zophunzitsira ndi zophunzirira, kafukufukuyu wasonyeza kuti mavuto omwe anaoneka mu ndondomeko ya TDG aphimba ubwino wake. Monga, m’chitidwe wobweza ndalama zosagwira ntchito unalunjika pa kulephera kugwiritsa ntchito ndalama zonse osati pa ubale pakati pa kayendetsedwe ka bungwe, chikhalidwe ndinso anthu oyendetsa bungwe. Ndalama zotsarazi zinalowetsedwa ku zitukuko zina ndi boma. Koma poti sukulu zonse za ukachenjede kuphatikizapo HAI zinapeza mwayi wa ndalamazi, izi zimabweretsa kulowa pansi kwa dongosolo la TDG. Kulephera mu DHET kutsogolera, kuyendetsa ndi kulondoloza thandizo kwadzetsanso mavuto pa kagwiritsidwe ntchito kake ngakhalenso kutumizidwa kwa katswiri pa kaphunzitsidwe kunaoneka ngati kofunika kosathandiza kwenikweni chifukwa kudali kwa nthawi yochepa. Zotsatira za kafukufukuyu (zokhudza maphunziro a ukachenjede ku South Africa) ndi zofunika kwambiri makamaka nthawi ino pomwe TDG pamodzi ndi RDG (Research Development Grant) zikhale kuunikiridwanso ndi kupanga thandizo latsopano lotchedwa University Capacity Development Grant kuyambira m’chaka cha 2018. Kafukufukuyu waunika mozama kayendetsedwe, chikhalidwe komanso oyendetsa zithandizo komanso mavuto kuti thandizo latsopanoli likathe kubweretsa kusintha. Zotsatirazi zaunikiranso kayendetsedwe ka zithandizo zina zomwe zikufuna kuchitika.
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- Date Issued: 2018
An analysis of the influence of question design on pupils' approaches to number pattern generalisation tasks
- Authors: Samson, Duncan Alistair
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching Number theory -- Problems, exercises, etc Algebra -- Study and teaching Arithmetic -- Foundations Pattern perception
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1421 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003302
- Description: This study is based on a qualitative investigation framed within an interpretive paradigm, and aims to investigate the extent to which question design affects the solution strategies adopted by children when solving linear number pattern generalisation tasks presented in pictorial and numeric contexts. The research tool comprised a series of 22 pencil and paper exercises based on linear generalisation tasks set in both numeric and 2-dimensional pictorial contexts. The responses to these linear generalisation questions were classified by means of stage descriptors as well as stage modifiers. The method or strategy adopted was carefully analysed and classified into one of seven categories. A meta-analysis focused on the formula derived for the nth term in conjunction with its justification. The process of justification proved to be a critical factor in being able to accurately interpret the origin of the sub-structure evident in many of these responses. From a theoretical perspective, the central role of justification/proof within the context of this study is seen as communication of mathematical understanding, and the process of justification/proof proved to be highly successful in providing a window of understanding into each pupil’s cognitive reasoning. The results of this study strongly support the notion that question design can play a critical role in influencing pupils’ choice of strategy and level of attainment when solving pattern generalisation tasks. Furthermore, this study identified a diverse range of visually motivated strategies and mechanisms of visualisation. An awareness and appreciation for such a diversity of visualisation strategies, as well as an understanding of the importance of appropriate question design, has direct pedagogical application within the context of the mathematics classroom.
