Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South-Africa is presently in a process of transformation towards the provision of quality education for all. There prevails an aim of equal education to all learners. A vision of lifelong learning was formulated on a national level so that all parties concerned can contribute towards an equal education. All parties concerned, including educators, have the learner as the central figure. The meaning of the word "learner" should be thought over by all educators, especially seen against the background of the national vision that sets inclusive and cognitive education as a priority. The educator's task now includes learners with special educational needs. The insights generated in this study reveals that educaters, at this moment, are not empowered to maximised and develop the cognitive potential of the diverse learner. The working method of schools (especially educators) should be of such a nature that all learner's cognitive, emotional, psycho-motorical and intellectual abilities should be maximised and developed. Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) as an educational approach have theoretical and philosophical assumptions which makes it appropriate for implementing cognitive and inclusive education. This qualitative study review literature and explores the world of the educator to generate insights to construct a framework to help educators to understand the relationship between OBE, Curriculum 2005 and cognitive education within an Inclusive Framework. Life-long learning and applied learning do not focus primarily on the reproduction of facts and knowledge, it aims to construct knowledge through a variety of study, learning and thinking strategies. Each learner has inherent potential and the ability to be successful in spite of his/her needs. The focus shifts to the learners strengths in order to guide and develop their potential and abilities. To establish a culture of teaching and learning in our schools reaches further than concerns about large classes and undisciplined learners. Except experience, educators need a frame of reference to work with a variety of learners stemming from different sosio-economic backgrounds, each with his/her own learningstyle and information processing abilities. In the workplace educators should use a meta-theoretical approach, consisting of a variety of learning, thinking and teaching strategies to benefit the diverse learner. A collective energy is needed in the establishment of an educational culture that is tolerant towards diverse thoughts, values, attitudes and practises. To build that culture, it is very important for each educator to have a conceptual and theoretical framework of OBE, C200S and cognitive education. This study aims to provide a framework for educators to work in schools to the benefit of diverse learners. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika is tans in 'n transformasiestadium, ook wat onderwysvoorsiening aan almal betref. Daar heers veral 'n strewe na die voorsiening van 'n gelyke onderwysvoorsiening vir alle leerders. 'n Visie van lewenslange leer is onlangs op nasionale vlak geformuleer sodat alle belanghebbendes op 'n gesonde wyse kan bydra tot 'n gelyke onderwysvoorsiening. Al hierdie belanghebbendes (insluitend opvoeders) deel een gemeenskaplikheid, naamlik die leerder. Dit is juis waar die probleem lê. Die begrip" leerder" behoort deur elke opvoeder herbesin te word, veral gesien teen die agtergrond van die nasionale visie wat inklusiewe onderwys en kognitiewe onderwys as prioriteit daar stel. Die opvoeder se taak sluit nou leerders met spesiale onderwysbehoeftes in. Die insigte gegenereer in hierdie studie dui daarop dat opvoeders nie op hierdie stadium ten volle bemagtig is om die kognitiewe potensiaal van die diverse leerder te optimaliseer nie. Skole (maar veralopvoeders) se werkswyse moet van so 'n aard wees dat alle leerders se kognitiewe, emosionele, psigo-motoriese en intellektuele vermoëns optimaal gestimuleer en verder ontwikkel word. Uitkomsgebaseerde onderwys (UGO) as onderwysbenadering se teoretiese en filosofiese onderbou is van so 'n aard dat dit uiters geskik is vir die implementering van kognitiewe en inklusiewe onderwys. Die kwalitatiewe aard van hierdie studie behels die verkenning van verskillende literatuur en ondersoek die leefwêreld van opvoeders waarna gepoog word om 'n konseptuele raamwerk te struktureer om die verband tussen UGO, K2005 en kognitiewe opvoeding toe te lig binne 'n inklusiewe raamwerk. Lewenslange leer en toegepaste leer fokus nie primêr op die reproduksie van feite en kennis nie, maar het dit ten doelom kennis te konstrueer aan die hand van studie, leer en denke. Elke leerder beskik oor die inherente potensiaal en die vermoëns om suksesvol te wees ongeag sy/haar behoeftes. Die fokus verskuif na elke leerder se sterkpunte ten einde hulle te bestuur en te ontwikkel. Om dus 'n kultuur van onderrig en leer in ons skole te skep, strek verder as die bekommernisse oor groot klasse en ongedissiplineerde leerders. Buiten ervaring, benodig opvoeders 'n verwysingsraamwerk om met verskillende leerders te werk afkomstig uit verskillende sosio-ekonomiese agtergronde, elkeen met sy eie voorkeurmodaliteit en informasie prosesseringsvermoë. Die praktyk vereis dat opvoeders aan die hand van metateoretiese werkswyses gebruik maak van verskillende leer, denk en onderrigstrategieë tot voordeel van die diverse leerder. Hiervoor word 'n kollektiewe energie benodig wat in die skep van 'n opvoedkundige kultuur wat verdraagsaam is teenoor diverse denke, dieselfde denke, waardes, houdings en praktyke. Om gestalte aan so 'n kultuur te gee, is dit uiters belangrik dat elke opvoeder oor 'n eietydse konseptueie en teoretiese raamwerk ten opsigte van UGO, K200S en kognitiewe opvoeding beskik. Hierdie studie poog om 'n raamwerk aan opvoeders te voorsien om in skole te werk tot voordeel van die diverse leerder.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Education (Management), Technikon Natal, 1999. / In 1992 the National Education Co-ordinating Committee published a National Education Policy Investigation (NEPI) report in which emerging curriculum alternatives for South Africa were discussed. In 1994 the National Department of Education sponsored discussions which led to the introduction of Curriculum 2005, a curriculum based on outcomes (OBE). OBE represents a paradigm shift from a system emphasising syllabus and content to one where prescribed outcomes are of critical importance. Workshops were conducted by the National and Provincial Departments of Education and NGOs to introduce and train Grade 1 teachers in OBE. Some principals reported that they were invited to one-day workshops on OBE. This study is an investigation into the management skills required by Junior Primary school (Foundation Phase) principals in the Amanzimtoti District in the implementation of Curriculum 2005. This is an exploratory study of the role of the principal in the implementation of / M

