According to White Paper 6, national policy regarding the provision of education in South Africa has changed since 1994 with an emphasis on the accommodation of all learners in one education system. The Department of Education envisaged an education and training system that would promote education for all and foster the development of inclusive and supportive centers of learning which would enable all learners to participate actively in education alongside their peers. The responsibility of the education system to develop and sustain learning is premised on the recognition that education is a fundamental right which extends equally to all learners. A complex and dynamic relationship exists between the learner, the centre of learning, the broader education system and the social, political and economic context of which they are all part. These components play a key role in whether or not effective learning and development take place. There are factors that lead to the inability of the system to accommodate diversity, which lead to learning breakdown or which prevent learners from accessing educational provision and have been conceptualized as barriers to learning and development. The primary aim of this study was to investigate and describe the barriers faced by foundation phase learners in an inclusive classroom and to propose the support needed to address those barriers. A literature review provided the background to an empirical inquiry using a qualitative approach. The design type chosen for this study was phenomenology which requires the researcher to ‘bracket‘ or put aside all prejudgments and collect data on how individuals make sense of a particular experience or situation. From the population of 17 schools in UMzimkhulu zone, three Junior Secondary schools were purposively chosen as a sample and the target group was foundation phase educators data was collected by means of INTERVIEWS as well as DOCUMENTS and were inductively analysed. FIELD NOTES were taken during interviews and a tape recorder was used. The data was analysed by using a thematic content analysis. The main themes identified in interviews were, among others, support, challenges faced by foundation phase educators, expectations of foundation phase educators, perceptions of inclusive education and challenges of inclusive education. The conclusion reached is that educators need more information and training about inclusive education. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

There is a tendency for children who display unacceptable behaviour to be described as having Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder when the actual reason for the child’s diagnosis may simply be affective factors, another disorder or simply misbehaviour. ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed child disorder affecting 3-5% of all school age children. The aim was to investigate the prevalence of Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder in a sample of Foundation Phase children at an Inclusive ex Model C Preparatory School in the South Metro, Western Cape, by uncovering the criteria that are used by their teachers to suggest a possible Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder in a child for a referral to a parent, therapist or professional. This study used a phenomenology design making use of interpretations, meanings and an individual’s opinions regarding the teacher’s criteria, which relate to the diagnosis of ADHD. It required a qualitative analysis with the emphasis on observation, interviews and document analysis. A verbal Interview consisting of questions which were taped and transcribed, as well as an observation, and completion of a Connors Form of the selected children was completed by the teachers. Ten class teachers were interviewed and seven children from Grades one, two and three were observed. A model from Creswell was used, in order to identify the units of meaning relating to the prevalence of ADHD amongst learners in the South Metro District. The findings include lack of understanding of ADHD amongst teachers, subjectivity in the diagnosis of learners with ADHD, factors influencing the diagnosis of ADHD, criteria necessary to identify ADHD and stereotyping differences. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

The South African government introduced Full-service schools to provide quality education to all learners through flexibility to meet the full range of learning needs. Full-service schools are institutions that strive to transform themselves, proactively addressing the barriers to learning and increasing participation of the learners and educators in the teaching and learning process. This can be achieved by enhancing the flexibility of teaching and learning methods used. This study therefore focused on the teaching and learning methods used in inclusive classrooms to accommodate diversity. This was a case study that was conducted at Mphuphuthe Full-service school at Ledig, situated in the Bojanala Region in the North West Province. A qualitative approach and purposive sampling was used. The triangulation of data collection methods using three data collection instruments, namely focus group interview, observation and document analysis was used. The results showed that teaching and learning is flexible, making use of differentiated methods such as multilevel teaching; songs and rhymes; storytelling using pictures, puppets and big books. Dramatisation was used in instances where learners acted out the stories they were told. Cooperative learning was used for problem solving activities and projects so that learners could work together. Differentiation in terms of lesson planning, activities and assessment standards was used to accommodate all the learners. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for effective teaching and learning in inclusive classrooms in the Foundation Phase. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed.(Inclusive Education)