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- Date Issued: 2008
An analysis of the nature of visualisation objects in three Namibian grade 9 mathematics textbooks: a case study in Namibia
- Authors: Nghifimule, Selma Ndilipomwene
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6334 , vital:21090
- Description: Textbooks are a universal and central element of teaching and learning mathematics (Namibia. Ministry of Education [MoE], 2008). Steenpaß and Steinbring (2014) state that diagrams in mathematics textbooks are often used as Visualisation Objects (VOs) to enhance learning of mathematical concepts. VOs in textbooks are thus important teaching and learning tools (Fotakopoulou and Spiliotopoulou, 2008). This Namibian interpretive case study analysed the nature of VOs used in the three approved grade 9 Namibian mathematics textbooks namely: y=mx+c to success, Maths for Life 9 and Discover Mathematics 9. The VOs were analysed by using an analytical framework adapted from Fotakopoulou and Spiliotopoulou (2008). This analytic tool was specifically used to interrogate the following categories: the type of VOs, the roles of VOs, the relation of VOs to mathematical content, the relation of VOs to reality, and their properties. The 266 VOs under study were collected from the Algebra and Geometry chapters of each book. This study also included survey questionnaires with the 50 selected mathematics teachers, which sought their views and perceptions on the use of the identified VOs. In addition, the authors’ rationale in selecting the identified VOs used in their textbooks was sought through interviews. This research study is part of the “Visualisation in Namibia and Zambia” (VISNAMZA) project which seeks to research the effective use of visualisation processes in the mathematics classroom in Namibia and Zambia (Schäfer, 2015). It is hoped that this study contributes towards improving the quality of textbook evaluations, and design of suitable and more comprehensive assessment procedures in Namibia. It is also hoped that it creates a critical awareness of the roles of VOs in textbooks amongst teachers, inspiring them to help their learners interpret VOs effectively. It should also inspire potential authors to use suitable and appropriate VOs that enhance conceptual teaching and learning of mathematics. The study discovered that most of the VOs used in the selected textbooks align well with the mathematical content. The VOs can help make abstract ideas concrete, stimulate learning, simplify and clarify written texts. In addition, VOs can also be used as a tool for reasoning and an instrument for problem solving. The findings however also indicate that some of the VOs used are not self-explanatory; they are vague, unfamiliar and confusing, leading to misinterpretations by some learners. Another interesting finding was that some of the learners found it difficult to interpret VOs on their own without the help of the teacher.
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- Date Issued: 2017
An analysis of the roles and functions of teachers’ gestures as visualisation tools in the teaching of mathematics at the junior primary phase (Grades 0 –3)
- Authors: Namakalu, Dietlinde Nelao
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Gesture , Gesture in mathematics education , Visual learning , Visualization , Education, Elementary -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96713 , vital:31311
- Description: There is ample evidence in the literature that gestures are important hand and bodily actions that play vital roles during interactions between learners and teachers in the mathematics classroom. These gestures enable both the teacher and the learner to visualise mathematical concepts and ideas. The aim of this Namibian interpretive case study, located in enactivist theory, was to analyse the types of gestures that three selected teachers at the junior primary phase (Grades 0–3) used in their teaching of mathematics. The study also interrogated the roles that these gestures played in the teaching process of the three teachers. As I intended to analyse the types of gestures the selected teachers used and understand their views and perceptions of the roles and functions their gestures played as visualisation tools in the teaching of mathematics, I observed ten lessons of each teacher and video recorded them. I then interviewed them (one-on-one stimulus-recall interviews) and interpreted the gestures they used and utterances they made about using these gestures. The types of gestures that the participating teachers used are classified according to McNeill‘s (1992) framework, namely pointing (deictic) gestures, iconic (illustrators) gestures, metaphoric gestures, beat (motor) gestures and symbolic (emblems) gestures. The study found that the participating teachers incorporated a variety of gestures into their lessons and used them strategically. According to the teachers, gestures made the lessons interesting and encouraged active participation of the learners in the lessons. The teachers also revealed that gestures assist in explaining mathematical concepts and thus affected the learners‘ understanding positively. This study strongly suggests that the usefulness and efficacy of employing gestures as visualisation tools in mathematics education should be strategically harnessed.