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Science Education) / The nature of science (NOS) remains a problematic construct, which many science teachers do not address in their science teaching. This is owing to an uninformed understanding of the NOS by teachers, who therefore do not include NOS aspects in their science teaching. It is, however, imperative to introduce learners in the Intermediate Phase to NOS elements because it is during this phase that they formally learn science Although there is no specific definition of the NOS, there are guidelines in the framework provided by Chiappetta, Fillman and Sethna on the NOS elements that should be included in science textbooks. The NOS framework for science textbook analysis comprises four themes: Science as a body of knowledge, Science as a way of investigating, Science as a way of thinking and the Interaction among Science, Technology and Society. My study focuses on the analysis of workbooks in the Intermediate Phase Natural Sciences and Technology that were distributed by the South African Department of Basic Education during 2013. These workbooks were distributed as part of the implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) in the Intermediate Phase. The workbooks are a combination of textbook and writing book. These workbooks contain ample information about science concept knowledge and colourful illustrations of real life science phenomena. The NOS units of analysis as stipulated in the NOS framework by Chiappetta et al., were identified for the content analysis of science textbooks, in this case science workbooks. As part of the process of content analysis, a qualified science teacher and I analysed the identified pages in each of the six workbooks from Grades 4 to 6. The overall agreement of codes indicated that the NOS themes are substantially covered in the Natural Sciences workbooks, especially the theme Science as a way of investigating and Science as a body of knowledge. The NOS theme Science as a way of thinking receives more coverage than the NOS theme Interaction among Science, Technology and Society. The latter theme was poorly covered in the identified pages of analysis from the six different workbooks. It is suggested that future writing of science textbooks, especially in the Intermediate Phase, should cover all four NOS themes equally. This could assist Intermediate Phase learners in gaining an informed understanding of the nature of science in order to make educated decisions in the scientific enterprise as adults.

