A collaboratively constructed process model for understanding and supporting the work of the community volunteer in a community school
- Authors: Damons, Bruce Peter
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Volunteer workers in education -- South Africa Community schools -- South Africa , Volunteers -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/15049 , vital:28116
- Description: This thesis sought to explore how community volunteers could be recruited, supported and sustained to assist a community school operating in difficult socioeconomic conditions in achieving basic school functionality. Through a collaborative process, the participants in the study attempted to address a significant gap in the literature, namely how this could be achieved in a way that would be beneficial both to the community volunteers and to the school itself. Based on existing literature, the vast majority of South African schools are struggling to reach the basic functionality levels required in terms of legislation. My interest in this topic was piqued while serving as principal of one such school; hence the focus in this thesis on whether schools would benefit in terms of achieving functionality if they partnered with the communities in which they are located. However, communities are seldom actively involved in the schools and school activities on an ongoing daily basis. In this thesis, I argue for an opportunity for schools and the community to collaborate in a way that would be mutually beneficial. In this, I was guided by the School-Based Complementary Learning Framework (SBCLF) in gaining a greater understanding of how multiple stakeholders could support a school to obtain basic functionality. A key stakeholder is the community in which a school is located, and the multidimensional framework provided a framework to understand why the community would want to get involved in the school. Following a Participatory Action Learning and Action Research (PALAR) design, I recruited 15 community volunteers from the existing pool at my then school; some of whom had been volunteering for over twelve years. We formed an action learning set where we collaboratively sought to understand the processes and conditions needed to recruit, support and sustain community volunteers and their involvement in the school. From this action learning set emerged a key advisors’ set, comprising five members of the action learning set, who were entrusted with the responsibility of planning, preparing and analysing the action learning set meetings. Transcripts and visual artefacts from the action learning set meetings and a focus group meeting of the school management team were analysed to generate data, complemented by secondary sources, such as documents. This participatory approach to data generation allowed the voice of every participant to be heard; agency was increased through active participation; and the sense of affiliation to the group was deepened. The iterative design of the research process further ensured that the participants also engaged in a critical discourse analysis of the emerging data, of which the trustworthiness was enhanced through the use of dialogic and process, catalytic, rhetoric, democratic and outcome validity. The emergence of the data through this collaborative engagement was underpinned by the ethical values of mutual respect; equality and inclusion; democratic participation; active learning; making a difference; collective action; and personal integrity. The findings revealed that community volunteers did add immense value to the school by supporting teaching and learning processes. However, the community volunteers also harboured expectations of material support and opportunities to develop skills. In addition, the study revealed that the hierarchical culture and structures present in most South African schools need to become more democratic and collaborative, with those working to make the school more functional, including community volunteers, being valued, acknowledged and supported. The participants also constructed their understanding of what a community school should be and do and how it should serve the interests of the children from the community. A process model was constructed from these findings regarding on ways to recruit, sustain and support community volunteers involved in community schools, specially designed so that schools could adapt it to suit individual contexts. This study is unique; I am not aware of any similar study ever having been conducted in a community school in South Africa. Furthermore, the collaborative approach used in the study helped ensure that the methodology used could be of value to principals and other school stakeholders in addressing the various complex challenges that confront schools in these contexts. Also, the findings will add to the theoretical body of knowledge around volunteerism, especially in difficult socioeconomic conditions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Damons, Bruce Peter
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Volunteer workers in education -- South Africa Community schools -- South Africa , Volunteers -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/15049 , vital:28116
- Description: This thesis sought to explore how community volunteers could be recruited, supported and sustained to assist a community school operating in difficult socioeconomic conditions in achieving basic school functionality. Through a collaborative process, the participants in the study attempted to address a significant gap in the literature, namely how this could be achieved in a way that would be beneficial both to the community volunteers and to the school itself. Based on existing literature, the vast majority of South African schools are struggling to reach the basic functionality levels required in terms of legislation. My interest in this topic was piqued while serving as principal of one such school; hence the focus in this thesis on whether schools would benefit in terms of achieving functionality if they partnered with the communities in which they are located. However, communities are seldom actively involved in the schools and school activities on an ongoing daily basis. In this thesis, I argue for an opportunity for schools and the community to collaborate in a way that would be mutually beneficial. In this, I was guided by the School-Based Complementary Learning Framework (SBCLF) in gaining a greater understanding of how multiple stakeholders could support a school to obtain basic functionality. A key stakeholder is the community in which a school is located, and the multidimensional framework provided a framework to understand why the community would want to get involved in the school. Following a Participatory Action Learning and Action Research (PALAR) design, I recruited 15 community volunteers from the existing pool at my then school; some of whom had been volunteering for over twelve years. We formed an action learning set where we collaboratively sought to understand the processes and conditions needed to recruit, support and sustain community volunteers and their involvement in the school. From this action learning set emerged a key advisors’ set, comprising five members of the action learning set, who were entrusted with the responsibility of planning, preparing and analysing the action learning set meetings. Transcripts and visual artefacts from the action learning set meetings and a focus group meeting of the school management team were analysed to generate data, complemented by secondary sources, such as documents. This participatory approach to data generation allowed the voice of every participant to be heard; agency was increased through active participation; and the sense of affiliation to the group was deepened. The iterative design of the research process further ensured that the participants also engaged in a critical discourse analysis of the emerging data, of which the trustworthiness was enhanced through the use of dialogic and process, catalytic, rhetoric, democratic and outcome validity. The emergence of the data through this collaborative engagement was underpinned by the ethical values of mutual respect; equality and inclusion; democratic participation; active learning; making a difference; collective action; and personal integrity. The findings revealed that community volunteers did add immense value to the school by supporting teaching and learning processes. However, the community volunteers also harboured expectations of material support and opportunities to develop skills. In addition, the study revealed that the hierarchical culture and structures present in most South African schools need to become more democratic and collaborative, with those working to make the school more functional, including community volunteers, being valued, acknowledged and supported. The participants also constructed their understanding of what a community school should be and do and how it should serve the interests of the children from the community. A process model was constructed from these findings regarding on ways to recruit, sustain and support community volunteers involved in community schools, specially designed so that schools could adapt it to suit individual contexts. This study is unique; I am not aware of any similar study ever having been conducted in a community school in South Africa. Furthermore, the collaborative approach used in the study helped ensure that the methodology used could be of value to principals and other school stakeholders in addressing the various complex challenges that confront schools in these contexts. Also, the findings will add to the theoretical body of knowledge around volunteerism, especially in difficult socioeconomic conditions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A framework for the inclusion of students with visual impairments: a case of a Zimbabwe state university
- Authors: Manyumwa, Ennie
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Inclusive education -- Zimbabwe Students with disabilities -- Education (Higher) -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/29805 , vital:30780
- Description: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of students with visual impairments in a selected state university in Zimbabwe in order to develop a framework for their inclusion. The study was necessitated by the increased enrolment of students with visual impairments in universities worldwide in response to inclusion in education and the continuous search for the best placement model for students with disabilities. Studies conducted internationally show that students with visual impairments have unique learning needs which must be addressed if their inclusion in universities is to be successful. The study was informed by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological and Bandura’s agentic theories, both of which stress the bi-directional relationship between an individual and the environment. The transformative paradigm which guided this study, lays emphasis on the need to improve the social situation of individuals with disabilities in order to bring about a more equitable society. Since the study intended to gain an understanding of how students with visual impairments interpret their experiences within a selected state university in Zimbabwe which practices inclusion, the qualitative case study design was used. Purposeful sampling was also used in the selection of both the university studied and the participants. Data generation methods employed included the semi-structured interview, photo-voice, document analysis and observation. Data generated were analysed following emergent themes that were used to answer the research questions. Findings revealed that the university started enrolling students with visual impairments in 2004 and has since established a Disability Resource Centre which is equipped with assistive devices and is manned by caring staff. Findings revealed a glaring absence of a university policy on inclusion. The guiding principles used did not clearly articulate issues of inclusion. The students’ positive experiences resulted from single rooms allocated to them and the support received from friends and caring staff. Negative experiences emanated from bureaucratic admission procedures, challenges of adjusting to university life in the absence of orientation and mobility training, financial challenges, hostile social environment and the students’ perceptions of themselves. The students suggested that the university should assist them with fees and expressed their wish to be consulted on matters that concern them. They xviii also suggested close co-operation between the administration and the Disability Resource Centre. The conclusion reached was that although the university was sensitive to issues of inclusion, there were still some deficiencies in the system that were impacting negatively on the inclusion of students with visual impairments. The study recommended a framework which shows the different committees and support systems which can be formed at different levels to facilitate the development of a comprehensive policy on inclusion and expedite its implementation. The involvement of students with visual impairments in the different committees was also recommended. This would afford them the chance to exercise their agentic resources and be involved in matters which concern them, rather than rely on decisions made by sighted individuals who might not possess adequate knowledge of what visual impairment entails.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Manyumwa, Ennie
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Inclusive education -- Zimbabwe Students with disabilities -- Education (Higher) -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/29805 , vital:30780
- Description: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of students with visual impairments in a selected state university in Zimbabwe in order to develop a framework for their inclusion. The study was necessitated by the increased enrolment of students with visual impairments in universities worldwide in response to inclusion in education and the continuous search for the best placement model for students with disabilities. Studies conducted internationally show that students with visual impairments have unique learning needs which must be addressed if their inclusion in universities is to be successful. The study was informed by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological and Bandura’s agentic theories, both of which stress the bi-directional relationship between an individual and the environment. The transformative paradigm which guided this study, lays emphasis on the need to improve the social situation of individuals with disabilities in order to bring about a more equitable society. Since the study intended to gain an understanding of how students with visual impairments interpret their experiences within a selected state university in Zimbabwe which practices inclusion, the qualitative case study design was used. Purposeful sampling was also used in the selection of both the university studied and the participants. Data generation methods employed included the semi-structured interview, photo-voice, document analysis and observation. Data generated were analysed following emergent themes that were used to answer the research questions. Findings revealed that the university started enrolling students with visual impairments in 2004 and has since established a Disability Resource Centre which is equipped with assistive devices and is manned by caring staff. Findings revealed a glaring absence of a university policy on inclusion. The guiding principles used did not clearly articulate issues of inclusion. The students’ positive experiences resulted from single rooms allocated to them and the support received from friends and caring staff. Negative experiences emanated from bureaucratic admission procedures, challenges of adjusting to university life in the absence of orientation and mobility training, financial challenges, hostile social environment and the students’ perceptions of themselves. The students suggested that the university should assist them with fees and expressed their wish to be consulted on matters that concern them. They xviii also suggested close co-operation between the administration and the Disability Resource Centre. The conclusion reached was that although the university was sensitive to issues of inclusion, there were still some deficiencies in the system that were impacting negatively on the inclusion of students with visual impairments. The study recommended a framework which shows the different committees and support systems which can be formed at different levels to facilitate the development of a comprehensive policy on inclusion and expedite its implementation. The involvement of students with visual impairments in the different committees was also recommended. This would afford them the chance to exercise their agentic resources and be involved in matters which concern them, rather than rely on decisions made by sighted individuals who might not possess adequate knowledge of what visual impairment entails.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Active learning strategies used by teachers during English reading comprehension lessons in six selected primary schools in Nigeria
