The main purpose of this study was to investigate the responses of educators and school management team members on a Curriculum Delivery Intervention Programme (CDIP) in a township school. The study also examined the factors that might influence the opinions educators and school management team members hold about curriculum delivery. The participants of this study were 60 educators who are teaching at an underperforming secondary school in Mpumalanga province. The secondary school was conveniently selected from 8 under-performing schools in the Witbank area. The data were collected through a mix-method approach using questionnaires, individual interviews and an observational checklist. A 100% responses rate was achieved. The literature review was conducted to identify the main interventions contained in the CDIP. Educators and school management teams responded to curriculum delivery interventions questionnaires. Data was collected by means of individual interviews and an observational checklist. The focus fell on the following main interventions: departmental support, professional development and classroom practices. The data for the study were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The findings of the study show that both educators and SMT members agree about the value of curriculum delivery intervention programme in the school. They also showed that the school had not been supported with necessary resources by the Department that well. The results also indicate that educators and SMT members disagree that skills development covers everybody in order to pursue educators’ development in the school. The staff agreed that they have an important role to play in ensuring that the implementation of CDIP is successful in their school. The study also revealed that the school did not have all key and relevant documentation as expected in the school files. However, educators indicated that the Department is not objective enough when delivering the curriculum in the school. The results derived from the curriculum delivery intervention might not be that accurate and reliable. The responses of staff correspond with their experiences on curriculum delivery practices initiated by the Department. Most of them also indicated that they have not seen much change since the CDIP started to enhance learners’ performance. The majority of staff members also indicated that factors such as lack of furniture, unavailability of learning materials, lack of teacher professional training and development, large number of learners in classrooms and shortage of educators in scarce subjects, play a significant role in influencing their teaching performance of the school. A number of recommendations were made for further research. The limitations of the study were also discussed. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / unrestricted

The findings of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006 highlighted concerns about support for and the quality of reading literacy teaching in South African primary schools. In South Africa there is a paucity of research outlining schooling conditions and teachers’ reading literacy teaching practices especially in the Intermediate Phase. The aim of this mixed methods study was to explore schooling conditions and teaching practices for the implementation of the curriculum for Grade 4 learners’ reading literacy development across a range of education contexts. Two research sub-questions explored in two research phases were used to investigate the overall question which was: What influence do schooling conditions and teaching practices have on curriculum implementation for Grade 4 reading literacy? In phase one, PIRLS 2006 principal and teacher questionnaire data were re-classified for secondary analysis according to language of instruction (English First Language or English Additional Language) and the mean performance of each participating class of learners on the PIRLS 2006 international benchmarks and further benchmarks established to reflect the performance of the majority of South African learners. Response distributions on selected classroom level variables detailing teacher characteristics and reading literacy teaching practices as well as selected school level variables describing teaching conditions impacting the teaching of reading literacy were compared across each reclassified benchmark sub-sample. In phase two, six school and teacher case studies were purposively selected from each of the sub-samples to complement and extend the findings from the analysis of the survey data using multiple qualitative data sources. The findings revealed that differences in schooling conditions and teaching practices across the PIRLS achievement spectrum were generally aligned to differences between advantaged, high achieving schools and disadvantaged low-achieving schools. Thus, the study provides insights into the high levels of between-school inequalities for the development of Grade 4 reading literacy and school and classroom level reasons for such inequalities. On the basis of the findings, recommendations for policy, teacher practice and teacher education, and further research are provided. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / unrestricted

The Swedish regulatory documents for the school subject of English demand the presence of cultural representation/phenomena in the communicated material to the students but is vague about what the actual content should be. This leaves a lot of room for personal interpretation and selection of material for the teachers. The objective of this study was to explore how teachers interpret the sought after concept of culture, as well as how they choose to implement it in their lesson-plans. A qualitative study with five grade 7-9 teachers was made, with semi-structured interviews that were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results show that all the teachers found the instructions vague regarding what type of culture was to be included in the teaching. They perceived the vagueness as both a stressor and as a liberating factor, which is in accordance with previous research. The type of culture that was implemented in the teachers’ classrooms seemed to center around so called ‘little c culture’ or ‘social science context culture’ with the goal of achieving ‘intercultural communicative competence’.

