The restructuring of South African education, after the country’s first non-racial democratic elections in 1994, coincided, with the development of inclusive education in international education. The implementation of inclusive education, internationally, was guided by the Salamanca Statement of 1994 and the international “Education for All” movement. Education White Paper 6 (2001), serves as the blueprint for implementing inclusive education in South Africa. This investigation argues that the successful implementation of the inclusive education system is dependent on the development of an effective, quality education support structure. Such an educational support structure is one that should reflect a holistic, integrated and community based approach to support. Based on this presupposition, the primary research aim of this investigation was the establishment of a framework for a holistic, integrated, community based education support structure to do justice to learners with mainly external barriers to learning (LSEN) and educators finding themselves in an inclusive classroom in Nelson Mandela Metropole and surrounding areas. In order to understand how such a framework can be established, the following guiding secondary research questions were posed: • What was the international perspective on the implementation of inclusive education? • What was the nature of educational provisioning for learners with barriers to learning (LSEN) before 1994, and the implementation of inclusive education policies thereafter? • What were the practical implications of implementing Education White Paper 6 (Department of Education, 2001) for the support roles of education support providers in South African schools? • What is the support challenges facing learners and educators within inclusive classrooms in Nelson Mandela Metropole and surrounding areas? • What support structures are currently available at the different levels of the education system? This investigation was completed from a phenomenological perspective. A constructivist approach to data collection and data analysis was followed, as the investigator did not attempt to prove or disprove theory, but rather to understand the phenomena under investigation from the viewpoint of participants. iv The sample, selected by means of non-probability purposive and theoretical sampling techniques, included 120 educators from 85 different schools in Nelson Mandela Metropole and surrounding areas. In addition, 4 education officials, 4 members of community organisations and 2 teacher union representatives were selected to the sample. Through the process of data analysis, accomplished through the principles inherent to grounded theory, two themes and sub-themes were identified. The investigator presented a discussion on the two themes and sub-themes. This discussion was followed by a proposal for the establishment of a framework for a holistic, integrated, community based educational support structure. The investigation was completed by recommendations related to the primary and secondary research questions. The investigation concluded that the implementation of inclusive education is severely hampered by strong exclusionary factors that are principally related to socio-economic backlogs that have not been successfully addressed by the current government.

Submitted in fullfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education (Educational Management) in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration in the Faculty of Education, University of Zululand, 2006. / Technology is a key subject with in C2005-RNCS and is targeted as a learning area which will contribute towards preparing learners for their roles in society and in the world of work. School principals are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that Technology as a learning area is successfully implemented at schools in line with national and provincial guidelines. This research examined management of the curriculum with specific reference to Technology as a learning area. The management role of principals is central to implementation of this learning area, including provision of resources for teaching and learning and assignment of technology education to qualified educators. A literature review was undertaken to establish the relevant technical knowledge and professional skills that the principal would be required to possess in order to bring about meaningful changes and to implement Technology education. The study revealed that there are challengers regarding management of Technology curriculum and resources to implement the learning. The study also revealed that in spite of barriers to successful implementation school principals have devised measures to implement and manage the curriculum, including communicating with the interest groups.

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2006. / This thesis explores the responses of higher education to the national imperative to implement Recognition of Prior Learning. It makes use of a mixed methods mode of research to explore this phenomenon at three sites of higher education delivery in KwaZulu-Natal. The research investigates how these three institutions have responded to the imperative at an institutional level, in terms of policy development, organisational structures and philosophical approach. It also looks at academic staff perceptions of RPL policy and implementation and its successfulness in terms of the integration of RPL into the curriculum, the capacity of the curriculum to facilitate the assessment of RPL and the extent to which it has been implemented within the higher education system. It identifies the articulation of national policy on RPL as one of the factors that impacts on successful implementation. In so doing, barriers to the successful implementation of RPL are also identified and explored. These barriers include epistemological, material and systemic barriers. However, it also seeks to elicit the benefits that higher education sees in implementing RPL, both in terms of fulfilling the goals of higher education and in terms of the benefits for the national economic imperatives and the skills development initiative. Ultimately, the research attempts to establish the extent to which RPL has been institutionalised within the institutions in terms of a set of indicators as identified by the researcher. / University of Zululand

Thesis (M.A.(Language Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2009 / The assessment of the current school reform effort emphasizes the neeed to improve the education of all learners. Assessing the academic achievement of every learner is an essential part of this reform, but one that presents a challenge for most schools, school districts and provinces. Traditional assessment practices have tended to exclude learners who are denied access to important educational opportunities that are based on assessment results. This problem is often more pronounced among learners who have to do Grade 9. This study focuses on assessment and discusses the advantages and challenges experienced by learners and educators. The aim of this study, therefore, is to assess educators’ success in the implementation of OBE assessment principles of English First Additional Language (EFAL) in Grade 9. This study was prompted by educator assessments, which have kept interesting the researcher because of traditional assessments which are at odds with OBE. Most importantly, assessment is no longer practised and determined in traditional ways. The educator must assess, in detail, the knowledge, skills and dispositions that learners must develop in order to achieve learning outcomes. The researcher recommends assessment to include English langauge learners, increase school accountability for all learners, have a shared vision of learner goals and standards, have an authentic picture of learning, and reflect assessment.

