Since the introduction of Outcomes Based Education (OBE) as a preferred method of teaching and learning with Curriculum 2005 in 1997, its existence has come under continuous threat for the past thirteen years. Its teething experiences included a revision in 2004 which saw the introduction of the Revised National Curriculum Statements (RNCS) and most recently, we are now standing on the threshold of the implementation of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) in 2012. Throughout the turbulent educational milieu, social constructivism has always been upheld as the preferred teaching and learning methodology and millions of rands have been invested in this regard. This study is thus premised on the concern that now after all the years of actively promoting social constructivist methodologies, the implementation of the CAPS could seriously negate reasonable strides made in this regard. Triggered by these curricular issues, a qualitative case study was conducted at a school in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, investigating the learning processes occurring in group work sessions during lessons involving practical work in electricity using circuit boards in grade 8. Underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm, the study took place in two phases. The data was mainly generated through audio and video recording of two focus groups. An open coding system was employed to derive analytical categories and frequency tables were used to establish trends. In order to validate the data, two observer teachers were involved throughout the research process and this was followed up with semistructured interviews after the second phase. The two case studies, involving learners fitting a similar profile in respect of mother-tongue and age group, were engaged in a similar activity for almost a year apart. This study anticipated the revelation of the extent to which group practical activities in electricity promoted learning, how knowledge is constructed in group-settings and whether practical activities involving electrical circuit boards in grade 8 enhance learning? The main findings of my study revealed that these practical activities can promote learning and therefore should remain a preferred method of teaching.

A pilot study of the use of groupwork in biology education at the Griffiths Mxenge College of Education: The Government of National Unity in 1994 introduced a new educational policy for the country. This represented a shift in paradigm from a transmission mode of teaching and learning to learner-centered education. The shift marks a transformation from a contentbased curriculum to an outcomes based education (aBE). aBE, which is underpinned by Constructivism and Social Constructivism advocates for the use of groupwork as a strategy for achieving the outcomes envisaged in our learners. The challenge facing teachers and educators is how to implement outcomes based education. The intention of this research is therefore to serve as a pilot project to find out about how groupwork may be used in teaching. It looks at types of groups, considerations a teacher should have in forming groups, dynamics which come into play during teaching and gives suggestions as to how groupwork problems may be solved. Others issued are also raised which were not fully covered in the research. It is the hope of the researcher that the project would be a basis for further research on the use of group work in teaching under outcomes based education. Towards an effective implementation of assessment of biology practical work under "curriculum 2005" Transformation taking place in education in the Republic of South Africa has implications for assessment. It involves a move away from the transmission mode of teaching and learning, to a learner-centered education with the attainment of outcomes. It is a move away from the summative mode of assessment to a formative mode, where assessment leads to the development of the learner and monitor and support teaching and learning. Questions arise as to what to assess, how, when to assess and by whom? This research project is an initial attempt to look at how this assessment policy may be implemented effectively in schools and colleges, using the teaching and learning of practical biology as a tool. It looks at examples of assessment methods that may be used to assess learners work, their functions and problems that may arise in the teachers attempt to transform hislher practices. Suggestions are made on factors to consider in implementing assessment practice and how problems, which may arise in assessment, may be overcome.

The Ministry of Education (SICTE, 2002) states that the widespread introduction of computers in schools should support Curriculum 2005 and that computer technology is part and parcel of making schools the center of community life. The vision is to establish Smart Schools: schools that are reinvented in terms of teaching-learning practices to prepare learners for the information era (SICTE, 2002). Kafai (1996:71) has found that conventional school assignments rarely give learners the opportunity to spend a great deal of time on complex projects. As a result, many learners have little experience in design: planning, problem solving, researching, dealing with time constraints, modifying expectations and synthesizing everything in a project. Research by Carver, Lehrer, Connell and Erickson (1992); Lehrer, (1993); Lehrer, Erickson and Connell (1994); Kafai (1996); Liu and Hsiao (2002) and Liu (2002) indicates that the design of hypermedia artefacts can assist in providing experience in design. To date, no equivalent research has been conducted in South Africa to ascertain the perceptions of learners regarding the creation of a hypermedia artefact over an extended period of time and whether some of the critical outcomes specified in Curriculum 2005 can be addressed in such a learning-by-design hypermedia project. This study shows that design skills and aspects related to the critical outcomes of Curriculum 2005 can be achieved. Furthermore, it indicates that this kind of project encourages interest, motivation and collaboration. In addition, it suggests that learners experience the role of the teacher as different and prefer such a learning environment. In spite of the positive results, some aspects that need attention for future implementation are suggested.

