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The broad goal of this investigation was to examine the effectiveness of the practical components in teacher education courses. In order to achieve this goal, it was necessary to find possible solutions to the major problem around which inquiries of this nature tend to revolve, viz. What would be the features of a relevant, practical, democratically - designed curriculum for Teaching Practice? To reduce the complexity of the problem, it seemed realistic to link the research to a particular case. Consequently, an in-depth analysis was made of the Teaching Practice curriculum in use at the University of Durban-Westville. The research consisted of seven phases 1. A literary study of trends in Teaching Practice, Didactics, and Curriculum Development. 2. An examination of historical and current developments of the Teaching Practice course offered at the University of Durban-Westville. 3. A survey of Teaching Practice curricula currently in use at 52 teacher training institutions inside South Africa and abroad. 4. A survey of the views of 65 school authorities regarding Teaching Practice curricula. 5. A survey of the views of 170 final-year student teachers regarding Teaching Practice curricula. 6. A survey of the views of 35 lecturers involved in teacher education regarding Teaching Practice curricula. 7. The design of an effective Teaching Practice curriculum based on a fusion of the data obtained. The preliminary findings of the investigation centred upon the identification of deep conflicts that exist among various groups involved in teacher education. During the institutional survey, for instance, it was found that marked differences exist between the practical components of curricula offered at different institutions. Whereas some institutions lay heavy emphasis on the development of practical teaching skills on campus, most of them apparently concentrate only on theoretical aspects in their campus-based courses. Teaching Practice is mostly seen as that part of the course that takes place at schools. This could obviously cause serious discrepancies between what students are taught on campus and at schools. In similar vein divergent trends were identified in the expressed needs of school authorities, students, and teacher educators. Each group seems to have a different set of expectations regarding teacher education in general, and Teaching Practice in particular. These findings led to the realization that the most important characteristic of an effective Teaching Practice curriculum is that it should be based on a scientific model theory of teaching which both tutors and students should put into practice. The persistent propagation of inconsistent, contradictory theories of teaching was identified as a crippling weakness in many Teaching Practice courses. The study culminated in the presentation of a proposed Teaching Practice curriculum. This curriculum rests on the claim that it is relevant to modern trends in Didactics as well as in teacher education. The expressed views of school authorities, students, and tutors have been incorporated. It promises to have a strong theoretical foundation and seems to be rooted in real classroom practices. The proposals are accompanied by general guidelines for implementation. One might conclude, therefore, that viable solutions to the research problem have been found. And what of the future? The present crisis in education in South Africa must be considered when embarking on the development, and changing of such a curriculum. Are planners really aware of the impact that pupil unrest will be bound to have on school curricula and thus necessarily upon teacher education? I hope so. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Durban-Westville, 1985.

The education reform of the South African democratically elected government ushered in the further education and training (FET) curriculum policy guided by strategic principles and values. This study identified and analysed the principles and values guiding the FET curriculum policy in relation to the factors leading to their selection and the effect of such choices on the FET curriculum design. A tri-dimensional method of Critical Discourse Analysis as developed by Fairclough (1995) was employed and supplemented with a method of curriculum analysis as developed by Jansen and Reddy (1994) for the analysis of the principles and values. Investigation into the National Curriculum Statement for FET (General) (2003) revealed that the principles and values fall into two categories: Economic based and social-related principles, both aiming to achieve social transformation. This dissertation positions education and training curriculum design within an emancipatory praxis approach as developed by Grundy (1987), and argued that since the gain in learning principles and values is that which leads to the development and refinement of the individual, the social-related principles and values should be taught holistically as a subject. I contend that the ‘discrete’ integration and application of socialrelated principles and values in subject statements will not provide an effective way of assessing the competences of such learning. This is because ‘discrete’ means subtle and subtle is elusive – ungraspable. I therefore argue that if the leaders of tomorrow who are the learners of today are expected to project and defend the principles values that the South African society is built on, it is imperative that these learners learn them holistically. Finally, an individual is assessed by what he /she thinks says, and does and the hands are one of the vehicles that carries out the command of the head, if the hands fail to respond to the ‘will’ of the head, that ‘will’ becomes of no effect. In the light of this argument, I contend that practical work without cognitive knowledge is no knowledge just as cognitive knowledge without practical application is absolutely no knowledge. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This study had three purposes. The first purpose dealt with identifying the major role of the elementary school principal in curricular development as reported in professional literature. The second purpose was to determine if those curricular development practices reported in the literature were utilized in actual practice by selected elementary school principals on a self-reporting instrument. The third purpose determined the degree to which the principals considered the practices sound. The research design used in this study included the following procedures: (1) identifying the major role of the elementary school principal in curricular development; (2) selection of the school corporations to be studied; corporation; (4) preparation and refinement of the data gathering instrument; (5) data gathering activities; and (6) treatment of the data.School corporations with total student populations of two thousand or less were identified through The Report of Statistical Information for Indiana School Corporations, School Year 1967-68. School corporations with more than elementary school principal in a relatively small district was the prime focus of the investigation. There were 91 school corporations in the State of Indiana that had total student populations of two thousand within each corporation having the vertical organizationof K-6, 1-6, K-5, and 1-5 as identified in The Indiana School Directory. In order to assure that only elementary principals participated in the study, any elementary school that deviated from the K-6, 1-6, K-5, or 1-5 structure was excluded from the study. A printed questionnaire was sent to 169 elementary school principals in the State of Indiana. Of this number, 136 usable questionnaires were returned. This represented 80.5 per cent of the total population. Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions have been reached.Elementary school principal conferences with the faculty on ideas and suggestions of curricular areas to be studied were a common occurrence in most schools. Teachers, however, were not provided with released time to work on two thousand students were excluded because the role of the or less. The study was limited to elementary schoolsacademic curricular areas. There was little agreement among principals that released time for teachers to work on curriculum was a worthwhile practice. Elementary school principals were seldom involved in reworking courses of study or curriculum guides. Many principals questioned the soundness of the practice since it added very little to the improvement of instruction. Elementary school principals report that they are serving the needs of teachers by acting as resource persons in the classroom.There was little indication that principals were encouraging teachers to make visitations inside or outside the school in order to observe various teaching methods.Elementary school principals favored providing an educational program for the exceptional child. Conducting weekly visits to classrooms should enable principals to become better acquainted with on-going programs being developed in the classroom.Workshops are an effective means of increasing the teaching skills of teachers. It should be the principal's responsibility to provide the necessary motivation for in-service workshops.There appears to be agreement toward delegating more responsibility for the amelioration of instruction to the building principal. The principal is more likely to be effective if he is perceived as symbolizing the values and purposes of the teachers he leads.To be an effective leader, the principal must be knowledgeable about the range of leadership behavior available, the primary responsibilities of his forces influencing his actions. According to the research, the better the principal understands those factors, the more accurately he can determine appropriate leadership behavior.If teachers perceive that they are influential in the curriculum decision-making process, this will increase the likelihood of curriculum implementation. A cooperative process involving teachers should be characterized by a concerted effort by principals to solicit actively and consider seriously the opinions of classroom teachers.

