M.Ed. (Media Science) / In 1981 the Human Sciences Research Council published the findings of its comprehensive investigation into all aspects of education in the Republic of South Africa. The work committee on educational technology made, inter alia, two recommendations that are pertinent to this study, namely: "Educational technology should be accepted as a fundamental factor in the planning, development and implementation of the educational system at all levels (1981:36). " and "In order to expedite the extension of educational technology in solving problems confronting education, the concepts of educational technology should form part of the pre- and continuing training of all categories of personnel involved with teaching, training and extension services (1981: 37) " Aspects of these two recommendations were also taken up in the White Paper on the Provision of Education in RSA. "The Government accepts the importance of educational technology as one of the modern and potentially extremely valuable aids in education.

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.

Submitted in partial fulfilment for the Degree of Master of Technology: Food Technology, Durban Institute of Technology, 2003. / Leafy vegetables provide valuable nutrients to humans. Indigenous or traditional vegetables are rapidly being replaced by exotic plants. These vegetables are often costly and not easily available to communities. This study was undertaken to determine the nutritional composition of the leaves of twenty traditional leafy vegetables namely Solanum nigrum, Physalis viscosa, Cucumis metuliferus, Momordica balsamina, Amaranthus spinosus, Amaranthus hybridus, Amaranthus dubius, Asystasia gangetica, Justicia flava, Emex australis, Oxygonum sinuatum, Bidens pilosa, Cleome monophylla, Portulaca oleracea, Wahlenbergia undulata, Senna occidentalis, Chenopodium album, Ceratotheca triloba, Galinsoga parviflora and Centella asiatica from different locations in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The leafy vegetables were analysed for protein, moisture, fat, fibre, carbohydrates, ash, energy values and nutritionally valuable mineral elements (Ca, P, Na, Zn, Mg, Mn and Fe). / M

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

M.A. / Urbanization is a common feature worldwide and is even more prevalent in modern societies. This has brought tremendous changes to all known social structures. Third world countries, including South Africa, usually lack the capacity to effectively accommodate the influx from rural areas. A shortage of houses is the main reason for informal settlements being erected on the outskirts of these cities. Informal settlements are expanding almost daily. This can either be contributed to the insufficient infrastructures provided by third world cities or the influx of people from surrounding areas. There is a definite difference between the problems experienced by people living within the formal and informal parts of a city. The different type of problems experience by people living in different type of settlements has a direct influence on the survival of households in different settlements. Although previous studies have been conducted to determine the household structures in informal settlements, none have helped to give an understanding of the survival methods used by these settlements. Knowledge of their survival methods is needed to help support and develop these settlements. This study is therefore aimed at determining how these mostly unemployed and homeless people survive, considering their limited resources. A qualitative study was conducted, in the form of unstructured interviews, with the heads of twenty one households in Mandela informal settlement near Daveyton. Only twenty of the interviews were used for the purpose of this study. The main areas of investigation were: the biographical information of the households to determine whether different survival skills are used by certain household types, means to earn an income, the problems experienced with domestic services, and how different households solve these problems. In this study no indication could be found that there are links between the household structure, survival methods and problem solving skills of different households in the Mandela area. The normal household structures, such as nuclear family, single- and extended households, were found in Mandela. In this sample, most nuclear families consist of between two and six family members. Amount the respondents most working members of these households are employed in the informal sector. The respondents income range from 8500.00 to 81000.00 monthly. In this study is was found that households with no income rely heavily on family and friends for support. Most households in this study have running water, electricity, removal of refuse and sewerage systems in place. Most of the respondents in this study believe that these services are commodities. Except for their complaint about the costs involved, the respondents have no problems with the services. Households in study seem to have adapted to their circumstances and cope without amenities though people living in formal settlements would not. This, however, does not mean that they do not have the need for these services. After the study was conducted to find out whether the household that were interviewed in this study, use different type of strategies to survive in Mandela the findings indicated that there are perhaps no clear-cut survival strategies between different household types. Therefore the researcher argued that, perhaps living in an informal settlement is in itself a strategy of survival. This, however, needs to be further investigated.