This portfolio of work represents three research projects on issues related to teacher education. The research was undertaken at Dr. W.B. Rubusana College of Education over a period of three years. The first project is a situational analysis that attempts to determine whether the college is capable of meeting the challenges placed on it by the evolving South African Educational System. The key finding is that the college is not ready to embark on the changes required by the Ministry of Education chiefly because its educators and learners are seemingly not ready to embrace change. The second project is a case study that attempts to determine whether a group of 12 Senior Primary students at the college are able to interpret photographs of the local environment and as such provide evidence of their ability to be environmental educators through the medium of geography. The findings indicate that they are only able to read the photographs at a very superficial level. Their poor communication skills and their disadvantaged backgrounds seem to prevent them from achieving the level of thinking required for them to be effective environmental educators. The third project describes, analyses and evaluates a fieldwork study done with a class of Senior Primary students at the college. While the students did not achieve the necessary progression from 'look and see' to 'enquiry based' fieldwork the project was valuable in that it was an educative experience for both teacher and learner and provides evidence of the value of action research and reflective teaching.

The objective of this study was to analyze the conception of the teachers and students who experience an Integrated Curriculum (IC), about the educational practices for the training of skills and abilities of the Nurse. This is a descriptive research, with a qualitative approach, supported by the recommendations of the National Nursing Curricular Guidelines conducted in a nursing undergraduate course at a private institution in the state of Alagoas in the municipality of Maceió. Data were collected through individual interviews with 17 teachers, and a focus group with ten students from the tenth period of the Nursing course. The data were interpreted from the thematic analysis. The research evidenced the teacher / student conception about CI, having as characteristics the grouping of knowledge and educational practices, student autonomy, transforming potential of the nurses' work organization and satisfaction with the teaching activity; The challenges and barriers of educational practices in the proposal of an IQ, characterized by the challenges of developing interdisciplinarity and the promotion of the teaching-service-management-social-control relationship and the proposals of the academic community for the IC, with particularity the construction Of a teaching development program, investment in partnerships with services through research and extension projects. The research resulted in an intervention product, which culminated in the construction of an online communication channel, through the use of electronic forms that will be used at the end of each semester, in order to evaluate the theoretical-practical activities, from the experiences Teachers and students. Two types of electronic forms were created, applied as test to 11 teachers of the care centers and 73 students, distributed between the fourth and eighth period of the Nursing course, applied on October 25, 2016. The instruments generated subsidies, which Can be used by academic management to create strategies that aim to boost the development of permanent education within the Institution of Higher Education. / O estudo objetivou analisar a concepção dos docentes e discentes que vivenciam um Currículo Integrado (CI), acerca das práticas educativas para a formação de competências e habilidades do Enfermeiro. Trata-se de uma pesquisa descritiva, com abordagem qualitativa, sustentado pelas recomendações das Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais de Enfermagem realizada em um curso de graduação em Enfermagem de uma instituição privada, do estado de Alagoas no município de Maceió. Os dados foram coletados através de entrevistas individuais com 17 docentes, e um grupo focal realizado com dez discentes, do décimo período do curso de Enfermagem. Fez-se a interpretação dos dados a partir da análise temática. A pesquisa evidenciou a Concepção docente/discente sobre CI, tendo como características o agrupamento de saberes e práticas educativas, autonomia discente, potencialidade transformadora da organização do trabalho do enfermeiro e satisfação com a atividade docente; Os desafios e as barreiras das praticas educativas na proposta de um CI, caracterizado pelos desafios de desenvolver a interdisciplinaridade e a promoção da relação do ensino-serviço-gestão-controle social e as propostas da comunidade acadêmica para o CI, tendo como particularidade a construção de um programa de desenvolvimento docente, investimento em parcerias com serviços mediante projetos de pesquisa e extensão. A pesquisa resultou em um produto de intervenção, que culminou na construção de um canal de comunicação online, através do uso de formulários eletrônicos que serão utilizados ao final de cada semestre letivo, no intuito de avaliar as atividades teórico-práticas, a partir das experiências docentes e discentes. Foram criados dois tipos de formulários eletrônicos, aplicados como teste a 11 docentes dos núcleos de cuidados e 73 discentes, distribuídos entre o quarto e o oitavo período do curso de Enfermagem, aplicados no dia 25 de outubro de 2016. Os instrumentos geraram subsídios, que poderão ser utilizados pela gestão acadêmica, para criação de estratégias, que vise impulsionar o desenvolvimento da educação permanente dentro da Instituição de Ensino Superior.