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- Date Issued: 2019
An analysis of the suitability of prescribed geography textbooks for Ciskei pupils in standard 6
- Authors: Rulashe, Turbner Mnyamezeli
- Date: 1995
- Subjects: Geography -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Textbooks -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1422 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003303
- Description: Research has shown that in the South African school context textbooks are perceived as the most important guide to subject content. It is essential, therefore, that pupils and teachers should possess skills and strategies that they can use to interpret and understand the textbook. Equally, textbook writers ought to be aware of the cues pupils need to facilitate the learning process. Problems that hinder the learning of geography subject content from textbooks may arise from, among other things, the style in which the text is written, the way in which concepts are developed, the presentation of visual materials and elements of bias and stereotyping. This study scrutinises and analyses two standard 6 geography textbooks prescribed for Ciskei schools to assess the extent to which these textbooks consider the language competence of the pupils, explain and develop concepts, and in general promote the geographical education. Interviews with Ciskei teachers revealed that Standard 6 pupils encounter difficulties in the geography textbooks which are attributed to the fact that they are second language learners and they lack the requisite skills for interpreting visual materials. The analysis of the textbooks revealed that despite efforts made in recent years to rectify the most blatant aspects of bias and stereotyping and to improve the presentation of textbooks, a number of serious problems continue to exist particularly with regard to the Standard 6 learner of geography. The study attempts to alert writers of texbooks and teachers to factors which need to be taken into consideration to assist second language speakers toward effective learning.
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- Date Issued: 1995
An analysis of visualization processes used by selected Grade 11 and 12 learners when solving algebraic problems: a Namibian case study
- Authors: Josef, Joseane
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Visualization , Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- Namibia -- Case studies , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Activity programs , Algebra -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7843 , vital:21309
- Description: Visualisation is gaining visibility in mathematics education research. It is a powerful tool for solving different types of problems in many areas of mathematics, including Algebra - the mathematical domain of this study. The aim of this case study was to analyse the visualisation processes that selected senior secondary school learners used to solve a set of ten algebraic problems.The research was conducted at a secondary school in the Erongo region of Namibia. This is the school where the researcher is teaching. The sample consisted of six selected learners, three from Grade 11 and three from Grade 12. The learners were purposefully selected to participate in this study based on their mathematics performance in class and their willingness to participate. The participants were video recorded as they worked through the ten items of an Algebraic Visualisation Tasks (AVT) worksheet. They were also interviewed about the visualisation processes they employed when solving each of the tasks. The AVT, the videos and the interviews were analysed with the aid of an adapted visualisation template. The findings of the study show that learners used visualisations in all their problem-solving processes. These visualisations were used for different purposes such as starting points, for illustrative purposes, as organizational tools and as simplification tools. Visualisations as starting points were used when the problem was wordy and had lengthy descriptions and explanations. Illustrative visualisations enabled learners to articulate in their own way mathematical notations, mathematical equations and expressions that they then used to solve the problem. Organizational pictures provided a useful structural framework for solving the problems.This research suggests that the selected participants indeed used visualisation processes to solve algebraic problems. It is thus important for teachers to harness this aid and make the most use of these visualisation processes when teaching Algebra.
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- Date Issued: 2017
An enquiry into the formative and summative assessment procedures, and perceptions thereof, of grade 10 mathematics teachers : a Namibian case study
- Authors: Marongwe, Anesu Desmond
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1385 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001513
- Description: The purpose of this study was to gain insight into observed discrepancies between continuous assessment and final examination average marks in Grade 10 Mathematics in the Oshikoto region of Namibia. The study is framed as a case study and is grounded within the interpretive paradigm. A mixed methods approach was applied, eliciting both quantitative as well as qualitative data. The study took place in two phases. In Phase 1, continuous assessment and Grade 10 final examination average marks for 62 Junior Secondary Schools for the period 2008-2010 were gathered and analyzed. Schools were characterized in terms of the relationship between their continuous assessment and final examination average marks for each of the three years. Phase 2, which was informed by Phase 1, took the form of structured interviews with a sample of three Mathematics teachers and three principals along with a focus-group interview of twelve teachers in order to investigate more deeply the perceptions of teachers and principals toward assessment policy and practice. The study shows that Grade 10 assessment practice in Namibian schools is far from ideal. Many teachers are not fully conversant with the various continuous assessment components as outlined by policy, and teachers are not confident about setting appropriate continuous assessment tasks. There is a strong perception that continuous assessment marks can easily be inflated and those teachers who gave high continuous assessment marks to their learners were generally perceived as being either incompetent or dishonest. While continuous assessment was seen as an important component of teaching and learning, it is evident that teachers and principals would welcome greater clarity, along with standardization and moderation, with respect to continuous assessment practice.
