This study considers a Grade 9 Integrated Environmental Research Project which was implemented as a vehicle to induce knowledge-based change in learners. It was noted that change did not occur as hoped, and this study was undertaken to review the Grade 9 Project in order to improve it and to probe the apparent gap between knowledge and action. The study generated evidence on the learning processes within the project. This revealed a number of contradictions and tensions which limit change initiatives within the local environment. Notable here was a contradictory mandate between undertaking a research-based change project and responding to the rubric of assessment which was not linked to the research done. It was found that faced with this dual mandate, learners chose to focus on the assessment-laden mandate as this was the ultimate agenda that would reap the reward within the traditional school environment. The study examines the gap between knowledge and practice to probe ways in which to close this gap in the context of an environmental research assignment. The outcome is a recommendation that we as the project designers review the evidence of tensions and contradictions revealed in the study to reflect on the underlying purpose of the project and reshape it in light of recent literature on the challenges of social learning and change.

This research study took as its point of departure the general state of underperformance of the majority of schools in South Africa. A review of the literature uncovered evidence that suggested that the state of school management in the majority of schools was in disarray. The problem was compounded by the poor quality and haphazard nature of support that District and Circuit Officials of the Education Department rendered to schools. I therefore saw the need to conduct a scientific investigation into how Circuit Teams could be assisted to support School Management Teams towards whole-school development. Against this background, I formulated the following primary research question to guide the study: “How can Circuit Teams effectively support School Management Teams of underperforming schools towards whole-school development?” The following secondary research questions arose out of this to provide further direction to the study: How can Circuit Teams assist School Management Teams to develop and implement their respective School Improvement Plans? How can Circuit Teams be assisted to develop, implement and monitor their Circuit Improvement Plans? What recommendations can be made to improve service delivery to the schools?. The primary aim of the research was therefore to design an action learning model that would enable Circuit Teams to support School Management Teams of underperforming high schools towards whole-school development. A qualitative research approach was adopted for this study, as it best suited the purpose of the research, and the philosophical assumptions of the researcher. In addition, I drew on a constructivist-interpretative and a critical theory paradigm to guide the design. I chose action research as the specific methodology for the study as, in line with critical theory it aims to empower people to facilitate social change and improvement at a local level. Purposive sampling was used to select four underperforming high schools in the same township within the Cape Town Metro, belonging to the same education Circuit and District Office to participate in the research. In addition, the members of the Circuit Team that serviced these schools were also brought on board as participants. In total, 40 people participated in the research: 4 members from the Circuit Team, 4 Principals, 8 Deputy Principals and 24 Heads of Department. Data were generated in the period January to June 2012 using structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. Data were analysed by following the eight steps for analysing qualitative data identified by Tesch. An Action Research cycle consisting of the following five steps was followed with participants during the fieldwork, viz.: Identification of the problem; Designing the action plan; Implementing the action plan; Evaluating the action, and Reflection and lessons learnt. Two Action Research cycles emerged from the fieldwork. The first cycle dealt with assisting the schools and Circuit Team to construct their improvement plans. The main findings from this cycle were (1) that the Circuit Team did not function as a team, due to the autocratic management style of the Circuit Team Manager, and the plan of action to address the underperforming schools was not developed in a participative manner. In addition, the Circuit Team had no Circuit Improvement Plan in place with which to support the schools. (2) The schools did not receive the required support to prepare their School Improvement Plans, and although they were able to articulate their areas of support needed, none of them undertook the process of School Self-Evaluation and therefore did not have School Improvement Plans in place. The second action r esearch cycle dealt with the support that schools needed from the other pillars of the District Office to implement their intervention plans. Three themes emerged from this action research cycle: (1) The School Management Teams required capacitybuilding to manage their schools effectively, (2) teachers needed support to implement the curriculum, and (3) learners required assistance to achieve better results. As the outcome of the research, a spiral model consisting of three distinctive phases, each having several loops that describe the particular action that Circuit Teams and School Management Teams have to undertake was developed as the ultimate outcome of the research. The structure of the model was explained, and explicit guidelines for operationalizing it in practice were provided. Based on the findings and the construction of the model, a number of recommendations were put forward to guide future research and practice in the area of Circuit Team support to nderperforming schools. In conclusion, this research study contributed to the body of knowledge by exploring, investigating and describing the working relationship between Circuit Teams and School Management Teams, which until now has not been adequately covered in the existing literature and research. The study culminated in a theoretical model which can be used to improve this relationship permitting Circuit Teams to better support School Management Teams towards whole-school development. The action research design also allowed a more participative and democratic relationship to develop between the Circuit Team and the School Management Teams of the four schools, which is also an innovative idea considering the traditional hierarchic and autocratic approach which has been the norm in the past. Hopefully the findings of this study will encourage the emergence of democratic partnerships between Departmental officials and school management, leading to the empowerment and transformation of school management.

