This study was based on the Promat Educational Studies (Curriculum) course which introduced curriculum concepts to a group of forty-two rural KwaZulu in-service teachers, studying for the final year of their Primary Teachers' .Diploma in 1996. The study was primarily interested in the responses of these teachers as they explored -curriculum concepts and developed their own understandings of curriculum. Research questions focused on the teachers' personal views of the notion of curriculum and the suitability of various curriculum models that could be used in their classrooms. Action research was proposed as a valuable tool for teachers to reflect on their classroom practice in a systematic and participatory manner, with a view to improvement in the process of teaching and learning. Action research was also used as a teaching methodology in presenting the Educational Studies programme, thus providing the teachers with an opportunity to experience action research. The questions also focused on the views of teachers concerning their possible role in the process of curriculum development, change and decision-making in schools. Prior to the programme, data on teachers' notions of curriculum were obtained by means of a questionnaire. Journal writing, lecturer diaries and classroom discussions were used as a means of collecting data during the course of the programme. Semi-structured interviews were conducted as a summative form of data collection and triangulation. Findings suggested that teachers, prior to the Educational Studies programme, had a limited notion of the concept of curriculum. They had a restricted view of teacher professionality and understood their role as implementers of a received curriculum. The programme broadened teachers' views on curriculum concepts and accompanying theories and models. The exposure to curriculum theory increased teachers' confidence in their ability to bring about change in their classrooms and schools. They expressed feelings of empowerment and recognised the important role they could play in the curriculum process. What was significant, however, was that despite the fact that the teachers were able to articulate these views within an "educationist context" (Keddie, 1971), they did not realise these within the Educational Studies classroom. While they recognised and embraced the potential of action research, their own actions as learners did not support a fully-developed form of action research because of the power differentials and situational constraints which they experienced. They were acutely aware of the imperative to pass, which appeared to take precedence over democratic participation. Findings suggested that INSET programmes which expose teachers to curriculum theory and the fundamental notion of themselves as curriculum developers, are useful for changing mindsets and are essential preconditions if teachers are to begin to take ownership of change in classrooms. Whether they are able to do so successfully, is a question for further research. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

This study explores the perceptions of the first formal cohort of Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) students in the Somatology Department to determine the effects it has had on the social identity of these students. The Somatology ECP was one of the pioneer extended programmes offered in higher education in South Africa. The aim of the programme is to assist under-prepared students and to attend to the transformation of the programme. It is hoped that the insight gained from investigating how these ECP students perceive their situation, opportunities and experiences in relation to their full curriculum peers, can provide relevant awareness in future curriculum development of any programme using this type of extended curriculum model. In curriculum design, the focus is frequently on the academic sphere, with minimal attention to the social development of the student. In recent years there has been a movement in academia to understand the students’ experience holistically in order to develop curricula which successfully improve their academic performance. Although some research has been conducted into foundation provision offered predominantly to address the concern of low throughput rates, few studies have been conducted to determine the effects of these types of programmes on the students’ social identity. Thirteen students that were currently registered in the Somatology Extended Curriculum Programme were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, and content analysis was used to identify the main themes from the data. The two main themes that emerged were that students believed the ECP programme had assisted them with the transition from high school to University. They had also constructed and adopted a particular group identity but still become fully integrated with the Full Curriculum students in their second year. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

In the South African educational landscape curriculum transformation since Curriculum 2005 (C2005) to the now prevailing National Curriculum Statement (NCS) has been dramatic. In fact in the Foundation Phase and in Grade 10 a revised Curriculum and Assessment Policy (CAPS) document introduced in 2012 is presently being implemented. The continuous revision of curriculum policies is the background to the purpose of this research study, which is to understand how four experienced teachers of English Home Language (EHL) engage with changes in EHL policy and the impact this has on their identity/identities as teachers. The National Education Department often hopes that teachers are highly regulated by policies, and will thus change their practices in accordance to curriculum policy. My research project seeks to understand the complexity of the ways in which external regulations, embedded in the changing curriculum, govern teachers’ practices and consequently impacts on the identity of professionally qualified teachers. The study is framed by two critical questions: a) To what extent are the practices of experienced teachers governed by external regulation (in the form of the curriculum policy)? and b) To what extent does external regulation shape their identity as teachers? To this end, lesson observation and unstructured interviews were the data collection methods that were employed. This research is located within the interpretive paradigm. Data is gleaned from the stories told by four experienced teachers of English about their everyday classroom practices and the ways in which they translate and implement EHL policy from changing curriculum documents, as well as through observations of their teaching. These teachers work in four diverse South African educational contexts. The analytical framework that is used in this study suggests that teacher practice and identity is shaped by external regulations (such as policy requirements); internal regulations which are the contextual factors such as institutional school culture as well as core regulations such as their beliefs and values. Teachers’ sense-making of changing policy entrenched in curriculum documents; their translation of policy and its impact on teaching practices and consequent influence on a teacher’s identity are important for the answering of the research question. The findings reveal that these teachers find curriculum changes challenging and are reluctant to implement them entirely. Instead they select and adapt from the document what can fit with minimal change into their present repertoire of pedagogical practices. The impact of this on the identity of a teacher is minimal as teachers’ definition of who they are and the role they play is strong. Therefore the impact of curriculum changes on teacher identity appears to be minimal. I discovered that the four teachers in this study are resilient beings who adapt an externally regulated curriculum to fit their frame of classroom practices based on their beliefs of what constitutes effective teaching. To ameliorate the disjuncture between policy and practice would be an ideal situation. But realistically strongly regulated national policies will never be implemented as policy makers intend. Perhaps the lesson is looser regulations are thus more useful. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