- Adepoju, Adetokunboh Abayomi
- Authors: Adepoju, Adetokunboh Abayomi
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Education, Primary -- Nigeria Learning strategies -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8485 , vital:32838
- Description: Reading is an integral part of education from which one gets access to information. Unfortunately, reading ability among primary school pupils, the foundation level of education, is at its lowest ebb. These pupils when they get to secondary schools eventually fail external examinations-a situation which according to National Examination Council, is caused by inappropriate teaching methods. Consequent upon this, this study assessed active learning strategies used by teacher during English reading comprehension lessons in six selected primary schools in Nigeria. The main research question was: How do teachers employ active learning strategies in teaching English reading comprehension? The study adopted qualitative approach and case study design. With the use of purposive sampling technique to select six head teachers, six primary VI teachers, two members of the School Basic Committee, the Director Local Government Education Authority and six focus groups. The study used interviews, documents and focus group interview as research instruments to collect data. Data were analysed based on interpretivism paradigm which interpreted participants’ views according to the word view of the participants. The study found out that teachers have good knowledge of active learning strategies and use them in teaching English reading comprehension lessons but are faced with some daunting challenges such as non-availability of instructional materials, lack of library, lack of qualified teachers and lack of time. The study concluded that students fail woefully in English reading comprehension because teachers do not use appropriate teaching techniques. The study recommend that teachers must use active learning strategies effectively and more often during English reading comprehension, more time should be allocated for English reading comprehension, effective use of instructional materials should be considered and the government should employ specialist teachers to teach English reading comprehension.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Adepoju, Adetokunboh Abayomi
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Education, Primary -- Nigeria Learning strategies -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8485 , vital:32838
- Description: Reading is an integral part of education from which one gets access to information. Unfortunately, reading ability among primary school pupils, the foundation level of education, is at its lowest ebb. These pupils when they get to secondary schools eventually fail external examinations-a situation which according to National Examination Council, is caused by inappropriate teaching methods. Consequent upon this, this study assessed active learning strategies used by teacher during English reading comprehension lessons in six selected primary schools in Nigeria. The main research question was: How do teachers employ active learning strategies in teaching English reading comprehension? The study adopted qualitative approach and case study design. With the use of purposive sampling technique to select six head teachers, six primary VI teachers, two members of the School Basic Committee, the Director Local Government Education Authority and six focus groups. The study used interviews, documents and focus group interview as research instruments to collect data. Data were analysed based on interpretivism paradigm which interpreted participants’ views according to the word view of the participants. The study found out that teachers have good knowledge of active learning strategies and use them in teaching English reading comprehension lessons but are faced with some daunting challenges such as non-availability of instructional materials, lack of library, lack of qualified teachers and lack of time. The study concluded that students fail woefully in English reading comprehension because teachers do not use appropriate teaching techniques. The study recommend that teachers must use active learning strategies effectively and more often during English reading comprehension, more time should be allocated for English reading comprehension, effective use of instructional materials should be considered and the government should employ specialist teachers to teach English reading comprehension.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Addressing gender-based violence in the age of Aids: rural youth engaging peers through social media
- Authors: Geldenhuys, Martha Maria
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) in adolescence -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal -- Attitudes , Violence -- Sex differences , Digital storytelling , Social media -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/12469 , vital:27069
- Description: This study responds to the following research question: How might rural school youth engage peers using social media in a participatory cultures framework to contribute to addressing gender-based violence in their community? This question is supported by the following secondary questions: How do rural school youth understand gender-based violence in their community. how might rural school youth use social media within a participatory cultures framework to engage peers in addressing GBV How can rural school youth engage with their peers via social media to facilitate youth agency in a participatory cultures framework This qualitative study is positioned in a critical paradigm and employs a visual participatory research methodology to contribute to addressing gender-based violence in the age of HIV and AIDS. The participants in this study are five learners (3 boys and 2 girls) with five of their peers (3 boys and 2 girls) from a secondary school in rural Vulindlela in KwaZulu-Natal, purposively selected from Grade 9 classes. Digital storytelling was employed as the main visual method of data generation to express the participants’ understanding of, and solutions to, genderbased violence. The stories were used by the participants to engage their peers around the topic via social media and to enable them to reflect on their own agency. The study draws on Jenkins’ theory of participatory cultures as a heoretical framework. Thematic analysis was applied to make meaning of the findings. The findings show that rural school youth understand gender-based violence (GBV) as a complex problem. Youthful learners are able to competently apply social media to address GBV and engage their peers through social media – hifting the power to participate as agents of change.The findings have implications for youth, the school, and the community. The youth are seen as knowledgeable actors who should inform intervention programmes aimed at social change. Social media can offer an engaging environment for peer learning and support. For digital participation, the youth need to acquire digital skills at school which could be integrated throughout the curriculum, drawing on participatory cultures. In the community, youth as knowledge producers are competent in leading, guiding, and instructing community members using social media spaces as more people have access to inexpensive digital technology that allows them to participate in community intervention programmes aimed at social change. I conclude by arguing that youth can express lived realties on GBV and solutions to GBV through visual methods such as digital storytelling. Their engagement on social media such as Facebook can be viewed as intervention by assuming agency through a guided process of solving community problems collaboratively with peers through the process of participatory cultures. This democratic process strengthens agency for community benefit and highlights a new youth and peer culture where youth circulate new and self-made content aimed at social action through their continuous reflection – a shift in power as the voices and actions of youth are acknowledged.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Addressing gender-based violence in the age of Aids: rural youth engaging peers through social media
- Authors: Geldenhuys, Martha Maria
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) in adolescence -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal -- Attitudes , Violence -- Sex differences , Digital storytelling , Social media -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/12469 , vital:27069
- Description: This study responds to the following research question: How might rural school youth engage peers using social media in a participatory cultures framework to contribute to addressing gender-based violence in their community? This question is supported by the following secondary questions: How do rural school youth understand gender-based violence in their community. how might rural school youth use social media within a participatory cultures framework to engage peers in addressing GBV How can rural school youth engage with their peers via social media to facilitate youth agency in a participatory cultures framework This qualitative study is positioned in a critical paradigm and employs a visual participatory research methodology to contribute to addressing gender-based violence in the age of HIV and AIDS. The participants in this study are five learners (3 boys and 2 girls) with five of their peers (3 boys and 2 girls) from a secondary school in rural Vulindlela in KwaZulu-Natal, purposively selected from Grade 9 classes. Digital storytelling was employed as the main visual method of data generation to express the participants’ understanding of, and solutions to, genderbased violence. The stories were used by the participants to engage their peers around the topic via social media and to enable them to reflect on their own agency. The study draws on Jenkins’ theory of participatory cultures as a heoretical framework. Thematic analysis was applied to make meaning of the findings. The findings show that rural school youth understand gender-based violence (GBV) as a complex problem. Youthful learners are able to competently apply social media to address GBV and engage their peers through social media – hifting the power to participate as agents of change.The findings have implications for youth, the school, and the community. The youth are seen as knowledgeable actors who should inform intervention programmes aimed at social change. Social media can offer an engaging environment for peer learning and support. For digital participation, the youth need to acquire digital skills at school which could be integrated throughout the curriculum, drawing on participatory cultures. In the community, youth as knowledge producers are competent in leading, guiding, and instructing community members using social media spaces as more people have access to inexpensive digital technology that allows them to participate in community intervention programmes aimed at social change. I conclude by arguing that youth can express lived realties on GBV and solutions to GBV through visual methods such as digital storytelling. Their engagement on social media such as Facebook can be viewed as intervention by assuming agency through a guided process of solving community problems collaboratively with peers through the process of participatory cultures. This democratic process strengthens agency for community benefit and highlights a new youth and peer culture where youth circulate new and self-made content aimed at social action through their continuous reflection – a shift in power as the voices and actions of youth are acknowledged.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Agriculture vocational education programme and the promotion of job creation skills in the Free State Technical Vocational Education and Training College
- Authors: Thwala, William Mandla
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Vocational education -- South Africa -- Free State Job creation -- South Africa -- Free State
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11172 , vital:37199
- Description: The aim of the study was to investigate agriculture educational programme and the promotion of job creation skills in the OFS FET College. The interpretivism paradigm and design approach were adopted in this qualitative research. The sample consisted of three final year students, three facilitators and one coordinator. The non-probability and purposive sampling techniques was used for the qualitative research. The qualitative data was descriptive, and thematically analysed. The study found that there is a big demand for agricultural professional in South Africa but very few are choosing this career. The quality of education in agricultural sector is not where it should be. The demand for skilled people in the sector is growing, while the number of students enrolling in agriculture-related training continues to decrease. Africa’s agricultural education is failing to produce a new wave of farmers. The study found that FET colleges did not train and provide enough skills to students to enhance development in agriculture sectors and therefore make students non-productive at labour market. The study also found that the FET colleges had left a trail of low skills, partially educated and jobless youth behind. The study also found that the curriculum tended to be outmoded, irrelevant to adequately address the challenges facing modern agriculture .The curriculum still focused on farm production rather than encompassing all segments of agricultural value chains, entrepreneurship, and agriculture business processing market. Agriculture forms the basic food security of every country .It contributes a large proportion of gross domestic product in many developing countries and is the source of income and subsistence for many of the poorest and most vulnerable individuals and households.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Thwala, William Mandla
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Vocational education -- South Africa -- Free State Job creation -- South Africa -- Free State
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11172 , vital:37199
- Description: The aim of the study was to investigate agriculture educational programme and the promotion of job creation skills in the OFS FET College. The interpretivism paradigm and design approach were adopted in this qualitative research. The sample consisted of three final year students, three facilitators and one coordinator. The non-probability and purposive sampling techniques was used for the qualitative research. The qualitative data was descriptive, and thematically analysed. The study found that there is a big demand for agricultural professional in South Africa but very few are choosing this career. The quality of education in agricultural sector is not where it should be. The demand for skilled people in the sector is growing, while the number of students enrolling in agriculture-related training continues to decrease. Africa’s agricultural education is failing to produce a new wave of farmers. The study found that FET colleges did not train and provide enough skills to students to enhance development in agriculture sectors and therefore make students non-productive at labour market. The study also found that the FET colleges had left a trail of low skills, partially educated and jobless youth behind. The study also found that the curriculum tended to be outmoded, irrelevant to adequately address the challenges facing modern agriculture .The curriculum still focused on farm production rather than encompassing all segments of agricultural value chains, entrepreneurship, and agriculture business processing market. Agriculture forms the basic food security of every country .It contributes a large proportion of gross domestic product in many developing countries and is the source of income and subsistence for many of the poorest and most vulnerable individuals and households.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
An analysis of the implementation of the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom in Uganda
- Authors: Ssembatya, Henry Hollan