There has been a growing need in environmental education to develop students' ability and will to take part in democratic processes that enable them take environmental action in their local environment. This study examined learner action competence in waste management practices in two primary school contexts in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. An interpretive case study design is used to probe how learner participation in Eco-School waste management practices enabled the acquisition of knowledge in purposeful learning and action experiences that developed the vision and agency of informed action. The research was centred on two guiding questions: 1. How informed, purposeful and action-orientated is learner participation in Eco-School waste management activities? 2. What Eco-School waste management activities are fostering active participation towards a learner-led agency? Educators in the two schools were interviewed and Eco-School portfolios were examined for evidence of the learning activities and learner achievement. This provided the contextual data for reviewing focus group interviews to probe what was significant to learners, what they came to know and how they had contributed to the process of developing better waste management in the Eco-School context. The evidence generated in the study was used to identify the roles of the various players, the significant activities and processes that enabled and constrained the emergence of learner-led agency. The main findings in the study were that teacher intentionality and school management ethos were significant in engaging learners in meaningful waste management activities in both cases. The study also revealed that although most of the waste management activities in both cases were teacher-initiated, there were spaces open for learner initiatives. However, it appeared that the activity based waste management practices mostly allowed learners to learn how to do waste management more than allowing them to find out more about the scope and nature of ii the problem of waste. This then resulted in learners talking more about what they were doing with waste than talking about what they knew about waste. There were differences in the way in which learners approached waste in the two cases. In the one case, Kingswood Junior School learners used waste artistically and carried out activities that allowed for better use of waste resources like paper while in the other School, Grahamstown SDA School, learners approached waste as a resource for making money. However, in both cases, learners appeared to enjoy the positive experiences of doing things that contributed to a cleaner environment and were of benefit to others and this gave them a sense of pride to share their experiences with others. This study was significant as it allowed me to probe learner participation and examine the development of their action competence through listening to the voices of the learners themselves and understanding what was important to them about the knowledge they gained and their vision of better waste management.

This interpretive case study sought to determine what influenced action competence-oriented teaching and learning processes in a high school environmental club. The goals were to describe a year of activities, within the TALON environmental club at Hudson Park High School in East London, South Africa and to identify how pedagogical, contextual and relational factors influenced action competence processes amongst club members. I explored how action competence theory and praxis have helped in other school education settings with the aim of establishing better environmental practices. The IVAC model of pedagogy (Jensen & Schnack, 1997) was used as a framework to operationalise action competence processes within the TALON Club. This entailed carefully examining investigative, visioning, action and change processes unfolding through the four themes of the club: plants, animal welfare, waste issues and our community outreach programme at Bongulethu High School. Using questionnaires, interviews, observation and a journal as the main methods of data collection I was able to make five analytical statements that related to the influence of pedagogy, the influence of context and the influence of relational dynamics within the TALON Club. The pedagogical processes were affected by the TALON members wanting to avoid any activities that were ‘too much like school’. However this served to compromise the action and visioning phases within the club, resulting in superficial and poorly-informed action-taking. The influence of context served to both enable and constrain action competence processes. The club and school structures therefore shaped the form that fledgling actions took as the TALON members participated in the meetings and outings and fulfilling the traditional expectations of the school community. Relational dynamics and a desire for fun took precedence over the action competence processes. Although the Club members were motivated by a sense of moral responsibility they were unable to articulate this concept into the club activities. In addition there were the power gradients between the educators and members to consider as determinants of the extent of participatory, democratic interactions. This complex interplay of factors influenced the action competence processes in the club. Recommendations were made on how best to work with the concepts of participation and democracy towards improving the reflexivity and knowledge base of both the educators and learners. In this way action competence processes will be better supported within the club in future.