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- Date Issued: 2013
An environmental education portfolio: three small scale studies informing school greening activities and professional development of teachers in two rural Eastern Cape schools in SANBI's Greening the Nation Project
- Authors: Finca, Moffat Nkosiphendule
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: South African National Biodiversity Institute Environmental education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Teachers -- In-service training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1737 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003621
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- Date Issued: 2010
An ethnographic study of beginner mathematics teachers’ classroom practices in the first three years of their employment: Shaping of a Professional Identity
- Authors: Narayanan, Ajayagosh Ettappiriparambil
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2069 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020967
- Description: The main theme in this study examines how beginner mathematics teachers (BTs) shape their professional identity in their first three years of classroom practices in Lesotho. This study, which focuses particularly on BTs’ second and third year of employment, gathers data with an understanding that the notion of professional identity is multi-faceted. Professional identity embraces a host of other identities such as personal identity, teacher identity, mathematics identity and community of practice identity. This study is framed by social theories of learning. Learning occurs by active participation and practice. BTs’ peripheral participation assists them in making sense of the activities (situated learning) in which they are engaged, in the classrooms. The sense making processes eventually shape their professional identity. In line with situated meanings that BTs form, the key notion (professional identity) is further categorised into personal identity, teacher identity, mathematics identity and community of practice identity. These identities integrate to become the professional identity of a beginner mathematics teacher. Using a narrative ethnographic approach as the research method, I have made use of extensive classroom observations and interviews to gather data. In this study, six volunteer participant BTs were originally selected. These teachers were from two districts, Berea and Maseru in Lesotho. After being observed in the classrooms, these teachers were interviewed. In the third year of the study, one participant withdrew from the study. I used vertical (descriptive) analysis to narrate their classroom practice followed by horizontal analysis to understand how they shape their professional identity. The analytical model enables the researcher to analyse the data in order to establish how the BTs’ actions, their reflexive stories and their journey in becoming a mathematics teacher shape their professional identity. The recurring themes that emerged from the horizontal analysis are the ways BTs approach the classroom practice which is dominated by teacher-centred learning. This involves demonstrating an example and then students following this model to practice more examples. In this sense, their approach is the same though these BTs started understanding how their classroom approaches can bring changes in the learning of mathematics. I analysed the utterances from the BTs’ classroom activities by separating these into mathematizing and subjectifying. The subjectifying utterances were further analysed to understand how these created meaning. These, in my view, are also central features of a teacher’s practice that need interpretation in order to understand the shaping of a professional identity. The key finding is that their narrative helped them to understand how they shape their professional identity. The study highlights the importance of listening to BTs’ stories of how they become mathematics teachers. Their narratives can be the benchmark for stake-holders, policy makers and potential researchers as the study on BTs’ professional identity is relatively new in Lesotho.
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- Date Issued: 2016
An evaluation of case study teaching materials on hazards: based on the current aims of geographical education
- Authors: Pyle, Desmond Mark
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Geography -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa Disasters -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Hazardous geographic environments -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1524 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003406
- Description: Hazards are an integral part of people-environment relationships. The impact of hazards locally and globally has become increasinglymore severe. particularly in the previous two decades. This is largely as a result of unwise human intervention in natural systems. The study of hazards at secondary school level affords valuable opportunities for learning about people-environment issues. This in turn, can promote a greater awareness of environmental problems. One of the most important current aims of Geographical Education is the development of critical thinking skills in pupils. Such skills are vital for equipping pupils with the necessary tools to understand and participate in solving the world's increasing human and environmental problems. The development of a critical faculty in pupils is best achieved by the use of learner-based participatory teaching strategies where pupils are involved in problem solving activities. Research has shown that British and South African Geography curricula reflect current thinking in Geographical education and learning theory. The 1992 Junior Secondary Geography Syllabus in line with these trends. includes a section for study on hazards. Hazards are presented primarily as case studies in modern Geographical texts. which is seen as one of the most effective ways of teaching hazards. Research however suggests that South African textbooks have certain shortcomings. notwithstanding the importance placed on textbooks by teachers in this country. This study investigated the extent to which case study teaching materials on hazards are optimising opportunities available for effective learning within an Environmental Paradigm. An evaluation methodology, which is believed to have value for use by other researchers, was developed to suit the specific requirements of the study. The study findings reveal a poor realisation of the current aims of Geographical Education and learning theory, regarding the South African teaching materials. Recommendations are made improvements in the development and use of local case teaching materials. Guidelines for the development of for study local materials are provided from case studies in British texts and from methods developed by the researcher.
