This study deals with the problem relating to the prevalence of a lack of trust amongst members of today's society generally, and in particular between college lecturers and student teachers. The aim of the dissertation is to investigate the role of the lecturer in cultivating a relationship of trust with the student teacher, especially during teaching practice. The study reveals that the trust relationship manifests itself in various moments. Some characteristics of an effective supervising lecturer are also reflected upon. The major research consists of an empirical investigation into which characteristics of an effective supervising lecturer contribute most towards cultivating a relationship of trust with student teachers during teaching practice. A survey of colleges of education and schools in the former Transkei region participating in the empirical investigation is also conducted. The findings of the research indicate that the following categories need to be enhanced 'through training : personal, professional and guidance. / Education / M. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

This study deals with the problem relating to the prevalence of a lack of trust amongst members of today's society generally, and in particular between college lecturers and student teachers. The aim of the dissertation is to investigate the role of the lecturer in cultivating a relationship of trust with the student teacher, especially during teaching practice. The study reveals that the trust relationship manifests itself in various moments. Some characteristics of an effective supervising lecturer are also reflected upon. The major research consists of an empirical investigation into which characteristics of an effective supervising lecturer contribute most towards cultivating a relationship of trust with student teachers during teaching practice. A survey of colleges of education and schools in the former Transkei region participating in the empirical investigation is also conducted. The findings of the research indicate that the following categories need to be enhanced 'through training : personal, professional and guidance. / Education / M. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

This research investigated the educational orientation of teacher educators in colleges of education in Botswana whether pedagogic or andragogic, and how they influence their educational practice. The methods of investigation were, a literature study of belief systems, andragogy and pedagogy as well as the nature of educational orientation, a survey of the educational orientation of teacher educators in Botswana using a structured Educational Orientation Questionnaire (EOQ) adopted from Hadley (Quam, 1998) and a semi-structured group interview to a stratified random sample of student teachers at two of the colleges of education. The results showed that most teacher educators in colleges of education in Botswana had a pedagogical rather than an andragogical orientation. They predominantly use educator-centred rather student-centred teaching methods. / Educational Studies / M Ed. (Didactics)

At every educational level reading is a powerful tool for academic success because it provides students with access to information. Comprehension is crucial to reading. Many students at Lobatse College of Education, Botswana, have problems comprehending L2 reading materials and thus struggle academically because English is the medium of instruction. To some extent, methods of teaching L2 reading contribute to students’ reading failure. It is said that how we teach is as important as what we teach. Thus, how L2 reading is taught is important for improving students’ understanding of texts and their L2 academic performance. This study focuses on teaching reading as a process which involves an application of reading strategies in order to facilitate comprehension of texts. The overall aim of the research is concerned with the improvement of methods of teaching L2 reading comprehension in Botswana Colleges of Education. The specific objective was to implement reading strategy instruction programme (RSI) to see what effect it would have on (i) on L2 students’ use of strategies during reading (ii) on L2 students’ reading comprehension, and (iii) on L2 students’ English academic performance. Using a quasi-experimental pre-posttest design, an explicit RSI programme was implemented over six-week period in a Botswana College of Education. Two intact cohorts of second-year teacher trainees were randomly assigned to a control and intervention groups. A reading strategy questionnaire and a reading comprehension test were used to examine the relationship between strategy use and level of comprehension. A discrepancy emerged between the self-reports responses of the participants and their actual performance in reading text. Although they claimed to be strategic readers the results suggested that they were not in fact reading strategically.The Cohen’s d analysis yielded a large effect size. This corroborates the significant differences that emerged between the two cohorts in their posttest comprehension results. The intervention group showed significant gains in strategy use and reading comprehension after the six-week intervention period. This suggests that even a short period of intervention can be beneficial to L2 students. However, these effects did not manifest themselves in the students’ English academic performance. This suggests that students need more exposure and more opportunities to practice applying strategies to texts that they read before the effect spill over into academic performance in general. The findings from this study have important implications for the teaching reading in Botswana in both L1 and L2 context. This research also point to further avenues for reading research in Botswana, and cautions against a reliance on questionnaire data alone in reading research; the triangulation of data is important to gain an accurate and deeper understanding of reading practices and reading performance. / Linguistics / M.A. (Applied Linguistics)

Mathematics plays a pertinent role in physics. Students' understanding of this role has significant implications in their understanding of physics. Studies have shown that some students prefer the use of mathematics in learning physics. Other studies show mathematics as a barrier in students' learning of physics. In this study the role of mathematics in students' understanding of electricity problems was examined. The study undertakes a qualitative approach, and is based on an intepretivist research paradigm. A survey administered to students was used to establish students' expectations on the use of mathematics in physics. Focus group interviews were conducted with the students to further corroborate their views on the use of mathematics in physics. Copies of students' test scripts were made for analysis on students' actual work, applying mathematics as they were solving electricity problems. Analysis of the survey and interview data showed students' views being categorised into what they think it takes to learn physics, and what they think about the use of mathematics in physics. An emergent response was that students think that, problem solving in physics means finding the right equation to use. Students indicated that they sometimes get mathematical answers whose meaning they do not understand, while others maintained that they think that mathematics and physics are inseparable. Application of a tailor-made conceptual framework (MATHRICITY) on students work as they were solving electricity problems, showed activation of all the original four mathematical resources (intuitive knowledge, reasoning primitives, symbolic forms and interpretive devices). Two new mathematical resources were identified as retrieval cues and sense of instructional correctness. In general, students were found to be more inclined to activate formal mathematical rules, even when the use of basic or everyday day mathematics that require activation of intuitive knowledge elements and reasoning primitives, would be more efficient. Students' awareness of the domains of knowledge, which was a measure of their understanding, was done through the Extended Semantic Model. Students' awareness of the four domains (concrete, model, abstract, and symbolic) was evident as they were solving the electricity questions. The symbolic domain, which indicated students' awareness of the use of symbols to represent a problem, was the most prevalent. / Science and Technology Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (Physics Education)))