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an active learning approach (ALA) on the achievement of 11 th grade learners in Newton’s laws of motion, The case study was done in one school by comparing the achievement of learners in Newton’s laws of motion through an Active Learning Approach (ALA) with that of learners taught through Traditional Direct I nstruction (TDI) and to determine whether learners taught with ALA retained the material better than those taught with TDI. Two grade 11 classes in one school in the Queenstown District of the Eastern Cape were selected on their performance in two differen t tests and used as case study . The Force Concept Inventory was used to determine the achievements and retention of knowledge of the two groups. The effect of the active lear ning approach on the treatment group was also measured by ask ing each learner in t he group to complete a learner assessment of instruction form. The treatment group was also subjected to a classroom group interview. T he following information emerged from the study: i) Learners taught using the ALA achieved significantly better in FCI pos t - test than those taught with traditional direct instruction. ii) In the retention of knowledge test, the mean score of the learners taught using the ALA was 4.8% higher than those taught with TDI although insignificant. iii) Learners subjected to the ALA liked the instructional approach and as such put in extra time to learn. The findings suggest that the active learning approach had positive effect on the achievement of the Grade 11 learners and thus, can be adapted to enhance learning in the classroom. / Physics

This study employed a qualitative approach to investigate the use of cooperative learning to enhance conceptual understanding of trigonometry in a Grade 11 mathematics classroom, conducted at a high school in Moletlane Circuit, Capricorn District in Limpopo Province, South Africa. A single case study was used as a research design to get an in-depth analysis and collect detailed data using semi-interviews and lesson observation of the cooperative learning of trigonometry in Grade 11 from the learners and the teacher. Participants were purposely chosen and consisted of (n=30) Grade 11 mathematics learners and their mathematics teacher. Data from the participants were collected through semi-structured interviews and observation, with the aid of observation guide (Appendix C) for three weeks. The salient findings from the study showed how cooperative learning was used, research questions, the approaches, the teacher did not adequately highlight the importance of trigonometry to students without integrating the topic to real-life situations. Some students said that the teacher did not teach trigonometry in a manner that they understood, which made trigonometry challenging for them. Concerning cooperative learning, the study found that many learners were passively engaged, listened to or watched the teacher. Mainly, the study recommends teacher-training institutions to host practical workshops to help teachers integrate theoretical training and practical cooperative learning experience. While this study was qualitative in nature, future researchers could conduct quantitative data collection. This would allow for the collection of numerical findings through survey questionnaires. / Mathematics Education / M. Ed. (Mathematics Education)

The creation of an instructional genius hour framework for classroom implementation is an objective of this study. Currently, genius hour educators use a wide variety of frameworks. Some genius hour educators do not follow a set framework, yet others continually modify their genius hour frameworks. This study draws attention to the need to create an instructional framework for classroom implementation. This study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with five of the most respected genius hour educators. For the purposes of this study, each individual educator was treated as a separate case study. During the semi-structured interviews, genius hour educators shared their personal experience with implementing genius hour, their personal philosophies and ideas related to genius hour, their recommendations regarding genius hour implementation, and their recommendations regarding genius hour frameworks for classroom implementation. Moreover, this