South African higher education institutions are being increasingly plagued by high attrition rates (especially in first year) and low graduation rates. The students entering the higher education institutions have diversified considerably in terms of race, level of maturity and level of preparedness for the higher education system. This change in student characteristics has led higher education institutions to urgently investigate strategies to enhance the teaching and learning environment, so that these students can be empowered to transcend their backgrounds and achieve their potential. One such strategy identified by the Council of Higher Education is the matching of teaching styles to students' learning styles to improve the performance of the students and ultimately the retention rates of the institution.This study aimed to explore the learning styles of the first year anatomy students at a South African University of Technology, to ascertain any association between gender and these learning styles and to investigate the impact of matching teaching and assessment styles to student learning styles. The VARK learning style questionnaire was used to determine the students? learning styles. The VARK learning styles are based on four sensory modalities that a student may use to receive, process and transmit information. Sixty seven students completed the VARK questionnaire, the majority of whom favoured a combination of learning styles. The most commonly exhibited unimodal (single) learning style was the kinaesthetic mode, while both genders recorded a multimodal learning preference. No significant relationship was found between the performance of students whose learning styles were matched to the teaching and assessment styles and those where the learning styles were mismatched with the teaching and learning styles.This study served to highlight the diversity (in terms of learning styles) present among the first year anatomy students. The study advocates a teaching and assessment strategy that is balanced and is considerate of multiple learning styles rather than attempting to match the teaching and assessment strategy to the learning styles of the students. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

This dissertation explores the contribution of critical discourse analysis (CDA) using functional systemic grammar (FSG) to curriculum development in historical studies at university level. The study is premised on an acceptance of Habermas' (1972) theory of knowledge constitutive interests which claims that all knowledge is "interested" and which, on the basis of different interests, identifies three paradigms for knowledge construction. I make use of these paradigms to describe different approaches to curriculum development, to language teaching and to historical studies. I make the value judgement that curriculum development conducted within the hermeneutic and critical paradigms is educationally more valid than that conducted within the traditionalist paradigm; and that this is particularly so for disciplines such as historical studies, which involve the interpretation of texts. Furthermore, I suggest that the epistemological assumptions and the pedagogy of historical studies have developed within the traditionalist paradigm and that postmodernist perspectives pose a challenge to these epistemological foundations. In response, I suggest that the development of a "post-positivist" approach to historical studies within the hermeneutic and critical paradigms may provide a practically feasible and morally defensible strategy for the teaching of history. But this approach involves understanding history as discursive practice and therefore requires a method of discourse analysis in order to "do history". I therefore develop a method of critical discourse analysis for application to historical studies, which uses Halliday's functional systemic grammar (FSG) for the formal analysis of texts. The applied aspect of this dissertation involves a small staff development project, in which I worked with a group of historians to explore the application of the method of CDA to four selected historical texts (using the post-positivist approach to historical studies). I also designed four critical language awareness exercises to demonstrate how the method might be adapted for student use. The findings of my own explorations and of the staff development project are as follows: Firstly, I suggest that the staff development project was successful in that it provided a stimulating and dialogic context for the historians to reflect on their own theory and practice as researchers and teachers of history. Furthermore, I suggest that the method of CDA developed in this study provides a theoretically adequate and practically feasible methodology for post-positivist historical studies. This claim is in part confirmed by the historians' appreciation of the text analyses done using the method. However, the staff development project showed that the method is demanding for non-linguists, largely due to the effort and time required to master the terminology and techniques of FSG. In this sense the staff development project failed to achieve its full potential because it did not provide the historians with sufficient opportunities to learn and practice the techniques of FSG. The CLA materials prepared for students were positively evaluated by the historians, who felt that they demonstrate an accessible and feasible way of introducing CDA to history students. (However, these materials will only be properly evaluated when they are used in the classroom.) Finally, I conclude that this application of CDA to historical studies meets the criteria for curriculum development within the hermeneutic paradigm and that it holds out possibilities for emancipatory practice within the critical paradigm. Secondly, I conclude that the application of CDA to the discourses of other academic disciplines holds enormous promise for work in staff and curriculum development. This study shows how CDA can be used to demonstrate how the epistemological assumptions of a discipline are encoded in the grammar and structure of its discourse. The insights provided by CDA used in this way could be invaluable for a "discourse-across-the-curriculum" approach to staff development at a university. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 1997.