Allowing communities to become integral players in curriculum implementation conversation has not been taken seriously by academics and the educational leaders. Generally, there is a growing realisation in academic circles that knowledge and skills in primary school education cannot be solely owned by school heads and teachers for effective curriculum implementation to be realised. School heads and teachers need pedagogical support from members of the community around their primary schools who have the knowledge and skills that teachers can make use of in teaching and learning. Current curriculum implementation practices have seen community members as peripheral players whose knowledge and skills are of diminished value. The purpose of this study was to explore how community members’ knowledge and skills could be harnessed in curriculum implementation at primary school level in Zimbabwe’s Chivi district of Masvingo. The notion was to grow a partnership between community members, school heads and teachers. The study was informed by the Social Capital Theory, a theory devoted to the establishment of social networks, links and social relations among individuals and groups for the realisation of new ways of co-operation. The qualitative case study design was employed, where individual interviews, focus group discussions and open-ended questionnaires were the data-collection instruments. Four rural primary schools with their respective school heads, were randomly selected to participate in the study. Twenty teachers, two traditional leaders, two church leaders, two business people and eight parents comprised the purposefully selected participants. The study findings indicated that community members and the school community have not meaningfully engaged each other in curriculum implementation. The barriers to a successful relationship included: the language of education, feelings of inadequacy, time constraints, and the polarised political environment. Evaluated against the social capital theory, participants appreciated the need for partnerships in curriculum implementation for shared resources, knowledge and skills for the benefit of the learners. The study recommends a rethink by school heads, teachers and community members, aided by government policy to create space for community contribution in curriculum implementation. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

South African educators have experienced problems understanding and implementing various previous curriculum policies such as Curriculum 2005 and the Revised National Curriculum Statement. These problems have made it necessary for the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to introduce the national Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) in 2012. CAPS was intended to improve teaching and learning, but as with the implementation of any new curriculum it implies the following: The need for educator training; Need for new resources; Change in policy; An increased workload. This qualitative study which was conducted at a primary school in the Imfolozi Circuit aimed to determine how CAPS is implemented and its implications on teaching and learning. Data collected from focus group interviews and document analysis revealed that while educators welcomed the introduction of CAPS for its clarity, structure, clear guidelines and time frames however they experienced challenges related to the quality and the amount of training, inadequate resources, increased workload and the impact of rapid pace of the curriculum on teaching and learning. Based on these results recommendations are made for the improvement of the implementation of CAPS. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / Includes bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: During the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) (2004-2015), better teaching and learning of environmental education and education for sustainable development (EE and ESD) in schools is one of the main responses to the worsening state of the global environment. Environmental concerns are integrated into the South African school curricula; in the General Education and Training (Grades R-9) (GET) and Further Education and Training (FET) phases through the principles that underpin the curricula such as social justice, a healthy environment, human rights and inclusivity. While a cross-curricula approach to teaching and learning is followed in the GET phase, environmental concerns are infused in each subject at FET level. Because geography deals with human-environment relationships and is interdisciplinary, it is considered to be one of the main vehicles for teaching EE and ESD. To respond to the need for better teaching and learning of EE and ESD during the DESD, the main aim of this research project was to find out how EE and ESD are being implemented through the geography curriculum in South African secondary schools at FET level. The investigation sought answers to questions related to: opportunities for teaching EE and ESD in the geography National Curriculum Statement; the geography teachers’ perspectives on EE and ESD; the extent to which the teachers incorporate the teaching of EE and ESD in the geography lessons; pedagogical approaches used by the geography teachers; and, the barriers to teaching environmental concerns through the geography curriculum. A qualitative case study research design, underpinned by the interpretive research paradigm, was used. A sample of 10 senior geography teachers comprising 8 males and 2 females participated in the study. They were drawn from five Western Cape secondary schools selected through purposeful sampling in such a way that the sample of schools is representative of the socio-economic and sociocultural context of the Western Cape as