Factors that Impact on Learning in Orphanhood in Zimbabwe The aim of the study was to provide scientific knowledge on the factors impacting on the learning profile of orphans as compared to those who are not orphaned, and to identify the relationships between these factors and learning outcomes. This is a quantitative study and the Evaluation-Process and Outcome design was used. Structured quantitative data collection methods, questionnaires, interviews, observation and document analysis were used in this study. Maslow’s humanistic motivation theory of learning is the theoretical framework. The population included form four students and teachers from the Harare Metropole Province in Zimbabwe. A stratified random sampling procedure was used to sample schools, and the simple random procedure was used to sample both students and teachers. The experimental design was used to allow comparisons among orphans and between orphans and non-orphans. Ethical principles including consent, confidentiality and privacy were adhered to. Measures to uphold the quality of the study were applied. In the study it was found that in the peri-urban area, students who had been orphaned for one year or less performed poorly compared to other orphans and to non-orphaned students in their average examination marks, (p<. 023). Lack of books was significantly different amongst the non-orphaned and orphans (p<. 003), mostly affecting those orphaned for one year or less. There was a significant difference in the performance of orphans whose mothers had died and those whose mothers were alive, according to their average coursework marks (p<. 001) and average examination marks (p<. 005). The performance of single orphans, double orphans and non- orphans did not differ significantly, but the post hoc analysis revealed that in most subjects double orphans performed worse than single orphans and non-orphaned students. In the HIV/AIDS/Reproductive health and life-skills teaching-learning sessions observed, the majority of teachers, 12, (66.7%) (n =18) did not agree that relevant assignments were being given and 16 (88.9%) (n =18) did not agree that reading references were available. The majority of students (55.2% n = 509) had inadequate information on HIV and AIDS prevention, and those orphaned for one year or less (62% n = 29) and those orphaned for two to three years (62.5% n = 48) had even less information on HIV and AIDS prevention than the other groups. There was a difference in what the students perceived as life skills and what the teachers reported as life skills. It is recommended that this study be replicated on a larger scale and that factors that impact on learning be studied in national school settings in order to determine orphans’ and non-orphans’ learning outcomes. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

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)

This study focussed on teacher training in the context of distance education. It investigated the impact on practice of an English methodology course offered by Unisa’s Department of English Studies at certificate level. The unit of analysis was a group of eight student teachers registered for the module ACEEN26 Teaching English: General Principles offered by Unisa’s Department of English Studies. This module aims to help students to understand the approaches that underpin Outcomes-based Education (OBE) and how these translate into practice in the English First Additional Language (FAL) classrooms. To investigate the participants’ classroom practices, the study adopted an open and inductive approach aimed at gauging their thinking with regard to teaching, learning, assessment and how these understandings reflected OBE practices. The aim was to determine how the eight students made sense of this phenomenon given their own epistemologies within the unique contexts in which they worked. Data collection consisted of a mix of lesson observations, in-depth audio-taped interviews and analysis of documents. The interview was the main data-gathering technique. All these instruments were supplemented by field notes based on informal observations which were entered in a reflective journal. The picture that emerged was of teachers who worked under demanding conditions as they tried to implement complex and sometimes contradictory policies and were constantly under the pressure of policy demands. Their practices were, to a large extent, inconsistent with the OBE approach to teaching and learning. Although they gained some theoretical surface knowledge from the course, the students’ practice remained traditional because of two main reasons emanating from the findings: their inability to internalise the theory to make it an integral part of their mental repertoire and the negative impact of disabling contextual factors.The study constituted an evaluation of the course and therefore fed directly into the whole concept of dialogue and student support which are necessary prerequisites for success in distance education. As a teacher educator, this research was also a way of illuminating my teaching practices through practical research that simultaneously informs the field of teacher education. Based on the training needs identified, a re-contextualised curriculum for the ACE English programme was proposed. This proposed new programme reflects my stance that instead of continuing to focus on pouring resources into dysfunctional schools, we should concentrate on the lowest denominator in the system — the teacher. / Educational Studies / D. Litt. et Phil (English)

The aim of this research is of limited scope; it intended to examine how secondary school teachers experience the implementation of the competency-based curriculum in Tanzania. The study employed a descriptive case study design where eight participants provided in-depth data through face-to-face interviews, non-participant observation and document analysis. The in-depth data was gathered in natural school settings, an aspect which enhanced the study’s validity. After transcribing the interviews, an open coding process was undertaken and a theme comparison approach applied. The findings indicated that the participants had a limited understanding of the curriculum: they were happy in their teaching profession regardless of competence-based curriculum challenges; they were experiencing multiple challenges, the key ones being lack of participation in curriculum design and implementation; lack of quality text books and lastly, they were not motivated to implement the competency- based curriculum. The study concludes by providing relevant recommendations to various stakeholders including the teachers themselves, the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE), the Ministry of Regional Administration and Local Government (MORALG). / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)