This thesis investigates the practice of high-stakes standardized testing in Nigeria. Examining its colonial histories, its philosophical incongruities with African indigenous education, and its neocolonial foundations, it argues that high-stakes testing in Nigeria facilitates the erosion of a critical African worldview. It demonstrates that through high-stakes testing’s reproduction of social and regional inequalities, the unethicality of its systems and practices as well as its exemplification of Freire’s concept of normative and non liberatory education as the “practice of domination”; high-stakes standardized testing in Nigeria seamlessly fits into the neo-colonial and neoliberal logic of education as a site of psychological colonization and the material exploitation of the people by the ruling elite.

This thesis brings together democratic theory's calls for an understanding of the actually existing democratic state and anthropological work on innovative forms of citizen participation. Building on the work of Joao Biehl and Steven Robins, the research focuses on access to knowledge and claims of expertise as grounds upon which politicians and bureaucrats exclude citizen participation. It argues, using an ethnographic case study of South African student activist group Equal Education, that authors such as Max Weber, Michel Foucault, and James Scott are wrong to imply that citizens cannot train themselves in the technocratic manner frequently deployed by the state's representatives. It also argues, however, that the state's representatives are often not the technocrats they are hypothesised to be or that they claim to be, and their knowledge practices cannot be separated from politics. This makes the process through which citizens establish expertise and credibility with the government more complicated than simply training themselves in the government's knowledge practices. Drawing on the work of Danielle Allen and Francesca Polletta, the thesis thus also examines how questions of personal experience and identity on grounds of lived experience as well as claimed or perceived identity often interact with claims to knowledge, opening up or shutting down citizens' ability to participate. Even when citizens are able to leverage their technocratic expertise to successfully influence policy creation, they may still find it difficult to effectively participate in the implementation thereof beyond external monitoring and accountability enforcement. The thesis concludes that the current democratic theory ought not be so pessimistic about the spectre of a know-nothing citizenry, but nor ought it presume that education and expertise alone will be sufficient for democratic governments to take seriously an involved and engaged citizenry.

This dissertation is not available online. A copy of the dissertation on CD is available in the Music Library at Call number: CD MUSOV 661. The purpose of this study is to write unit standards for a Music Technology Programme in South Africa. The research focuses on the introduction of Music Technology as an integral part of the present South African education dispensation. In answering this question, the researcher also answered the sub-questions: What is technology; What is Music Technology; Will a computer replace the teacher; How will the teacher benefit from using Music Technology; How will the learner benefit from Music Technology? Necessary information and guidance for using Music Technology in Music Education is also offered. This was done to be ‘on a par with the existing formulated curricula’ for Music Education in South Africa. On the other hand this is also ‘a paradigm shift away from the existing boundaries, inherited systems and requirements of traditional examining bodies within which teachers in Music Education have operated to date’. This is in correlation with the Proposal for the MEUSSA (Music Education Unit Standards for Southern Africa) project written by Professor Caroline van Niekerk. Apart from literature review, action research was done as part of the MEUSSA team. The MEUSSA team identified the problem of writing unit standards for Music in South Africa and did something to resolve it (complete their theses and dissertations). By applying action research within the MEUSSA team, first hand experience was gained as to where the gaps are and what needed to be done to fill them. Presenting a dissertation on CD-ROM was very challenging. There were virtually no guidelines because this is a very new concept. The researcher of this dissertation is convinced that presenting the dissertation on CD-ROM should be applicable to the medium. It is important that the dissertation is still academically acceptable, but makes use of the new possibilities that the medium offers. In further studies the author intends researching the best content for a teachers’ training programme, who are willing to use technology in their teaching. Future research is recommended in order to address the problem of national employment requirements in areas of music industry and education. E12/4/210 / Dissertation (MMus (Music Education))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Music / unrestricted

This project is based on the desire to increase the understanding and knowledge of digital resource usage within the math education in South African townships. Digital education is considered to facilitate solutions for current shortcomings, yet knowledge and experience of the local circumstances are vital for successful implementation. Interviews, observations and analyses of existing games were used to define requirements regarding design and usability, which were implemented through prototypes and evaluated formatively. This study indicates that the requirements of an educational and stimulating digital tool are the most important and suggest consideration of feedback, gamification features, such as storytelling, as well as the balance of formal and informal settings. Furthermore, user characteristics heavily implies low complexity, few distractions and a logical structure. Requirements of appropriate level, in both language and content, also proved to be crucial. However, this demands further assessment before implementation. The developed tool was perceived as suitable and was accepted as a long-term solution to make better use of the current resources. Although the limited time and the difficulty to comprehend the users’ opinions bounded the conclusions, the established requirements are suggested to provide a solid foundation for further research. / Detta projekt baseras på en strävan efter ökad förståelse och kunskap för digitala resurser inom matteundervisningen i sydafrikanska kåkstäder. Digital utbildning anses möjliggöra lösningar för nuvarande brister, men kunskap och erfarenhet om lokala förhållanden är avgörande för lyckad implementering. Intervjuer, observationer och analyser av existerande spel användes för att definiera design- och användbarhetskrav, vilka implementerades genom prototyper och utvärderas formativt. Denna studie indikerar att kraven om ett utbildande och stimulerande spel är de mest betydelsefulla och föreslår beaktning av återkoppling, inkludering av spelifiering, exempelvis i form av “storytelling”, samt en balans av formell och informell miljö. Vidare innebär användaregenskaper krav på låg komplexitet, få distraktioner och en logisk struktur. Krav på lämplig nivå, både i fråga om mattekunskap och språk, visade sig också vara vitalt. Dessa krav kräver dock vidare utvärdering inför implementering. Det utvecklade verktyget uppfattades som passande och accepterades som en långsiktig lösning för att bättre utnyttja nuvarande resurser. Trots att tidsbegränsningen och svårigheter att förstå användarnas åsikter begränsade slutsatserna, ger de etablerade kraven en solig grund för framtida forskning.