far as possible. Data were generated from biographic questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Data were also generated from lesson observation and the analysis of documents such as the geography NCS, work schedules and lesson plans. The use of different research instruments ensured the triangulation of data sources in order to address issues of validity and reliability. The qualitative data were then analysed through thematic analysis. The study found that the sustainable development theme is central to the curriculum. Additionally, strategies of implementing EE and ESD such as the enquiry approach, the issues-based approach and the need to impart critical thinking skills are suggested in the curriculum. The teacher participants experience conceptual barriers concerning the nature of EE and ESD and that of notion of integrated geography promoted by the curriculum document. As a result, some of the teacher participants have difficulties in identifying EE and ESD themes in the curriculum document and incorporating them in the lessons. Furthermore, the teacher participants have difficulties in distinguishing learner activities from learnercentred approaches underpinned by constructivist learning theories as observed by Janse van Rensburg & Lotz-Sisitka (2000) and in using the enquiry learning approach. Some teacher participants prefer using traditional teacher-centred approaches which enable them to finish syllabuses in time for examinations. The use of learner-centred approaches such as fieldwork is hindered by barriers such as shortage of resources, class time, large classes, deteriorating discipline, heavy workload and policy contradiction. This study revealed a gap between policy rhetoric and practice in the teacher participants’ efforts to implement EE and ESD through the geography NCS. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Beter omgewingsopvoeding-onderrig en -leer van volhoubare ontwikkeling (OO/OVO) in skole is een van die hoofresponse op die toenemende agteruitgang in die toestand van die wêreldomgewing in die Dekade van Opvoeding vir Volhoubare Ontwikkeling (DOVO) (2004-2015). OO/OVO is geïntegreer in die Suid-Afrikaanse skoolkurrikulum; in die Algemene Onderwys en Opleidingfase (Grade R tot 9) (AOO) en die Verdere Onderwys en Opleidingsfase (VOO) deur die beginsels wat die leerplan onderlê soos sosiale geregtigheid, ‘n gesonde omgewing, menseregte en inklusiwiteit. Alhoewel ‘n kruiskurrikulêre benadering tot onderrig en leer in die AOO-fase gevolg word, word OO/OVO by elke vak op die VOO-vlak geïntegreer. Omdat geografie oor mens-omgewingverhoudings handel en interdissiplinêr is, word die vak as een van die hoofvoertuie vir die onderwys van OO/OVO beskou. Om op die behoefte vir beter onderrig en leer van OO/OVO tydens die DOVO te reageer, is die hoofdoel van hierdie navorsingsprojek om vas te stel hoe OO/OVO deur die geografiekurrikulum in Suid-Afrikaanse sekondêre skole op VOO-vlak geïmplimenteer word. Die ondersoek het antwoorde gesoek op vrae wat verband hou met: geleenthede vir die onderrig van OO/OVO in die geografie Nasionale Kurrikulumverklaring (NKV); die perspektiewe van geografie-onderwysers oor OO/OVO; die mate waartoe onderwysers die onderrig van OO/OVO in geografie-lesse inkorporeer; die pedagogiese benaderings wat geografie-onderwysers gebruik; en die hindernisse ten opsigte van die onderrig van OO/OVO in die geografie-kurrikulum. ‘n Kwalitatiewe gevallestudie-navorsingsontwerp, ondersteun deur die interpretatiewe navorsingsparadigma, is ingespan. ‘n Steekproef van 10 senior geografie-onderwysers, bestaande uit agt mans en twee vroue is by die studie betrek. Hulle is uit vyf Wes-Kaapse sekondêre skole geselekteer deur middel van doelgerigte steekproefneming op so ‘n wyse dat die monster van skole so ver moontlik die sosiaal-ekonomiese en sosiaal-kulturele kontekste van die Wes-Kaap weerspieël. Inligting is verkry uit biografiese vraelyste en semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude, asook deur waarneming van lesse en deur die ontleding van dokumente soos die NKV vir geografie, werkskedules en lesplanne. Die van verskillende navorsingsinstrumente is gebruik ter ondersteunin van die triangulasie van data ten einde geldigheids- en betroubaarheidskwessies aan te spreek. Die kwalitatiewe data is daarna aan tematiese ontleding onderwerp. Die studie bevind dat volhoubare ontwikkeling ‘n sentrale tema in die kurrikulum is. Daarbenewens word strategieë om OO/OVO te implementeer, soos die ondersoekleerbenadering, die kwessiegebaseerde benadering en die behoefte om kritiese denkvaardighede te ontwikkel, in die kurrikulum voorgestel. Die onderwyserdeelnemers ervaar konseptuele hindernisse met betrekking tot die aard van OO/OVO en die nosie van geïntegreerde geografie wat die kurrikulumdokument bevorder. Gevolglik vind sommige onderwyserdeelnemers dit moeilik om OO/OVO in die leerplandokument te identifiseer en in hul lesse te inkorporeer. Verder ondervind die onderwyserdeelnemers probleme om leerderaktiwiteite te onderskei van die leerdergesentreerde benaderings wat onderlê word deur konstruktiwistiese leerteorieë soos deur Janse van Rensburg & Lotz-Sisitka (2000) waargeneem en om die ondersoekleerbenadering te gebruik. Sommige onderwyserdeelnemers verkies om tradisionele onderwysergesentreerde benaderings wat hulle in staat stel om kurrikula betyds vir eksamens af te handel. Die gebruik van leerdergesentreerde benaderings soos veldwerk word gestrem deur belemmeringe soos hulpbrontekorte, beperkte klastyd, groot klassse, verswakkende dissipline, hoë werklading en teenstrydighede in die beleid. Die studie het ‘n gaping tussen beleidsretoriek en die praktyk in die onderwyserdeelnemers se pogings om OO/OVO te implementeer wat in die geografie NKV ingewerk is, uitgewys.

