This study used the phenomenological method to investigate the structure of the experience of learning for the sake of learning in adulthood and the meaning of that experience for the individual who undergoes it. Using a modification of Barritt, Beekman, Bleeker and Mulderij's (1983) descriptive phenomenological approach, a four step analysis of protocols was conducted. First, descriptions of the experience were obtained from ten nominated adults, ranging in age from 35 to 74. These protocols were phenomenologically analyzed for emerging elements and common themes to develop individual descriptions. These descriptions were then integrated into the fundamental description, all of which were validated by the co-researchers. The results of the research indicated that learning for the sake of learning can best be understood by seeing its horizon, process, and resolution. The horizon of the phenomenon is comprised of three factors: the opportunity to learn, the area of interest, and the desire to learn. The learning experience is initiated and continued because the learners enjoy the experience, are curious about something, and feel called lo learn. The primary focus is found in the process, not the resulting knowledge. The learners “follow the flow" of the experience, learning whatever seems appropriate at that time, whatever challenges them. The aim is not to reduce but sustain or increase the challenge. The resolution of this experience is open-ended. As an individual learning experience brings satiation, learners seek to encompass more questions in a wider or new area of interest. This indefinite nature, coupled with the rewards, form a spiral which constitutes the horizon for and lures them to the next learning experience. Implications for adult educators, society, and learners are discussed. While this study delves into the nature of the experience itself, further research may investigate the type of people who engage in this learning experience and/or the conditions within which it occurs. / Ed. D.

In recent years, naturalistic studies of planning have shown the "hidden side of teaching," pictures of the ways teachers think before and after they enter the classroom. Few, however, have shown how prescriptive planning models impact on teacher thought and the classroom environments the they create; and none has looked at the impact of prescriptive planning models on preservice teacher thought. The purpose of my study was to create ethnographic descriptions of two preservice teachers’ thoughts and of the classroom environments they created. The major difference between the two participants was the prescriptive planning model used. One used a rational means-end planning model -- the model most commonly taught to prospective teachers when they are first introduced to unit planning. This model encourages the teacher to develop a written unit plan with a rationale, objectives, activities, and evaluation standards prior to the teaching of a lesson or set of lessons. The other preservice teacher used a recently developed recursive planning model that encourages brainstorming, design, and reflection based on a list of educational design variables that research has indicated have an impact on educational environments. My ethnographic findings reveal that the use of both planning models impacted on preservice teacher thought and on the classroom environments they created in terms of: 1. The quantity, quality, and content of the planners’ preactive and postactive thought, 2. the quantity of unplanned decisions that the planners made while teaching, 3. the overall organizing principle of their classroom environments, and 4. the way preservice teachers defined and practiced planning. / Ed. D. / incomplete_metadata

Ph.D. / This study investigated the nature of collaboration between three institutions: the school, NGO and community (local leaders and members) in enabling sustainable development in regard to the creation of livelihoods and conservation. Two school-based environmental education programmes in South Africa and Tanzania were used to investigate the nature and issues of collaboration involving the tripartite institutions. Adopting pragmatic and critical paradigms, a mixed model approach formed the framework within which the study was conducted. A mixed model emphasising qualitative methods was appropriate and proved useful enabling insightful investigations. The study found that the nature of collaboration between the tripartite institutions was superfluous. Inspired by their traditional roles and modernistic competitive practices, most institutions preferred independent or singularist approaches and weaker inter-relationships to openness and closer working partnerships for survival. The resultant deliberate negation of developing local capacities promoted the traditional independent relational status quo, which assured little or no innovative approaches to conservation and livelihood creation. The isolated and independent institutional activity implementation approaches led to institutions copying each other as opposed to learning from each other innovatively as enunciated in communities of practice. The position thus contributed in stifling the efforts that could drive sustainable development activities in local communities through the institutions. It also impeded the development of familiarity between, and among the institutions further discouraging meaningful collaboration. Local institutions thus isolated themselves from each other making themselves vulnerable to external forces that further derailed their efforts to contribute towards education, conservation and the creation of livelihoods in local contexts. It is recommended that NGOs involved in education and environmental activities, and the government departments of education in particular assist educators to establish forums and nurture them to attain functional capacities. This is one way of encouraging continuous professional development and growth. Learners must be exposed to as many active learning opportunities as possible, which include activities in the community as part of their formal education requirements and assessment for their final grades. Furthermore, more innovative approaches are required in introducing curriculum changes to educators and involving them to co-interpret such changes with the developers to fit respective contexts and to meaningfully contribute in implementing the envisaged changes. NGOs should invest material and financial resources in school and community programmes during implementation to illuminate deeper socio-economic, cultural and political community issues that influence community development and well-being as a core activity. Indeed conventional education and community development programmes should be integrated in design, budgets, and capacity-building objectives and implementation plans to effectively demonstrate natural community or societal systemic functions essential for nurturing sustainable communities. In conclusion, it is recommended that a critical review of such knowledge claims as "poverty causes environmental degradation" and some of the models that are popularly used in most environmental education activities which relate to human-nature interactions be exposed to learners and community development workers as a way of enabling them to engage with such knowledge claims and realities. The continuing reliance on such false science does not promote a practical understanding, practice, or foster self-sustaining communities for the current generation and posterity.