Thesis (M. Tech. (Education)) -- Central University of Technology, Free state, 2011 / This study examines the problems encountered by educators regarding the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in mathematics in grades 10-12. The first aim of the study was to provide solutions to problems regarding training experienced by FET mathematics educators. The second aim was to identify problem areas in the NCS that frustrate mathematics educators teaching in the FET band and to identify areas that appeal to these educators. The third aim was to provide guidelines to assist educators with lesson planning in mathematics in the FET band. The fourth aim was to provide guidelines for appropriate assessment in mathematics in the FET band. The fifth aim was to provide guidelines for the effective integration of OBE in the teaching of mathematics in the FET band. The field work was executed by administering a questionnaire to a randomly selected sample of fifty two educators teaching in the FET band. Interviews were semi-structured, flexible and yielded additional information to that of the questionnaire. The questions of the interview were directly related to the objectives of the study and followed a given sequence that was adhered to in each interview process. The researcher arranged to interview one educator from each of the 15 randomly selected schools in the Motheo-district, but only 10 educators responded positively in the interview process, other educators could not avail themselves on that day. The researcher analysed the responses according to the respondent‟s personal particulars. Descriptive analysis of the sample data for section B of the questionnaire were then done, using respondent counting, percentages and the average for the responses of each statement. This study revealed that educators differ in terms of the problems that they encountered in implementing the NCS in mathematics. The findings from this study pointed out problems such as educators receiving inadequate training on implementing the NCS in mathematics. It was also revealed that educators had not been visited by the departmental officials in their schools for monitoring the implementation of the NCS in mathematics. The last finding showed that teaching and learning support material arrived late during 2008 and that there was a large shortage of such material. The result of the study provides invaluable baseline information with regard to the problems encountered by the educators in the implementation of the NCS in mathematics. On the basis of the findings of this study, a number of recommendations for the implementation of curriculum change in mathematics on FET level are given in Chapter 5.

Educational Studies / DED (DIDACTICS)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the way in which OBE teacher training in the Northern Province is being managed, particularly in Region 4. The study also aimed to contribute in providing information about how the Provincial office of the Northern Province is managing OBE teacher training. The literature review covered both materials in the Provincial, National and other countries. The study's research methodology was qualitative, which includes interviews, observation and case study based. Interviews were scheduled with Provincial, Regional, District Dept officials, Educators and Principals. The study has revealed that Region 4 cannot manage the implementation of OBE teacher training properly and effectively due to constrains such as lack of transport, insufficient training for trainer facilitators and educators, et cetera. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Education Management)

The study attempts to examine the implementation of Outcomes Based Education in selected secondary schools in Bushbuckridge, and to provide guidelines to enhance the implementation in the region. Findings reveal that the implementation of the curriculum is faced with challenges that hinder its effectiveness. Hindering factors such as lack of infrastructure, lack of school resources and inadequate teacher development programmes were identified through a literature survey and empirical investigation. Under the empirical investigation, qualitative approaches for data gathering, such as in-depth interviews were used. Participants were chosen from schools in the remote areas of Bushbuckridge, which are experiencing serious problems in the implementation of Outcomes Based Education. The research instruments used were validated and tested for reliability using experts’ opinion and pilot testing. The challenges of educators, school management teams, learners and curriculum specialists in the Department of Education were highlighted and recommendations made. / Educational Studies / (M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies))