This study is an investigation of the congruence in methodology between out-comes based education and environmental education. EE and OBE advocate for an integration of educational approaches and methodology. The focus being the introduction of integrated cross-curricula approach to education. Questionnaires were administered to educators in the sampled schools in order to get the understanding and perceptions of educators about the compatibilty of EE and OBE methodologies. The hypothesis: OBE in South African Education allows for the implementation of EE methodologies. The finding is that common approaches i.e. interdisciplinary and cross-curricular approaches and similar methods are used in OBE and EE. Several proposals were made: There should be workshops, support and mentoring approaches to EE and OBE. Resources should be available to educators and learners and there should be research on OBE and EE methodologies should be made / This study is aimed at examining the compatibility in methodology and approaches of South African Out-comes Based Education and Environmental Education. Data collection was based on questionnaires administered to the primary school educators in the Rustenburg District. Extensive knowledge was gained concerning the nature, approaches and methodologies of Environmental Education and Out Comes Based Education. The educators' understanding of the compatibility or degree of agreement between OBE and EE methodologies, approaches and methods was examined. Problems related to the methodological incompatibility of EE and OBE are identified and solutions are proposed. The core of this study is to examine the compatibility between OBE and EE in terms of approaches and methodologies. It is noted by this study that compatibility between EE and OBE, is not without problems. This study will make valuable contributions to examine the extent of OBE as a curriculum policy for addressing methodological issues raised by EE. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Environmental Education)

Thesis (MPhil (Curriculum Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / This study is centered on the perception of Foundation Phase educators in the Nzhelele West Circuit in the province of Limpopo of Curriculum 2005. The implementation of Curriculum 2005 created much uncertainty among these teachers. The study took the form of a survey of published and unpublished sources, questionnaires, interviews and observations. Respondents were made up of stakeholders affected by the introduction of the new curriculum. Recommendations have been made about how the new curriculum should have been planned, developed and implemented to make foundation phase educators feel confident and able to help in the interpretation and implementation of the curriculum so as to help achieve the developmental goals of the South African Education System.

No description available.

This research seeks to understand what it means to be a teacher and the experiences that shape what teachers do in the context of a primary school. In asking the question, What’s a teacher anyway? I produced data of teachers’ daily practices and social realities within their lived experiences. Located within an interpretive paradigm, I documented various identities and meanings of teachers which helped me to understand how teachers negotiate the multiple forces within the setting of a primary school. The research looked at teachers in their social context, since teachers do not work in isolation but are subject to particular social influences. Using the participatory approach, I produced data of the lives of two experienced teachers who work in a primary school in the eThekweni region of KwaZulu-Natal. The participatory methodology was most appropriate to gather the necessary data, as it allowed for the teachers’ voices to be heard. Against the social, institutional, contextual and programmatic contexts, data were sourced by means of career life-history interviews and photovoice. Through narrative analysis, the teachers’ stories were reconstructed and represented as identity categories through which they were able to construct their professional selves and their professional work. The findings that were generated from the two experienced primary school teachers were analysed and represented under the key themes of professional self and professional work. The findings offer an understanding of how practising teachers manage their work and themselves against all the changes and challenges of the South African educational landscape specifically in the schooling situation. Through the reconstructed stories by the teachers, the study makes visible how teacher identity shapes teachers and their work in the school. The data reveals that teachers have multiple identities of who they are and how they respond from their position as teachers, which clash with what is expected of them in the school. The findings show that teachers are unhappy with the curriculum and political shifts, as these are imposed on them in an arbitrary manner. The study contributes to a nuanced understanding of the relationship between teacher identity and teacher work. The study revolves around the teacher who tries to build an interesting relationship between the identities of “mother”, “teacher” and “caregiver”. Being a teacher, innovative ways are created to manage the administrative work and the curriculum work. The iii second teacher, an Indian male, as a person and an activist, growing up in a poor community, negotiates between the forces to make sense of what it means to be a teacher in the present shift, given the diversity of pupils and the various issues that accompany it. The teachers are working in a social reality and have to manage a range of challenges, difficulties and struggles. They find creative ways to negotiate the multiple roles and responsibilities and make sense of what it means to be a teacher. Due to excessive administrative and curricular demands being made on them, teachers are found to be experiencing tension and undue stress in their work while negotiating the multiple forces that surround them in the context of the school. To answer my research question, What’s a teacher anyway, I considered how they moved beyond their conventional roles and responsibilities as teachers, and how they endeavoured to make meaning and sense of themselves as successful teachers within the four dimensions of Samuel’s (2008) framework. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2010.