The study was designed to compare the nature and extent of teacher participation in decision making in self contained and team teaching elementary schools. The sample for data gathering consisted of 81 teachers and 17 principals from 17 self contained elementary schools and 94 teachers and principals from 18 team teaching elementary schools in Indiana. Professional personnel from 15 school districts participated in the study.Data for the study were secured by means of responses given to a questionnaire. The instrument consisted of 24 decisional situations to which each subject was requested to indicate current and desired participation. Decisional items were grouped as administrative decisions and instructional decisions.Data were analyzed statistically. Hypotheses concerning teacher-characteristics and teacher decisional participation relative to the two types of school organizations were analyzed through an analysis of covariance. The Pearson-Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the relationship of teacher-characteristics of the total number of respondents to six decisional variables.

The purpose of this study was to determine the challenges faced by adult learners in relation to the school curriculum in the Mafikeng District. This research was conducted on how adult learners are experiencing financial problems, accommodation, long distance, family concerns and the irrelevance of curriculum. A questionnaires and interviews found out that there are many learners who drop out due to the challenges that they face. Most adult learners are unemployed and as a result they are unable to pay for their fees. They have numerous problems at home that include pregnancy and looking after children. / M.Ed. (Adult Education) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

Thesis (M.Ed. (Art/Design))--University of South Australia, 1994.

This thesis explores whether a carefully designed educational program can impact unfavourably on a proportion of students, what the magnitude of this proportion may be, whether previously identified ???deep enhancing??? features could stimulate surface approaches in some students, and the possible reasons for such paradoxical impact. These questions are set within a context of continuing efforts to find the ???ideal??? medical curriculum, and where evaluation studies of these curricular methods have failed to demonstrate the expected degree of positive impact. This leads to the final question of the thesis, which is whether the phenomenon of different responses by different students, could help explain the less-than-expected positive impact of curricular innovations reported in the literature. The questions were explored through a series of three studies. The First study consisted of individual student interviews and surveys (using the R-SPQ-2F, Biggs et al 2001) during a traditional program in medicine and upon conclusion of an educational program designed along currently accepted principles associated with higher quality learning outcomes. The two follow up studies included surveying students in two other settings in medical education. These studies were useful to overcome some of the limitations of the First study, and to explore the possible wider prevalence of the findings of the First study. The findings of the First study indicated that one-third of the student group did respond unfavourable to a carefully designed educational program. The interview findings highlighted this phenomenon, and illustrated how these students responded to ???deep enhancing curricular features??? by changing to more surface approaches. The survey findings supported these findings, and helped cluster and categorise students into subgroups who responded to the Pilot program in distinct ways. The two follow up studies indicated similar patterns of response in the other settings of medical education, and suggested that this phenomenon may be more widely prevalent. The findings suggest an area of research that requires further exploration. If confirmed and extended by further work, the findings could have significant theoretical and practical implications for medical education. From a theoretical perspective, the findings enrich the current theory of student approaches to learning by beginning to unravel the complex interaction between student and context factors that lead to approaches. The thesis further contributes to the literature by its finding that some previously identified ???deep enhancing??? context factors could stimulate change to more surface approaches in some students, and by the finding that different students??? approaches could change in different directions, when measured before and after the same ???deep enhancing??? educational context. From a practical perspective, the findings could be relevant to designers and evaluators of medical curricula, and to facilitators of small group learning. An understanding of the different patterns of response that may be expected, and an understanding of different strategies that may better support these different subgroups, may help optimise the benefits of curricular design.

This study is in response to national, state and local curriculum issues. Curriculum work is taken to embrace curriculum research and theory, and curriculum development and implementation. This study is a critical reflection on current curriculum work as a day-to-day experience. This study is about the impact and local implementation of standards-based curriculum frameworks for students with disabilities and impairments. The focus is to develop an improved understanding of the extraordinary complexities that encompass standards-based music curriculum policy frameworks for these students in the State of Victoria. For most people, a better understanding of these extraordinary complexities may much reduce fear, unease and distrust. The phenomenon would seem logical. This study explores ways in which public curriculum policy is developed and implemented in modern societies like Australia. This study is a critical reflection on moves to change curriculum, curriculum policy framework initiatives and the institutional contexts that shape the impact and implementation of curriculum. Public curriculum policy formation is challenged by competing pressures and limitations including an increasing emphasis on ‘partnerships’ and ‘networking’. There are difficulties and complex challenges to ensure that all students share in the benefits.