Thesis in compliance with the requirements for the Doctor's Degree in Technology: Language Practice, Durban University of Technology, 2012. / This autoethnographic self study tracks my new ways of knowing in the various roles I play from daughter (passive recipient) to curriculum designer (active analytical composer). It retells my journey in the teaching profession at a school in Durban, in South Africa. The story occurs during a period when schools were racially desegregated in order to address the anti-apartheid policies that were prevalent prior to the first democratic elections in 1994. The story captures the challenges I faced during the transformation era in education and how I went about addressing two of the main challenges I faced: 1. Cultural diversity in racially desegregated schools. 2. Teaching isiZulu as an additional language as a pioneer, non- mother tongue teacher of learners with mixed abilities in an environment deprived of resources in terms of mentorship, and teacher/learner resource material. This study reveals how the challenges I experienced were, in retrospect, the disguised opportunities that led to my growth from teacher to textbook writer. It gives an account of the “behind the scenes making”, of the Maye babo! series, with a view to offer an exemplar for curriculum development. The study uses autoethnography (Ellis 2004) as a method to bring to life the teaching of isiZulu as an additional language in South Africa. It defines some of the difficulties experienced by teachers during a transformation era in education. In this study I clarify the relationship between Outcomes Based Education and the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), as well as where the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) is located within the NCS. More importantly, I use the tacit knowledge gained from intuition and experience to demonstrate how these policies can be applied in the classroom to achieve effective learning, an aspect often ignored in in-service teacher education. Readers (particularly teachers) will resonate with the experiences described in the stories, and, in so doing, gain a better understanding of themselves and their teaching practices; this might provide the much needed optimism amongst teachers, and might motivate and inspire them to grow professionally. The personal benefit in writing this thesis is that it renewed my place in the academic world, and more importantly, it has satisfied my quest for self realisation. Through personal exploration, questions such as who am I? and how did I become? reveal my evolvement. This project has been a soul satisfying and enriching journey. It is hoped that this study will in some way contribute to the transformation in education process in post liberation South Africa.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores the defining characteristics of the genre-theory analytically for isiXhosa. The five chosen genre texts in isiXhosa, extracted from five Bona magazine, deal with social problems. Firstly the study investigates the theory of genre-based approach. The genre-based approach forms the framework for the analysis of the isiXhosa texts. The ethnography of writing posited in the theory of text construction of Grabe and Kaplan (1996) is explored. This theory is accepted as an underlying framework for teaching writing in isiXhosa in Curriculum 2005. The ethnography of writing entails addressing the following questions: who writes, what, to whom, for what purpose, why and how. Secondly, the write parameter, which is extensively examined, deals with the six learning outcomes such as listening, speaking, reading, writing, thinking and reasoning, language structure, in relation to the assessment standards, as a realisation of communicative purpose. The text-linguistic characteristics of the genre approach involving Grabe and Kaplan's model of writing are explored in the five isiXhosa magazine texts. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie ondersoek die onderskeidende kenmerke van die genre-teorie analities vir isiXhosa. Die vyf genre-tekste van die BONA tydskrif wat gekies word, handeloor sosiale probleme. Die studie ondersoek eerstens die teorie van die genre-gebaseerde benadering. Die genre-gebaseerde benadering vorm die raamwerk vir die analise van die isiXhosa tekste. Die etnografie van skryf soos gepostuleer in die teorie van tekskonstruksie van Grabe en Kaplan (1996) word ondersoek. Hierdie teorie word aanvaar as onderliggende raamwerk in die onderrig van skryfvaardighede in Kurrikulum 2005. Die etnografie van skryf, behels die ondersoek van die vrae: wie skryf wat aan wie, vir watter doel, wanneer, waarom, en hoe. Tweedens, die skryf parameter, wat uitgebreid ondersoek word met verwysing na die Xhosa tekste, hou ook verband met die leeruitkomste van luister, lees, praat, denkvaardighede en taalstruktuur, met betrekking tot die assesseringsstandaarde, as 'n realisering van kommunikatiewe doelstelling. Die tekslinguisitiese eienskappe word ondersoek soos gepostuleer deur Grabe en Kaplan t.o.v. die vyf Xhosa tydskrifartikels. / ISICATSHULWA Lo msebenzi uphonononga ukwakhiwa kwe thiyori yegenre ngokuhlalutyiweyo. Itekisi zegenre ezintlanu zijonga iingxaki zasekuhlaleni yaye zicatshulwe kumabali amahlanu encwadi ekuthiwa yiBona. Okokuqala lo msebenzi uphanda ithiyori ebanzi ngendlela ethi igenre ijongwe ngayo. Le yimvelaphi yohlobo Iwetekisi yolwimi IwesiXhosa. Indlela yokubhala amagama ivela kwithiyori ka Grabe no Kaplan (1996). Le thiyori yamkelekile njengesiseko sokufundisa ukubhala. Iquka indlela yokubhala enale mibuzo: ngubani obhalayo, ebhala ntoni, ebhalela bani, siyintoni isizathu, ngoba kutheni, ebhala njani. Imigaqo okanye imimiselo yokubhala iyavavanywa yaye iza kujongana neziphumo zokufunda ezithandathu ezizezi: ukumamela, ukuthetha, ukufunda nokubona, ukubhala, ukucinga nokuqiqa, ukwakhiwa kolwimi nokusetyenziswa, nendlela yokuhlola njengenjongo yokudlulisa umba lowo. Ezi mpawu zolwimi Iwetekisi yokusetyenziswa kwegenre zizakujongwa banzi kusetyenziswa Ie ndlela yokubhala ka Grabe no Kaplan. Iziphumo zemfundo eyile: ukufunda nokubona, ukubhala, ukucinga nokuqiqa ziza kunikwa uqwalaselo olulodwa. Okokugqibela abafundi bebanga lesixhenxe baza kuba nakho ukukubona ukuvisisana nokudibana kokubhala ukucinga ukuqiqa kunye nemiqathango yokuhlolwa.