Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-96). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-137). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-69). Also available in print.

This study reports on an investigation of the effectiveness of the "Positive Approach to Discipline" (PAD) system for classroom management. The data from the study were analyzed by the analysis of variance with repeated measures. The data indicate several implications for the utilization of the PAD system for classroom management. The findings of the study indicate that, 1) teachers utilizing the PAD system significantly reduced the number of students referred to administration, and 2) teachers utilizing the PAD system significantly reduced the number of Black students referred to administration, and 3) the PAD system was effective in reducing the number of students suspended from school.

The findings of this investigation support the following conclusions concerning junior high schools. 1. A positive approach to discipline can be expected to have a significant positive impact on students' opinions of school. 2. A positive approach to discipline can be expected to have a significant positive impact on teachers' opinions of school. 3. A positive approach to discipline can be expected to have a significant positive effect on school atmosphere as evidenced by fewer discipline cases and increased student involvement. 4. A positive approach to discipline will result in increased teacher participation in areas such as sponsorship of student clubs, mini-courses and other extracurricular activities. 5. A school-wide positive approach to discipline will result in increased direct teacher involvement with students. 6. A school-wide positive approach to discipline will result in increased parent-school communication. 7. A school-wide positive approach to discipline will result in fewer truancy problems. 8. A school-wide positive approach to discipline will result in fewer serious behavior problems resulting in Reassignment School or suspension.

Submitted to the faculty of education in fulfilment of the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Didactics at the University of Zululand, 1997. / Literature and research studies have widely identified and documented the need for teachers to acquire classroom management skills and strategies in order to handle classroom behaviour problems. Teachers perceive classroom management as one of the major problems of concern in their teaching. The lack of South African literature and research on classroom management to assist teachers renders the problem of dealing with classroom behaviour problems more serious. This research investigation rests on the premise that teachers experience classroom behaviour problems which they have difficulty in managing. Teacher education institutions fail to cover the subject and subsequently teachers lack adequate skills, knowledge and taming in classroom management. This affects the teaching-learning process and places a challenge on the teachers to establish an effective teaching and learning environment. The study revolves around the following research problem: How do secondary school teachers manage classroom behaviour problems? In order to place this study in its proper perspective relevant literature on classroom management was analysed. The review of literature provided a focus on principles of managing classroom behaviour problems as the framework on which this study is based. The study adopted the qualitative approach. Classroom behaviour problems are readily observable under their natural settings and how teachers handle classroom behaviour problems rests on the circumstances from which they emanate. Observations and interviews were conducted in two secondary schools which are situated at KwaDlangezwa and eSikhawini in KwaZulu-Natal to observe how teachers handled classroom behaviour problems as they naturally occured and how they perceive their management of classroom behaviours. The findings of the study revealed that there were classroom behaviour problems that were common to most teachers and there were those classroom behaviour problems that were unique to individual teachers. The findings also revealed that most teachers were inadequately, if not at all, trained in handling classroom behaviour problems. This eventually made them to rely more on their intuition than on strategies and techniques that may have been identified as being helpful in minimising classroom disruptions. The teachers were aware of their inadequacies but lacked proper guidance. The researcher concluded the study by making recommendations such as introducing classroom management in teacher education curricular, inservice training for teachers, further research on managing classroom behaviour problems in the South African context, workshops to be organised for teachers by experts, and the department of education to formulate a working document that will form a framework on how teachers can deal with classroom management problems. Lastly, it is highly recommended that teachers approach their duties professionally and respectfully so as to eliminate some if not all classroom behaviour problems.

Full Thesis / The purpose of this research is to assess the management of discipline by educators in selected secondary schools. There are three major objectives in this study. Firstly, the study sought to examine the major causes of lack of discipline in secondary schools. Secondly, the study sought to determine the extent to which educators are affected by lack of discipline in the classrooms. Thirdly, possible strategies and alternatives to be used by educators were investigated. Data was collected from educators in different schools situated in the Lejweleputswa district of the Free State province. The study employed both the qualitative and quantitative research approaches to gain primary data and a literature review for secondary data. Mostly qualitative data was supplemented by quantitative data and a literature review. The results have revealed that many educators struggle to manage discipline in secondary schools. Part of the problem is the lack of alternative disciplinary measures to corporal punishment as a discipline tool. Educators aim to put measures in place to manage discipline, without resorting to punitive measures (such as corporal punishment). There is a need to implement developmental workshops at schools to assist educators in managing discipline. It is therefore recommended by this study that educators should not only be introduced to alternative measures of keeping discipline, but a continuous mentoring and support programme to assist educators with these alternatives should be implemented at schools.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the theories that classroom interactions are organized and shaped by the subtle intersecting and overlapping phenomena of race, culture, and gender, and that teachers and their inner-city middle-grade African American male students may make sense, i.e., interpret meaning, very differently in routine, day-to-day classroom interactions. The investigation was informed by Frederick Erickson's (1986) claim that the risk of school failure for students of color may be increased by incongruities between mainstream classroom interaction patterns and the predominant patterns/ways of interacting in the students' home culture. The study was conducted in three fourth-grade classrooms in inner-city schools. Data collected from classroom observations and semi-structured interviews were used to develop sensitizing and definitive typologies, construct individual teacher profiles, and categorize transcribed "talk" into primary and connective themes. Predominant characteristics of teacher-Black male student verbal interactions were identified inductively and presented as assertions (Erickson, 1986) in the findings. Based on the content, structure, and function of each, the selected interactions were characterized as completed continuous, discontinuous, or diminutive. As posited theoretically, the findings revealed differential participation, i.e., interaction peculiarities, specific to many verbal exchanges between each teacher and her/his African American male students. Discontinuities emerged from the different ways language was used by teachers and students. Negative vectors produced in sustained discontinuous interactions resulted in maladaptive meanings for both the teacher and the African American students. A second purpose of the study was to develop a staff development component specifically designed to address teacher-student classroom interactions from cultural perspective and to engender reflective critical inquiry by teachers into their own classroom practices (theories-in-use) and pedagogical principles (espoused theories) as they relate to interactions with their African American male students. Selected segments of analyzed interaction events were used to construct authentic teaching cases which contained embedded dimensions of the theoretical issues examined and the empirical assertions derived from the research. The cases were used as the major instructional tool in the professional development model. This study points toward the need for teachers to be aware of the relationships between language-use, culture, and gender, and the importance of understanding how these factors may play a role in facilitating or constraining equitable educational opportunities for some academically marginalized student groups, particularly pre-adolescent inner-city African American male children.

No description available.

No description available.