M.Ed. / Innovation is not a constraint In education which will disappear if it is ignored. innovation, and for the purposes of this study, curriculum innovation is a means whereby man adapts and survives in a continuously changing society. Curriculum Innovation Is defined by Ceri (1969:13) in the following manner. "We understand Innovation to mean those attempts at change in an educational system which are consciously and purposefully directed with the aim of Improving the present system"...

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of the Masters degree in Education at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 15th March 2016 / In Lesotho the development of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy is considered a crucial milestone in the history of education in the country as it is the first official curriculum document to be published post-independence. The policy advocates an integrated approach with a merge of eleven subjects that were taught at primary school into five learning areas. Integrated curriculum is adopted as a means to make education relevant in an attempt to address the socio-economic needs of the country. Curriculum revision towards integrated curriculum is done in phases, and the process of implementing the new curriculum is currently at primary school level. In 2013 implementation started in grade one, two and three, it has moved progressively such that in 2015 implementation was in grade five. The aim of this research was therefore to explore challenges primary school teachers face in implementing integrated curriculum. This study intended to find out how grade three and grade five teachers’ interpret and enact integrated curriculum. The study followed a qualitative case study method in which six teachers from three schools participated. The data was gathered through semi structured interviews in order to find out how teachers understand integrated curriculum. To further understand how teachers interpret the curriculum lesson observations were conducted. The study was informed by Bernstein (1971) concepts of classification and framing as they provided the language for description of their pedagogic choices. The lessons were coded and classification and framing values were designated. The findings revealed that in two of the three schools the teachers attempted to implement the curriculum, however in terms of classification and framing their pedagogic understanding was limited and varied. The teachers’ understandings of integrated curriculum across the schools varied. Teachers in School A understood the curriculum to mean making links between everyday knowledge while the understanding of teachers in school B was interconnection between concepts across learning areas. In the third school the teachers were not implementing the curriculum; findings showed that they lacked understanding of integrated curriculum as all their lessons were strongly framed and classified. In all three schools the findings reflected that teachers’ pedagogic choices were related to their understanding and interpretation of the curriculum. Given this, there is still a need for further teacher development and follow up in schools. Key terms Curriculum reform, integrated curriculum, pedagogy

Thesis (M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / This study aimed at exploring the experiences of Social Sciences teachers in secondary schools with regard to the implementation of the evolving curriculum policies in schools. In order for the study to be successful, a comprehensive literature review was done, and not only teachers, but also Curriculum advisors and circuit managers were selected and interviewed for the researcher to gain insight of the daily experiences in schools as they work with teachers on daily basis. The interviewees were from the Capricorn District in Mankweng circuit. The researcher used data collection instruments in a form of questerviews and individual interviews. The instruments were guided by the objectives of the study. The sampling was made in this cluster taking into cognisance its vastness, since it consists of 5 circuits which are Mankweng Circuit, Kgakotlou Circuit, Mamabolo Circuit, Lebopo Circuit and Dimamo Circuit. The total number of schools in all the circuits is 62. The study focused on the chosen high schools which comprised 2 schools per circuit and a minimum of 2 and maximum of 4 teachers per school were interviewed. One circuit manager and curriculum advisor were also interviewed in the study. The study’s findings revealed that there is a lack of thorough training. This is in spite of the fact that the department hosts a series of briefings which do not seem to achieve the expected outcomes due to the limited time allocated. In the view of teachers, training serves as a cornerstone for the implementation of the curriculum policies. Findings also showed that teachers were overloaded due to low enrolment as many children prefer schools with a good infrastructure which many rural schools lack. Poor enrolment results in limited teachers who are overloaded as they end up having to teach many subjects. Since teachers are partners in education, the study made recommendations that teachers be given enough training to overcome implementation challenges. Teachers should also further their studies in order to improve their knowledge regarding curriculum changes. The universities should also serve as partners in empowering teachers with policy developments. Lastly, teachers should be assessed more often on curriculum policies to avoid the incorrect implementation of policies

