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.

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 Creative Solutions to Waste Project (CSW) is a local environmental education project, involving five Grahamstown schools, the local municipality; community members and the Rhodes University Environmental Education Unit, where I worked at the time this study was undertaken. In this research I explore the use of environmental education learning support materials (LSM) in Outcomes Based Education (OBE). I have employed a participatory action research approach informed by critical theory in this case study of the Creative Solutions to Waste project (CSW). The research focused on the ‘Waste Education’ materials and their use, developed and piloted during the pilot phase. The Waste Education materials were also used in phase one. In phase two, the research focused on the use of ‘Health and Water’ learning support materials in 4 Grahamstown schools. Research participants included educators, support team members, municipal officials, Department of Education officials, Department of Health (Eastern Cape) officials, the Health Promoting Schools committee and NGO representatives. I employed a range of data collection strategies including questionnaires, observations, field notes, semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, workshops, reflective journal, videotapes, and photographs and documents analysis. The research process was collaboratively discussed and agreed upon by all the participants. This research indicated that the purpose influences the use of LSM. It also indicated the importance of mediation processes in the use of LSM. This study indicates that the designs of LSM and particular views of learning influence the way LSM are used. It does that by looking at how an active learning framework influenced the use of learning support materials and consequent learning processes. It also highlights the significance of paying attention to issues of language and literacy in the design of LSM, and how these factors influence the use of LSM. It also identified the tension between prescriptive and open-ended processes to professional development in supporting the use of LSM in contexts of curriculum change and transformation. This study also indicated the importance of reflexive processes to improve support process in the CSW project by demonstrating how the contributions and the roles of the support team were reflexively changed. I have reviewed the research processes in relation to the research design decisions made at the start of the project. This study lastly offers some recommendations for further research into the use of LSM, and how an understanding of LSM use may influence the development of LSM.

This research was undertaken in the context of socio-economic transformation in South Africa, and more specifically, in the context of change in education policy. To support socio-economic transformation in South Africa after the first democratic elections in 1994, a competence-based National Qualifications Framework (NQF) was introduced in 1995. In responding to the particular socio-historical context of South Africa, the South African NQF is underpinned by the notion of applied competence, integrating practical, foundational and reflexive competence, which is the key and distinguishing feature of this competence-based framework. In this context of transformation, the research was aimed at an in-depth exploration of the notion of reflexivity and reflexive competence, and course processes that enable its development, with a view to providing curriculum development insights for learning programme development in the competence-based NQF, more broadly, and environmental education professional development programmes, more specifically. To enable these aims, the research was undertaken in the context of the Rhodes University / Gold Fields Participatory Course in Environmental Education (RU/GF course), as a case example of a professional development course that aims to develop critically reflexive practitioners. Within an interpretivist orientation, a multiple-embedded case study approach was used to gain insight into the relationship between course processes, reflexivity and the development of reflexive competence to clarify and provide a critical perspective on how competence develops in the context of the course. Data was collected over a period of one year using observation, interviewing and document analysis as the primary data collection techniques. Data was analysed through various phases and layers to inform data generation and the synthesising of data for further interpretation. Through the literature review undertaken within the study, various significant insights emerged around the notion of reflexivity and reflexive competence. Firstly, there appears to be a need to distinguish between reflexivity as social processes of change (social actions and interactions within social systems, structures and processes) and reflexive competence (a range of integrative elements of competence) that provides the evidence of an engagement within social processes of change. The second key insight emerging is the significance of social structure in shaping participation in reflexive processes, thus emphasising the duality of structure as both the medium for, and outcome of reflexive social actions and interactions and so challenges the deterministic conception of social structure. Further, the significance of an epistemologically framed notion of reflexivity and reflexive competence emerged, in the context of responding to the complex and uncertain quality of socio-ecological risks and in supporting change in context. Reflexivity, distinguished from processes of critical reflection, foregrounds a critical exploration of both knowledge and unawareness. As such a reinterpretation of reflexive competence is offered as a process of potential challenge to dominant and reigning forms of reasoning (knowledge frameworks) and consequent principles of ordering. Through this reframing of reflexive competence, the potential exists to destabilise dominant forms of reasoning and principles of ordering to create a broader scope of possibilities for action and change in context. This reframing of reflexive competence in the context of transformation in South Africa has critical implications for engaging within processes of learning programme design in the NQF to support an engagement within reflexive processes of change and the development of a range of integrative elements of reflexive competence. In this light, the study attempts to make the following contribution to curriculum deliberations within the context of environmental education and the NQF in relation to reflexivity, reflexive competence and change: ♦ Reflexivity is conceptualised as social processes of change with reflexive competence providing evidence of engagement within these social processes of change; ♦ An epistemologically framed conception of reflexivity and reflexive competence recognises how rules of reason and the ordering of the ‘reasonable’ person come to shape social life; and so ♦ Change is conceptualised as ruptures and breaks in dominant knowledge frames and the power relations embedded in these; ♦ Unawareness emerges as a key dimension within reflexive environmental education processes in responding to the unpredictable and uncertain nature of risks; ♦ An epistemological framing of reflexivity and reflexive competence highlights the need to develop open processes of learning to support the critical exploration of knowledge and unawareness; and ♦ Within this framing of reflexivity and reflexive competence, the difficulty emerges in specifically predefining reflexive competence to inform standard setting processes within a context of intended change. In framing data within this emerging conception of reflexivity and reflexive competence, a review of course processes highlighted potential areas for reorienting the RU/GF course to support change in context, for which I make specific recommendations. Drawing on the review of course processes in the RU/GF course, and in light of the reframing of reflexivity and reflexive competence, I further offer summative discussions as ‘possible implications’ for learning programme design in the South African competence-based NQF, broadly and environmental education professional development programmes in this framework, more specifically.

