Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2017. / The emergence of a highly competitive and integrated international economy, rapid technological innovation, and a growing knowledge base will continue to have a profound impact on the lives of communities. In recent years there has been an international movement towards educational reform, particularly in science education, to meet the need for a sustainable environment, economy, and society. Science education is a key element in developing scientific literacy among today’s and tomorrow’s youth. Recent decades have seen an exponential growth in scientific applications, and one would expect an accompanied increase in science interests in the classroom, as well as an increased understanding of basic science ideas and ways of thinking will follow. However, research has shown that this is not the case. In this study, the researcher, through the research methodology, took an in-depth look at whether the curriculum reform in the Life Science curriculum was forthcoming to lifelong learning. The key questions guiding this study are as follows: (a) What are the perceptions and expectations of grade 12 learners regarding the quality of the Life Sciences curriculum in respect of lifelong learning; (b) What are the perceptions and expectations of grade 12 learners regarding the their Life Sciences educators; (c) What are the perceptions of the grade 12 Life Sciences educators of the relevance of the grade 12 Life Sciences curriculum with a view to lifelong learning; (d) How does the grade 12 Life Sciences curriculum impact on lifelong learning of learners. This study falls within the realm of mixed methods study. Mixed methods encompass both a quantitative and a qualitative study. The study was conducted in the district of Pinetown because in 2013 this district produced the best results in Kwa-Zulu Natal in the National Senior Certificate Life Sciences examination. This study used simple random sampling to obtain the learner participants. The researcher conducted the study in 16 schools and 25 learners from each school were randomly selected. The educator sample comprised 75 grade 12 Life Sciences educators. The SERVQUAL questionnaire was administered to the 400 learners that were randomly selected while; the educator questionnaire was administered to the sample of 75 educators. The findings of the research revealed that educators experienced many challenges which hindered the successful implementation of the Life Sciences curriculum effectively. The quality of the Life Sciences curriculum itself did not that hinge on lifelong learning. It did not have very much relevance to the lives of the learners and as such the learners were learning about things that were abstract to them. Another finding was that educators found it challenging to relate the grade 12 Life Sciences curriculum to the everyday experiences of the learners because time was a limiting factor. The exam driven nature of Life Sciences had resulted in rote memorisation of scientific facts by the students without any or very little attention being paid to analysis and application of knowledge. The inability to evaluate the process of curriculum implementation by curriculum developers could have serious consequences for the learners and communities at large. For any qualitative change to occur in Life Sciences education, the curriculum must undergo a paradigm shift. To encourage schools and teachers to implement this paradigm shift, fundamentally there needs to be an overarching reform of teacher empowerment. In essence, what is needed from the national educational policy makers is a shift towards more evolutionary policy planning which aims to improve the fit between the intention of the curriculum and the conditions on the ground, to blend top-down policy initiative and bottom-up participation and to promote continuous interaction between all policy actors. / D

This case study examines the introduction of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) in the Consumer Studies curriculum of Further Education and Training (FET). The research is centred on the use of enquiry methodologies involving learners observing parent demonstrations of the making of ‘amarewu’ and other activities centred on the propositional knowledge dealing with fermentation in the Consumer Studies curriculum. The research involved a review of curriculum documents, participant observation of a demonstration of local food practices related to ‘amarewu’ and learner research activities and interviews to review the developing learning interactions. The learning activities were focused on the learners’ researching the cultural and nutritional value of ‘amarewu’ and included an audit of food consumed in the community. What transpired from this study was that working with IK in the curriculum is possible. The inclusion of IK is not only possible but desirable and has exciting possibilities for relevance in contemporary education. The active involvement in parent demonstration engaged the learners in IK in their mother tongue, therefore indigenous knowledge has relevance. The curriculum concepts also enhanced the engagement by giving rise to more relevant knowledge and a respect for cultural matters. Intergenerational capital and subject concepts also enabled learners to engage with local nutritional problems and to come up with practical solutions. This study demonstrates how IK intergenerational capital in combination in combination with curriculum concepts (subject knowledge capital) can enhance relevance and the learners’ real engagement with local health and nutritional problems. Not only did the learners have culturally valued knowledge, but also knowledge that has a practical grasp of the problem and that they could use to engage relevant issues. These two views of knowledge join in learning and can be used to address health issues. I therefore recommend connection of cultural knowledge and conceptual knowledge to strengthen the revitalisation of cultural heritage, thus equalising it to the modern patterns of life and enhancing meaningful curriculum orientation.

Department of Curriculum Studies and Education Management / MEd

MCur / Department of Advanced Nursing Science

MCur / Department of Advanced Nursing Science / See the attached abstract below

MA (Linguistics) / Department of Communication and Applied Linguistics / The purpose of this study is to investigate the content of the Further Education and Training (FET) Phase Home Language (HL) Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). The Tshivenḓa HL content was translated from English for teaching and learning purposes. The study adopted both the qualitative and quantitative approaches in order to attain holistic results. Data was collected through the use of questionnaires from educators and subject advisors. Document analysis was also used (by analysing CAPS documents). The findings of this study will benefit the South African society, especially the Tshivenḓa HL educators and learners. The educators believed that the Tshivenḓa newspapers articles are not well-taught because they are not available in Tshivenḓa and educators did not know how to prepare them. The study also revealed that there are no prefixes but suffixes for formulating antonyms in the Tshivenḓa HL, however both are found in the English HL. Furthermore, educators complained about the shortage of film study resources in literature which the department of education delivers late. The findings of the study suggest that Tshivenḓa newspapers should be reintroduced as they aid learning for learners, and enable educators to plan their lessons. Prefixes in the Tshivenḓa HL should be introduced so that learners are able to attach them in their words, similar to what do they do in the English HL. In addition, ample resources for HL literature such as textbooks, Television sets (TV), overhead projectors for film study, and other resources should be delivered timely. / NRF