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Ganda language -- Study and teaching -- Uganda African languages -- Study and teaching , Language acquisition
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14422 , vital:27590
- Description: This qualitative study set out to examine how the integrated approach to language teaching led to an enhancement in Luganda language practices in selected ordinary level secondary schools in the Kampala district of Uganda. The study was positioned within an interpretive paradigm, and employed a phenomenological approach in its intention to uncover the lived experiences and common hidden meanings that participants attached to the phenomena. Purposeful sampling was used to identify 30 teachers from 15 schools and 3 inspectors of school curricula who participated in the study. Data generation strategies included personal interviews and observations which were analyzed according to transcendental phenomenological data analysis methods such as bracketing, horizontalization, clustering into themes, textual description, structural description and textual-structural essence of the study. This study is located in the field of language education and informed by the theoretical framework of the cognitive constructivist theory of learning. In terms of the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom, the findings show firstly, that teachers held positive perceptions towards the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom and, as such, they perceived it as a basis for teaching language content and literacy practices collectively through various interactive strategies. Secondly, teachers implemented the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom as a practical-based activity where learners are engaged in tasks which promote meaningful and real communication in the form of content, task-based instruction, literary texts or readers and contextual or experiential learning. Thirdly, findings on the enhancement of language practices in an integrated Luganda language classroom show that if teachers adopted and implemented the principles of the integrated approach, learners would be motivated to acquire not only the four language practices, but also other related practices such as cognitive, social and interpersonal practices which collectively simplify the language use. Lastly, while teachers are aware of what learners could achieve in an integrated Luganda language classroom, findings indicate that they are demotivated by the many challenges in the implementation process which stem from the teachers, the education system, the learners, and the integrated approach itself. The major implications and recommendations of this study’s findings include: firstly, teachers’ perceptions on the use of the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom imply that since language learning is a function of social and meaningful classroom interactions learning activities should recognize a teacher as a reflective practitioner, consultant or facilitator of learning rather than an instructor. Secondly, the implementation of the integrated approach in a language classroom would require teachers to be grounded in both practical and theoretical instructional strategies which form a basis for monitoring and engaging learners’ oral and interactive practices. Thirdly, the enhancement of language practices is an outcome of classroom motivation and active interactions which involve creative and critical thinking. Thus, creating and sustaining situations for the enhancement of language practices in a language classroom would require effective branding of learners’ interactive activities with ample opportunities for practice as well as instructional support. Fourthly, considering the perceived challenges in the implementation of the integrated approach, the overall recommendation would be that those challenges need to be resolved if the integrated approach is to be successfully implemented in the context of the Luganda language. An awareness of such challenges provides teachers, educators and policy-makers with insightful ideas in terms of how to manage or change instructional strategies in the classroom.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Ssembatya, Henry Hollan
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Ganda language -- Study and teaching -- Uganda African languages -- Study and teaching , Language acquisition
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14422 , vital:27590
- Description: This qualitative study set out to examine how the integrated approach to language teaching led to an enhancement in Luganda language practices in selected ordinary level secondary schools in the Kampala district of Uganda. The study was positioned within an interpretive paradigm, and employed a phenomenological approach in its intention to uncover the lived experiences and common hidden meanings that participants attached to the phenomena. Purposeful sampling was used to identify 30 teachers from 15 schools and 3 inspectors of school curricula who participated in the study. Data generation strategies included personal interviews and observations which were analyzed according to transcendental phenomenological data analysis methods such as bracketing, horizontalization, clustering into themes, textual description, structural description and textual-structural essence of the study. This study is located in the field of language education and informed by the theoretical framework of the cognitive constructivist theory of learning. In terms of the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom, the findings show firstly, that teachers held positive perceptions towards the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom and, as such, they perceived it as a basis for teaching language content and literacy practices collectively through various interactive strategies. Secondly, teachers implemented the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom as a practical-based activity where learners are engaged in tasks which promote meaningful and real communication in the form of content, task-based instruction, literary texts or readers and contextual or experiential learning. Thirdly, findings on the enhancement of language practices in an integrated Luganda language classroom show that if teachers adopted and implemented the principles of the integrated approach, learners would be motivated to acquire not only the four language practices, but also other related practices such as cognitive, social and interpersonal practices which collectively simplify the language use. Lastly, while teachers are aware of what learners could achieve in an integrated Luganda language classroom, findings indicate that they are demotivated by the many challenges in the implementation process which stem from the teachers, the education system, the learners, and the integrated approach itself. The major implications and recommendations of this study’s findings include: firstly, teachers’ perceptions on the use of the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom imply that since language learning is a function of social and meaningful classroom interactions learning activities should recognize a teacher as a reflective practitioner, consultant or facilitator of learning rather than an instructor. Secondly, the implementation of the integrated approach in a language classroom would require teachers to be grounded in both practical and theoretical instructional strategies which form a basis for monitoring and engaging learners’ oral and interactive practices. Thirdly, the enhancement of language practices is an outcome of classroom motivation and active interactions which involve creative and critical thinking. Thus, creating and sustaining situations for the enhancement of language practices in a language classroom would require effective branding of learners’ interactive activities with ample opportunities for practice as well as instructional support. Fourthly, considering the perceived challenges in the implementation of the integrated approach, the overall recommendation would be that those challenges need to be resolved if the integrated approach is to be successfully implemented in the context of the Luganda language. An awareness of such challenges provides teachers, educators and policy-makers with insightful ideas in terms of how to manage or change instructional strategies in the classroom.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
An assessment of the role of guidance and counselling in promoting learner discipline in secondary schools in the Oshikoto region of Namibia : a case study of learners with discipline problems
- Authors: Mbongo, Emelia Ndapandula
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Educational counselling -- Namibia Counseling in secondary education -- Namibia School discipline -- Namibia School violence -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2325 , vital:27753
- Description: The study assessed the role of guidance and counselling in promoting learner discipline in secondary schools in the Oshikoto region of Namibia. The study used the mixed methods approach, which resulted in providing qualitative and quantitative data to provide an understanding of the problem. The instruments for data collection were questionnaires for principals, teachers, teacher counsellors and learners, as well as one-on-one interviews with learners. Thirty-one (31) principals, ninety-eight (98) teachers, thirty-seven (37) teacher counsellors and four hundred and eighty-nine (489) learners participated in the study. Results from the questionnaires were analysed by using descriptive statistics in the form of frequencies and percentages. Data presentation took the form of tables and bar graphs. Qualitative data collected from interviews were transcribed and put into themes and categories. The study revealed that schools experienced a wide range of disciplinary problems. It was further revealed that learners are affected by issues emanating from the environment, namely, schools and societies which influence their behaviour negatively. The principals and teachers believe that exclusionary and punitive methods are effective in managing learner indiscipline, while teacher counsellors and learners were against the use of such methods. In addition, principals, teachers and teacher counsellors all have a major role to play in maintaining discipline in schools through guidance and counselling. Suggestions were thus made to strengthen the use of guidance and counselling in promoting learner discipline in secondary schools by: improving training for teacher counsellors/Life Skills teachers in guidance and counselling, sensitisation of school managers about the roles and responsibilities of teacher counsellors, including the role played by teacher counsellors in learner discipline, improved leadership from school principals, strengthening the co-ordination and communication among the school personnel, and by strengthening the referral system from teachers to teacher counsellors and from teacher counsellors to outside agencies. It was recommended that the use of guidance and counselling in promoting learner discipline would be strengthened if teacher counsellors’ training is improved, school principals are sensitised on the roles of teacher counsellors, including their role in learner discipline as well as improved co-ordination and communication among school personnel regarding learner discipline. The study further recommended that the referral system of learners experiencing problems from teachers to teacher counsellors and from teacher counsellors to outside agencies should be strengthened.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Mbongo, Emelia Ndapandula
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Educational counselling -- Namibia Counseling in secondary education -- Namibia School discipline -- Namibia School violence -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2325 , vital:27753
- Description: The study assessed the role of guidance and counselling in promoting learner discipline in secondary schools in the Oshikoto region of Namibia. The study used the mixed methods approach, which resulted in providing qualitative and quantitative data to provide an understanding of the problem. The instruments for data collection were questionnaires for principals, teachers, teacher counsellors and learners, as well as one-on-one interviews with learners. Thirty-one (31) principals, ninety-eight (98) teachers, thirty-seven (37) teacher counsellors and four hundred and eighty-nine (489) learners participated in the study. Results from the questionnaires were analysed by using descriptive statistics in the form of frequencies and percentages. Data presentation took the form of tables and bar graphs. Qualitative data collected from interviews were transcribed and put into themes and categories. The study revealed that schools experienced a wide range of disciplinary problems. It was further revealed that learners are affected by issues emanating from the environment, namely, schools and societies which influence their behaviour negatively. The principals and teachers believe that exclusionary and punitive methods are effective in managing learner indiscipline, while teacher counsellors and learners were against the use of such methods. In addition, principals, teachers and teacher counsellors all have a major role to play in maintaining discipline in schools through guidance and counselling. Suggestions were thus made to strengthen the use of guidance and counselling in promoting learner discipline in secondary schools by: improving training for teacher counsellors/Life Skills teachers in guidance and counselling, sensitisation of school managers about the roles and responsibilities of teacher counsellors, including the role played by teacher counsellors in learner discipline, improved leadership from school principals, strengthening the co-ordination and communication among the school personnel, and by strengthening the referral system from teachers to teacher counsellors and from teacher counsellors to outside agencies. It was recommended that the use of guidance and counselling in promoting learner discipline would be strengthened if teacher counsellors’ training is improved, school principals are sensitised on the roles of teacher counsellors, including their role in learner discipline as well as improved co-ordination and communication among school personnel regarding learner discipline. The study further recommended that the referral system of learners experiencing problems from teachers to teacher counsellors and from teacher counsellors to outside agencies should be strengthened.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
An assessment of the strategies for implementing inclusive education in teacher education in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Makiwa, Ellen
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Inclusive education -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5025 , vital:29013
- Description: Inclusive education has become a global trend in the 21st century and is seen as a way of addressing barriers to learning for children with diverse backgrounds, needs, abilities and learning styles. The key to the success of the implementation of inclusive education lies in teacher education as this is where teachers are trained. Teacher education is thus expected to equip pre-service teacher trainees with relevant and effective strategies to enable them to implement inclusive education effectively in the schools in response to learner diversity. This study therefore focused on assessing the strategies for implementing inclusive education that teacher educators equip their pre-service trainees with in the primary teacher training colleges in Zimbabwe. The research was grounded in the pragmatist paradigm and the mixed method approach was employed. Data were collected from two primary teacher training colleges in Zimbabwe and in primary schools in the Harare Metropolitan Province. The participants were lecturers (teacher educators), pre-service trainees in the final phase of the course and qualified teachers who trained with the two colleges and are teaching in the Mbare-Hatfield District of the Harare Metropolitan Province. The study found out that most of the lecturers, pre-service teacher trainees and qualified teachers knew about inclusive education although some had a narrow view of the extent to which learner diversity entails. Therefore, this could affect the way these educators perceive inclusive teaching strategies in the implementation of inclusive education. The main finding was that the teaching strategies that pre-service trainees were equipped with were not quite effective for inclusive classrooms. The study also unveiled that lecturers in the primary teacher training colleges were aware of different teaching strategies with which pre-service trainees can be equipped and exposed to in order for effective teaching and learning to take place. They, however, did not differentiate between those strategies for regular classes and those for inclusive ones. Although the lecturers were aware of inclusive teaching strategies, they did not do much to equip their trainees with these due to challenges which include lack of coordinated programmes in lecturing in the different subject areas; lack of integration in topics taught in the different subject areas; loaded timetables in the teacher education curriculum; the nature of the teacher education curriculum which is not flexible as it focuses on examinations; inadequate resources and high lecturer-student ratio in the colleges; and high teacher-pupil ratio in the primary schools where the pre-service trainees do their teaching practice. The researcher made some recommendations from the conclusions drawn from the research findings. The recommendations included that there is need for adequate teacher preparation and training to enable teachers to be flexible, accommodative and reflective in their practice in terms of employing teaching strategies. The researcher also recommended a review of the primary teacher education curriculum in its entirety to accommodate fully the teaching of inclusive education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Makiwa, Ellen
