"Learning should be an adventure. It is the joyous outcome of a favourable school environment. When the curriculum fits the child and the child develops a natural relationship with the curriculum, when the instruction is astute and the guidance wise, the child learns. The curriculum, broadly interpreted, includes the materials, equipment and experience which adequately meet the physical, mental, social and emotional needs of children of a particular stage of development. Obviously, unlimited opportunities and a setting must be provided for creative experiences under the wise guidance of the teacher. In order to further this program, the following aims must be considered in planning the curriculum: 1. To give the child a feeling of security and freedom from fear in his relationships of school. 2. To provide experiences which will gradually broaden his small world and give it more meaning. 3. To help him rely more and more on himself and on his own judgment in areas where he can take full responsibility. 4. To guide him in forming solid friendships with his contemporaries. 5. To help him enjoy creative work and to know that his own expression of what he sees and feels is of greater value than anything he could imitate. 6. To create the kind of democratic atmosphere in which he feels free to express his agreements and disagreements with adults and other children, and in which he can understand that rules grow out of living together, both in the classroom and in the school as a whole. 7. To help him gain a sense of his value in the group. 8. To provide the guidance and facilities necessary for him to develop skills, appropriate to this age--manual, rhythmic and language"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "July, 1947." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of the Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts under Plan II." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-44).

The Ministry of Education (SICTE, 2002) states that the widespread introduction of computers in schools should support Curriculum 2005 and that computer technology is part and parcel of making schools the center of community life. The vision is to establish Smart Schools: schools that are reinvented in terms of teaching-learning practices to prepare learners for the information era (SICTE, 2002). Kafai (1996:71) has found that conventional school assignments rarely give learners the opportunity to spend a great deal of time on complex projects. As a result, many learners have little experience in design: planning, problem solving, researching, dealing with time constraints, modifying expectations and synthesizing everything in a project. Research by Carver, Lehrer, Connell and Erickson (1992); Lehrer, (1993); Lehrer, Erickson and Connell (1994); Kafai (1996); Liu and Hsiao (2002) and Liu (2002) indicates that the design of hypermedia artefacts can assist in providing experience in design. To date, no equivalent research has been conducted in South Africa to ascertain the perceptions of learners regarding the creation of a hypermedia artefact over an extended period of time and whether some of the critical outcomes specified in Curriculum 2005 can be addressed in such a learning-by-design hypermedia project. This study shows that design skills and aspects related to the critical outcomes of Curriculum 2005 can be achieved. Furthermore, it indicates that this kind of project encourages interest, motivation and collaboration. In addition, it suggests that learners experience the role of the teacher as different and prefer such a learning environment. In spite of the positive results, some aspects that need attention for future implementation are suggested.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The South African school curriculum recognises the vital importance of life skills acquisition through the learning area, Life Orientation (referred to in the primary school as Life Skills). The Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) Life Skills (Creative Arts) for the Intermediate Phase promotes drama-based instruction in life skills learning. The curriculum links to Forum Theatre techniques which are aimed at the learner’s holistic development through, among others, social game playing, improvised role-play and devising and performing a problem play which includes audience participation mediated by a ‘Joker,’ a facilitator role usually filled by an experienced and trained teacher. Children learn about the self, their peers and society through reality-based exploration and the conflicts that arise due to socialisation and power-based problems. Cognitive behavioural, existential and experiential learning theories and the theatrical theory and practice of Augusto Boal, who invented Forum Theatre as part of the Theatre of the Oppressed, formed the framework for this performative case study inquiry conducted in a South African primary school. A researcher-designed Forum Theatre intervention was implemented by the Grade 6 (Creative Arts) teacher with four Grade 6 classes over eight weeks in Life Skills (Creative Arts) classes, culminating in Forum Theatre performances by the four classes, respectively. Data were gathered through classroom observation in which the researcher assumed the role of observer-participant, conducted individual and focus group interviews with Grade 6 teachers, did interviews with Grade 6 learners, took video recordings of learners’ classroom activities, recorded the Forum Theatre performances, and collected the learners’ written reflections. The findings indicated: the process adjustments required to facilitate Forum Theatre activities in a primary school setting; effectiveness of experiential learning of life skills through game-playing and discovery; performative pedagogy fostered life skill acquisition; performative pedagogy harnessed nonverbal, embodied learning to build social insight; and describes the teacher experience in implementing a Forum Theatre intervention. Recommendations for practice include teacher training for experiential, explorative, and performance-based teaching in line with the CAPS document, which provides for a range of performative teaching and learning activities to promote effective life skills acquisition in primary school learners. / Educational Studies / Ph. D. (Education)