The introduction of Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) in the school curriculum is one of the changes brought about by the educational reforms in Botswana’s education system. Fullan (2005:42) observed that “any educational change becomes a reality when it is implemented with the involvement of the key role players.” In the case of my research, the primary school teachers and school management teams are the key role-players. This research was, therefore, conducted to explore the impact of teaching music within the CAPA subject as one of the changes brought about by the educational reforms in Botswana upper primary schools. I have found the phenomenological design appropriate for my research. Babbie and Mouton (2009:28) explain this paradigm as emphasising that “human beings are engaged in the process of making sense of their lives and that they continually interpret, create and give meaning to, define, justify and rationalise their actions.” In collecting and analysing data, a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used to explore trends regarding the teachers’ perceptions, views, emotions, feelings, experiences and preparedness for the introduction of the CAPA subject.

Information Communication Technology (ICT) practitioners and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) specialists are highly sought after globally and in South Africa. In order to address this need for ERP specialists, several studies propose that ERP systems should be adopted in the Information Systems (IS) curricula in higher education institutions (HEIs) for instructional purposes. Whilst many HEIs in the United States, Australia and Europe have successfully adopted ERP systems into their curricula, less than 30% of South African HEIs have followed this trend. The adoption of ERP systems is a challenging process as such systems are resource-intensive, costly, complex, and have a steep learning curve. Educators are faced with resource problems and a dearth of options relating to the adoption process. In addition it is critical that the skills and knowledge competencies attained in these courses are industry-relevant. Several education frameworks have been recommended to assist educators with the process of adopting an ERP system in the curriculum, but these frameworks are not comprehensive since they do not consider all the factors relating to the adoption of an ERP system. In addition existing frameworks are not based on industry-relevant competencies but rather on educational objectives. This has resulted in a difference between the competencies required by organisations and those produced by higher education. Whilst there are several research studies on ERP education, empirical studies on frameworks supporting the adoption of ERP systems in HEIs for instructional purposes are limited, particularly on the impact of these frameworks on educational outcomes. The impact of the usability of the ERP system on educational outcomes has also not been fully explored. A survey of ERP consulting organisations in South Africa confirmed that these organisations struggle to obtain ERP specialists with the appropriate competencies. The survey results also contributed to a standardised, comprehensive, set of industry-relevant ERP competencies. The competency set forms part of a comprehensive Competency Framework for ERP System Adoption in IS Higher Education (ERPEd), which can assist educators with the decisions relating to the adoption of an ERP system into the IS curriculum. It includes all the categories of competencies relevant to industry and maps these onto a recommended ERP system adoption approach, an ERP learning tool, as well as the appropriate level of adoption. The application of the ERPEd framework to a case study, the Management Information Systems (MIS) course at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), resulted in the adoption of the SYSPRO medium-sized ERP system into the MIS course with the hands-on approach. The empirical results of the evaluation of the case study revealed that the hands-on use of a medium-sized ERP system, SYSPRO, can successfully contribute to the attainment of educational outcomes. These outcomes were mapped to the three core competencies addressed by the MIS course, which were ERP Theory and Concepts, ERP Transactions and Business Process Management (BPM). The educational outcomes evaluated were the measures of performance, self-efficacy and usability. Self-efficacy included satisfaction with the adoption approach. The results were positive in terms of all the metrics of performance, and all three competency categories had positive post-intervention self-efficacy ratings. In terms of growth in self-efficacy from pre-intervention to post-intervention, BPM was the only competency category that did not show a significant growth, however the satisfaction data indicated that students found that the use of SYSPRO improved their competencies in business process understanding. Usability was evaluated in terms of navigation, presentation and learnability. Learnability was the only usability measure in the neutral range, with the other measures falling in the positive range. This confirms related studies reporting that ERP systems are not designed for learning. Overall the students enjoyed the practical application of the theory by using SYSPRO. Several positive and negative features of the user interface were provided which can be used in the design of improved ERP systems for instructional purposes. The results of this investigation can assist in narrowing the gap between industry requirements and IS education programmes. The ERP competency set provides a standardised list of skills and knowledge which is the starting point for any skills improvement program. The ERPEd framework can improve the quality of ERP courses and the competencies of IS graduates. This in turn, can benefit the business community since it will improve the chances of ERP project success. This research is a major contribution to both government and academic initiatives in South Africa to address both the ICT skills problem as well as the need for ERP specialists.