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- Date Issued: 1994
An evaluation of the impact of the Rhodes University Master of Education in Mathematics Education Programme in Namibia from the perspectives of its graduates
- Authors: David, Johannes
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Master of education degree Namibia , Rhodes University. Department of Education , Mathematics Study and teaching , Critical thinking , Master of education degree Evaluation , Career development Namibia , Educational change Namibia , College students Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191942 , vital:45181
- Description: Rhodes University (RU) has been offering a MEdME (Masters in Education, Mathematics Education) degree in Namibia for over 12 years without evaluating its success and impact. This study aimed to evaluate the MEdME programme’s impact on the graduates and on mathematics education in Namibia from the perspectives of its graduates. The study also evaluated the factors that enabled or limited the impact of the programme from the perspective of RU staff members. A three-phased research study was implemented to achieve this. Phase I was a MEdME theses audit to analyze what each graduate researched which then guided the sampling process. Phase II was a distribution of a questionnaire to willing MEdME graduates to elicit their views about the programme's impact. In Phase III, selected graduates were interviewed to follow up on the questionnaire. The RU academic staff members were also interviewed about the programme's design and rationale, as well as their perspectives on its impact on graduates' professional lives. The study found that graduates believed that the programme made them more critical reflexive practitioners (CRPs) who: are now self-introspective, can reflect in context and are competent researchers. This is a sign of the programme attaining its objectives of developing and growing CRPs and graduates, who have advanced in their fields, including their ability to do research. The programme also created opportunities for graduates to study further and/or publish papers. The programme further opened up opportunities for graduates’ promotion into positions of influence in the Ministry of Education where they can positively impact on mathematics education transformation in Namibia (METN). The graduates consequently noticed improvements in some areas but they also noticed room for improvement in other areas of mathematics education in Namibia. This study therefore suggests that more mathematics teachers study further, improve their research capacity and contribute more to METN. The study also suggests a national campaign to increase mathematics teachers' content knowledge. Furthermore, the programme should reintroduce coursework to address students’ subject content knowledge. RU is also advised to explore offering a Professional MEd in Namibia for students who want to focus more on improving their mathematics content knowledge. It is also proposed that Namibia establish a research bank where researchers can upload their theses for wider dissemination. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2021
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- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
An evaluation of the interdisciplinary nature of environmental education in colleges of education in Bophuthatswana
- Authors: Akwa, Joseph Yeboah
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Environmental education -- South Africa -- Bophuthatswana Environmental education -- Curricula -- South Africa -- Bophuthatswana
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1526 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003408
- Description: This study was aimed at evaluating the interdisciplinary nature of environmental education within the colleges of education in Bophuthatswana. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews with college lecturers and, to a lesser extent, on observations during a workshop with environmental educators from Bophuthatswana. Knowledge was gained about college related factors which influence the varying extent to which environmental education is being implemented within the colleges of education. Lecturers' understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of environmental education and related concepts was explored. Insights were also gained into problems of implementation which included lecturers' limited understanding of the concept of interdisciplinarity, structural ambiguities, limited training and experience, and a lack of clarity in both local and international literature on environmental education concepts and terms. Specifically the study sought to illuminate the dichotomy between theory and practice, the conflict between the dominant curriculum paradigm and the new emerging paradigm, and tensions between the interdisciplinary nature of environmental education and subject-based disciplines, which lead to problems of implementation. The study could make an important contribution to the current curriculum debate on environmental education in South Africa by illuminating the dichotomy between the theory and the practice of environmental education, and the problems involved in translating interdisciplinary approaches into workable classroom practices within discipline based curriculum structures.