Student Number : 7905085 - PhD thesis - School of Education - Faculty of Humanities / This thesis is based on an exploration of human rights (in) South African education. In order to do so, however, it has been necessary to explore the origins of the notion of human rights in both its philosophical and legal senses. It covers the ways in which the claim of an equality of all human beings has developed historically and the ways in which they are articulated in the Universal Declaration of human rights and in the “new” South African Constitution. However, the argument in this thesis is that human rights tend to be generalised and universalised, and as such do not adequately address the ways in which human rights are experienced in specific social formations and in the contexts of particular people’s lives. In order to make human rights more specific and personal, I apply a sociology of human rights using Stuart Hall’s “theory of articulation” and demonstrate what this sociological analysis means in the context of South Africa under apartheid. In addition, to prevent reifying social categories and privileging particular types of human identity, I explore human rights under apartheid in relation to ‘race’, gender and sexual orientation. Throughout, I point to ways in which these identities and social categories interconnect with each and balance micro and macro approaches to an analysis of apartheid. Methodologically this thesis uses Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot’s approach of “portraiture” in order to capture personal lives within a macro context and I provide accounts in this respect of Nelson Mandela and Simon Nkoli. I have also used a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches in my investigation of experiences of human rights in South African education. Teachers’ and learners’ questionnaires were conducted in schools in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in South Africa between 1996 and 1998. In addition, individual interviews with Grade 9 teachers were conducted and group interviews with Grade 9 learners in these schools were also done. Classroom observations in three schools, one in each of the provinces, were also conducted, and individual interviews with two gay learners also form part of the empirical data of this study. A national survey of what human rights programmes were used by educational institutions and organisations was also conducted. The thesis also contextualises the sampled schools experiences within the post-apartheid dispensation in South Africa, providing an account of how human rights are framed in South Africa generally and in the South African educational system in particular. Approaches to human rights (in) education are also covered, as are the principles of a human rights education. The conclusions that I arrive at in this thesis are that there are interventions in regard to human rights in South African education which tend to be located within legalistic and integrated approaches. In addition, experiences of racism in the sampled schools are prevalent within an assimilationist mode. In regard to sexual orientation, sex, gender and sexuality are conflated but the provision of human rights in terms of sexual orientation has had a positive impact on the sampled gay learners in this study. Finally, I argue that the sociological approach to human rights is useful and generative and has enabled this study to access an understanding of human rights in generalised macro terms and in specific contexts of people’s experiences.

Thesis (M. Ed.) -- University of the North, 1997 / Refer to the document

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In concluding this dissertation I am reminded of Patton's (1990) contention that in order to decide what the appropriate unit of analysis is in a study, you need to decide what it is you want to be able to say something about at the end of the study. The unit of analysis of this study was the characteristics of and strategies for developing a successful school. At the end of this study, in relation to the South African education context, I wanted to say something about what a successful school looks like and, with special reference to school OD, how a school can become successful by examining Modderdam's success story (the case) in relation to TIP's school OD model (the intervention), international and local research on successful schools (the literature), and' current South African education policies and reform initiatives (national education reform). I was particularly concerned with saying something about the implications of this study for education reform in South Africa and, where possible, other contexts. These intentions were based on the two broad aims of this study which were: The nature of this study was illuminative and not scientifically absolute. Based on the principle of learning from success it endeavoured to deepen our understanding of what constitutes a successful school and how a school can become successful. The particular context is the South African education reform process. As such, it aimed to provoke insights rather than definitive answers in response to the aims of this study. The insights that have been generated by this study have manifested at different levels of 'depth'. Chapter eight discussed emerging insights which ranged from findings such as the striking similarity between the case study's successes and the twelve generic characteristics of a successful school based on the literature, to the contention that, unlike schools in a developed context, a school in the South African context cannot be the primary unit of change. Chapter nine consolidated these emerging insights into three key insights which have in some respects gone beyond the aims of this study by, for example, proposing a framework of core conditions for an enabling school level environment. In summarising this study's insights I have attempted to portray the iterative nature of propositional order. In accordance with its two broad aims, the table below summarises this study's main insights and the implications of these insights for education reform in South Africa and beyond. the analysis process by starting with those which are of a more basic, 'findings' level and finishing with those which are of a more deeper,

