Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 344 p. : col. ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 308-316).

This thesis describes an exploratory study designed to investigate the beliefs and perceptions of eight English language lecturers about, and their classroom practices in implementing the curriculum change that was enacted in 2010 at the undergraduate level in the public sector colleges in Pakistan. Research indicates that curriculum change is a highly complex and a multifaceted process (Carl, 2009), and its success depends on a number of features. In this respect, it is acknowledged that teachers and their multiple roles contribute significantly to the success or failure of any educational reform or change. Therefore, this exploration focussed on investigating teachers’ implementation of the curriculum change through an analysis of their beliefs about teaching and learning, their perceptions about the curriculum change, and the issues involved in implementation. My approach is interpretive, and thus qualitative research methodology was employed to obtain an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. Semi structured interviews and classroom observations were used as data collection instruments. The analysis of the data revealed that, in spite of the lecturers’ generally positive attitude towards the concept of change and their belief in the importance of English for both individual and national progress, there was a limited uptake of the new communicative curriculum. The study indicated that teachers’ beliefs combined with a number of external factors including the student level, educational culture, examination washback, lack of resources and support, and absence of teacher training could be an explanation for contradictions between the intended and the implemented curriculum change. The study concluded that the needs of the teachers must be acknowledged, and measures should be taken to create compatibility between the teachers’ beliefs, contextual factors and the reform policies. Although the study does not provide any explicit solutions to the problem of change and reform implementation, the insights revealed significant implications, clarified some critical issues, and offered some recommendations which might prove beneficial not only for curriculum planning and implementation in the future, but could also be useful in guiding those involved in the present curriculum change. Important areas were also suggested for further research in the field.

Thesis (MEd (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Education in South Africa is a concern to many stakeholders, including government, teachers, teacher unions and non-governmental organisations, owing to the poor academic performances of learners. Mathematics teachers, the focus of this study, are confronted with a constantly changing curriculum. Teachers are often targeted by the education authorities and general public as the primary cause of the poor outcomes of education in South Africa. This study considers the experiences of Grades 10–12 mathematics teachers in the Cape Winelands regarding curriculum change and its influence on their professional practice. The basic assumptions of social constructivism served as overarching theory. The researcher judged that a conceptual framework would make for a clearer and more systematic way of dealing with the constructs that underpin this study. The conceptual analysis framework, which was developed by combining the work of Rogan and Grayson, as well as that of Remillard, which is a perfect fit to this study, guided the interpretation and analysis of the data. A deductive approach in data analysis was applied in accordance with the conceptual framework used in this study. Being explorative in nature, this study is a qualitative design and therefore an interpretive methodological approach was followed. A purposive and convenience sampling method was used whereby teachers from six schools were pre-selected: two from ex-Model C schools, two from previously disadvantaged black schools and two from previously disadvantaged coloured schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. The findings of this study pointed to teachers’ acceptance of education reform and changes in the curriculum, provided they were not too radical. Teachers requested involvement on a broad spectrum throughout the planning and implementation process, and proper training and support prior to implementation. Factors that militated against implementation were, among others, poor facilities, resources and instructional aides; poorly trained change facilitators; poor leadership and management at schools; and the many constraints that the learners brought to the school and the classroom.

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / Teachers with expert knowledge or skills can exercise a leadership function as they use their knowledge or skills to help colleagues and to further the progress of the innovation knowledge and expertise. Although innovation could be well structured, teachers still need support in one or other form in order for effective implementation to take place. Barriers to the satisfactory implementation of innovation includes: the teachers' lack of curriculum-related knowledge, ineffective flow of communication between innovator and teacher and the state of facilities and equipment available to implement change. The way in which the innovation is to be introduced to the teachers who are to be involved with it are likely to have profound effects on the extent to which the innovation is successfully implemented. A number of ways have been suggested.