M.Ed. (Education) / This study is an analysis of Grade 9 Natural Sciences textbooks for their representation of the nature of science. The textbooks analysed are CAPS compliant and approved by the Department of Basic Education. Like any other modern education system in a democratic dispensation, the South African education system has undergone several curricular changes post- independence (1994). These changes have been due to, but not limited by, factors pertaining to political and economic reforms. Curricular revisions have spanned a period of almost 20 years, commencing with Curriculum 2005 (C2005) to the current revised Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS). Science curriculum documents subscribe to the tenets of the nature of science (Lederman, 2007). Bell (2008) suggests that science is best defined by its characteristics, otherwise known as the tenets of NOS. Eleven key aspects of NOS that are intricately related to the basic tenets of science derived by Lederman (2007) form the analytical framework used in this study. The aspects are: Empirical; Inferential; Creative; Theory-driven; Tentative; Myth of the scientific method; Scientific theories; Scientific laws; Social dimensions of science; Social and cultural embeddedness of science and Science vs. pseudoscience. These aspects further formed a detailed scoring rubric to record the extent to which NOS is represented in the units of analysis, which comprise complete paragraphs, activities, worked examples, figures with captions, tables with captions, charts with captions, and marginal comments of the sampled topics ...

Thesis (MTech. degree in Business Information Systems.)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2012. / Organisations all over the world require skilled people to gain competitive advantage over their competition but, there is currently a shortage of specialised skills. This is evident in the high unemployment rate within the various countries, especially with the graduates. Therefore, governments, industries and institutions of higher learning have started to create initiatives that are meant to bridge the skills gap. However, the skills gap is still open. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the factors that are causing the skills gap to remain, especially between the institutions of higher learning who are the producers of specialised skilled people and industry who require the specialised skilled people. Hence the research question: What are the factors that needs to be considered in addressing the skills gap between industry requirements and institution of higher learning curriculum development at an IT undergraduate level?

Thesis (MTech. degree in Education) -- Tshwane University of Technology, 2009. / The purpose of the study was to determine whether rural farm educators are managing the Revised National Curriculum Statement as a new approach to teaching the curriculum of outcomes-based education. For this purpose, Witbank 3 rural farm primary schools were selected. The study followed a qualitative approach. Data were collected from three principals and three educators who were all teaching multi-graded (combined grades) classes. The study found that the educators and the principals were not coping with the demands of the curriculum, therefore learners did not benefit from their everyday learning. The educators felt that there is too much paperwork involved in managing the implementation of the curriculum. The lack of support from parents, subject advisors and the deputy chief education specialist (circuit manager) is detrimental to managing the implementation of Revised National Curriculum Statement. This has led to a serious communication breakdown among these stakeholders. The research revealed grey areas in the Revised National Curriculum Statement in its interpretation of learning. The policy states that every child has the potential to learn, but it fails to state the conditions that allow for effective learning to all the learners. The study also found that the training received at the workshops is suitable for urban schools. Educators struggle to apply the teaching and learning strategies at rural farm schools. Subsequently rural farm educators resort to using the old traditional (telling and recalling) method of teaching/learning.

This study focuses on the effectiveness of the implementation of Curriculum 2005 in Grade 8 and Grade 9 in a Secondary School in Durban and it also investigates if educators have moved away from traditional ways of teaching as required by Curriculum 2005. Teachers' knowledge of the new curriculum, reactions and attitudes play a major role in any curriculum change. To make this study possible, the modules that introduced the concept of curriculum innovation are Theorizing Curriculum, Curriculum Design and Development as well as Managing Curriculum Change. These modules preceded this study. The methods of data collection were Interviews, Questionnaires and Observation (informal). The data collected suggests that educators are still experiencing problems with regard to the implementation of Curriculum 2005. Seemingly the cascading model had some discrepancies smce most educators who attended the workshops seem to be unclear of what they have to do in the classroom. It is also evident that most educators that were trained to implement Curriculum 2005 are not teaching Grade 8 and Grade 9 for various reasons like the policy of Redeployment and Rationalization. Senior Phase Learning Areas are regarded as filler subjects which means that, the Senior Phase Learning Areas are not given the same status as the Learning Areas in Further Education and Training Phase. The school will rather allocate educators at Grade 10 to 12 first before considering the Senior Phase. The attendance of Outcomes-Based Education workshops are not considered when allocating teaching loads. There is also no structure from the school or Department of Education that ensure that those educators that are trained remain in the Senior Phase so as to master the outcomes-based approach. So every year a new teacher is exposed or introduced to new ways of teaching without being trained. On the basis of the findings, there is no effective implementation of Curriculum 2005 and most teachers are still using traditional ways. The Department of Education has a great task to ensure that there is development and support of educators that are still battling with the implementation process. It is also the responsibility of the Department of Education to ensure that all children in South Africa receive quality education and narrows the gap between previously advantage and previously disadvantage communities. But all depends on the teachers' skills and knowledge of the new curriculum, structures to support the implementation process and the support from the Department of Education. Without teachers' understanding and the necessary support structure, the intended outcomes will not be achieved. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