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 research was undertaken in the context of socio-economic transformation in South Africa, and more specifically, in the context of change in education policy. To support socio-economic transformation in South Africa after the first democratic elections in 1994, a competence-based National Qualifications Framework (NQF) was introduced in 1995. In responding to the particular socio-historical context of South Africa, the South African NQF is underpinned by the notion of applied competence, integrating practical, foundational and reflexive competence, which is the key and distinguishing feature of this competence-based framework. In this context of transformation, the research was aimed at an in-depth exploration of the notion of reflexivity and reflexive competence, and course processes that enable its development, with a view to providing curriculum development insights for learning programme development in the competence-based NQF, more broadly, and environmental education professional development programmes, more specifically. To enable these aims, the research was undertaken in the context of the Rhodes University / Gold Fields Participatory Course in Environmental Education (RU/GF course), as a case example of a professional development course that aims to develop critically reflexive practitioners. Within an interpretivist orientation, a multiple-embedded case study approach was used to gain insight into the relationship between course processes, reflexivity and the development of reflexive competence to clarify and provide a critical perspective on how competence develops in the context of the course. Data was collected over a period of one year using observation, interviewing and document analysis as the primary data collection techniques. Data was analysed through various phases and layers to inform data generation and the synthesising of data for further interpretation. Through the literature review undertaken within the study, various significant insights emerged around the notion of reflexivity and reflexive competence. Firstly, there appears to be a need to distinguish between reflexivity as social processes of change (social actions and interactions within social systems, structures and processes) and reflexive competence (a range of integrative elements of competence) that provides the evidence of an engagement within social processes of change. The second key insight emerging is the significance of social structure in shaping participation in reflexive processes, thus emphasising the duality of structure as both the medium for, and outcome of reflexive social actions and interactions and so challenges the deterministic conception of social structure. Further, the significance of an epistemologically framed notion of reflexivity and reflexive competence emerged, in the context of responding to the complex and uncertain quality of socio-ecological risks and in supporting change in context. Reflexivity, distinguished from processes of critical reflection, foregrounds a critical exploration of both knowledge and unawareness. As such a reinterpretation of reflexive competence is offered as a process of potential challenge to dominant and reigning forms of reasoning (knowledge frameworks) and consequent principles of ordering. Through this reframing of reflexive competence, the potential exists to destabilise dominant forms of reasoning and principles of ordering to create a broader scope of possibilities for action and change in context. This reframing of reflexive competence in the context of transformation in South Africa has critical implications for engaging within processes of learning programme design in the NQF to support an engagement within reflexive processes of change and the development of a range of integrative elements of reflexive competence. In this light, the study attempts to make the following contribution to curriculum deliberations within the context of environmental education and the NQF in relation to reflexivity, reflexive competence and change: ♦ Reflexivity is conceptualised as social processes of change with reflexive competence providing evidence of engagement within these social processes of change; ♦ An epistemologically framed conception of reflexivity and reflexive competence recognises how rules of reason and the ordering of the ‘reasonable’ person come to shape social life; and so ♦ Change is conceptualised as ruptures and breaks in dominant knowledge frames and the power relations embedded in these; ♦ Unawareness emerges as a key dimension within reflexive environmental education processes in responding to the unpredictable and uncertain nature of risks; ♦ An epistemological framing of reflexivity and reflexive competence highlights the need to develop open processes of learning to support the critical exploration of knowledge and unawareness; and ♦ Within this framing of reflexivity and reflexive competence, the difficulty emerges in specifically predefining reflexive competence to inform standard setting processes within a context of intended change. In framing data within this emerging conception of reflexivity and reflexive competence, a review of course processes highlighted potential areas for reorienting the RU/GF course to support change in context, for which I make specific recommendations. Drawing on the review of course processes in the RU/GF course, and in light of the reframing of reflexivity and reflexive competence, I further offer summative discussions as ‘possible implications’ for learning programme design in the South African competence-based NQF, broadly and environmental education professional development programmes in this framework, more specifically.

While existing literature shows a considerable increase in the numbers of women in academia research on the experiences of women in universities has noted their continued occupation of lower status academic positions in relation to their male counterparts. As the ladder gets higher, the number of women seems to drop. These studies indicate the marginalization of women in academic settings, highlighting the various forms of subtle and overt discrimination and exclusion women face in academic work environments. In this study I ask how academic women in South Africa narrate their experience of being ‘outside in’ the teaching machine. It has been argued that intertwined sexist, patriarchal and phallocentric knowledges and practices in academic institutions produce various forms of discrimination, inequality, oppression and marginalization. Academic women report feeling invisible and retreating to the margins so as to avoid victimization and discrimination. Others have pointed to the tension between the ‘tenure clock’ and the ‘biological clock’ as a source of anxiety among academic women. Where a masculinised presentation of the self is adopted as a solution to this dilemma, the devaluation of the feminine in the academic space is confirmed. However, experiences of academic women are not identical. In the context of studies showing the importance of existing personal and social resources, prior experience and having mentors and role models in the negotiation of inequality and discrimination, I document the narratives of women academics who are the first in their families to graduate with a university degree. These first-generation academic women are therefore least likely to have access to social and cultural resources and prior experiences that can render the academic space more hospitable for the marginalised. Employing Spivak’s deconstruction of the concept of marginalisation as my primary interpretive lens, I explore the way in which, in their narratives, first-generation academic women negotiate marginality. These narratives depict a marginality that might be described, following Spivak, as ‘outside/in’, that is, as complex and involving moments of accommodation and resistance, losses and gains, pain and pride.