Thesis (M.Ed. (Language education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / The aim of this study is to evaluate the implementation of curriculum in the teaching of reading and writing in the Sepedi Home Language in the Mankweng Circuit of Limpopo Province. This result from the fact that intermediate learners are struggling to read and write in the Sepedi Home Language, and as a result are incompetent when reading and writing even in their language of teaching and learning, namely English. This signifies that mastering to read and write in the Sepedi Home Language, is likely to enable learners to read and write better in English as a language of teaching and learning. Of a huge surprise, the struggle to read and write in Sepedi Home Language occurs with every cohort of learners registered in the Intermediate Phase. For this reason, the study is designed to evaluate the manner in which Sepedi curriculum is being implemented in schools to address and respond to challenges of inability to read and write by intermediate Sepedi learners. This is a case study covering three primary schools and it is located within the qualitative research approach and phenomenology. The collection of data was done through individual face-to-face interviews, document study and diagnostic assessments. Each of the three schools forwarded three categories of research participants, namely, an HOD, a teacher and a parent whose child was doing Sepedi in the Intermediate Phase. Findings revealed that overcoming reading and writing inability by the intermediate learners needs to be a joint stakeholders’ effort. In addition, inadequate Sepedi materials and resources for intermediate learners need to be the apex priority by the Department of Basic Education. In view of the shared research results, the study recommends that there be well-coordinated participation of all stakeholders in the development of skills associated with reading and writing for the Sepedi Home Language Intermediate learners. Lastly, the study recommends that intermediate Sepedi learners be offered an opportunity to participate in Sepedi essay writing competitions wherein they are first given pamphlets and posters in Sepedi as a clue. Finally, the Sepedi Home Language needs to be equally protected and promoted just like it is the case with English from the Intermediate Phase upwards.

ACT Year 9 Exhibitions Program aligns curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in the design and implementation of rich learning tasks, which are focussed on transdisciplinary, problem-based, community-centred issues. It provides an authentic assessment model through a panel assessment process of demonstrated student achievement. This case study research examines the uptake of an Exhibitions approach in three ACT high schools. It discovers, through their own telling, what inspires commitment by participants to the program and the ways that they measure success. The study draws on a rich data set of narrative inquiry and semi-structured interviews with teachers and students from the case study schools. Analysis of the 'lived experiences' of the participants indicates that how individuals profit by the program is determined by five critical factors which are realized differently for them. Further, for the Year 9 Student Exhibitions Program to succeed in meeting its goals of providing for teacher renewal and improved student learning outcomes, and of promoting high school reform, certain conditions must prevail. These conditions converge around the support afforded teachers to build their capacity for curriculum and pedagogical change, and the opportunities for engagement and agency of both teachers and students in the design of the Exhibition task and its implementation. This study investigates the realities of implementing change in schools and its findings augment what theorists would predict for school change. It indicates that the extent to which Exhibitions can drive a wedge into the 'business-as-usual' approach of the ACT's more traditional high schools, and provide an alternative view of what it means to educate for the 21st century, depends ultimately upon the human and structural conditions created in the school, and the authenticity of the approach to uptake. This study contains important recommendations for government and education systems alike as they pursue school change.

'Changing mindsets' is about how teachers are engaging with ‘visual literacy’ — the practices involved in understanding and creating visual texts. The concept of ‘visual literacy’, like other ‘new’ literacies, has arisen in response to changing communication practices in developed, capitalist societies like Australia. This study addresses the ways in which teachers in primary schools are engaging with the visual literacy initiative in the context of the new arts syllabus (Years 1-10) in Queensland. Using a broadly poststructural approach, this thesis explored the changing mindsets implied by this curriculum initiative from three perspectives. The concept of ‘preservation of self’ (Nias, 1987, 1993) was used to examine the personal dimension of change; the concept of ‘trendy theory’ (Goodson, 1988, 1994, 1997) addressed the social and political agendas that drive curriculum reform; while the concept of ‘multimodality’ (Kress, 2000a, 2000b, 2003a, 2003b) drew attention to the cultural values ascribed to different modes of communication. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 primary teachers from 11 government schools in a regional centre in 2002. The discourse analysis method was used to analyse the data resulting from these interviews. The data showed that the official discourses featured in the new arts syllabus did not match the discourses used by practising teachers. Although there was some recognition of the significance of the visual mode, most teachers in this study were not aware of ‘visual literacy’. Significantly, the agency exercised by teachers in curriculum reform was shaped not only by their personal identities, but also by the levels of support that they experienced in their working environments. These findings have crucial implications for policy-makers in implementing curriculum change, particularly in the context of the new arts syllabus.