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Inclusive education -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5025 , vital:29013
- Description: Inclusive education has become a global trend in the 21st century and is seen as a way of addressing barriers to learning for children with diverse backgrounds, needs, abilities and learning styles. The key to the success of the implementation of inclusive education lies in teacher education as this is where teachers are trained. Teacher education is thus expected to equip pre-service teacher trainees with relevant and effective strategies to enable them to implement inclusive education effectively in the schools in response to learner diversity. This study therefore focused on assessing the strategies for implementing inclusive education that teacher educators equip their pre-service trainees with in the primary teacher training colleges in Zimbabwe. The research was grounded in the pragmatist paradigm and the mixed method approach was employed. Data were collected from two primary teacher training colleges in Zimbabwe and in primary schools in the Harare Metropolitan Province. The participants were lecturers (teacher educators), pre-service trainees in the final phase of the course and qualified teachers who trained with the two colleges and are teaching in the Mbare-Hatfield District of the Harare Metropolitan Province. The study found out that most of the lecturers, pre-service teacher trainees and qualified teachers knew about inclusive education although some had a narrow view of the extent to which learner diversity entails. Therefore, this could affect the way these educators perceive inclusive teaching strategies in the implementation of inclusive education. The main finding was that the teaching strategies that pre-service trainees were equipped with were not quite effective for inclusive classrooms. The study also unveiled that lecturers in the primary teacher training colleges were aware of different teaching strategies with which pre-service trainees can be equipped and exposed to in order for effective teaching and learning to take place. They, however, did not differentiate between those strategies for regular classes and those for inclusive ones. Although the lecturers were aware of inclusive teaching strategies, they did not do much to equip their trainees with these due to challenges which include lack of coordinated programmes in lecturing in the different subject areas; lack of integration in topics taught in the different subject areas; loaded timetables in the teacher education curriculum; the nature of the teacher education curriculum which is not flexible as it focuses on examinations; inadequate resources and high lecturer-student ratio in the colleges; and high teacher-pupil ratio in the primary schools where the pre-service trainees do their teaching practice. The researcher made some recommendations from the conclusions drawn from the research findings. The recommendations included that there is need for adequate teacher preparation and training to enable teachers to be flexible, accommodative and reflective in their practice in terms of employing teaching strategies. The researcher also recommended a review of the primary teacher education curriculum in its entirety to accommodate fully the teaching of inclusive education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
An assessment study of the role of life orientation teachers in promoting career guidance and counselling of secondary school learners in the Vhembe district of Limpopo province, South Africa
- Authors: Dama, Nkhangweleni Gloria
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Counseling in secondary education -- South Africa -- Limpopo Life skills -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Limpopo
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9577 , vital:34794
- Description: The study sought to assess the role of Life Orientation teachers in promoting Career Guidance and Counselling for learners in secondary schools, and to establish strategies that can be implemented to improve their practice. The study followed a qualitative approach with case-study research design. The population consisted of Life Orientation teachers and learners from secondary schools. Purposive sampling was used to select 18 Life Orientation teachers who are teaching the subject in six secondary schools. A total number of 12 learners from Grade 10- 12 were selected to participate in the study. The study employed three data collection instruments; namely, one-on-one interviews, focus group discussions and questaviews. Data were categorised into themes, analysed and discussed accordingly. A number of findings emanated from the study. Life Orientation teachers understand their role but despite their understanding of such roles, they lack the necessary skills to fully equip learners with relevant knowledge so that they are able to choose careers that match with their subjects of specialization. The study revealed that Life Orientation teachers experience challenges, lack of training, lack of support by different stakeholders, the negative attitude towards the subject by both learners and Life Orientation teachers, the shortage of Life Orientation teachers, the subject is not valued like other subjects, poor parental involvement by parents and constant rotation of Life Orientation teachers. As a result, learners were not fully equipped in terms of knowledge and skills to choose the right subjects for specific careers and instead, some relied on their intuition while others relied on their peers. The study recommended that the Department of the Basic Education should appoint competent staff to address the unique academic/educational, psycho-social and career/vocational problems faced by learners in school, and for them to train the Life Orientation teachers as well. The subject should be taught by permanently by qualified teachers without being shifted to other subjects and to ensure that such teachers gain experience in the subject. This would add status and value to the subject.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Dama, Nkhangweleni Gloria
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Counseling in secondary education -- South Africa -- Limpopo Life skills -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Limpopo
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9577 , vital:34794
- Description: The study sought to assess the role of Life Orientation teachers in promoting Career Guidance and Counselling for learners in secondary schools, and to establish strategies that can be implemented to improve their practice. The study followed a qualitative approach with case-study research design. The population consisted of Life Orientation teachers and learners from secondary schools. Purposive sampling was used to select 18 Life Orientation teachers who are teaching the subject in six secondary schools. A total number of 12 learners from Grade 10- 12 were selected to participate in the study. The study employed three data collection instruments; namely, one-on-one interviews, focus group discussions and questaviews. Data were categorised into themes, analysed and discussed accordingly. A number of findings emanated from the study. Life Orientation teachers understand their role but despite their understanding of such roles, they lack the necessary skills to fully equip learners with relevant knowledge so that they are able to choose careers that match with their subjects of specialization. The study revealed that Life Orientation teachers experience challenges, lack of training, lack of support by different stakeholders, the negative attitude towards the subject by both learners and Life Orientation teachers, the shortage of Life Orientation teachers, the subject is not valued like other subjects, poor parental involvement by parents and constant rotation of Life Orientation teachers. As a result, learners were not fully equipped in terms of knowledge and skills to choose the right subjects for specific careers and instead, some relied on their intuition while others relied on their peers. The study recommended that the Department of the Basic Education should appoint competent staff to address the unique academic/educational, psycho-social and career/vocational problems faced by learners in school, and for them to train the Life Orientation teachers as well. The subject should be taught by permanently by qualified teachers without being shifted to other subjects and to ensure that such teachers gain experience in the subject. This would add status and value to the subject.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An examination of practices and experiences of teacher educators in the supervision of a national early childhood home based programme
- Authors: Annatolia, Misi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Early childhood education -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/49362 , vital:41695
- Description: Zimbabwean teacher educators are, by the nature of their job description, required to supervise student teachers doing teaching practicum for the 0-3 home based programme. However, analysis of supervision reports of the home based programme indicates some inconsistencies in comments made by different supervisors, whereby the descriptors and supervision overall scores do not tally. It seems the supervision of the home based teacher education programme is not being implemented as expected. Hence, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine practices and experiences of teacher educators in the supervision of a National Early Childhood Development Home Based Teacher Education Programme (NECDHBTEP). The objective of the study was to address the key question: ‘What are the practices and experiences of teacher educators in the supervision of a NECDHBTEP. In addressing the question, the researcher used supervision as a conceptual framework. The theoretical framework which informed the study was Contextual Supervision (CS) which has its philosophical foundations in constructivism, beneficence and justice. Purposive sampling was employed in the study where two primary teachers’ colleges were selected. From each college, ten teacher educators were selected for semi-structured interviews, two focus group discussions and document analysis on teacher educators’ supervision reports. Triangulation of the data was done so as to enhance its trustworthiness. Three major themes emerged from the study, namely, the influence of home context, experience of supervisors on NECDHBTEP and supervision approaches. The study discovered that the home context, to some extent, influences supervision of the NECDHBTEP. The study also established that teacher educators face multiple challenges when supervising student teachers on the ECD home based programme. The researcher made some recommendations from the findings. One of the recommendations was for colleges to develop a specific supervision instrument for the home based ECD supervision (0-3 years category). Furthermore, there is need for Zimbabwean primary teachers’ colleges to engage in rigorous in-service training for lecturers who are not knowledgeable about the NECDHBTEP.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Annatolia, Misi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Early childhood education -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/49362 , vital:41695
- Description: Zimbabwean teacher educators are, by the nature of their job description, required to supervise student teachers doing teaching practicum for the 0-3 home based programme. However, analysis of supervision reports of the home based programme indicates some inconsistencies in comments made by different supervisors, whereby the descriptors and supervision overall scores do not tally. It seems the supervision of the home based teacher education programme is not being implemented as expected. Hence, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine practices and experiences of teacher educators in the supervision of a National Early Childhood Development Home Based Teacher Education Programme (NECDHBTEP). The objective of the study was to address the key question: ‘What are the practices and experiences of teacher educators in the supervision of a NECDHBTEP. In addressing the question, the researcher used supervision as a conceptual framework. The theoretical framework which informed the study was Contextual Supervision (CS) which has its philosophical foundations in constructivism, beneficence and justice. Purposive sampling was employed in the study where two primary teachers’ colleges were selected. From each college, ten teacher educators were selected for semi-structured interviews, two focus group discussions and document analysis on teacher educators’ supervision reports. Triangulation of the data was done so as to enhance its trustworthiness. Three major themes emerged from the study, namely, the influence of home context, experience of supervisors on NECDHBTEP and supervision approaches. The study discovered that the home context, to some extent, influences supervision of the NECDHBTEP. The study also established that teacher educators face multiple challenges when supervising student teachers on the ECD home based programme. The researcher made some recommendations from the findings. One of the recommendations was for colleges to develop a specific supervision instrument for the home based ECD supervision (0-3 years category). Furthermore, there is need for Zimbabwean primary teachers’ colleges to engage in rigorous in-service training for lecturers who are not knowledgeable about the NECDHBTEP.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
An experimental study of self-regulated learning with mathematically gifted pupils in Nigerian primary schools
- Authors: Zaram, Gyang Nyam
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Nigeria , Numeracy -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Nigeria Gifted children -- Education -- Curricula Gifted children -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13381 , vital:27180
