M.Ed. / This study looks at parental involvement in selected schools in Atteridgeville. A sample of parents and teachers were the source of data pertaining to the issue. The research findings revealed that parents were interested in their children's learning and in the school, but that they lacked confidence in many instances. The theory supporting these findings comes mostly from Townsend (1984) and Sergiovanni (1994). The study was conducted by means of interviews with parents selected from schools in Atteridgeville. The suggestion made from this study is that a parent training programme, based on the programme mentioned by Townsend and Elder (1998) on Pacific Islands, should be introduced in township schools.

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. / Because special Education and therefore also the education of visually impaired children, is an expensive undertaking, it is of great importance that every school for the visually impaired functions as effective as possible. In the light of this urgency, research was therefore done to determine the most effective way to manage a school for visually impaired children under the authority of the Department of Education and Training. Before a model for the management of a school for the visually impaired could be developed, attention was given to the historical development of the education of the visually impaired in the Republic of South Africa. This is followed by focussing on the present situation concerning the education of Black visually disabled children. Attention was given to the areas to be managed at such a school, namely: staff, Pupils, Parents and Community, Curriculum, Buildings and Physical assets and Methods and Procedures. Reference was also made to the present management situation at these schools under the authority of the Department of Education and Training and to the managerial functions to be performed by a principal of a school for visually impaired children. Management by objectives and its value for Educational Management was also considered. Finally, the Biblical-Christian perspective on science, management in general and Educational Management in particular, was also considered. The model for the management of a school for the visually impaired from this perspective was suggested. Because of the lack of space the model could be applied to only one management area, namely, staff. It can however be adapted to also suit the management of the other areas. With this model "in the hand" the Christian principal and the management team of a school for the visually impaired, should be able to manage the staff and other areas of the school (more) effectively. They should be able to transfer meaningful and formative education to the pupils entrusted to them and also experience a sense of deep inner satisfaction, because they know that they are busy with a task God has called them for, doing it in the way He wants it to be done.

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / Truancy is such a problem that there is a need to investigate it. The act of truancy has both psychological and social consequences. It affects not only the individual truant adversely but also the people in his social environment. The ultimate purpose of the research is essentially practical: to help teachers, parents and others to address issues of non-attendance. The present research focuses on the possible role of parents in the incidence of truancy, since the family is basically a community of love. The present research displays a two-pronged approach. Firstly, a literature study is carried out on truancy as a phenomenon and on the role of parents in children's development. This serves as the substructure for the second component, namely the empirical investigation. Secondly, an empirical investigation is done. The empirical investigation in Mamelodi high schools, is part of a group project that utilizes a criterion-group-comparative-group research design with a nomothetic strategy, comparing truants' data with those of non-truants.

There has been a radical exodus of learners from the townships schools to former Model C, Coloured and Indian schools and this has had an impact on township schools. In some schools in the Port Elizabeth townships, learner enrolment has dropped tremendously. This tendency has also been a concern of the Eastern Cape Department of Education. The focus of this research was to determine the reasons that prompted the learners to prefer schools that were far from their homes while there were schools situated nearer to their homes. To accomplish this, a review of literature on why learners in other parts of the world moved from school to school and or why their parents send them to particular schools was done. The literature assisted in identifying key issues pertaining to school choice. These issues were translated into questions used in questionnaires to learners and parents to determine the reasons for preference of schools outside the townships. The data gathered via the questionnaires led to interviews with the staff from the schools in the areas where the case study participants live. Apart from gathering data for interpretation the interviews were also used to triangulate data collected via the two questionnaires. The five most important factors that were common to the parents and the learners, identified and endorsed by the educators as influencing school choice, were firstly the fact that high status parents prefer high status schools; secondly that safety, discipline and the smooth running of the school are of high importance. Thirdly it was indicated that extra-mural activities in the school curriculum play an important role. The opportunity the school provides for parental involvement was rated as the fourth most important factor. The educator’s attitudes towards work were rated as the fifth most important factor. The research report finally emphasized the need to undertake a variety of projects for further research. Suggestions were also made by way of recommendations of possible factors that had to be taken into consideration when determining strategies to attract learners to township schools.

M.Ed. (Multiculturalism and Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Tertiary Didactics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

From introduction: In this thesis some of the economic theory underlying the application of cost-benefit analysis to education is considered with the view to discussing its relevance to the field of educational provision for Black people in South Africa. The fact that educational facilities available to Blacks are so vastly inferior to those of the Whites has given rise to virtual consensus that more has to be provided for the Black population. The economic implications of education are frequently cited to support this viewpoint. Using (a ) the theoretical bases established in chapters 1 and 2, (b) the review of the rate of return to education studies in chapter 3 and (c) the broader socio-economic considerations introduced in chapter 4, it is concluded that this viewpoint is not necessarily well founded in South Africa and that the potential for greater use of the techniques described, is far from exhausted.

M.Ed (Media Science) / This dissertation is intended to serve the needs of any individual, agency or organisation that wishes to become involved in a development programme designed to uplift the level of destitution or deprivation of a particular group of people. This study focuses on the needs of the South African rural Black population. To date, many people and organisations have been addressing the problem of poverty, but because of the vastness of this problem their efforts can be compared to the proverbial drop in an ocean. Most rural people still live in abject poverty. They are not just relatively poor, but they are living on the rugged edge of sheer survival and their numbers are growing rapidly (Leonard and Marshall, 1982:1).

RESEARCH REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE. / The purpose of this study to determine which of the methods of teaching experimental work, namely; demonstrations filmed-experiments or illustrating experiments using the chalkboard, is the most effective method of teaching pupils at the secondary school level. Forty-two Standard Eight Physical Science pupils from a township secondary school, registered under the Department of Education and Training and situated on the East Rand served as the subjects for this study. Pupils were divided in to three equivalent groups, each with similar marks in science and each group was exposed to three different teaching methods for three different topics. The pupils wrote a test for each topic after the exposure to one of the methods. The research data were statistically analysed, using non parametric statistics ( viz., the t-test). The analysis of the data indicates that none of the methods was consistently superior to the others. / Andrew Chakane 2020