Women constitute the largest proportion of the rural adult South African population. The rural areas host women with the lowest levels of education and skills training in the country. The lack of basic education and skills has resulted in many of them being marginalised, rejected and discriminated against, unemployed and living in poverty. These social problems have serious negative effects on them and their families, which is why the educational provision of Adult and Community Education and Training in South Africa is a significant tool for their socio-economic advancement. This educational provision is aimed at empowering adults in general, and rural women in particular, with the necessary livelihood skills to lead productive lives and consequently the study sought to investigate the socio-economic lives of rural women through skills training for poverty reduction in the Mthatha area of South Africa. A qualitative research approach and an exploratory design were employed for the study. A sample of 35 participants, comprising 20 female learners, 4 educators, and 7 former learners were in addition to 4 learners selected for a focus group discussion. Other instruments with which data were collected constituted in-depth individual interviews and documentary analysis. The theories underpinning the study are Maslow‘s theory of motivation, empowerment theory and critical pedagogy. Among others, the findings revealed the absence of adequate resources with which to empower rural women and consequently the study recommends that Adult and Community Education and Training providers include programmes that can up-skill rural women based at community learning centres in an effort to enhance their economic development. Community learning centres must be fully resourced in terms of facilities and appropriate learning tools to render Adult and Community Education and Training a beneficial educational intervention for these rurally based women. / Educational Studies / Ph. D. (Socio-Education)

The aim of the study was to investigate the training of school governing bodies in the Free State Province from an education management point of view. Since 1994 the South African government has adopted a number of policy documents aimed at democratizing education in the country. The transformation of education in the new South African context encompasses the idea of partnership in which participants - such as parents, educators, learners (in secondary schools) play an active role in taking decisions on behalf of the school. The State alone cannot control schools, but has to share its power with other stakeholders. However, this can only happen if participants in school governance are trained to have power and the capacity to decide on matters affecting their schools. Hence, training is the cornerstone of affirming governors in the execution of their roles and responsibilities. Since school governing bodies are composed of a cross section of people with different ideologies, expectations and levels of education - training is necessary to prepare then for co-operative governance. Without adequate and on-going in-service training, it is unlikely that school governing body members can make informed decisions. The empirical method, namely qualitative research, was successful in obtaining information from participants about the training offered to them. It also established how participants felt and thought about their experiences and perceptions about the training they received, whether it built capacity or not. A number of recommendations were made with regard to the research findings for stakeholders to note. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Comparative Education)

The aim of this research was to make recommendations on how to facilitate a healthy sense of Computer Self-Efficacy (CSE) in teachers of a primary school in South Africa. A literature study was conducted to determine a theoretical framework for the study. Thereafter a mixed method design was used to conduct an empirical investigation. This was done by means of focus group interviews, questionnaires and an observational narrative. The most important finding was that the teachers who participated in the research were professional and enlightened about the value of technology. They agreed that although daunted by the idea of technology it is essential for them to become proficient in the use of computers. The researcher came to the conclusion that the main obstacle that stands between the participants and technological proficiency was a weak sense of CSE. Recommendations were made on how one could use extrinsic motivation to introduce new technology in such a way as to enhance self-efficacy and as result computer self-efficacy. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Adult Education)

South Africa is a developing country that contends with a serious skills deficit that hampers its economic growth prospects. To address this skills deficit particularly at intermediate level, the government identified the public Further Education and Training (FET) College sector to serve as a medium to counter the challenge. Subsequent to the aforementioned decision by the government, political and financial support was pledged to the sector. Legislation that is attributed to the sector was also enacted and amended to capacitate the sector to perform optimally. The focus of this research was the capability of the public FET College sector in the province of Gauteng to respond credibly and qualitatively to the skills needs of the province‟s labour markets. Thus, the primary purpose was to evaluate the role that the sector in the province plays to address the skills shortage. The research design for the study was triangulation in nature, encompassing qualitative and quantitative methods. Nine public FET colleges, six companies and the Indlela Training Centre were sampled for gathering information regarding the responsiveness, articulation and efficiency of the province‟s public FET College sector. Students, lecturers, HODs and company‟s skills development managers were interviewed and sampled for the completion of questionnaires. Some significant differences in perceptions relating to the role played by the province‟s public FET college sector in addressing the skills shortage were found. Findings indicated that the massive financial and political support pledged to the sector by the government did not translate into efficiency, credibility and responsiveness nor capacitate the sector. In terms of the findings employers are skeptical about the quality of graduates that the province‟s public FET colleges ect or produces. Further, it was found that the sector‟s lecturers are inappropriately qualified and this contributes to the inefficiency of the sector in performing optimally. The lack of a formal skills development partnership between the sector and the labour markets hampers the articulation and the responsiveness of the sector to the skills needs of labour market. However, the current development whereby all the skills development institutions have been placed under one department has the potential to add value to the skills development landscape, particularly the public FET College sector. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)