No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Most teachers want to create classrooms that promote the achievement of learners’ full potential. Learners’ behaviour, however, often disrupts the teaching and learning. Instead, the fact that those teachers have to spend so much time sorting out disruptive behaviour makes the classroom a place filled with tension and unpleasantness. Various studies have shown that children’s troublesome behaviour shows no sign of decreasing and teaching has become more complex and more demanding than ever. Although the teacher brings an enormous amount of expertise to the classroom, this is not enough to ensure that effective teaching and learning will take place. Various, ongoing changes in society and education require teachers to add new understandings about learners’ behaviour and the complexities thereof in the classroom. Teachers are thus required to devise practices and techniques to manage their classrooms to promote teaching and learning. Teachers have to employ methods and techniques to ensure that they create a classroom that is conducive to teaching and learning. Some researchers have suggested that teachers become ‘classroom researchers’ to look at their own practice and then evaluate means and ways to improve on it. Teachers are required to become ‘reflective practitioners’ to improve their classroom management skills through reflection and self evaluation. Teachers are also required to teach with influence and care. The classroom context and the relationship between teachers and learners are cited as particularly important in shaping the way that the teacher manages the classroom to achieve teaching and learning. I have adapted a particular approach to my classroom management that is very specific. This approach focuses on group work, social learning and guided interaction between learners. My method however is not perfect and thus I have set out to review other classroom management approaches with the aim of improving my own practice. To achieve this I have looked at the way in which three of my colleagues manage their classrooms and I have aimed to employ some of their tactics in my personal classroom management. The research was approached using three research questions as a basis. These were as follows: 1. What methods do teachers use to manage their classrooms? 2. What do teachers perceive as effective classroom management? 3. How can the environment be adapted to achieve effective classroom management? To explore these critical questions, the case study approach was adopted. The participants were observed in their classrooms and interviews were conducted to get a holistic picture of the classroom management approaches used by the selected participants. The participants in this study displayed diverse backgrounds, classroom management approaches and personalities. The study revealed that these teachers employed various methods in their classroom management. Group work, reciting of rhymes, arranging the classroom in certain ways, maintaining good human relations and keeping learners gainfully occupied were some of the methods that the participants in the study have employed to achieve effective classroom management. These teachers perceived effective classroom management very differently. Some saw it as a way of getting learners involved in the lesson to minimise distraction, while others had a somewhat idealistic view on this issue. The study also revealed that the teachers involved had reorganised their classrooms, divided their classes into manageable smaller groups and even flooded their learners with work to change the environment to achieve effective classroom management. The findings of this study can be of value in discussion to seek solutions or alternatives to address effective classroom management in schools that experience concerns on this vital issue. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

This study set out to explore how teachers at a primary school in the Phoenix area in Durban manage discipline problems among learners. I employed a qualitative approach to collecting data. This facilitated meaning making from the data by considering the bigger picture and converting the raw empirical information into what is known in qualitative research as ‘thick description’. The two main methods used were observations and face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. A series of semi-structured interviews with probing questions for clarity were used extensively, with each interview lasting approximately 40 minutes. The sample size was five participants. Participants were teachers purposively chosen from the researched school, all of whom resided in the Phoenix district. Data analysis of the responses to the open-ended interview questions were categorised and were inductive in establishing themes through the process of coding. These themes were then organised into increasingly more meaningful units of knowledge. Three broad findings emerged. The first is that many teachers use a heavy handed approach to manage discipline problems among learners. The second is that other teachers used a softer, more ‘gentle’ approach in handling discipline problems. The third is that the school policy does not seem to have the desired effect in terms of assisting teachers to manage discipline problems. While I arrived at these findings from my observations as well as from the interviews with teachers, it should be pointed out that some teachers, who may have subscribed to ‘softer’ forms of discipline, might also occasionally use a ‘tougher’ approach. Furthermore, other teachers who were routinely ‘tough,’ might have a ‘soft side’ (at times). This study recommends that a sound understanding of the learners’ local context and backgrounds will equip teachers to formulate practical ways to manage discipline which will act as a guiding tool in eradicating the problems that originate from having to make decisions in the absence of a firm set of principles. An appropriate discipline system should be established by teachers of their own accord and engineered to suit their personalities and the realities of their learners, the community and the school. / Thesis (M.Ed)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Classroom management in the context of under-resourced classrooms and mixed-ability classes is an issue that is under-researched in South Africa where most public schools are under-resourced and have mixed-ability classes. My interest in undertaking a study on managing the mixed-ability classroom is based on my experience as an educator in Africa, where I have had to manage classes of learners with mixed abilities. The literature about classroom management shows that there are different management styles available to the classroom teacher who is faced with managing learners of different abilities. Three common styles are the democratic management style, the autocratic management style and the laissezfaire management style. Thus, the main research question for this study is: How do teachers in underresourced South African schools manage their mixed-ability classes? A subsidiary question is: What management styles do classroom teachers employ to manage their classes? Ginott’s theory of congruent communication was used together with the democratic, autocratic and laissez-faire styles as the theoretical framework to interpret two case studies of teachers and how they manage their classrooms at one school in the Pinetown area of KwaZulu-Natal. Using two methods, interview and observation, the findings reveal that teachers in under-resourced public schools mostly make use of a democratic management style in the classroom. This is because it encourages inclusivity of all learners irrespective of their ability. Sometimes classroom conditions lead teachers to employ an autocratic management style. Order and discipline in the class is the rationale for the supplementary autocratic style. The study concludes that the democratic style of management is better suited than an autocratic style to under-resourced classroom conditions, which are populated with many mixed-ability learners having special needs, this is because it is more in line with South Africa’s policy on inclusive education. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2009.

This study investigated the challenges of managing learner discipline. A case study was conducted in two schools, the secondary and the primary schools in Pinetown District in KwaZulu Natal. The aim of this study was to investigate what challenges educators face in the management of learner discipline. This qualitative study was set in the interpretivist paradigm. The research tools compromise of semi-structured interviews and documents review. The theoretical frameworks that inform this study are behavioural modification model by Skinner, (1992), The Choice theory by Glasser, (1998) and assertive discipline model by Canter, (2007). International and local literature that foregrounds and supports the study were reviewed. Analysis of different contexts was made to inform the challenges of managing learner discipline problems in schools. The findings of this study revealed that teachers from very different schools, primary and secondary, felt that learners were becoming more unruly and less respectful than they used to be in the past. They further stated that the lack of discipline among learners makes it impossible to teach effectively. Educators identified some of the challenges they face such as bullying and intimidation, sexual harassment, drugs and alcohol abuse and carrying of dangerous weapons to schools. Furthermore, the findings revealed that lack of parent involvement in school, home and family background, abuse of various types, balance between learner rights and responsibilities, peer pressure, the role of media and politics were the biggest cause of disciplinary problems. Educators suggested that alternatives measures to corporal punishment were not very effective in curbing learner indiscipline in schools. They found it difficult to choose and implement the correct alternatives to corporal punishment. Some of the recommendations based on the findings are that, at the beginning of the school year, the principal and educators should orientate learners about the code of conduct and school rules. Rules and the consequences of breaking them should be clearly indicated to learners during assembly. Active parental involvement in the lives of their children is crucial for the management of discipline at school. Teachers should acquaint themselves and learn to know learner home backgrounds in order to understand learners they are dealing with. In-service workshops for all teachers across the country to be trained in alternatives to corporal punishment should be organised by the Department of Education. Professional support i.e. psychologists or educational counsellors should be increased to support schools. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.