The Vocational Training landscape in South Africa changed in 2000 when the 153 Technical Colleges merged to form 50 macro Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges with new vocational programmes. In an endeavour to assist prospective students in making an appropriate choice of programme, placement tests prior to registration were implemented. The Competency and Placement (CAP) test was developed to identify gaps in the students’ knowledge of the grade 9 curriculum in order to identify high risk students prior to registration. This study aims to discover whether results of the CAP test of students at Boland Further Education and Training (FET) College correlate with their final year-end results in numeracy and literacy, and to what extent the test could be used to predict students’ future achievement. Data from 710 students were used to determine the correlations between their CAP scores and their year-end examination results. A Pearson product-moment coefficient (r) was calculated to indicate the extent of correlation for different groups. The coefficients of determination (r²), a coefficient used in the prediction of future outcomes, were also calculated. It was found that there were correlations of different strengths for different groups, but the coefficients of determination did not indicate that the CAP test could be used to predict the outcomes of the final year-end examinations. Therefore it can be concluded that the CAP test is not a valid instrument to predict academic success and should be used only to identify grade 9 mathematics and English skills gaps, according to the purpose of its design. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

The primary intention of this study is to develop a profile of the kind of educator that is needed for effective music education in the Intermediate Phase. Obviously, the primary framework necessary for such a study is the national curriculum with its Outcomes Based Education (OBE) underpinnings. From these outcomes, the principal criteria for determining the necessary qualities ofsuch a teacher may be derived. While the logic of this is straightforward, the process of translating outcomes into specific competencies is not Each outcome, be it one of the overarching and highly general Critical Outcomes or one ofthe more specific outcomes for the learning area, has to be 'unpacked' so that what it demands ofthe teacher may be comprehensively revealed and articulated. An attempt to profile a music educator in this context logically begins with these general competencies. They provide the basic template for developing profiles of educators in any and allleaming areas and sub-fields. Inferring specific teaching qualities and competencies in a specific learning area involves being informed by a broad and critical knowledge of pedagogical developments in the specific learning area that are consistent with OBE precepts. OBE, in various ways and to varying degrees, informs recent curricular developments in many countries and account must be taken of the more salient of these, in developing a profile for an Intermediate Phase music educator in South Africa. Thus, a crucial and important task for this study is to synthesize from current readings and dialogues, criteria according to which the intended profile can be credibly developed. / Thesis (M.Mus.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