- Description: The purpose of this study was to determine whether gifted pupils can master an enriched advanced level curriculum in mathematics using self-regulated learning strategies. A mathematics curriculum for class five primary school learners in Nigeria was developed for this study. An empirical study was conducted on primary five pupils who were seen to be significantly gifted in mathematics. The study employed the quantitative method of research, that is, the true experimental research. The pre-test, post-test control group design was used. Sixty gifted pupils who participated in a mathematics enrichment programme (MEP) were assigned into two groups of the control group and experimental group with thirty pupils forming each group. The control group was exposed to direct teaching (DT) while the experimental group used self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. Four teachers served as facilitators in the MEP. The teaching and learning activities were carried out at a higher cognitive level as opposed to the regular curriculum, ensuring that the contents of the MEP were enriched and accelerated. Pupils in both the experimental group and the control group were administered a pre-test, problem-solving exercises, and post-test. These pupils also completed an attitudinal questionnaire to provide feedback about the MEP. The empirical results show that gifted pupils in primary five are capable of self-regulating their own learning through self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement. The empirical results also show that there is a significant relationship between self-regulated learning, gifted learners, and an enriched advanced level differentiated curriculum as a realistic alternative to the present regular curriculum for gifted pupils in the mainstream of education. The findings further show that the lack of differentiation of instruction, lack of facilities such as libraries, media centres, and support materials contributes to low achievement of gifted pupils. Furthermore, the findings show that pupils were challenged and motivated with the MEP to the extent that they were engaged to think divergently and applied their metacognitive skills in finding solutions to mathematical problems. Therefore, the findings of this study could have significant implications for the future direction of gifted primary school education as well as teacher education. This study has made a significant contribution to the existing body of knowledge for implementing an enriched advanced level curriculum using SRL strategies for mathematically gifted pupils in the mainstream of primary school education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Zaram, Gyang Nyam
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Nigeria , Numeracy -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Nigeria Gifted children -- Education -- Curricula Gifted children -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13381 , vital:27180
- Description: The purpose of this study was to determine whether gifted pupils can master an enriched advanced level curriculum in mathematics using self-regulated learning strategies. A mathematics curriculum for class five primary school learners in Nigeria was developed for this study. An empirical study was conducted on primary five pupils who were seen to be significantly gifted in mathematics. The study employed the quantitative method of research, that is, the true experimental research. The pre-test, post-test control group design was used. Sixty gifted pupils who participated in a mathematics enrichment programme (MEP) were assigned into two groups of the control group and experimental group with thirty pupils forming each group. The control group was exposed to direct teaching (DT) while the experimental group used self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. Four teachers served as facilitators in the MEP. The teaching and learning activities were carried out at a higher cognitive level as opposed to the regular curriculum, ensuring that the contents of the MEP were enriched and accelerated. Pupils in both the experimental group and the control group were administered a pre-test, problem-solving exercises, and post-test. These pupils also completed an attitudinal questionnaire to provide feedback about the MEP. The empirical results show that gifted pupils in primary five are capable of self-regulating their own learning through self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement. The empirical results also show that there is a significant relationship between self-regulated learning, gifted learners, and an enriched advanced level differentiated curriculum as a realistic alternative to the present regular curriculum for gifted pupils in the mainstream of education. The findings further show that the lack of differentiation of instruction, lack of facilities such as libraries, media centres, and support materials contributes to low achievement of gifted pupils. Furthermore, the findings show that pupils were challenged and motivated with the MEP to the extent that they were engaged to think divergently and applied their metacognitive skills in finding solutions to mathematical problems. Therefore, the findings of this study could have significant implications for the future direction of gifted primary school education as well as teacher education. This study has made a significant contribution to the existing body of knowledge for implementing an enriched advanced level curriculum using SRL strategies for mathematically gifted pupils in the mainstream of primary school education.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
An improved mentoring model for student teachers on practicum in primary schools in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Jeko, Ishmael
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Student teachers -- Zimbabwe , Student teaching -- Zimbabwe , Early childhood education -- Curricula , Teachers -- Training of -- Zimbabwe , Mentoring in education -- Zimbabwe , Lesson planning
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9571 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1017553
- Description: As part of a drive to improve the quality of teachers, Zimbabwe introduced a school-based mentoring model in 1995, a move which regrettably seems not have borne fruit. Therefore, this study sought to propose an improved mentoring model for initial teacher training for primary school teachers. Efforts to improve the current mentoring could, however, be facilitated if they were informed by an empirically-based understanding of the shortcomings of the existing mentoring system for student teachers and teachers. In order to attain the above objective, this study adopted a multisite case study design, guided by the interpretive paradigm. A core of nine primary schools, drawn from the rural, urban and peri-urban areas of the Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe, was purposively selected to participate in the study. In the participating schools, key participants were student teachers and mentors, while school principals participated when they had time. A secondary group of primary schools were also identified to be used as validation of findings in a wider setting. An in-depth literature study on teacher education and mentoring was also carried out and this, combined with empirical data, illuminated the issues being investigated. The empirical data were primarily gathered through focus group and face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews, while participant observation (used in conjunction with informal unstructured interviews) and questionnaires were used to verify and triangulate data collected through the interviews. To safeguard the ethical integrity of the study, ethical approval from the relevant university committee, as well as the official consent of educational authorities, was obtained beforehand, as was the informed consent of individual participants. The research established that the support rendered to student teachers in the participating primary schools was largely inadequate and of a shallow mode, focusing primarily on facilitating the mastery of technical skills and the provision of psycho-social support, while being sorely deficient in empowering the student teachers with the skills and attitudes to reflectively and critically engage with their own and others‟ teaching practices. The mentoring was taking place in the context of field experience, organised along the apprenticeship model, hence located in an outmoded traditional paradigm of field experience, something which is regrettable at a time when international best practices seek to move towards a reflective-inquiry-oriented paradigm. Secondly, the research found that the participating schools were not structurally or culturally ready to take significant teacher training responsibility; hence the schools, in their present state, could be seen as constraining the smooth functioning of the mentoring model. Thirdly, some mentor-based factors also seemed to inhibit the functioning of the mentoring model. These included teachers who were attitudinally indisposed to accept student teachers as their professional colleagues, preferring to relate to them hierarchically and vertically, thereby limiting the emergence of a culture of professional collaboration and reciprocal learning relationships. In similar vein, the mentors‟ lack of training limited their capacity of mentors to perform the extended range of mentoring functions necessary for supporting student teachers trained in 21st century schools. The above conclusions and implications point towards the following recommendations: Mentor support for student teachers should be extended from the present superficial level to include functions that are oriented towards reflective practice. However, for this to happen, some adjustments will need to be made in the schools. These include, most importantly, making time available for mentoring activities. In order for the mentors to be able to perform their mentoring functions knowledgeably, they must be made fully aware of what they are supposed to do by providing them with the official documents spelling out mentoring expectations in schools. Additionally, the commitment of mentors to their duties could be made more sustainable by putting in place a clearly defined reward structure that is fully recognized officially and integrated into the employee grading system. To make school environments more propitious towards mentoring, schools must be structurally modified and re-cultured to create slots for mentoring activities, provide opportunities for informal professional interaction among teachers, as well as establish professional engagement forums, such as school-based learning circles. The research also suggests that student teachers should be allowed to choose their mentors through providing them with opportunities for early contact with their prospective mentoring partners. In an attempt to close the gap between college-based modules and field-based school experiences, the research further recommends that college-based modules be delivered in a way that ensures that they are fully integrated with student teachers‟ field experiences. Finally, mentoring could be better facilitated if schools and colleges adopted a partnership arrangement that is more aligned to mentoring. This implies provisionally shifting from the present separatist to the HEI-led partnership model, while preparing for the adoption of a fully-fledged collaborative partnership in the long term. The research was, however, by no means carried out perfectly. It was somewhat limited by its failure to take into account the view of officials from the Department of Education, as well as the input of colleagues in teacher education. In similar vein, the researcher felt that a more nuanced and fine-grained picture of the participants‟ mentoring experiences could have emerged if he had spent more time in the field, something which limited resources and work commitments did not allow him to do. Some significant issues arose from this study, but which it could not pursue. These include exploring the possibility of coming up with a model of teacher education that integrates ITE and CTPD in the context of mentoring, as well as conducting a similarly designed research into the mentoring that is taking place in secondary schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Jeko, Ishmael
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Student teachers -- Zimbabwe , Student teaching -- Zimbabwe , Early childhood education -- Curricula , Teachers -- Training of -- Zimbabwe , Mentoring in education -- Zimbabwe , Lesson planning
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9571 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1017553
- Description: As part of a drive to improve the quality of teachers, Zimbabwe introduced a school-based mentoring model in 1995, a move which regrettably seems not have borne fruit. Therefore, this study sought to propose an improved mentoring model for initial teacher training for primary school teachers. Efforts to improve the current mentoring could, however, be facilitated if they were informed by an empirically-based understanding of the shortcomings of the existing mentoring system for student teachers and teachers. In order to attain the above objective, this study adopted a multisite case study design, guided by the interpretive paradigm. A core of nine primary schools, drawn from the rural, urban and peri-urban areas of the Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe, was purposively selected to participate in the study. In the participating schools, key participants were student teachers and mentors, while school principals participated when they had time. A secondary group of primary schools were also identified to be used as validation of findings in a wider setting. An in-depth literature study on teacher education and mentoring was also carried out and this, combined with empirical data, illuminated the issues being investigated. The empirical data were primarily gathered through focus group and face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews, while participant observation (used in conjunction with informal unstructured interviews) and questionnaires were used to verify and triangulate data collected through the interviews. To safeguard the ethical integrity of the study, ethical approval from the relevant university committee, as well as the official consent of educational authorities, was obtained beforehand, as was the informed consent of individual participants. The research established that the support rendered to student teachers in the participating primary schools was largely inadequate and of a shallow mode, focusing primarily on facilitating the mastery of technical skills and the provision of psycho-social support, while being sorely deficient in empowering the student teachers with the skills and attitudes to reflectively and critically engage with their own and others‟ teaching practices. The mentoring was taking place in the context of field experience, organised along the apprenticeship model, hence located in an outmoded traditional paradigm of field experience, something which is regrettable at a time when international best practices seek to move towards a reflective-inquiry-oriented paradigm. Secondly, the research found that the participating schools were not structurally or culturally ready to take significant teacher training responsibility; hence the schools, in their present state, could be seen as constraining the smooth functioning of the mentoring model. Thirdly, some mentor-based factors also seemed to inhibit the functioning of the mentoring model. These included teachers who were attitudinally indisposed to accept student teachers as their professional colleagues, preferring to relate to them hierarchically and vertically, thereby limiting the emergence of a culture of professional collaboration and reciprocal learning relationships. In similar vein, the mentors‟ lack of training limited their capacity of mentors to perform the extended range of mentoring functions necessary for supporting student teachers trained in 21st century schools. The above conclusions and implications point towards the following recommendations: Mentor support for student teachers should be extended from the present superficial level to include functions that are oriented towards reflective practice. However, for this to happen, some adjustments will need to be made in the schools. These include, most importantly, making time available for mentoring activities. In order for the mentors to be able to perform their mentoring functions knowledgeably, they must be made fully aware of what they are supposed to do by providing them with the official documents spelling out mentoring expectations in schools. Additionally, the commitment of mentors to their duties could be made more sustainable by putting in place a clearly defined reward structure that is fully recognized officially and integrated into the employee grading system. To make school environments more propitious towards mentoring, schools must be structurally modified and re-cultured to create slots for mentoring activities, provide opportunities for informal professional interaction among teachers, as well as establish professional engagement forums, such as school-based learning circles. The research also suggests that student teachers should be allowed to choose their mentors through providing them with opportunities for early contact with their prospective mentoring partners. In an attempt to close the gap between college-based modules and field-based school experiences, the research further recommends that college-based modules be delivered in a way that ensures that they are fully integrated with student teachers‟ field experiences. Finally, mentoring could be better facilitated if schools and colleges adopted a partnership arrangement that is more aligned to mentoring. This implies provisionally shifting from the present separatist to the HEI-led partnership model, while preparing for the adoption of a fully-fledged collaborative partnership in the long term. The research was, however, by no means carried out perfectly. It was somewhat limited by its failure to take into account the view of officials from the Department of Education, as well as the input of colleagues in teacher education. In similar vein, the researcher felt that a more nuanced and fine-grained picture of the participants‟ mentoring experiences could have emerged if he had spent more time in the field, something which limited resources and work commitments did not allow him to do. Some significant issues arose from this study, but which it could not pursue. These include exploring the possibility of coming up with a model of teacher education that integrates ITE and CTPD in the context of mentoring, as well as conducting a similarly designed research into the mentoring that is taking place in secondary schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