Educationists, linguists and other stakeholders are concerned about the effectivity of the level of teaching regarding Afrikaans Additional Language. Some of the teachers of Afrikaans Additional Language are not qualified in the teaching of specifically a foreign language. There is a lot of uncertainty concerning the difference between the teaching of a home language and additional language teaching. In order to ensure learners improvement and achievement as well as future use of Afrikaans Additional Language it is necessary that the teaching of additional languages, especially Afrikaans must be given appropriate attention. The purpose if this study was to determine the selection the teachers made regarding teaching and learning approaches, methods and teaching materials, including the curriculum, textbooks and other documents, as well as to establish the perceptions of the learners regarding these approaches, methods and materials in the teaching of Afrikaans Additional Language in the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District through empirical research, and to undertake a literature study to establish a teaching-learning program framework that can facilitate to the effective implementation of the National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement in all the language skills of Afrikaans Additional Language. An interpretive research paradigm was used as foundation for this study. A literature study was undertaken to establish what such a framework should look like with specific attention to language skills. Qualitative research was undertaken through using multiple case studies where teachers and learners who were willing to take part were questioned and observed regarding the teaching of Afrikaans Additional Language as well as the problems they experienced. Documents such as teaching materials and the curriculum were analysed as well. The analyses had a two-pronged focus: thematic analysis with the use of the computer software program, NVivo 8, where the data was reduced and thereafter analysed manually by the researcher. The researcher then used a comparative analysis to compare the different case studies (schools). The results of this study showed that the implementation of the curriculum was problematic for teachers, they were uncertain about the degree of difficulty of the teaching materials, and would rather stick to textbooks. The results also indicated that the teachers who did not use the communicative approach preferred to teach mainly through direct instruction. The communication in the classrooms was mainly teacher-orientated and the learners got little chance to use the language in interactive activities. The proposed teaching-learning programme framework for Afrikaans Additional Language should help teachers with the planning of their teaching as well as the implementation of the curriculum that could result in more effective Additional Language Teaching to learners. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Teaching and Learning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:32:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_dermeval_santos_cerqueira.pdf: 1699250 bytes, checksum: c2dc742628ee34247617dcbb4c9bce5d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003-10-22 / The subject of this present work The implementation of curriculum innovation in high school teaching and teacher continuing graduation: lessons of experience aims to search for directions for high school teachers undergraduation hoping themto get used of new curriculum elements such as problem solution, the interdisciplinary connection, contextualization concernig the Mathematics curriculumfor higt school teaching. It has got as the main problem the strength of teachers continuing undergraduation projects which are supported by thematization of practice for the implementation of curriculum innovation. Therefore, the main purpose is to contribute to the improvement of the continuing undergraduation process of working teachers, engaging them to the curriculum innovation process. By recording the different moments of such formation project and analyzing some results of this work, we could identify the facts which contribute positively so that purposes can be reached and the difficulties faced on / O tema do presente trabalho "Implementação de inovações curriculares no Ensino Médio e formação continuada de professores: as lições de uma experiência" tem como motivação a busca de indicações para a formação de professores do Ensino Médio visando a que se apropriem de novos elementos curriculares como resolução de problemas, as conexões interdisciplinares, a contextualização, propostas nas Diretrizes Curriculares para o Ensino Médio. Elege como problema central a potencialidade de projetos de formação continuada de professores que se apóiam na tematização da prática para a implementação de inovações curriculares. Tem, portanto, como finalidade, contribuir para o aperfeiçoamento do processo de formação continuada de professores em atuação, articulando-o ao processo de inovação curricular. Registrando os diferentes momentos de um projeto de formação com essas características e analisando alguns resultados, identificamos fatores que contribuem positivamente para que os objetivos sejam alcançados e as dificuldades enfrentadas