study also conducted two observations of genius hour classrooms in action. These classroom observations offered data related to genius hour educational philosophy and the need for a genius hour framework. This study recommends that educators use an instructional framework when implementing genius hour. A framework will have a positive effect on the performance of genius hour because of the added structure and clarity it provides for students and educators. It is recommended that educators choose a framework, and modify it in order to best serve the academic needs of their particular genius hour programme. This study moves beyond the genius hour framework by identifying major themes that genius hour educators should consider when implementing genius hour in the classrooms. Alongside the importance of the framework model, the common themes of front-loading, learning from failure, developing passion, and mentoring emerged from the interviews and observations. In essence, this study developed a framework model, game time, based around the importance of incorporating the aforementioned themes. The findings within this study offer an understanding of the importance of using a genius hour framework for classroom implementation. This study envisions that educators can use the research gathered in order to create an optimal genius hour framework for classroom implementation. This offers a framework for classroom implementation, which should be individualized in order to best suit the classroom specific needs. / Hierdie studie het die skepping van ʼn genie-uur-onderrigraamwerk vir klaskamer-implementering ten doel. Tans gebruik genie-uuropvoeders ’n wye verskeidenheid raamwerke. Sommige genie-uuropvoeders volg nie ’n vasgestelde raamwerk nie, terwyl andere voortdurend hul genie-uurraamwerke verander. Hierdie studie vestig aandag op die behoefte om ʼn onderrigraamwerk vir klaskamerimplementering te skep. Hierdie studie is uitgevoer deur middel van halfgestruktureerde onderhoude met vyf van die mees gerespekteerde genie-uuropvoeders. Vir die doeleindes van hierdie studie is elke individuele opvoeder as ’n afsonderlike gevallestudie behandel. Gedurende die halfgestruktureerde onderhoude het genie-uuropvoeders hul persoonlike ervarings van die inwerkingstelling van genie-uur, hul persoonlike filosofieë en idees oor genie-uur, hul aanbevelings vir genie-uurimplementering, en hul aanbevelings vir genie-uurraamwerke vir klaskamerimplementering gedeel. Verder het hierdie stude ook twee waarnemings van genie-uurklaskamers-in-aksie uitgevoer. Hierdie klaskamerwaarnemings het data in verband met genie-uuronderwysfilosofie en die behoefte aan ’n genie-uurraamwerk opgelewer. Hierdie studie beveel aan dat opvoeders ʼn onderrigraamwerk gebruik wanneer hulle genie-uur in werking stel. ’n Raamwerk sal ’n positiewe uitwerking op die uitvoering van genie-uur hê as gevolg van die bykomende struktuur en duidelikheid wat dit aan studente en opvoeders bied. Daar word aanbeveel dat opvoeders ’n raamwerk kies en dit aanpas ten einde die beste in die akademiese behoeftes van hul betrokke genie-uurprogram te voorsien. Hierdie studie beweeg verder as die genie-uurraamwerk deur belangrike temas te identifiseer wat genie-uuropvoeders kan oorweeg wanneer hulle genie-uur in die klaskamers in werking stel. Afgesien van die belangrikheid van die raamwerkmodel het die algemene temas van voorkantlading, leer uit mislukking, ontwikkeling van passie en leidinggewing uit die onderhoude en waarnemings na vore gekom. Hierdie studie het wesenlik ’n raamwerkmodel ontwikkel, genaamd speeltyd, wat gebaseer is op die belangrikheid daarvan om die voorgenoemde temas te inkorporeer. Die bevindings van hierdie studie bied ʼn begrip van die belangrikheid daarvan om ’n genie-uurraamwerk vir klaskamerimplementering te gebruik. Hierdie studie stel in die vooruitsig dat opvoeders die navorsing sal gebruik wat ingesamel is om ʼn optimale genie-uurraamwerk vir klaskamerimplementering te skep. Dit bied ’n raamwerk vir klaskamerimplementering, wat geïndividualiseer behoort te word om die beste in die spesifieke behoeftes van elke klaskamer te voorsien. / Ukwakhiwa kohlaka lokufundisa ngendlela ye-genius hour oluzosetshenziswa ekilasini yiyona njongo yalolu cwaningo. Njengamanje, othisha abalandela indlela yegenius hour basebenzisa izinhlobonhlobo zezinhlaka. Abanye othisha abalandela indlela yegenius hour abasebenzisi izinhlaka ezibekiwe, kodwa abanye bayaqhubeka nokulungisa izinhlaka zabo zegenius hour. Lolu cwaningo luveza isidingo sokwakhiwa kohlaka lokufundisa oluzosetshenziswa ekilasini. Lolu cwaningo lwaluqhutshwa ngokuxoxisana okuhleliwe nothisha abahlanu abahlonishwa kakhulu begenius hour. Ngokwenjongo yalolu cwaningo, uthisha ngamunye wayethathwa njengowahlukile kwabanye abasetshenziswe ocwaningweni. Ngenkathi kuqhubeka izingxoxo ezihleliwe, othisha begenius hour baxoxa ngabahlangabezana nakho uma beqalisa ukusebenzisa igenius hour, imigomo abayilandelayo kanye namasu ahambisana negenius hour, izincomo