An intervention for enhancing the mathematics teaching practices of grade four teachers in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area
- Authors: Botha, Adele
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching , Mathematics , Mathematics -- Handbooks, manuals, etc , Mathematics teachers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9499 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1008176 , Mathematics -- Study and teaching , Mathematics , Mathematics -- Handbooks, manuals, etc , Mathematics teachers
- Description: Mathematics is regarded as a driving force in economies worldwide. The performance of South African learners in mathematics over the past decade has highlighted that problems are being experienced across all grades. This situation needs to be addressed with urgency. The South African Department of Education stated that quality learning must be the objective for all grades. The implementation of good teaching practices plays a crucial role in improving the quality of education and in guiding learners towards quality learning. To achieve quality mathematics teaching and learning it is imperative to determine what good mathematics teaching practices are. The identification of good mathematic teaching practices will provide a yard stick to measure the mathematics teaching competency of teachers. This study identifies a set of good mathematics teaching practice indicators and evidences applicable to teachers in the Intermediate phase as a first contribution. These indicators and evidences frame the second research contribution: an assessment instrument entitled “A Classroom Observation Tool for Observing Mathematics Teaching Practices in Primary Schools”. As a third research contribution a generic profile of a Grade four mathematics teacher has been built. This generic profile has been built through an analysis of data gathered by means of self-assessment questionnaires completed by the research sample, as well as through applying the observation tool. The value of the generic profile lies in the identification of shared strengths and shared improvement opportunities in the mathematics teaching practice of the sample and as such, it forms the basis of a theory on Grade four mathematics teaching practice. The fourth research contribution is the design and application of an intervention that addresses the shared improvement opportunities. The research study concludes by comparing pre-intervention classroom observation data with post-intervention classroom observation data and reporting on the impact of the intervention.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Botha, Adele
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching , Mathematics , Mathematics -- Handbooks, manuals, etc , Mathematics teachers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9499 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1008176 , Mathematics -- Study and teaching , Mathematics , Mathematics -- Handbooks, manuals, etc , Mathematics teachers
- Description: Mathematics is regarded as a driving force in economies worldwide. The performance of South African learners in mathematics over the past decade has highlighted that problems are being experienced across all grades. This situation needs to be addressed with urgency. The South African Department of Education stated that quality learning must be the objective for all grades. The implementation of good teaching practices plays a crucial role in improving the quality of education and in guiding learners towards quality learning. To achieve quality mathematics teaching and learning it is imperative to determine what good mathematics teaching practices are. The identification of good mathematic teaching practices will provide a yard stick to measure the mathematics teaching competency of teachers. This study identifies a set of good mathematics teaching practice indicators and evidences applicable to teachers in the Intermediate phase as a first contribution. These indicators and evidences frame the second research contribution: an assessment instrument entitled “A Classroom Observation Tool for Observing Mathematics Teaching Practices in Primary Schools”. As a third research contribution a generic profile of a Grade four mathematics teacher has been built. This generic profile has been built through an analysis of data gathered by means of self-assessment questionnaires completed by the research sample, as well as through applying the observation tool. The value of the generic profile lies in the identification of shared strengths and shared improvement opportunities in the mathematics teaching practice of the sample and as such, it forms the basis of a theory on Grade four mathematics teaching practice. The fourth research contribution is the design and application of an intervention that addresses the shared improvement opportunities. The research study concludes by comparing pre-intervention classroom observation data with post-intervention classroom observation data and reporting on the impact of the intervention.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Appropriateness of municipal workers' job behaviour and performance at the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality
- Authors: Twalo, Thembinkosi Gladden
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Education -- Employees , Employees -- Attitudes , Employees -- Rating of
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9587 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020997
- Description: The Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) has been experiencing inappropriate job behaviour and performance from some of its workers. These inappropriate practices have been widely reported in the media, audit reports, parliamentary discussions, reports to parliament, municipal reports, and departmental reports. They include misappropriation of municipal resources, maladministration, mismanagement, lack of service delivery, fraud, and corruption. Since many BCMM workers have various levels of formal education, such practices are not expected, because the structural-functionalist assumption is that formal education is a solution to societal challenges. At the BCMM, however, formal education seemed to also serve a different purpose, that of realising the principle that says “[k]now the rules well, so you can break them effectively” (Dalai Lama 2013, 2). This study therefore hypothesises that the perpetual inappropriate job behaviour and performance at the BCMM is due to the paucity of broad skills. The concept of broad skills includes the various dimensions of knowledge (know that, know why, know how) as well as attitudes, ethics and values. Inappropriate job behaviour and performance practices thus indicate that current levels of broad skills are insufficient. This study acknowledges that labour (ability to work) is a product of multifarious forms of capital, hence this study amalgamates four forms of capital - human capital, social capital, cultural capital, and reputation capital – into a theoretical framework in order to get a broader explanation of the workers’ job behaviour and performance. The various forms of capital contribute to the formation of skill, hence the notion of broad skills. How workers discharge their responsibilities is determined by numerous factors such as cultural capital (the workers’ family background, race, ethnicity, personality, and geographical area) (Bourdieu 1977); reputation capital (the workers’ brand, public perceptions of trustworthiness, popularity, authority in the field, ethics, integrity and reputation) (Ingbretsen 2011); social capital (the workers’ social development, social relations, and social networks) (Blackmore 1997); and human capital (schooling) (Becker 1964). The value of adopting the broad skills approach lies in gaining a broader perspective on job performance as opposed to the dominant use of the human capital model alone which predominantly uses schooling to explain job performance. In practice, the human capital model is characterised by its association of job performance problems with lack of skills. However, investigation of the role of attitudes, ethics and values in the labour process reveals that the lack of will also contributes to job performance problems. In fact, the adoption of multiple perspectives for investigating the paradoxical co-existence of inappropriate job behaviour and performance with formal education reveals several factors that make this phenomenon possible, besides lack of skills. These include the job environment, ineffective performance management systems, compromised municipal effectiveness and efficiency due to the politicisation of municipal management, and manipulation of the labour process to suit the interests of the workers who want to engage in inappropriate practices.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Twalo, Thembinkosi Gladden
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Education -- Employees , Employees -- Attitudes , Employees -- Rating of
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9587 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020997
- Description: The Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) has been experiencing inappropriate job behaviour and performance from some of its workers. These inappropriate practices have been widely reported in the media, audit reports, parliamentary discussions, reports to parliament, municipal reports, and departmental reports. They include misappropriation of municipal resources, maladministration, mismanagement, lack of service delivery, fraud, and corruption. Since many BCMM workers have various levels of formal education, such practices are not expected, because the structural-functionalist assumption is that formal education is a solution to societal challenges. At the BCMM, however, formal education seemed to also serve a different purpose, that of realising the principle that says “[k]now the rules well, so you can break them effectively” (Dalai Lama 2013, 2). This study therefore hypothesises that the perpetual inappropriate job behaviour and performance at the BCMM is due to the paucity of broad skills. The concept of broad skills includes the various dimensions of knowledge (know that, know why, know how) as well as attitudes, ethics and values. Inappropriate job behaviour and performance practices thus indicate that current levels of broad skills are insufficient. This study acknowledges that labour (ability to work) is a product of multifarious forms of capital, hence this study amalgamates four forms of capital - human capital, social capital, cultural capital, and reputation capital – into a theoretical framework in order to get a broader explanation of the workers’ job behaviour and performance. The various forms of capital contribute to the formation of skill, hence the notion of broad skills. How workers discharge their responsibilities is determined by numerous factors such as cultural capital (the workers’ family background, race, ethnicity, personality, and geographical area) (Bourdieu 1977); reputation capital (the workers’ brand, public perceptions of trustworthiness, popularity, authority in the field, ethics, integrity and reputation) (Ingbretsen 2011); social capital (the workers’ social development, social relations, and social networks) (Blackmore 1997); and human capital (schooling) (Becker 1964). The value of adopting the broad skills approach lies in gaining a broader perspective on job performance as opposed to the dominant use of the human capital model alone which predominantly uses schooling to explain job performance. In practice, the human capital model is characterised by its association of job performance problems with lack of skills. However, investigation of the role of attitudes, ethics and values in the labour process reveals that the lack of will also contributes to job performance problems. In fact, the adoption of multiple perspectives for investigating the paradoxical co-existence of inappropriate job behaviour and performance with formal education reveals several factors that make this phenomenon possible, besides lack of skills. These include the job environment, ineffective performance management systems, compromised municipal effectiveness and efficiency due to the politicisation of municipal management, and manipulation of the labour process to suit the interests of the workers who want to engage in inappropriate practices.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Assessment of student satisfaction on institutional factors influencing student retention in one comprehensive university in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
- Authors: Stofile, Regina N
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa College dropouts Dropouts -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9450 , vital:34353
- Description: In all higher education institutions across the world, the student retention and success is an issue of concern and a pressing one. Students invest heavily in their higher education, while institutions in turn, lose a considerable sum of money for each student that drops out due to dissatisfaction with institutional services. The purpose of this quantitative methods research study, employing a survey design, was to assess student satisfaction with institutional factors that influence student satisfaction in higher education. The research questions focused on student satisfaction factors namely; academic advising, academic support, teaching approaches, assessment techniques, learning facilities, student funding services, student accommodation and administrative services. The study used structured questionnaire, with Likert scale type of question items, to collect data from the respondents These were hand delivered to 650 students in four campuses of the selected university. SPSS was used for data analysis. Major findings revealed that the selected institutional factors significantly impacted on student satisfaction, and their decisions to stay within the institution. Based on the results of the study, a framework to assist the institution ensure that student are receiving the services that they need from the institution as early as possible, was proposed. The study provided therefore the useful data for institutions to use in their quality enhancement activities. The result of the study can be incorporated into enrolment management planning and the intervention strategies, to improve the success of students at the selected institution in Eastern Cape.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Stofile, Regina N
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa College dropouts Dropouts -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9450 , vital:34353
- Description: In all higher education institutions across the world, the student retention and success is an issue of concern and a pressing one. Students invest heavily in their higher education, while institutions in turn, lose a considerable sum of money for each student that drops out due to dissatisfaction with institutional services. The purpose of this quantitative methods research study, employing a survey design, was to assess student satisfaction with institutional factors that influence student satisfaction in higher education. The research questions focused on student satisfaction factors namely; academic advising, academic support, teaching approaches, assessment techniques, learning facilities, student funding services, student accommodation and administrative services. The study used structured questionnaire, with Likert scale type of question items, to collect data from the respondents These were hand delivered to 650 students in four campuses of the selected university. SPSS was used for data analysis. Major findings revealed that the selected institutional factors significantly impacted on student satisfaction, and their decisions to stay within the institution. Based on the results of the study, a framework to assist the institution ensure that student are receiving the services that they need from the institution as early as possible, was proposed. The study provided therefore the useful data for institutions to use in their quality enhancement activities. The result of the study can be incorporated into enrolment management planning and the intervention strategies, to improve the success of students at the selected institution in Eastern Cape.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Assessment of the implementation of the National Certificate (Vocational) plant production modules