No coherent theory about the practice of South African intermediate phase school textbook evaluation has been forthcoming since the advent of a new South African school curriculum in 1998. This deficiency has had an adverse effect on the quality of intermediate phase school textbooks, as well as on the capacity to assess their value. This research project, therefore, had two aims. The first was to articulate a theory about the practice of textbook evaluation. The second was to develop a procedure for evaluating South African intermediate phase school textbooks in terms of the theory. The research method was underpinned by the interpretive research paradigm in terms of which relevant data were analysed and interpreted. The data emanated from a literature review, an analysis of the national Department of Education’s Revised National Curriculum Statement and its draft policy for the evaluation of learning support material, and two surveys. The first survey comprised a sample of intermediate phase teachers and the second a sample of intermediate phase textbook authors. Sufficient evidence was found to conclude that the capabilities of the authoring team, the authors’ rationale and their observance of the process of learning and instruction, the accessibility of the textbook, the availability of teacher support, meeting the requirements of the Revised National Curriculum Statement, and certain key notions about textbook evaluation play a role in articulating a theory about textbook evaluation in order to guide the process of determining the effectiveness of South African intermediate phase school textbooks. Based on the above-mentioned theory, this study proposes a procedure to assist teachers and textbook evaluators to assess the worth of South African intermediate phase school textbooks in a brief, systematic, thorough, rigorous, and practical manner.

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

Schools are essentially concerned with people and the development of knowledge and skills. Schools require leadership in order to achieve their goals. Furthermore, schools are tasked with being relevant in their contemporary societal contexts as well as for society in the future. Regarding the type of leadership in schools, Sergiovanni contends that schools need special leadership because they are special places, because they are lifeworld intensive and because “school professionals don’t react warmly to the kind of hierarchically based command leadership or hero leadership that characterizes other kinds of institutions” (2000:165 - 166). Against the backdrop of this commonly held belief, this research project undertook to investigate a school where the new curriculum had been successfully implemented in a context where there was absent leadership. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon, the school type and context, the human interventions and the school culture were considered. The qualitative approach was selected for this research with a grounded case study as the relevant research design. Epistemologically, this research is located in the constructionist paradigm and an interpretivist theoretical perspective will be employed in the research project. Interpretivist philosophies promote the notion that human action can be distinguished from physical objects by virtue of the fact that they are inherently meaningful. The data were collected by means of some semi structured interviews and a dyad interview. Both convergent and divergent questions were posed to the participants in the data collection strategies. The process of data analysis was approached from a grounded theory perspective. This approach requires that a theory should emerge from the data rather than the data proving or disproving an existing theory. Six themes were identified through the process of data analysis. These themes were then processed into five findings which collectively developed and compiled a substantive theory. The findings of this study revealed that schools require leadership. Leadership should be considered in its broadest sense with all educators possessing the potential to lead. In addition, the appropriate use of power and authority were identified as essential ingredients for successful leadership. School culture was also found to be an essential component of successful schools. Not only is school culture essential for the successful daily functioning of schools, but an appropriate school culture is imperative for dealing with change and the successful implementation of new policies, curriculum and school reform initiatives. A collaborative school culture was identified as the type of school culture that is appropriate and that would support and facilitate the management of change. In light of the findings, implications for policy and practice are presented and suggestions for future research are made. Lastly, the limitations of the study are noted and the conclusions of the study discussed. It is hoped that this study will assist policy makers and school principals to seriously consider their leadership style in terms of sharing power and authority and in the creation of school culture that are empowering and positive, one that considers individual potential as well as group cohesiveness. / Prof. B. Smit

