The transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa, which began in 1994 led to a change in a plethora of policies and/or legislation. In recent years there has been much debate on how the standard of education provisioning in schools could be raised in the light of the introduction of the much debated Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) and thereafter the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). These reform initiatives have brought about confusion and a sense of unsettledness amongst educators, including principals as well as their School Management Teams. Furthermore, the abovementioned and other policies required educators to acquaint themselves with either the materials that are used or the content of the curriculum and the planning and presentation of lessons. This entails in some occasions that educators who are more experienced have to assist the less experienced ones since they understand the RNCS and more recently the NCS better than the others. According to me this emphasises the importance of educator development towards raising the standards in schools. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is a process that fits the role of an educator as a lifelong learner. The aforementioned is captured in the Norms and Standards for Educators (2000). The need for more attention to be accorded to the professional development of practising educators is emphasised in the Report of the Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education (2005). This report led to the development of the National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development which has as its aim to attempt to address the need for suitably qualified educators in South Africa. The National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development will be used in this study along with the Integrated Quality Management Systems (IQMS) as tools to achieve the continuous development of educators in South African schools. The Personnel Administration Measures (PAM) of 1999 are also used since they stipulate the roles and responsibilities of the educator, including those of the principal, deputy principal(s) as well as the heads of department. In particular it stipulates that the principal (Department of Education, 1999:10) is responsible for the development of staff training programmes, school-based, school-focused and externally directed, and to assist educators, particularly new and inexperienced educators, in developing and achieving educational objectives in accordance with the needs of the school. This research project deals with the challenges experienced by educators regarding their own Continued Professional Development (CPD). It thus aims at coming up with an empirical account of the challenges experienced by the said educators. The study will focus on, among others, the educators’ experiences in the implementation of the IQMS as a developmental tool for educators in schools. It looks at the roles that different staff members in senior positions in terms of the CPD of the educators. These include the developmental opportunities available in the sampled schools. Carefully selected and drafted interview questions assisted me in soliciting answers from the sampled educators. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

No description available.

This research investigates progress in the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) into curriculum-based teaching and learning in the Lesotho secondary and high school science classroom, with the aim of establishing how effective e-learning and integration of ICT can be supported. E-learning was perceived by education stakeholders in Lesotho as an effective way to enhance teaching and learning. To this end, Lesotho embarked on three partnership projects, namely SchoolNet, Microsoft STIC and NEPAD e-School Projects. There is a volume of research, international and regional, on e-learning and ICT integration, mainly conducted by European and American researchers. This study by an African author, therefore, fills a gap. Using a variant of action research, the author undertook six studies over four years, investigating the extent of computing infrastructure in schools and ways in which e-learning was implemented in subject-based teaching. In particular, he studied barriers to ICT implementation in Lesotho; advantages and disadvantages of combining e-learning with classroom practice; the perceptions, aptitude and skills of Lesotho science teachers and students; professional development programmes; and preparations for introducing e-learning, including infrastructural issues. Literature studies were conducted, following which pertinent concepts from the literature were used to generate a framework of evaluation categories and criteria for addressing the research questions of this study. The criteria were translated into questions and evaluation statements for data collection instruments for the empirical studies. Triangulation in data collection and analysis was provided by applying multiple and mixed data collection methods: questionnaires, interviews, observations and case studies, to gather data from principals, teachers and students in selected schools across the three projects and in varying regions of Lesotho. The study identified notable progress, but determines that more remains to be done, on an ongoing basis, to support secondary and high schools in Lesotho with implementation plans and strategies. The study concludes with guideline and recommendations for educators. / Computing / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)

The implementation of the National Curriculum Statement was problematic to the culture of teaching and learning in various South African schools. If challenges experienced by educators, such as inadequate resources, financial constraints and lack of training, are not addressed, this will have far-reaching consequences not only for our education system but also for the type of skilled learners that will be produced and for the economic growth of the country. This qualitative investigation was conducted in a single school in Limpopo Province with the aim of finding out which challenges the implementation of the NCS presents to FET educators. The sample consisted of educators and learners from grades ten to twelve as well as members of the SGB, SMT and district education officers. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. It was found that the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement was problematic and far from satisfactory. The study highlights the need for the Department of Education to prioritise educational resources for schools and educator training in curriculum implementation. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The study offers a historico-educational investigation of the extent to which the Teachers' Association of South Africa (TASA) satisfied the educational aspirations of the Indian coIIDllunity in South Africa. The discussion begins with a theoretical exposition of characteristic features of teachers' associations. It considers the origin, nature and purpose of teachers' associations. A brief survey of some teachers' associations in the Republic of South Africa is also made. The development and the organisation of the Teachers' Association of South Africa (TASA) is highlighted. In this regard special emphasis is placed on the role of the Association's forerunners, and the nature and functioning of the various organisational structures within the Association. An elaborate discussion is devoted to the achievements of the Association in satisfying the educational aspirations of the Indian coIIDllunity in South Africa. The researcher also offers recoIIDllendations on the role that teachers' associations may play in the future. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