Thesis (M. A. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / As a medium of instruction in the South African education system, English remains challenging even to tertiary students who are not fully exposed to it in their environments. Higher institutions of learning have responsively factored in English Language Support Courses (ELSC) which aim to help the students acquire essential language skills at the threshold of tertiary education. These support courses include English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) strategically developed in line with the needs of cohorts of students the institutions admit. The purpose of this study was to review ELSCs which have been taught at the University of Limpopo (UL) for a number of years, and to provide suggestions on how to address the shortcomings identified. The study followed a qualitative research approach using lesson observations and staff interviews to collect data. Findings indicate that the situation in ELSCs is dire in that lecturers seem to need more training regarding teaching in that context.

This thesis examines the extent to which the private Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Sector in South Africa is responsive to national development. National development is understood as associated with a range of socio-economic imperatives which include challenges of poverty, unemployment, inequality, the ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and its associated impacts. In addition to these, the educational component of national development is to ensure access, redress and equity, which are necessary to undo the impacts of an apartheid-related skills regime. Skills development is considered a crucial means to respond to these challenges. Without skills for formal and informal labour markets, as well as productive self-employment, South Africa’s capacity to respond to the new globalised era is likely to be considerably stunted and will negatively affect its developmental trajectory. The methodology used in this study included a mix of quantitative and qualitative strategies to obtain the size, shape and nature of provision. The quantitative component, undertaken in the course of 2002, was supplemented by randomly chosen qualitative case studies. Together, they provided the basis for unravelling a sector distinct in nature, form and content. Developing a comprehensive typology provides important insight into responsiveness of a sector characterised by wide-ranging provision forms. The typology of provider type based on profitability and form, i.e. ‘for-profit’, ‘non-profit’ and ‘in-house’ providers, was replaced with a multi-dimensional model. Learner type, as a primary typological category, includes the ‘pre-employed’, ‘unemployed’, the employed ‘self-funded employee’ and the ‘corporate client’. Provider types responding to these learner types are distinguished on the basis of location, delivery patterns and programming. The various provider forms include ‘multi-providers’, ‘specialist providers’, ‘consultants’, ‘in-house’ and ‘non-profit’ providers. Provider purposes include those responding to employment, either formal labour market or self-employment, and self-development, including leisure-related skilling and lifelong learning. Learner types and training purpose determine the manner, form and characteristics of provision. This understanding of a widely divergent and heterogeneous sector provides the context for assessing its contribution to national development in South Africa. The notions of responsiveness and receptiveness are used as conceptual devices to assess the role of the sector. Responsiveness describes specific labour market purpose, while receptiveness refers to the social development and educational imperatives of access, redress and equity. The sheer size of the sector suggests an important demand-led element of provision and represents an important measure of receptiveness to national development prerogatives. The conservative estimate of 706 884 learners, located at 4178 sites for 864 providers that pre-registered with the Department of Education in 2001, provide the basis for serious consideration of the sector. The sector adequately responds to the immediate short-term needs of employers. Programmes offered for corporate providers respond more deliberately to their immediate short-term skill requirements and which has made it possible for them to outsource a considerable proportion of their training. In addition, there is no other education and training form flexible enough to provide for the training needs of employees, and sometimes the customers of corporate concerns, as in product upgrading and support, at times and locations suitable to their requirements. Private providers did not necessarily have more linkages with the formal labour market than do public providers and are not necessarily able to secure more effectively employment opportunities for their pre- and unemployed learners With respect to receptiveness, the sector comprises learner patterns consistent with national demographics. The sector is associated with an older, employed learner type, typically enrolled in shorter-term courses. This demonstrates the sector’s accessibility. In comparison with their public counterparts, costs were not prohibitive and programme structure allowed adequate flexibility to enable learners to weave in and out of the system. Variable admission requirements also allowed learners to slot into appropriate levels. The absence of data makes comparative judgements of throughput, and quality, with public institutions difficult to make. The current need to regulate all providers equally may not be the most efficient way of dealing with the sector. In light of the national development prerogative to protect those most vulnerable from the risk of market failure, there is need to grant support to those providers most responsive to this group - in this instance, those ‘full time’ providers responding to the pre- and unemployed learner set. The market adequately regulates providers responding to the employed and corporate client groups.

1 online resource (xii, 184 leaves) : illustrations / A high level of literacy is essential if a child is to be employable and determines the role a person will play in the globalised information age. In South Africa the literacy levels, including reading levels, of school children is extremely low. The study forms part of a longitudinal reading and literacy intervention project undertaken over a five year period in two disadvantaged primary schools in an urban township. The project focused on capacity building and resource building of the school community including the teachers, learners, school librarians and parents. This dissertation describes an action research study that focused specifically on setting up school libraries in each of these schools and the professional development of the teachers in order to contribute to the teaching and learning practices in the schools. It offers critical reflections on the process and findings and contributes to research on school libraries in South Africa. / Information Science / M. Inf. (Information Science)