Mozambique embarked on major curriculum reforms of basic education at the start of the 21st century. This study focuses on the implementation of these education policies at Marrere Teachers’ Training College. It is guided by the following questions: How has Marrere Teachers’ Training College as an institution responded to the new government initiatives? What has changed and what has remained the same at Marrere? Why? What are the perceptions, beliefs and attitudes of lecturers and administrators regarding the new policies? What teaching strategies and practices are used in classrooms? How do lecturers teach? How are students assessed? What are the educational challenges facing the College? How can its practices be improved? I have chosen a qualitative case study design in order to build a holistic picture of teaching and learning in a natural setting. Marrere College was chosen because it was among the first teacher training institutions to introduce the reforms and because a special programme, the Osuwela Project, introduced prior to the introduction of the new curriculum, included several of the reform’s innovations. Marrere College has been experimenting with the implementation of curriculum change for longer than most of the other colleges in the country. Among the emerging findings is that lecturers have a superficial understanding of interdisciplinary pedagogies, especially in the social sciences, and few of them have applied these pedagogies in classrooms. On the other hand, the reforms seem to have had a deeper impact on their advocacy of learner-centred teaching strategies, although question-and-answer practices continue to be widely used. The College has also gone a long way in changing the organisation of subjects and in implementing new methods of assessment. While there has been in-service training of lecturers, there are inadequate resources and follow-up support by the Ministry of Education. The literature that informs this study is the scholarship on educational change, particularly the relationship between policy and practice. There are many international studies that have attempted to understand these problems over the last thirty years, but no such studies on teacher training in Mozambique. This study seeks to contribute to our understanding of the modalities of educational change in resource-poor contexts. It also hopes to make a contribution to the implementation of the basic education policies by the Mozambican Ministry of Education and to the practices of lecturers and administrators at Marrere and other colleges. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

The last two decades have been characterised by a debate of increasing urgency regarding pedagogical issues in landscape architecture, such as the nature of the skills of graduates entering the profession. The generic workplace is also undergoing changes. Employers are showing a preference for non-technical skills such as teamwork, communication and self-skills. With this as background, the following factors serve as motivation for the study; the increasingly unpredictable changes in and broad nature of landscape architecture, the shift in the skills required of graduates entering the generic workplace, and the changing South African educational landscape. The dissertation thus seeks to identify the major factors motivating a need to shift the outcomes emphasis in the landscape architecture degree programmes in South Africa from technical (subject specific) to non-technical skills and to identify a framework through which to tangibly incorporate non-technical skills landscape architecture curriculum. The shift in the skills required of the generic workplace is stated together with its effect on higher education. The breadth and future of the profession are discussed to determine the relationship between the profession and non-technical skills. It was found that there is a need to shift the skills required of landscape architecture graduates from technical to non-technical skills. The degree to which landscape architecture programmes in South Africa are currently addressing non-technical skills is surveyed and it is concluded that these programmes do not tangibly address non-technical skills. The dissertation proposes a curriculum design process and a framework for facilitating learning which ensures that non-technical skills are tangibly incorporated into landscape architecture curricula. <-p> The dissertation concludes that landscape architecture curriculum in South Africa need to shift the skills emphasis from technical to non-technical skills if they are to remain relevant to the educational and workplace environments in which they operate. / Dissertation (Master of Architecture)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Architecture / unrestricted

The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent foundation phase teachers adapt Curriculum 2005. The study was guided by two research questions: (1) What are the critical components of Curriculum 2005 (foundation phase)? (2) What are the adaptations that teachers have made in teaching this curriculum? The specific focus of this study is foundation phase teachers’ initial implementation of the revised version of Curriculum 2005, the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). An Innovation Configuration Checklist was developed identifying the critical components of the RNCS and the variations of each. Using the checklist, foundation phase teachers were surveyed to establish the adaptations being made during implementation. The findings of this study indicate that there is less active learning and more teacher directed activity than is required by the RNCS. Assessment appears to be a problem area. Most teachers understand what is expected of them in terms of assessment and attempt to put it into practice. Assessment has however, proved to be burdensome and time consuming. Teachers’ planning demonstrates a sound understanding of the procedures to be followed. Teachers do however, need support in terms of deeper pedagogical content knowledge. Although teachers comply with the technical aspects of curriculum development they neglect the emancipatory aspects of the RNCS. The situation in foundation phase classrooms might be described as one where much change is taking place, but little transformation is happening at present. Teachers are nevertheless, reflecting on how to improve their teaching and continue to explore ways to adapt and improve the RNCS.