Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2014 / In South Africa the education system has undergone three major phases of change since the inception of democracy in 1994. Such a degree of change requires teachers to adapt and keep pace with each phase. Professional development provides the support teachers need to learn, and be part of, pedagogical transition. The way teachers were trained during their initial training does not match what is required from them a number of years later. Accounting is a subject that has received on-going criticism because of the poor performance of learners and declining numbers of those opting to do the subject. Professional development is crucial in ensuring quality teaching. Research proves that quality teachers ensure quality teaching and improved learner performance. Goldhaber (2002:2) suggests that providing learners with good teachers is crucial. The main purpose of this research was to examine the teaching of Accounting in schools in the Western Cape within the concept of quality. The aim is to understand what professional development programmes Accounting teachers are engaging with and what the effect is of such initiatives. Phenomenology is used as the theoretical strategy for this research. The main epistemological assumption is that a way of knowing reality is through exploring the experiences of others regarding the phenomena being investigated: namely quality teaching in Accounting and professional development of teachers of Accounting. Experiences and voices of respondents were the medium through which I explored the teaching of Accounting and the extent to which, and ways in which, professional development activities they engage in affect their teaching as well as, ultimately, the performance of learners. A mixed methods approach, framed within an interpretive paradigm, was used in this study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed. Multi-stage sampling was used to identify the districts, the schools and teachers for the questionnaires. All subject advisers from the districts sampled were interviewed. The teachers for the interviews were purposively sampled. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers and subject advisers in the Western Cape in order to elicit their views on the phenomena being studied. Teachers completed questionnaires that included both quantitative and qualitative data. The questionnaires were designed to facilitate teacher reflection on their beliefs about what constitutes quality teaching in Accounting, as well as their current practices, and to provide information on the professional development activities they were engaged in. Data revealed that there are many teachers who are successfully providing quality teaching. There are, however, many schools where learners are not receiving quality teaching and there is thus a need to reform teaching practice. The findings indicate that professional development has a large role to play in updating and upgrading teachers’ skills and subject knowledge. The need for updating the content knowledge of teachers and for transforming their pedagogical practice are areas that should be dealt with urgently to correct declining trends in the performance of learners offering Accounting at school level. This thesis concludes with recommendations for improving the quality of teaching in Accounting that aim to enhance learner performance in the subject. Recommendations are made for professional development opportunities that transform and improve teaching practice with the final aim of leading to improved learner performance. Recommendations for further research in the field of Accounting at school level are included.

Submitted in fulfillment of the Master of Technology Degree in Cost and Management Accounting, Durban University of Technology, 2012. / The research outputs of Accountancy academics in South Africa seem to lag far behind those of their counterparts abroad (West, 2006:121, see also Chan, Chen and Cheng, 2005). Van der Schyf (2008:1) concurs that departments of Accounting at South African universities have established a culture that is removed from research, and that this is in contrast to the nature of a university. A matter of concern is that only a few institutions make up the national research output (De Villiers and Steyn, 2009:43) and especially universities of technology (UoTs) seem to lag behind traditional universities with regard to research output, as a consequence of a lack of emphasis on postgraduate qualifications and published research in the pre-merged technikons and the merged institutes of technology (Singh, 2011:1191). This becomes challenging with regard to the New Funding Framework (South Africa, 2004) which provides funding based on research outputs. Given the above, the aim of this study was to investigate research output among Cost and Management Accounting academics at universities of technology in SA and toward universities of applied sciences in Germany by examining their attitudes toward research, their qualifications and the structure of their master’s programs. Underpinned by Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, this study used a mixed methods approach to gather both qualitative and quantitative data from Cost and Management Accounting (CMA) academics at South African universities of technology and Accounting academics at German universities of applied sciences. Analysis of data revealed that academics in both countries showed a positive attitude towards research and obtaining postgraduate qualifications. Despite the absence of a German research funding policy comparable to the South Africa, similar factors seem to influence academics in their research activities in both countries. These include time available for research; support systems and intrinsic motivators. South African respondents showed a lack of qualifications among their staff which reflected on their research skills and therefore, output. Based on the findings, this study makes recommendations to CMA departments at South African universities of technology and Accounting departments at German universities of applied sciences toward improving of research output.

Thesis (MTech (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009. / The thesis explores the role that the learning area, EMS, plays in preparing learners for Accounting in grade 10. EMS in grade 9 includes accounting related assessment standards upon which the grade 10 Accounting curriculum builds. The grade 10 Accounting curriculum is based on the assumption that learners have mastered the related content in grade 9. The effective implementation of EMS in grade 9 is therefore important for the teaching and learning of Accounting in grade 10. The main objective of the study was to determine to what extent the accounting related assessment standards were taught and to engage with the key factors that impact on the effective delivery of the accounting focus in EMS. A sample of five schools within a specific geographical area in the Western Cape was identified. The study used multiple data collection methods in order to increase the validity of the results, namely, a learner assessment, interviews and document analysis. The planning and assessment documents of EMS teachers as well as the assessment tasks of the EMS learners were analysed to ascertain how teachers planned to teach and assess the learning area, particularly the accounting focus within EMS. The conclusions were drawn against the policy-practice theoretical framework. The study revealed a gap between EMS policy and EMS practice. There was very limited exposure to the accounting related assessment standards in EMS. This could be attributed to a number of factors including teacher qualifications and training, lack of support, policy shortcomings, absent guidelines, etc. There was a disjuncture between what teachers believed and what they were translating into practice. Even though all the teachers enjoyed teaching Accounting and most of them believed in the importance of this discipline in preparing learners for the Further Education and Training Band and their personal lives, they were not teaching it effectively. Recommendations have been made in terms of the learning area policy, professional development and support for teachers and learners. Even though the study was limited to five schools in a particular geographical area, its findings may be applicable to many South African schools where EMS teachers face the same policy, teacher and learner challenges or shortcomings.