Problem solving at the crossroads between chemistry and mathematics presents significant challenges for students at all levels of education. This licentiate thesis aims to enhance our understanding of such problem solving, with a focus on how university students approach problems in the context of chemical kinetics. The thesis is based on two papers. The video data analysed in these papers were collected from problem-solving sessions where second-year chemistry students worked in pairs to solve tasks centred around a key concept in chemical kinetics. The first paper aimed to develop a framework suitable for analysing problem solving at the interface of chemistry and mathematics. Deductive and inductive analysis of the collected video data resulted in the extended mathematical modelling cycle (MMC). This empirically derived framework offers a fine-grained picture of the processes and resources at play during problem solving in chemical kinetics, suggesting that students: (1) engage in a range of (sub)processes beyond those typically outlined in the classical MMC; and (2) employ extra-mathematical resources (EMRs) in all stages of the MMC. The EMRs can be divided into chemical and other resources. While chemical resources are essential in translating chemical information into mathematical relationships, they also play a crucial role during mathematical work, offering guidance to the mathematical operations. The purpose of the second paper was to further characterise the nature and roles of other resources. Findings suggest that other resources can be divided into: implicit models of results, explicit examples from experience, and superficial procedural resources. Analysing their roles in problem solving revealed that implicit models primarily influence students’ ideas of where they are going, while explicit examples and superficial procedural resources provide a basis of strategies for how to get there.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Physics / Nobel S. Rebello / Conventional wisdom has long advised that students’ learning is best supported by interaction with physical manipulative. Thus, in the physics laboratory, students typically spend their time conducting experiments with physical equipment. However, computer simulations offer a tempting alternative to traditional physical experiments. In a virtual experiment, using a computer simulation, students can gather data quickly, and measurement errors and frictional effects can be explicitly controlled. This research investigates the relative support for students’ learning offered by physical and virtual experimentation in the context of simple machines. Specifically, I have investigated students’ learning as supported by experimentation with physical and virtual manipulative from three different angles-- what do students learn, how do students learn, and what do students think about their learning. The results indicate that the virtual manipulative better supported students’ understanding of work and potential energy than the physical manipulative did. Specifically, in responding to data analysis questions, students who used the virtual manipulative before the physical manipulative were more likely to describe work as constant across different lengths of frictionless inclined planes (or pulley systems) and were more likely to adequately compare work and potential energy, whereas students who used the physical manipulative first were more likely to talk about work and potential energy separately. On the other hand, no strong support was found to indicate that the physical manipulative better supported students’ understanding of a specific concept. In addition, students’ responses to the survey questions indicate that students tend to value data from a computer simulation more than from a physical experiment. The interview analysis indicates that the virtual environment better supported the students to create new ideas than the physical environment did. These results suggest that the traditional wisdom that students learn best from physical experiments is not necessarily true. Thus, researchers should continue to investigate how to best interweave students’ experiences with physical and virtual manipulatives. In addition, it may be useful for curriculum designers and instructors to spend more of their efforts designing learning experiences that make use of virtual manipulatives.

This dissertation presents a phenomenographic case study of a senior physics professor during and beyond an extended collaboration with a science education professor from a College of Education. The context for the collaboration is the co-teaching of a physics course for graduate students in a Masters of Teaching program at a research university in the southeastern US. The course was focused on physics content and the pedagogy of teaching for conceptual change. The purpose of this study is to investigate from a physics professor’s perspective the progression of his conceptions and practices regarding teaching for conceptual change over the duration of the collaboration and beyond. Prior research indicates that such change is a difficult and complex process requiring a transformative, personal experience. Collaboration between science departments and Colleges of Education has been identified as a key opportunity for transformative experiences, but research on the resulting changes is limited. Questions addressed by this study include (a) what is the evidence of change in a physics professor’s conceptions of teaching for conceptual change, (b) what is the evidence of change in a physics professor’s practices of teaching for conceptual change, (c) what are the learning environment characteristics identified by the physics professor that either facilitated or hindered changes in his conceptions and/or practices in teaching for conceptual change. The primary data were interviews with the physics professor integrated with direct classroom observations. Emergent categories of how the physics professor conceived and practiced teaching for conceptual change showed a progression over time toward a more expert view on teaching for conceptual change. Key factors identified in the physics professor’s progression are: 1) his motivation to become a more effective teacher, 2) the expertise of the science education professor, and 3) the way the collaboration developed. Limiting factors identified include: 1) time pressure for content coverage, 2) difficulty in translating change to other contexts, and 3) unsupportive external environments.

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