Thesis (MPhil (Curriculum Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / The focus of this research, PIL 72 (Building institutional capacity through staff development) was active at the Eastern Cape Technikon (ECT), a tertiary institution of higher learning in the Eastern Province, South Africa from 1999 to 2001. The project addressed curriculum and staff development with the ultimate aim of improving institutional capacity. This was done through a series of training sessions for a group of 22 participants over eighteen months in Outcomes Based Education (OBE). This research investigated the impact of PIL 72 on the teaching and learning practices at the ECT. Literature was reviewed on aspects of staff development, curriculum development, assessment reform, instructional improvement and project evaluation. Qualitative research was conducted with stakeholders at the institution. Data was gathered through interviews, questionnaires and document analysis. The major findings indicated that the benefit for participants resulting from participation in the TELP project was mainly personal; the project was to some extent successful in equipping participants with the required knowledge but not the wide academic corps; the format of the staff development activities was adequate but lacked sufficient monitoring and feedback mechanisms; developmental academic leadership, especially at Head of Department level, was absent at the institution and that institutional culture both influenced and hampered institutional learning. Recommendations for implementation and possible further research are made. The research revealed that institutional culture plays a crucial role in the degree to which institutional learning takes place. Further research in this regard is recommended at institutions with similar organizational characteristics as Eastern Cape Technikon, to explore the extent to which institutional culture influences institutional learning as well as alternative staff delivery modes that can be used at institutions of higher learning.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / The use of ICT to enhance the quality of student learning is generally observable in higher education institutions. The adoption of ICT policy for education in Namibia in 1996 has profoundly encouraged the use of ICT to enhance student learning at teachers training colleges, in particular Caprivi College of Education. Although ICT has positioned itself in higher education, its implementation to enhance student learning has been received with mixed feelings, attitudes and perceptions among students. The use of ICT in relation to learning paradigm, collaborative and/or co-operative learning, deep learning approach and assessment seem to be problematic among students and may affect their learning. Issues related to access to ICT, ICT skills and support (technical and service) contribute to students’ negative perceptions towards the use of ICT in learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ perceptions of the possible effect of ICT application on student learning at Caprivi College of Education in order to determine the ICT skills and learning strategies student teachers use to enhance their learning. The research strategy for this study was a quantitative survey. Quantitative data was obtained by administering closed-ended questionnaires to third-year student teachers at Caprivi College of Education. The study concludes that student teachers overwhelmingly perceive the use of ICT to enhance their learning in various ways.

While a great deal of psychological research is conducted on college students, less has been done on their adaptation to college. These young adults, as they develop ego identity and differentiate themselves from parents and families, must adjust to the social and academic environment of college. Psychosocial adjustment predicts college retention better than academic predictors do. First generation college students face greater than typical challenges adapting to college. The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program exists to aid first generation, lower income undergraduate student who wish to pursue a doctoral degree. Self-definition scored from thematic apperceptive technique stories reflects an individual’s relative freedom from social role constraint. This study examined the role of self-definition and familial understanding and acceptance in this population as predictors of successful adaptation to college. While neither was found to be a significant predictor, family understanding and acceptance was found to be a more defining characteristic of this sample than was self-definition. This suggests that when social support is sufficient, individuals do not need to rely on self-definition.

Kindergarten through third grade classroom teachers need professional training on how to assist pupils coming from one-parent homes due to separation or divorce. The methods that are employed by kindergarten, first, second, and third grade classroom teachers were surveyed using a questionnaire specifically designed for the study. The results of the questionnaire were presented in tables, using the raw scores. The study concludes that teachers are willing to assist pupils in this trying situation, but they feel inadequate to do so. Kindergarten through third grade teachers feel there is a need for professional training to help them be more effective in working with pupils experiencing personal problems.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of using study guides in content areas of the elementary curriculum on the general level of comprehension of third grade pupils in those content areas. It appeared from the search of the literature that study guides had been little used for lower elementary students. More frequent use has been with upper elementary and high school students. A study using third grade subjects seemed to be of value for at least two reasons: one, to fill the gap and two, to discover the benefits that might accrue, or to lend credence to the prevailing idea that study guides are more suitable for upper level students. Social Studies in the third grade curriculum presents the most concentrated effort in content reading, and for this prime reason it was chosen as the area for this study. Also, the text being utilized has a story line which aided in making a more cohesive framework for the study guides. This study attempted to answer the question: What is the effect of using a series of study guides based on a third grad Social Studies text on the general level of comprehension of one experimental class of third grade students over a nine-week period as compared with third grade students in two similarly grouped control classes?