The Report of the Working Committee on College Proposals for the Australian Capital Territory (Campbell Report, 1972) led to far-reaching changes in senior secondary education. Hawker College, opened in 1976, is one of eight resulting government secondary colleges. The writer, a member of the Committee, has been Assistant Principal (Curriculum) at Hawker since its inception. This field study examines the dynamics, nature and achievements of curriculum change at Hawker, from the planning year in 1975, to 1980. Data includes student surveys and interviews; discussions with teachers, administrators and counsellors; college curriculum documents; and the writer's own observations. The Campbell Report's educational philosophy was eclectic, and "progressive". Strengths and weaknesses of the Working Committee's analyses and recommendations are assessed. Seven curriculum aims "clusters" are synthesized: four concerned with individual development, and three with the student as an effective, contributing member of society. ACT systemic strategies and structures fostered and sustained purposeful curriculum innovation, despite some problems and shortcomings. In the optimistic, idealistic climate of 1975, enthusiastic, pre-identified teachers planned Hawker's curriculum, often co-operating with staff of other colleges. Course writers' aims were highly congruent with those of the Campbell Committee. Teachers of some subjects used course models from overseas and interstate. Others developed ideas quite innovative for Australia as a whole, and sometimes without known precedent anywhere. Almost all the curriculum aims espoused by the Campbell Report are reflected in written or "unwritten" course aims. In content, a core of basic subjects are very similar to those offered for the NSW HSC. Others offer students either greater breadth or depth than does the NSW curriculum, or attend to the affective and psychomotor domains. Most teachers had modified their pedagogy, moving to a more progressive style. Hawker has had significant success in promoting students' individual 'development. It has been markedly less successful in preparing students to function within, and contribute to, society. The opening of ACT secondary colleges coincided with widespread social innovation and with changes in educational administration, funding, staffing structures and teacher education. All these created a favorable milieu for curriculum innovation. By the early 1980s, teacher weariness, some disillusionment, and social, political and administrative changes were apparent. These have slowed the rate of educational change and caused Hawker teachers to re-evaluate their aims, course content, and methods.

In November, 1986, Mrs Lorna Ireland; Principal of Junee Primary School in the Riverina Region of New South Wales; approached a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education at Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher Education in Wagga Wagga; seeking his involvement in a project aimed to assist teachers at the school with their mathematics teaching. In addition to the planned involvement in 1987 of this mathematics educator, the school was also to be a pilot school for the trialling of a strand of the New South Wales Education Department's Draft Mathematics Curriculum and a participating school in the numeracy component of the federal government's Basic Learning in Primary Schools program. This study documents the mathematics education activities which involved Junee Primary School teachers in 1987. It focuses on the RMIHE involvement in the school but considers this in the context of broader mathematics curriculum activity. The process of change is described within a theoretical framework derived from a review of relevant literature. The research methodology employed is fundamentally ethnographic and relies on the collection of qualitative data to derive descriptions of people and events. The data analysis relates to curriculum change, the role of the change agent and the role of mathematics educators in school mathematics programs. A discussion of outcomes highlights the strengths of an approach to curriculum change which had its genesis in the school rather than in some external agency. The generation of problems and issues and the resolution of these are features of the analysis which tracks the progress towards professional development autonomy of one group of teachers.

Thesis (M. Ed.(Assessment and quality assurance))-University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 223-238).