zabo mayelana negenius hour kanye nezincomo zabo ngezinhlaka zegenius hour ezizosetshenziswa ekilasini. Phezu kwalokho, lolu cwaningo luphinde lwabuka kusetshenziswa igenius hour kabili emakilasini ngenkathi eqhubeka. Lokhu kubhekwa kwamakilasi kwaveza imininingwane eqondene nemigomo yezemfundo yegenius hour kanye nesidingo sohlaka lwegenius hour. Lolu cwaningo luncoma ukuba othisha basebenzise uhlaka lokufundisa uma beqala ukusebenzisa igenius hour. Uhlaka luzoba nomphumela omuhle ekusebenzeni kwegenius hour, ngenxa yokwakheka okwengeziwe kanye nokucacisa, ihlinzekela abafundi nothisha. Kunconywa ukuba othisha bakhethe uhlaka, balulungise kahle ukuze luhambisane nezidingo zezemfundo zohlelo lwabo oluthile lwegenius hour. Lolu cwaningo luhamba ludlulele ngale kohlaka lwegenius hour ngokuhlonza izingqikithi okufanele othisha begenius hour bacabange ngazo uma beqala ukusebenzisa igenius hour emakilasini. Ngaphandle kokubaluleka kwesimo sohlaka, izingqikithi ezejwayelekile zokufundisa ngokuhlahla indlela, ukufunda ngokwehluleka kuqala, ukukhula kothando kanye nokwalusa kwavela ezingxoxweni nasekubukeni. Empeleni. lolu cwaningo selwakhe isimo sohlaka, isikhathi semidlalo, okuncike ekubalulekeni kokuhlanganisa lezi zingqikithi ezibaliwe. Okutholakele kulolu cwaningo kunikeza ukuqonda kokubaluleka kokusebenzisa uhlaka lwegenius hour ekilasini. Lolu cwaningo lubona ukuthi othisha bangasebenzisa imininingwane etholakale ocwaningweni ukwakha uhlaka lwegenius hour olusebenza kahle oluzosetshenziswa ekilasini. Lokhu kuhlinzeka uhlaka oluzosetshenziswa ekilasini, okumele lwenziwe lusebenzele umuntu ngamunye ukuze luhambisane kahle nezidingo zekilasi ngalinye. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum and Instructional Studies)

Researchers conceptually recommend inquiry-based learning as a necessary means to alleviate the problems of learning but this study has embarked on practical implementation of inquiry-based facilitation and learning in Euclidean Geometry. Inquiry-based learning is student-centred. Therefore, the teaching or monitoring of inquiry-based learning in this study is referred to as inquiry-based facilitation. The null hypothesis discarded in this study explains that there is no difference between inquiry-based facilitation and traditional axiomatic approach in teaching Euclidean Geometry, that is, H0: μinquiry-based facilitation = μtraditional axiomatic approach. This study emphasises a pragmatist view that constructivism is fundamental to realism, that is, inductive inquiry supplements deductive inquiry in teaching and learning. Participants in this study comprise schools in Tshwane North district that served as experimental group and Tshwane West district schools classified as comparison group. The two districts are in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The total number of students who participated is 166, that is, 97 students in the experimental group and 69 students in the comparison group. Convenient sampling applied and three experimental and three comparison group schools were sampled. Embedded mixed-method methodology was employed. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies are integrated in collecting data; analysis and interpretation of data. Inquiry-based-facilitation occurred in experimental group when the facilitator probed asking students to research, weigh evidence, explore, share discoveries, allow students to display authentic knowledge and skills and guiding students to apply knowledge and skills to solve problems for the classroom and for the world out of the classroom. In response to inquiry-based facilitation, students engaged in cooperative learning, exploration, self-centred and self-regulated learning in order to acquire knowledge and skills. In the comparison group, teaching progressed as usual. Quantitative data revealed that on average, participant that received intervention through inquiry-based facilitation acquired inquiry-based learning skills and improved (M= -7.773, SE= 0.7146) than those who did not receive intervention (M= -0.221, SE = 0.4429). This difference (-7.547), 95% CI (-8.08, 5.69), was significant at t (10.88), p = 0.0001, p<0.05 and represented a large effect size of 0.55. The large effect size emphasises that inquiry-based facilitation contributed significantly towards improvement in inquiry-based learning and that the framework contributed by this study can be considered as a framework of inquiry-based facilitation in Euclidean Geometry. This study has shown that the traditional axiomatic approach promotes rote learning; passive, deductive and algorithmic learning that obstructs application of knowledge in problem-solving. Therefore, this study asserts that the application of Inquiry-based facilitation to implement inquiry-based learning promotes deeper, authentic, non-algorithmic, self-regulated learning that enhances problem-solving skills in Euclidean Geometry. / Mathematics Education / Ph. D. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)