The portfolio explores the construction, representation and interpretation of internationalisation at the University of South Australia (UniSA) within the broader concept of internationalisation in higher education. The research is situated within a postmodern, postcolonial world and is influenced significantly by the work of Foucault ([1972] 2003), Fairclough (1989; 1992), Said (1995 [1978]) and Cherryholmes (1988). The portfolio consists of three related research reports and a meta-analysis which both connects these individual reports and conducts further analysis of the issues and themes arising from the research. The literature reviewed in Research Report 1 describes a range of approaches to internationalisation and issues associated with its definition and implementation in universities. It is concluded that internationalisation in higher education is part of a network of constantly developing and changing discourses all of which both influence and are influenced by political, social and economic contexts and agendas. The nature of the discourse of internationalisation at UniSA and the power/knowledge relations which are embedded within and support it are the focus of the second research report which consists of a critical discourse analysis of a corpus of documents related to internationalisation and Graduate Quality #7 at UniSA. Five discourses of internationalisation at UniSA are identified and the roles associated with the primary subjects of the discourse (academic staff, Australian students and international students) are described. Significant shifts in the discursive construction of internationalisation at UniSA over time are also identified, including the tendency for the economic discourse to be viewed as dominant and the associated ideology to be naturalised. The third research report consists of ‘snapshots’ of the experience of internationalisation in different places and from different perspectives. It strives for a deeper understanding of the complexity of internationalisation at UniSA through exploration of the construction of Graduate Quality #7 (that students of UniSA will develop international perspectives as professionals and citizens) in two different cultural and educational contexts ���������������� Adelaide and Hong Kong. The research highlights the need to embed and integrate intercultural learning into the culture of UniSA – to assist all staff and all students to move into uncomfortable intercultural spaces; to learn from and with each other within those spaces; to challenge their stereotypes and prejudices and to move on from them. The three reports are drawn together in the meta-analysis which concludes that although there are signs of ideological struggle within the discourse of internationalisation, the constructions of internationalisation and its subjects and actors at UniSA and beyond are consistent with a construction of internationalisation as a neo-colonialist activity. It suggests a modified approach to internationalisation – one that challenges the stereotypes and hegemonies currently associated with it. This has implications for the focus of professional development and student services to support internationalisation at UniSA and other Australian universities.

The study offers a historico-educational investigation of the extent to which the Teachers' Association of South Africa (TASA) satisfied the educational aspirations of the Indian coIIDllunity in South Africa. The discussion begins with a theoretical exposition of characteristic features of teachers' associations. It considers the origin, nature and purpose of teachers' associations. A brief survey of some teachers' associations in the Republic of South Africa is also made. The development and the organisation of the Teachers' Association of South Africa (TASA) is highlighted. In this regard special emphasis is placed on the role of the Association's forerunners, and the nature and functioning of the various organisational structures within the Association. An elaborate discussion is devoted to the achievements of the Association in satisfying the educational aspirations of the Indian coIIDllunity in South Africa. The researcher also offers recoIIDllendations on the role that teachers' associations may play in the future. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

This research investigates progress in the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) into curriculum-based teaching and learning in the Lesotho secondary and high school science classroom, with the aim of establishing how effective e-learning and integration of ICT can be supported. E-learning was perceived by education stakeholders in Lesotho as an effective way to enhance teaching and learning. To this end, Lesotho embarked on three partnership projects, namely SchoolNet, Microsoft STIC and NEPAD e-School Projects. There is a volume of research, international and regional, on e-learning and ICT integration, mainly conducted by European and American researchers. This study by an African author, therefore, fills a gap. Using a variant of action research, the author undertook six studies over four years, investigating the extent of computing infrastructure in schools and ways in which e-learning was implemented in subject-based teaching. In particular, he studied barriers to ICT implementation in Lesotho; advantages and disadvantages of combining e-learning with classroom practice; the perceptions, aptitude and skills of Lesotho science teachers and students; professional development programmes; and preparations for introducing e-learning, including infrastructural issues. Literature studies were conducted, following which pertinent concepts from the literature were used to generate a framework of evaluation categories and criteria for addressing the research questions of this study. The criteria were translated into questions and evaluation statements for data collection instruments for the empirical studies. Triangulation in data collection and analysis was provided by applying multiple and mixed data collection methods: questionnaires, interviews, observations and case studies, to gather data from principals, teachers and students in selected schools across the three projects and in varying regions of Lesotho. The study identified notable progress, but determines that more remains to be done, on an ongoing basis, to support secondary and high schools in Lesotho with implementation plans and strategies. The study concludes with guideline and recommendations for educators. / Computing / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)

The implementation of the National Curriculum Statement was problematic to the culture of teaching and learning in various South African schools. If challenges experienced by educators, such as inadequate resources, financial constraints and lack of training, are not addressed, this will have far-reaching consequences not only for our education system but also for the type of skilled learners that will be produced and for the economic growth of the country. This qualitative investigation was conducted in a single school in Limpopo Province with the aim of finding out which challenges the implementation of the NCS presents to FET educators. The sample consisted of educators and learners from grades ten to twelve as well as members of the SGB, SMT and district education officers. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. It was found that the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement was problematic and far from satisfactory. The study highlights the need for the Department of Education to prioritise educational resources for schools and educator training in curriculum implementation. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

No description available.