- Langa, Phakama Perry Macmillan
- Authors: Langa, Phakama Perry Macmillan
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Curriculum planning Technical education -- Curricula Vocational education -- Curricula
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2359 , vital:27778
- Description: From 2010, the South African vocational skills education is offered by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) through the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. TVET colleges need to be transformed in order to empower young learners with the skills required by the various sectors of the economy. The purpose of this study was to assess the implementation of the National Certificate (Vocational) Plant Production module in Training and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges. The sample for this study is concurrent triangulation whereby complementary methods of data sources were brought together to offset each other‘s weaknesses. The sample for this study consisted of participants from three TVET colleges: one deep rural, one semi-rural/semi-urban and one urban in terms of geographical location. A total of 18 participants were interviewed: 2 subject advisors engaged by the colleges, 1 lecturer from college A, 3 lecturers from college B, 2 lecturers from college C, 4 graduates from college B, 3 graduates from college C and 3 employers .Research design for this study has features of both a survey and a case study. The mixed-method approach was applied using document analysis, questionnaires and interviews for data collection. The researcher found out that there is a disparity between the Plant Production guidelines and their implementation and assessment. Among the main reasons for failure to implement the guidelines properly are poor or inadequate infrastructure for doing practical work, high rate of student absenteeism within the investigated categories, and the high drop-out rate at Levels 2–4. To minimize the challenges in offering the Plant Production module, the study recommends that since some colleges cannot afford purchasing large sizes of land to properly implement the Plant Production guidelines, the government and the DHET should link the Primary Agriculture training to the land reform program where students can be trained under the land reform program.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Langa, Phakama Perry Macmillan
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Curriculum planning Technical education -- Curricula Vocational education -- Curricula
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2359 , vital:27778
- Description: From 2010, the South African vocational skills education is offered by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) through the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. TVET colleges need to be transformed in order to empower young learners with the skills required by the various sectors of the economy. The purpose of this study was to assess the implementation of the National Certificate (Vocational) Plant Production module in Training and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges. The sample for this study is concurrent triangulation whereby complementary methods of data sources were brought together to offset each other‘s weaknesses. The sample for this study consisted of participants from three TVET colleges: one deep rural, one semi-rural/semi-urban and one urban in terms of geographical location. A total of 18 participants were interviewed: 2 subject advisors engaged by the colleges, 1 lecturer from college A, 3 lecturers from college B, 2 lecturers from college C, 4 graduates from college B, 3 graduates from college C and 3 employers .Research design for this study has features of both a survey and a case study. The mixed-method approach was applied using document analysis, questionnaires and interviews for data collection. The researcher found out that there is a disparity between the Plant Production guidelines and their implementation and assessment. Among the main reasons for failure to implement the guidelines properly are poor or inadequate infrastructure for doing practical work, high rate of student absenteeism within the investigated categories, and the high drop-out rate at Levels 2–4. To minimize the challenges in offering the Plant Production module, the study recommends that since some colleges cannot afford purchasing large sizes of land to properly implement the Plant Production guidelines, the government and the DHET should link the Primary Agriculture training to the land reform program where students can be trained under the land reform program.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Catering for children with special education needs in the provision of early childhood development programme in Zimbabwe : towards a holistic and inclusive framework
- Authors: Chinhara, Henry
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Children with disabilities -- Education -- Zimbabwe Special education -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/3055 , vital:28244
- Description: The study investigated how primary schools in Chiredzi District in Zimbabwe, cater for ECD “A” and “B” children with special education needs. A mixed method design located in the pragmatism paradigm was used to carry out the study. Post-positivist is an interactive process which produced in-depth, detailed, rich data from personal perspectives and experiences that resulted in realistic understanding of phenomenon, interpreted through the social and cultural context of respondents’ lives. By adopting quantitative and qualitative approaches, the researcher was able to ensure a high level of reliability in the collected data, at the same time obtaining comprehensive information on how primary schools attaching preschool classes in Chiredzi district cater for ECD “A” and “B” children with special education needs. Purposive sampling and cluster sampling procedures were used to solicit information from ECD teachers, school heads, parents, the District Education Team, NGOs and critical government ministries through semi-structured questionnaires, face-t-face interviews, focus group discussions, observations and document analysis. The study established that, while the government carries out its mandate of providing social services to learners with special education needs, they are incapacitated due to lack of resources. The majority of schools are not providing adequate health facilities for learners with special education needs. Furthermore, most schools are not providing nutritional supplementation to vulnerable learners, situations which deprive the learners with the much needed opportunity to grow and develop to the anticipated potential. In addition, the study noted that, ECD “A” and “B” children with special education needs enrolled in classes attached to primary schools do not access Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) or Cash Transfers to alleviate the children that are in need. It came out that such a situation impacts on learners’ attendance and subsequently their learning outcomes. Regardless of the stipulations by international treaties on the nature of inclusive education, the study established that, the education system has not yet modified curriculum to accommodate learners with diversified forms of special education needs. The situation is made worse by the fact that, heads of schools, and teachers are not adequately trained to handle learners with special education needs in early childhood development programmes. In addition, schools face the challenge of scarcity of learning resources that support ECD learners with special education needs which seriously impact on the growth and development of young learners at this critical stage of their development. Regardless of the essence of continuous professional development programs, in schools whose purpose is to redress the professional gap in schools, the study found that the CPD are doing very little to transform the mind-set of teachers. The study concluded that learners with special education needs are not benefiting from the current inclusive education programme. The study recommends that following; Stakeholders work together to promote the health and nutritional needs including other social services of ECD learners in classes attached to primary schools. There be a national teacher in-service programme for those teachers deployed in schools, to equip them with the desired skills, and knowledge to handle learners with special education needs, especially at this critical stage of their development. Teachers’ Colleges redesign their curriculum to address inclusive education in schools. Teachers’ Colleges need to empower new graduates with skills and knowledge to handle children with special education needs in schools. Policy makers to advocate for redesigning the curriculum to include children with special education needs to ensure availability of resources in inclusive schools to alleviate the challenges faced by these children. Those policy makers should advocate for a way to ensure that all children with special education be enrolled in mainstream schools. Thus, the study proposed an alternative, holistic, and inclusive education model for schools attaching ECD “A” and “B”
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Chinhara, Henry
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Children with disabilities -- Education -- Zimbabwe Special education -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/3055 , vital:28244
- Description: The study investigated how primary schools in Chiredzi District in Zimbabwe, cater for ECD “A” and “B” children with special education needs. A mixed method design located in the pragmatism paradigm was used to carry out the study. Post-positivist is an interactive process which produced in-depth, detailed, rich data from personal perspectives and experiences that resulted in realistic understanding of phenomenon, interpreted through the social and cultural context of respondents’ lives. By adopting quantitative and qualitative approaches, the researcher was able to ensure a high level of reliability in the collected data, at the same time obtaining comprehensive information on how primary schools attaching preschool classes in Chiredzi district cater for ECD “A” and “B” children with special education needs. Purposive sampling and cluster sampling procedures were used to solicit information from ECD teachers, school heads, parents, the District Education Team, NGOs and critical government ministries through semi-structured questionnaires, face-t-face interviews, focus group discussions, observations and document analysis. The study established that, while the government carries out its mandate of providing social services to learners with special education needs, they are incapacitated due to lack of resources. The majority of schools are not providing adequate health facilities for learners with special education needs. Furthermore, most schools are not providing nutritional supplementation to vulnerable learners, situations which deprive the learners with the much needed opportunity to grow and develop to the anticipated potential. In addition, the study noted that, ECD “A” and “B” children with special education needs enrolled in classes attached to primary schools do not access Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) or Cash Transfers to alleviate the children that are in need. It came out that such a situation impacts on learners’ attendance and subsequently their learning outcomes. Regardless of the stipulations by international treaties on the nature of inclusive education, the study established that, the education system has not yet modified curriculum to accommodate learners with diversified forms of special education needs. The situation is made worse by the fact that, heads of schools, and teachers are not adequately trained to handle learners with special education needs in early childhood development programmes. In addition, schools face the challenge of scarcity of learning resources that support ECD learners with special education needs which seriously impact on the growth and development of young learners at this critical stage of their development. Regardless of the essence of continuous professional development programs, in schools whose purpose is to redress the professional gap in schools, the study found that the CPD are doing very little to transform the mind-set of teachers. The study concluded that learners with special education needs are not benefiting from the current inclusive education programme. The study recommends that following; Stakeholders work together to promote the health and nutritional needs including other social services of ECD learners in classes attached to primary schools. There be a national teacher in-service programme for those teachers deployed in schools, to equip them with the desired skills, and knowledge to handle learners with special education needs, especially at this critical stage of their development. Teachers’ Colleges redesign their curriculum to address inclusive education in schools. Teachers’ Colleges need to empower new graduates with skills and knowledge to handle children with special education needs in schools. Policy makers to advocate for redesigning the curriculum to include children with special education needs to ensure availability of resources in inclusive schools to alleviate the challenges faced by these children. Those policy makers should advocate for a way to ensure that all children with special education be enrolled in mainstream schools. Thus, the study proposed an alternative, holistic, and inclusive education model for schools attaching ECD “A” and “B”
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Contextual factors influencing the use of learner-centred approaches in the teaching of home economics : a case of two universities in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Motsi, Emily
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Home economics -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Zimbabwe Student-centered learning -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8463 , vital:32834
- Description: This study examined contextual factors influencing the use of learner-centred approaches in the teaching of Home Economics in two universities in Zimbabwe. The sample consisted of eight students and four lecturers who were purposively sampled. The study was anchored in the interpretivist paradigm and it adopted a qualitative approach and case-study design. Data collection instruments consisted of structured in-depth interviews, observations and documents. Interviews were conducted with students and lecturers at their respective universities with observations and document analysis inter-spaced in between. Data analysis consisted of a thematic approach where common themes were identified in participants’ responses and analysed and discussed accordingly, with data from observed and documented analysis being used to buttress/refute observations made from the interviews. A number of findings emanated from the study. Students had varied conceptions of learner-centred approaches. Some viewed learner-centred approaches as methods of teaching that were participatory, while others viewed them as learning situations in which learners were actively engaged and developed specific capabilities such as problem-solving. Lecturers conceptualised learner-centred approaches as methods that led to active learner participation with the lecturer playing more of a facilitative role. The study revealed that contextual factors such as time available in each course, flexibility of content, the use of teaching methods characterised by active learner participation, the use of constructive and interactive learning activities, had facilitative as well as inhibiting influences on the use of learner-centred approaches. Social factors such as cooperativeness within the peer group, lecturer availability for consultations, technical staff support as well as structural factors such as the availability of textbooks and e-resources, provision of materials and tools, and access to the internet had a facilitative influence on use of learner-centred approaches. The main inhibitive structural factors were the absence of purpose-built facilities and limited space that caused overcrowding. University administration support for integration of learner-centred approaches was fairly evident in the two universities. To sustain the use of learner-centred approaches, lecturers required support through professional development. The study recommended that universities have well-articulated commitments to use learner-centred approaches through a Teaching and Learning Policy. Home Economics course designers should consider contextual factors in course design and course delivery to ensure effective implementation of learner-centred approaches in the teaching of the subject. Seminars and workshops should be organised by the University Teaching and Learning Centres to enhance the teacher educators’ knowledge on interactive teaching methodologies and strategies for creating student-centred learning environments.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Motsi, Emily