Educationists, linguists and other stakeholders are concerned about the effectivity of the level of teaching regarding Afrikaans Additional Language. Some of the teachers of Afrikaans Additional Language are not qualified in the teaching of specifically a foreign language. There is a lot of uncertainty concerning the difference between the teaching of a home language and additional language teaching. In order to ensure learners improvement and achievement as well as future use of Afrikaans Additional Language it is necessary that the teaching of additional languages, especially Afrikaans must be given appropriate attention. The purpose if this study was to determine the selection the teachers made regarding teaching and learning approaches, methods and teaching materials, including the curriculum, textbooks and other documents, as well as to establish the perceptions of the learners regarding these approaches, methods and materials in the teaching of Afrikaans Additional Language in the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District through empirical research, and to undertake a literature study to establish a teaching-learning program framework that can facilitate to the effective implementation of the National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement in all the language skills of Afrikaans Additional Language. An interpretive research paradigm was used as foundation for this study. A literature study was undertaken to establish what such a framework should look like with specific attention to language skills. Qualitative research was undertaken through using multiple case studies where teachers and learners who were willing to take part were questioned and observed regarding the teaching of Afrikaans Additional Language as well as the problems they experienced. Documents such as teaching materials and the curriculum were analysed as well. The analyses had a two-pronged focus: thematic analysis with the use of the computer software program, NVivo 8, where the data was reduced and thereafter analysed manually by the researcher. The researcher then used a comparative analysis to compare the different case studies (schools). The results of this study showed that the implementation of the curriculum was problematic for teachers, they were uncertain about the degree of difficulty of the teaching materials, and would rather stick to textbooks. The results also indicated that the teachers who did not use the communicative approach preferred to teach mainly through direct instruction. The communication in the classrooms was mainly teacher-orientated and the learners got little chance to use the language in interactive activities. The proposed teaching-learning programme framework for Afrikaans Additional Language should help teachers with the planning of their teaching as well as the implementation of the curriculum that could result in more effective Additional Language Teaching to learners. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Teaching and Learning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The study explored the effects of curriculum change on foundation phase teachers of Sikhulile Circuit of Mpumalanga in post-apartheid South Africa. Curriculum 2005 (C2005) was introduced in the post-apartheid South Africa followed by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) and Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS), then Foundation for Learning (FFL) and lastly Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). All these curriculum changes had various implications on teaching particularly with reference to foundation phase teachers of South Africa in line with the purposes of this study. Four research questions guided the study. A qualitative interpretive research design was adopted in order to gain insight into the views of the teachers of Grade 1 to Grade 3 on curriculum changes they faced in their classrooms. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews and semi-structured questionnaires. The views expressed by the study participants were carefully analysed to find common patterns of the challenges faced by the foundation phase teachers in South Africa. Purposive sampling was used to select the schools and study participants. The research findings indicate that many foundation phase teachers found these curriculum changes to be too frequent, confusing and demoralising. This scenario was exacerbated by the fact that teachers were not trained at all or minimally trained for the curriculum changes. Many showed lack of knowledge and skills on the constitution’s expectation of education as a lifelong experience. Teachers were teaching in overcrowded classrooms with limited resources thus they did not know what to teach and how to assess. In light of these extended classroom challenges, it is recommended that the grassroots model or the Social Interaction Model could be used to disseminate innovation from the focal point to the periphery as it allows consultation and communication between stakeholders, curriculum innovators and implementers, to effectively implement new curriculum initiatives. There needs to be extensive and effective piloting of new curriculum innovations before their implementation. Training of teachers on CAPS and other curricula introduced should be on going. Adequate dialogue between policy makers and teachers at ground level addresses challenges as encountered. Further studies of this nature should be carried out in other circuits, districts and provinces in order to identify common challenges and develop possible solutions to overcome these challenges on a broader national scale. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)