D.Ed. / In schools for cerebral palsied learners there are also learners who, in addition to their primary disability, have a secondary mental disability. Teaching these learners poses a serious problem, as there is no set curriculum for them. In most cases teachers do not have the necessary skill and training required to teach these learners. It is this deficit in learners, teachers, therapists and parents/guardians that has become noticible to the researcher. The researcher, as educational psychologist has felt the need to develop a model that would make education in this LSEN-phenomenon (Learners with special education needs) more meaningful. The purpose of this research is to develop a model that will optimise learning in cerebral palsied and mentally disabled learners, and that will enable these learners to realize their full potential. The model has been developed from a programme which has been compiled after four years of practical experience in teaching LSEN. The programme involves creating a context in which these learners can master life and learning skills. In this research a qualitative exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was followed. The research was divided into four phases namely conceptualization, the relation within the concepts, the description of the model and the evaluation of the model. The validity and reliability of the research were described using Guba's model for determining trustworthiness. During phase one the researcher concentrated on identifying and classifying concepts, after which these concepts were defined. In order to do this, a multiple case study design was applied. Four learners were selected purposively. These learners suffered primarily from ii therapists, and parents/ guardians. Data was collected through operationalising the programme. Interviews were conducted with the various role players. The learners' progress was evaluated continually. Data was also collected through document analysis. During phase two the various concepts were brought into relation with each other, after which a model was devised during phase three. During phase four guidelines for the implementation of the model in practice were given. The programme included in this model refers to learning and life skills that learners would require within an education and learning situation. The learning skills or meta learning strategies referred to, are planning, evaluation, and correcting. The life skills refer to self care skills, social skills and work skills. life skills are addressed in all subject areas under a single theme, in the classroom situation, as well as with the therapist and at home. The most significant contribution of this research is the fact that a model has been devised, which contains a programme that enables learners to reach their full life potential, a result of the more purposeful guidelines provided by educational psychological intervention to the various role players.

The focus of this study is the competences expected of teachers in the senior phase to assess the Natural Sciences learning area. In order to be in line with the new developments, the South African science teacher will need relevant assessment training in order to utilise appropriate techniques that are in line with the new educational philosophy. The question arises: What competences do teachers need for assessing science in the senior phase? An ethnographic case study was implemented as research methodology in the descriptive research paradigm. The investigation comprised observing the classroom practices of a sample of three senior phase science teachers in two primary schools and in one secondary school in the Port Elizabeth region. The data obtained from the observations were triangulated with related artefacts produced by both the teachers and the learners in each case. In order to establish these expected competences a document analysis was done from a selection of South African documents. The descriptions of the real life assessment practices of the sample of science teachers were then compared with the competences expected by the South African education system. The comparison between the real-life assessment practices and the expected practices concurred with Shepard’s (2000, p.12) belief that the abilities needed to implement classroom assessment “are daunting”. The classroom-based assessment practices of the sample of teachers revealed a variety of assessment beliefs, practices and competence. The needs of these teachers are so diversified and intense that individualised professional development is needed if sustained implementation of the new curriculum and accompanying assessment competences is to be facilitated. The research established the need to develop an instrument that the science teachers can use to assess their own competence. There should be training modules drawn up in line with this instrument. Teachers should be able to choose the professional development modules that would address their own unique needs