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Home economics -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Zimbabwe Student-centered learning -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8463 , vital:32834
- Description: This study examined contextual factors influencing the use of learner-centred approaches in the teaching of Home Economics in two universities in Zimbabwe. The sample consisted of eight students and four lecturers who were purposively sampled. The study was anchored in the interpretivist paradigm and it adopted a qualitative approach and case-study design. Data collection instruments consisted of structured in-depth interviews, observations and documents. Interviews were conducted with students and lecturers at their respective universities with observations and document analysis inter-spaced in between. Data analysis consisted of a thematic approach where common themes were identified in participants’ responses and analysed and discussed accordingly, with data from observed and documented analysis being used to buttress/refute observations made from the interviews. A number of findings emanated from the study. Students had varied conceptions of learner-centred approaches. Some viewed learner-centred approaches as methods of teaching that were participatory, while others viewed them as learning situations in which learners were actively engaged and developed specific capabilities such as problem-solving. Lecturers conceptualised learner-centred approaches as methods that led to active learner participation with the lecturer playing more of a facilitative role. The study revealed that contextual factors such as time available in each course, flexibility of content, the use of teaching methods characterised by active learner participation, the use of constructive and interactive learning activities, had facilitative as well as inhibiting influences on the use of learner-centred approaches. Social factors such as cooperativeness within the peer group, lecturer availability for consultations, technical staff support as well as structural factors such as the availability of textbooks and e-resources, provision of materials and tools, and access to the internet had a facilitative influence on use of learner-centred approaches. The main inhibitive structural factors were the absence of purpose-built facilities and limited space that caused overcrowding. University administration support for integration of learner-centred approaches was fairly evident in the two universities. To sustain the use of learner-centred approaches, lecturers required support through professional development. The study recommended that universities have well-articulated commitments to use learner-centred approaches through a Teaching and Learning Policy. Home Economics course designers should consider contextual factors in course design and course delivery to ensure effective implementation of learner-centred approaches in the teaching of the subject. Seminars and workshops should be organised by the University Teaching and Learning Centres to enhance the teacher educators’ knowledge on interactive teaching methodologies and strategies for creating student-centred learning environments.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Designing a parental involvement programme to enhance parental engagement in the educational support programme at a disadvantaged primary school in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole, South Africa through participatory action research
- WIlliams, Pearl Juanita Cherrol
- Authors: WIlliams, Pearl Juanita Cherrol
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Education -- Parent participation -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/47303 , vital:39841
- Description: Over the past decades parental involvement in education has increased rapidly within disadvantaged schools in South Africa. This transformation is evident in the legislation of the country which celebrates a spirit of Ubuntu in a democratised society, and, education at large. The ideal of effective school-home partnership across racial boundaries are, for example, emphasised and strengthened via parental involvement at all public schools. Parents, according to the Department of Education (DoE, 1996b:11; 2000c:29; 2001b:29; 2008:23; 2009:17; 2014b:27; n.d.:6), are considered key role-players in school governance and encouraged to support equal educational opportunities for all learners. It implies that the praxis of parental involvement – especially at disadvantaged schools – is a huge benefit to learners with existing backlogs in education. In relation to this view, Stofile and Green (2007:63) emphasise the significance of parental involvement in school life as it can assist greatly in addressing the divere needs of disadvantaged learners. The dynamics associated with parental involvement are investigated in this study through two cycles of participatory action research. Initially ten parents from one of the disadvantaged primary schools within the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole were purposively selected to participate in an in-depth qualitative research study pertaining to the design of a suitable parental involvement programme for disadvantaged learners. All the relevant information was gathered during action learning sets, individual interviews, and observations to triangulate the data and fill in possible gaps. This data was coded and categorised throughout the cyclical process via inductive participatory data analysis, as described by Patton (2015:216 & 551). Three main themes with sub-themes emerged from the study, namely (1) deficits of the academic programme: remedial education, teacher-assistants, homeworksupport, technical abilities; (2) the neglect of social wellness programmes: need for parental guidance, necessary professional assistance, upgrading of safety measures, availability of clothing bank, sustainability of a nutritional programme; and (3) voids in communication and relationships: the home environment, community, school environment. These themes and sub-themes successfully answered all the research questions. An increasing number of learners at disadvataged primary schools are neglected and/or leave school at a very young age. This scenario is often linked to poor communication and/or a lack of adequate educational support programmes to enhance better learning outcomes. The design of a PIP aimed to address the diverse needs of learners at a specific disadvantaged primary school with the full cooperation of their parents. Nested within the Ecological Model of Bronfenbrenner, the participating parents were engaged in comprehensive discussions about educational support programmes that the school could embark on with them. Numerous programmes were identified as fundamental to transforming the quality of education for many disadvantaged learners. This research therefore encouraged greater parental involvement at disadvantaged primary schools in order to sustain better learning outcomes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: WIlliams, Pearl Juanita Cherrol
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Education -- Parent participation -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/47303 , vital:39841
- Description: Over the past decades parental involvement in education has increased rapidly within disadvantaged schools in South Africa. This transformation is evident in the legislation of the country which celebrates a spirit of Ubuntu in a democratised society, and, education at large. The ideal of effective school-home partnership across racial boundaries are, for example, emphasised and strengthened via parental involvement at all public schools. Parents, according to the Department of Education (DoE, 1996b:11; 2000c:29; 2001b:29; 2008:23; 2009:17; 2014b:27; n.d.:6), are considered key role-players in school governance and encouraged to support equal educational opportunities for all learners. It implies that the praxis of parental involvement – especially at disadvantaged schools – is a huge benefit to learners with existing backlogs in education. In relation to this view, Stofile and Green (2007:63) emphasise the significance of parental involvement in school life as it can assist greatly in addressing the divere needs of disadvantaged learners. The dynamics associated with parental involvement are investigated in this study through two cycles of participatory action research. Initially ten parents from one of the disadvantaged primary schools within the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole were purposively selected to participate in an in-depth qualitative research study pertaining to the design of a suitable parental involvement programme for disadvantaged learners. All the relevant information was gathered during action learning sets, individual interviews, and observations to triangulate the data and fill in possible gaps. This data was coded and categorised throughout the cyclical process via inductive participatory data analysis, as described by Patton (2015:216 & 551). Three main themes with sub-themes emerged from the study, namely (1) deficits of the academic programme: remedial education, teacher-assistants, homeworksupport, technical abilities; (2) the neglect of social wellness programmes: need for parental guidance, necessary professional assistance, upgrading of safety measures, availability of clothing bank, sustainability of a nutritional programme; and (3) voids in communication and relationships: the home environment, community, school environment. These themes and sub-themes successfully answered all the research questions. An increasing number of learners at disadvataged primary schools are neglected and/or leave school at a very young age. This scenario is often linked to poor communication and/or a lack of adequate educational support programmes to enhance better learning outcomes. The design of a PIP aimed to address the diverse needs of learners at a specific disadvantaged primary school with the full cooperation of their parents. Nested within the Ecological Model of Bronfenbrenner, the participating parents were engaged in comprehensive discussions about educational support programmes that the school could embark on with them. Numerous programmes were identified as fundamental to transforming the quality of education for many disadvantaged learners. This research therefore encouraged greater parental involvement at disadvantaged primary schools in order to sustain better learning outcomes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Educators' perceptions of inclusive education for learners with physical disabilities
- Authors: Mpu, Nondumiso Yolanda
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: People with disabilities -- Education -- South Africa Inclusive education -- South Africa Disability studies -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9401 , vital:34346
- Description: There is a grave concern that in South Africa, the total population of learners between the ages of 5 and 18 was estimated at approximately 14.6 million – of which near 1,000,000 are disabled. The record in addition to this regard estimates that the wide variety of children with disabilities who are of school‐going age, yet are out of school, could be as high as half a million. The motives why disabled children are not attending school are manifold; however paramount among them is that their needs are not catered for. Inclusive education entails changing values, attitudes of people, specifically of educators and learners, policies and the practices inside schools. Since post apartheid there is only one known policy which reveals that only 20 percent of learners with disabilities were accommodated in special schools. Current statistics show that only about 64,200 learners with disabilities or impairments are accommodated in about 380 special schools. This indicates that, potentially, 280,000 learners with disabilities or impairments are unaccounted for. Analysis of the data reveals the extent of the disparities in provision for learners with disabilities, for example: The incidence of disabilities in the Eastern Cape constitutes 17.39 percent of the disabled population, yet the province has only 10.79 percent of the total number of special schools. Gauteng has 17.14 percent of the disabled population but has 25.26 percent of the schools. The Western Cape has 5.47 percent of the disabled population but has 21.58 percent of the schools. This mismatch between needs and provision is a direct result of previous apartheid policies that allocated facilities on a racial basis. Inclusive education calls for an education system, which does no longer discriminate, however welcomes all individuals, providing support and services so that every child benefits equally in mainstream schools around their regions as only 41 special schools are in the Eastern Cape. Educator perceptions as the key personnel in the inclusion and in the implementation of policies related with classroom related issued play centre stage and need to be considered.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Mpu, Nondumiso Yolanda
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: People with disabilities -- Education -- South Africa Inclusive education -- South Africa Disability studies -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9401 , vital:34346
- Description: There is a grave concern that in South Africa, the total population of learners between the ages of 5 and 18 was estimated at approximately 14.6 million – of which near 1,000,000 are disabled. The record in addition to this regard estimates that the wide variety of children with disabilities who are of school‐going age, yet are out of school, could be as high as half a million. The motives why disabled children are not attending school are manifold; however paramount among them is that their needs are not catered for. Inclusive education entails changing values, attitudes of people, specifically of educators and learners, policies and the practices inside schools. Since post apartheid there is only one known policy which reveals that only 20 percent of learners with disabilities were accommodated in special schools. Current statistics show that only about 64,200 learners with disabilities or impairments are accommodated in about 380 special schools. This indicates that, potentially, 280,000 learners with disabilities or impairments are unaccounted for. Analysis of the data reveals the extent of the disparities in provision for learners with disabilities, for example: The incidence of disabilities in the Eastern Cape constitutes 17.39 percent of the disabled population, yet the province has only 10.79 percent of the total number of special schools. Gauteng has 17.14 percent of the disabled population but has 25.26 percent of the schools. The Western Cape has 5.47 percent of the disabled population but has 21.58 percent of the schools. This mismatch between needs and provision is a direct result of previous apartheid policies that allocated facilities on a racial basis. Inclusive education calls for an education system, which does no longer discriminate, however welcomes all individuals, providing support and services so that every child benefits equally in mainstream schools around their regions as only 41 special schools are in the Eastern Cape. Educator perceptions as the key personnel in the inclusion and in the implementation of policies related with classroom related issued play centre stage and need to be considered.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018