This small but in-depth comparative study sought to explore the extent to which a rural ex-farm school and an urban ex-model C school were in a position to implement C2005. It was acknowledged that a small-scale study could not address the question of whether the two schools actually were implementing the new curriculum. The question was rather whether their circumstances were conducive to C2005 implementation. Bernstein's (1971) definition of curriculum as comprising content, pedagogy, and evaluation was found to be useful categories for analysing classroom practice in relation to C2005 design features, namely the outcomes based approach, an integrated curriculum, and learner centred teaching. The social relationships associated with weak classification (or the Integrated Code) directed the study towards forms of school organisation that would be necessary for the reception of C2005. Bernstein's concept of framing was useful in that its related concepts of sequencing and pacing of lessons provided a means of analysing classroom practices. Data collection tools included semi structured interviews and observations in the two schools. While both schools experienced difficulty in implementing C2005 in grade 9, findings indicated that the rural ex-farm experienced significantly greater difficulty. Historical disadvantage, poverty, lack of resources and lack of adequate departmental support seemed to combine with a lack of will on the part of educators to develop the kinds of lessons and materials on which C2005 depends. While teachers at this school supported the idea of C2005, they felt it could not be implemented in their context. The former model C school was advantaged by its relatively favourable situation with respect to both human and physical resources, and was making impressive progress towards C2005 implementation. Despite the fact that C2005 aimed at achieving equity, the evidence from this study suggests that the gap that had previously existed between these different schools was in fact widening. The gulf separating policymakers and their planners on the one hand, and teachers and their classrooms on the other, was particularly great in the case of the ex-farm school. Implications arising from this are discussed in terms of forms of teacher development that might alleviate the difficulties experienced in disadvantaged schools. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

The implementation of Outcomes Based education in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and American states had problems (Steyn & Wilkinson, 1998). South Africa was no exception during the implementation of OBE in the foundation phase. Since 1997 the National Department of Education has spent millions of rands on providing training and materials to facilitate the implementation of Curriculum 2005 (C200S) / OBE in the compulsory school phase. Educators who were to implement C2005 the following year had to attend development workshops the previous year. Nevertheless educators have had problems in implementing C 2005. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the training of trainers is effective in training other educators to implement OBE. A review of the related literature revealed that much research has been done on the implementation of OBE / C2005. General recommendations for the training of educators and for implementation were given. The literature consulted did not, however, address the criteria used for the selection of trainers, how the training programme was implemented and delivered and, neither was the effectiveness of trainers addressed. The study employed a qualitative approach and data were collected by the use of questionnaires and interviews. Interviews were utilised because they involve direct personal contact with the respondents. A non-scheduled structured interview was conducted since issues to be investigated were determined prior to the interviews. The sites were three schools from different ex Departments of Education in the Umvoti District in the region of Pietermaritzburg in Mshwathi and Wartburg circuits. The subjects of the study were the educators of grades one to three, foundation phase and the educators of grade seven. All these educators had attended the training workshops. The sample included Subject Advisers, who were involved in the training of the educators and the Superintendents of Education Management (SEMs). The study revealed that the workshops were not effective as a cascading model towards the implementation of C200S / OBE. Information was diluted along the way and the facilitators were not fully prepared for their roles. The methods used in the training workshops were not relevant to the different contexts of implementation. The study also revealed that educators, the implementers of C2005 / OBE lacked support from the different stakeholders. The recommendation is that authorities take into account different contexts of implementation and different levels of professional development of educators, so that training methods used are relevant to the participants. It is also recommended that support is offered from all stakeholders. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.