Assessment of clinical learning as a process for determining competence in practice is one of the underpinning principles of establishing and measuring student progress III nurse education. Literature reviewed for this study revealed that assessment of clinical learning in nursing education has been a problem for many years in the profession and it still is even today. This study was therefore aimed at investigating the current methods of assessing clinical learning used in nursing education institutions specifically as these relate to the South African Qualification Authority {SAQA)'s call for applied competence. The study was an exploratory descriptive survey. Data were collected through the use of questionnaires. Questionnaires were mailed to those institutions that were not easily accessible owing to their geographic location and questionnaires were delivered by the researcher to the geographically accessible institutions. All nurse educators employed in five nursing colleges, two university nursing departments and one technikon in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) were asked to participate in the study. The total number of nurse educators in the above-mentioned institutions was 195. The return rate of completed questionnaires was 56%. The results of this study revealed that the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and continuous clinical assessments were the two methods currently most commonly used in nursing education for assessing clinical learning, The results also revealed that triangulation of assessment methods of clinical learning was prevalent in nursing education institutions, with the OSCE and continuous clinical assessments being the most favoured combined strategies in assessing clinical learning. Very few participants mentioned the non-traditional clinical assessment methods (such as the triple jump and portfolio assessments) as strategies of assessing clinical learning that were used in their institutions. This study also revealed that continuous clinical assessment as a method of assessing clinical competence allowed nurse educators to assess applied competence and was generally believed to provide a more valid, reliable and realistic form of assessment. Continuous clinical assessments were also favoured for their authenticity because they were undertaken in a real clinical setting. Within the era of outcomes-based education, the focus in assessment moves from judgmental assessment methods to developmental assessments with extra emphasis on authentic and integrated assessment methods. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The focus and purpose of the study is to investigate how Life Orientation lecturers construct learning outcomes using teaching/learning resources for their lessons at a Further Education and Training (FET) College in KwaZulu Natal. After 1994, in the new South Africa, outcomes-based education became the National policy for teaching and learning, with the National Curriculum Vocational (NCV) Programme implemented in the Further FET sector in 2007. The study allows for clarity of misconceptions and misunderstandings that still exist amongst those lecturers who teach Life Orientation around the concept ‘learning outcomes’ in view of OBE and in relation to aims and objectives. The researcher has observed over the past five years as a senior lecturer of Life Orientation that lecturers use the outcomes as prescribed in the Department subject assessment guidelines in their lesson plans without giving much thought around how these outcomes are going to be observed and measured in their lessons. Further observations revealed that when Life Orientation lecturers are engaged in the construction of the learning outcomes for their lessons they fail to evaluate the learning outcomes against the different levels of taxonomies of learning so as to ensure that the learning outcomes are observable and measurable at the end of a lesson. The research is situated in an interpretivist paradigm with its emphasis on construction of learning outcomes. Since this study requires gaining an in-depth knowledge and greater understanding of outcomes it will be conducted within the qualitative framework (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003). Therefore the study will ensure that the relevant data is generated around learning outcomes within the theoretical framework of Bloom’s taxonomy of thinking behaviors using the activity theory to explain the data. The purposive selection method was used whereby the participants for the study included four lecturers who teach Life Orientation at a FET college in KwaZulu Natal. Triangulation of three instruments namely reflection questions, interviews and document analysis was used for data generation. The study found that Life Orientation lecturers construction of learning outcomes are a regurgitation of the subject assessment guidelines with no further evidence of their lesson outcomes. As a result students are being deemed ‘competent’ in Life Orientation but are ‘incompetent’ in many areas after having progressed from the previous NCV level. In view of this it can be suggested that lecturers should organize themselves into Life Orientation teams where they can brainstorm suggestions, ideas and practical measures for their lesson plans by covering all the learning outcomes so as to ensure that their students are able to achieve these learning outcomes. / M. Ed. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

The aim of this study is to critically analyse government policy on appropriate rural vocational education and training in the light of perceptions of youth in Mavalani Village, Limpopo. The stance that I take in this study is that rural youth need to participate in education and training policy-making because they are the ones affected by these policies. I argue that meaningful policies are ones that are developed by people they are meant to serve. The literature review and theoretical framework indicate that neo-liberalism has negative impacts on VET internationally and in South Africa. Although there are social, political and cultural aspects in the education and training of South Africa, the economic aspects are more dominant. I use the theory of Food Sovereignty to counter neoliberalism which promotes the rights of business at the expense of people’s livelihoods and lives. Food Sovereignty is for the right of natural persons to own and control their own destinations, although it takes food production and distribution as the point of departure. This qualitative study is framed within a critical paradigm where I look at power relations in society and how people can strive to change their circumstances. I used purposive sampling where I selected participants based on my knowledge of the population in question. The findings of the study indicate that VET in South Africa needs to be improved to better serve the interests of young people. The findings suggest that there are a lot of changes that need to be made in VET in the country, and that Community Learning Centres need to offer VET that is community-based and relevant to local development and context. The findings are in line with the theory of Food Sovereignty in that they encourage community participation, collective action and communal ownership, as opposed to neo-liberal capitalism where private ownership is ‘the order of the day’. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Thesis (MEd (Distance Education))--University of South Australia, 1995

Thesis (MEd (Distance Education))--University of South Australia, 1995

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2007. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." Curriculum Studies, under the direction of Grigory Dmitriyev. ETD. Electronic version approved: December 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-121) and appendices.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Curriculum studies))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.