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- Date Issued: 1994
An evaluation of the life science curriculum in Namibia and its development through stakeholders' perceptions of ʺlearner centred educationʺ
- Authors: Kristensen, Jesper Olsson
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Life science project Curriculum evaluation -- Namibia Environmental education Educational change -- Namibia Life sciences -- Study and teaching -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1527 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003409
- Description: Following Independence in 1991 Namibia embarked on a major reform of the entire education system. The reform was perceived as a way of redressing the apartheid legacy and bringing about a democratic learner centred education for all. At the same time the reform was also seen as a prime vehicle to bring about sustainable development through incorporating relevant environmental education into various carrier subjects. One such carrier has been the subject Life Science, which is compulsory from Grade 8 to Grade 10. The Life Science Project was a joint venture between the Ministry of Education and Ibis, a Danish Development NGO, established to develop and support the implementation of Life Science in junior secondary schools. This half-thesis is an evaluation of the Life Science Project through an analysis of the central assumptions on which the Life Science curriculum is based and by investigating different stakeholders’ perceptions and understanding of the learner centred approach adopted by the curriculum. Three questions have guided this research: 1. Are there curriculum models that are more conducive for reform and change than others? 2. Do stakeholders and curriculum developers in Namibia understand the theory of social constructivism, and the systemic implications such an approach has for the education system? 3. Which approach to environmental education complements a transformative curriculum and the changes outlined in policy? From the research carried out in this half-thesis, it would appear that the Namibian education system and the Life Science curriculum suffers from what could be termed “ideological confusion”. Confusion in the sense that there are marked inconsistencies between policy and praxis, between the stated goals and aims of the reform and the curriculum designed to achieve these. This confusion is further exacerbated by various stakeholders’ different interpretations of both policy and the systemic implications the reform policy has on education. In this half-thesis I argue that embarking on an objectives driven model of curriculum cannot bring about change and transformation of the Namibian education system. I further argue that, by not having considered and implemented the necessary systemic changes to the education system, Namibia has, in fact, developed a child centred education system which is fundamentally different from a learner centred education system. Finally, I argue that environmental education, through the subject Life Science, set within an objectives driven, Child Centred Education system is inappropriate for and unable to address the need for developing an environmentally literate citizenry who are able to take informed decisions in order to address the environmental crisis and bring forth a more sustainable future.
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- Date Issued: 2000
An evaluation of the use of computers in a South African primary school
- Authors: Mostert, Orla
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Education, Elementary -- South Africa -- Computer-assisted instruction Computer-assisted instruction -- South Africa Educational technology -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1528 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003410
- Description: The introduction of the computer into the educational arena is unique as pressure for its inclusion has come not from educationalists, but from public demand based on the conviction that exposure to computers is an essential ingredient of modern education. This has resulted in computers being added to school curricula before there has been careful research into its educational implications, making huge demands on teachers involved in the innovation. South African primary schools involved in computer education have followed international trends in their adoption of computers, initially perceiving computer education as a separate subject added on to the present curriculum. However, changing trends in computer use internationally are now beginning to reflect educators' changing perceptions of the nature of primary education, and educators are calling for the use of computers to be integrated into the curriculum rather than being seen as an area of study in themselves. This investigation attempts to outline general trends and perceptions of computer use in a South African primary school. Despite a high level of computer usage at the observed school, the computer was seen by teachers, in the main, as an extra subject, and has not yet led to any significant changes in teaching styles and methods. The research suggests that two main issues need to be resolved before computer education in primary schools reflects the present paradigm shift towards learner-centered educational practices. Firstly, there is a need to rethink the delivery of the curriculum towards one which promotes a greater degree of problem solving and decision making on the part of the learner. Secondly, it would appear that teachers need to be made more aware of this trend.
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- Date Issued: 1992