No description available.

In South Africa, in July 2001, the National Department of Education released White Paper 6 which underpins the notion of inclusive education. It states that the needs of all children should be catered for within the South African educational framework. Subsequent guidelines from the Department (2005; 2012) also provide a strong focus on understanding individual children’s learning styles and explain the concept and application of children’s multiple intelligences. However, on closer examination, it seems that the inclusive education, as well as barriers to learning referred to in the abovementioned guidelines, are indicated to mean catering for children at the lower-ability end of the learning spectrum. This research begins to explore the notion that high potential children might require special attention, though not at the expense of those with learning impairments. An education system that provides inclusive education to children at both the lower and higher ends of the learning spectrum would be more equitable, and would give all children an equal chance of reaching their full potential. One possible strategy for accommodating the diverse needs of learners is through differentiation (Department of Education, 2005). Differentiation is a way of teaching that aims to provide stimulating and enriching learning environments to a diverse group of children within a classroom. This might be achieved by separating the class into smaller groups based on ability, or by providing children with different tasks at the same time, with the same learning objectives but at differing cognitive levels (Rogers, 2007). Vygotsky’s work on the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and mediation provides a theoretical framework for proposing differentiation as a strategy. The data was gathered through an in-depth examination (using a combination of classroom observations, document analysis and teacher interviews) of mathematics teaching in Grade 1 in three schools in Grahamstown. My analysis was based on Vygotsky’s theories (the main tenets of which were the ZPD and scaffolding, as well as the role of socio-culture in learning), using Tomlinson’s (1999) differentiated instruction framework to provide structure to the study. The following themes emerged from the data: a focus on the teachers’ understandings of differentiation; the use of grouping as a superficial form of differentiation; a lack of teacher preparation and understanding in relation to task differentiation; and an underlying sense of ‘sameness’ in teachers’ understanding of their learners. In addition to the above, I did not observe evidence of real differentiation for high potential children and hope that this research contributes to extending teachers’ training (both academic and in-service) in this area, convincing teachers of the existence and importance of critical thinking abilities in our youngest learners, and initiating a move towards the drafting of Individual Education Plans for all our learners. During the period of my research I have been convinced that the use of differentiated instruction in classrooms is the way forward in educational thinking, particularly as it relates to the notion of inclusive learning. Clearly there are challenges to be addressed in terms of school timetables, curricula, teachers’ time frames and past education system inequalities such as we have here in South Africa.

This study is an investigation of the congruence in methodology between out-comes based education and environmental education. EE and OBE advocate for an integration of educational approaches and methodology. The focus being the introduction of integrated cross-curricula approach to education. Questionnaires were administered to educators in the sampled schools in order to get the understanding and perceptions of educators about the compatibilty of EE and OBE methodologies. The hypothesis: OBE in South African Education allows for the implementation of EE methodologies. The finding is that common approaches i.e. interdisciplinary and cross-curricular approaches and similar methods are used in OBE and EE. Several proposals were made: There should be workshops, support and mentoring approaches to EE and OBE. Resources should be available to educators and learners and there should be research on OBE and EE methodologies should be made / This study is aimed at examining the compatibility in methodology and approaches of South African Out-comes Based Education and Environmental Education. Data collection was based on questionnaires administered to the primary school educators in the Rustenburg District. Extensive knowledge was gained concerning the nature, approaches and methodologies of Environmental Education and Out Comes Based Education. The educators' understanding of the compatibility or degree of agreement between OBE and EE methodologies, approaches and methods was examined. Problems related to the methodological incompatibility of EE and OBE are identified and solutions are proposed. The core of this study is to examine the compatibility between OBE and EE in terms of approaches and methodologies. It is noted by this study that compatibility between EE and OBE, is not without problems. This study will make valuable contributions to examine the extent of OBE as a curriculum policy for addressing methodological issues raised by EE. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Environmental Education)