A dissertation submitted to the FACULTY OF EDUCATION at the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration, 2001. / This study has examined the role played by the principals in managing curriculum change in selected districts in KwaZulu Natal. The researcher has reviewed literature on different factors which facilitate and inhibit curriculum change. The study made use of interviews and questionnaire to determine whether principals perceived themselves as facilitating curriculum change and whether they were seen by educators as bringing about change in schools. On the basis of views from respondents, the study concluded that principals were viewed as facilitating curriculum changes, through such areas as consultation, participatory decision-making, team-building, school policy and vision. However, it was established that the majority of educators perceived principals as facilitating curriculum change, however, a notable number of respondents were either uncertain or did not agree that principals promote curriculum change in schools.

The purpose of this work is to determine a sound approach for curriculum improvement. In fulfilling that purpose, it is proposed: (1) to survey the various historical approaches to curriculum construction and to review briefly present curriculum practices; (2) to establish sound criteria of curriculum improvement based on the outside approach or the approach from without; (3) to apply these principles and criteria to a program of curriculum improvement.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1937 B41

The study investigated the challenges faced by the teachers during the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in secondary schools at Greater Delareyville Area Office. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which the Department of Education provides the teachers with necessary support through resource material for professional development and relevant teaching and learning strategies. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used as methods of investigation. In quantitative approach the sample was chosen using simple random technique from the entire population of 153 teachers and 20 secondary school principals. From the population, 25 teachers and 3 principals were selected. Research instruments used included the questionnaire which was self administered to the selected teachers for completion and interviews were conducted with the principals of the selected schools. For the quantitative approach the sample was selected from 153 teachers in the secondary schools at Greater Delareyville Area Office and only 25 teachers formed the sample. In qualitative approach 3 principals were purposively selected and interviewed in depth from the selected secondary schools. The views and experience of participants to this study were captured through semi structured interviews. The researcher analysed the quantitative data by using statistics, tables, frequency tables, percentages and graphs. Tables and figures were used to present data. The Microsoft computer software (SPSS,versionl9.0) was used to prepare tables and figures in this research. For the qualitative approach, the researcher presented raw data as it was collected from the participants during the interview. The researcher recorded the interviews and each recorded interview was transcribed. The empirical study of different schools was done about the challenges faced by the teachers during the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement using observation, reflection journal and document analysis. The major findings showed that teachers were inadequately trained to implement the National Curriculum Statement. Schools lack resources to make teaching and learning effective. There is also lack of support for teachers from the Department of Education and the Subject Advisers lack professional skills in helping teachers with the challenges they are facing. The recommendations resulting from these findings were that well trained facilitators should be appointed. More workshops and in-service training should be held in order to develop the teachers. Laboratories and libraries should be built in schools in the rural areas to make teaching and learning more effective. / Thesis (M.Ed) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2013

Recent curriculum reform agendas appear to exert pressure on teachers to incorporate Mathematical Problem Solving (MPS) meaningfully into their lessons, with the view to engaging pupils with real life problems, guessing, discovering, and making sense of mathematics. However, a comprehensive review of both government and academic literature indicate that understanding teachers' reform implementation decisions is largely unexplored, particularly within the Ghanaian context. The purpose of this mixed-methods sequential explanatory study was to identify factors contributing to teacher intentions to teach MPS by obtaining quantitative results from a survey of 375 primary teachers and then following up with six purposefully selected teachers to explore those results in more depth through interviews. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the quantitative phase of the study explored how certain different but interrelated belief variables such as attitudes towards the behaviour (AB), perceived norms (PN) and perceived behavioural control (PBC) lead to an explanation of teacher intentions to teach MPS, and an understanding of the contributions of relevant socio-demographic factors in defining these intentions in this context. In the follow up, qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with six teachers were conducted to explore in depth the results from the statistical analyses. Results indicated that several beliefs about teaching MPS significantly contributed to AB, PN and PBC. Two factors, AB and PBC were found to have significant influences and accounted for 80% of the variance in the teachers' intent to teach MPS. Differences appeared to exist between private and public school teachers' for both intent and the three constructs (AB, PN, and PBC), whilst familiarity with the curriculum had an effect on teachers intentions only. In the qualitative phase, the study addressed some factors found to potentially influence teachers' intentions including MPS conceptions, past experience in mathematics, availability of resources, adequate classroom spaces and professional development opportunities. The quantitative and qualitative findings from the two phases of the study are discussed with reference to prior research. The results provide an understanding of the relevant social-cognitive processes which may influence a teacher's reform decisions, and in particular suggest strong implications for developing the capacity of schools to support teachers' intentions to implement curriculum reform policies.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 231 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-219).