The Major Problem of the StudyThe major problem of the study was to conduct a systematic evaluation to judge whether administrators, school districts or teachers have undergone or implemented change one year after participating in a curriculum evaluation project.Methods and Procedures of the StudyThe study attempts to provide an accurate description of the impact of the Evaluation Project on the professional conduct of those who participated in data collection and to collect the judgments of these professionals of the impact of the evaluation on the behavior of teachers, administrators and central office personnel. A teacher-administrator questionnaire and an interview guide were used to gather data to form the descriptive aspect of this study.ConclusionsConclusions were based on the findings of the study, on the literature and research reviewed as part of the study and on the writer's experiences in conducting the study.1. The Evaluation Project as judged by teachers, central office administrators and building administrators have led classroom teachers to use evaluation data to make changes in their instructional methods.2. In each of the participating school districts, administrators in some buildings have expressed a desire to help teachers implement change in their classrooms.3. Professionals who responded to the interviews and questionnaires reported that administrators in their respective school districts have attempted to make changes in the decision-making procedures for their buildings.4. Data collected from professionals who participated in the Evaluation Project indicate that teachers and administrators did not give examples of parents asking questions about schools.5. Professionals who responded to the interviews and questionnaires reported that central office administrators have not used the Evaluation Data to make changes in curricula in several school districts.6. In some instances there is evidence to substantiate that school boards have used Evaluation Data to make curricula changes.7. One-half of the students reported that they have had the opportunity to participate in designing learning experiences in their classrooms.8. Professionals who participated in the data collection for the Evaluation Project indicated that the process of systematic data collection has been beneficial to them.9. There is some evidence to substantiate that systematic data collection is important for educational purposes as the professionals who participated in the data collection for the Evalaution Project reported that their participation helped them to identify needs for their corporations.10. The researcher judges that the impact of the Evaluation Project was most beneficial to those professionals who participated in the collection of data for the Project. Recommendations for Further Study1. The Evaluation Project has succeeded in developing a systematic format for the collection of data. The next step might be to let other professionals who did not participate in the collection of data for the Project to have the opportunity to do so in future, Evaluation Projects.2. Presently, pupils are making decisions about learning experiences for their classroom environment. Further research needs to be done concerning pupil involvement in the learning-designing experiences that classroom teachers provide pupils.3. Develop both pre-service and in-service programs where parents can contribute to the development of a curriculum that reflects the communities' needs. Further study is essential to the. types of in-put that parents have in the decision-making alternatives offered parents in regard to the curricula of the school.4. More time should be spent on developing, communication skills among school boards, central office administrators and building principals so that a consensus might be achieved when a decision needs to be made. Further study needs to be done so that a total committment on the part of the administration and professional staff in regard to decision-making can be accomplished without mis-direction. 5. Enlarge the effort to allow for further instrumentation and data process of information to continue to give feedback to school corporations so they might be able to devise a process of data collection which would help them to resolve their needs.

The purposes of the study were to determine what perceptions, if any, were held by the state representatives of six selected special interest groups regarding the perceived influence each group has had on public school curricula and the attitudes held by the representatives regarding the selection of materials and content for public school curricula.The population contacted consisted of the 289 state level representatives of the groups; 103 representatives returned completed questionnaires. The six selected special interest groups were the NAACP, ACLU, MM, PP, LWV, and NOW.FindingsThe NAACP, ACLU, PP, LWV, and NOW reported similar attitudes regarding several topics, such as the inclusion of sex education in public school curricula, the exclusion of both scientific creationism and the concept that some values are absolute and must be obeyed, and the inclusion of the concept that parents should not decide what students read in school. The MM respondents held that sex education should be eliminated from public school curricula, scientific creationism, and the teaching of some absolute values should be included in the public school curriculum. MM respondents also held that parents should decide what the student may read in school.NAACP, PP, LWV, and NOW respondents judged that the respective organizations have brought about change in the public school curricula. The respondents for the other organizations made no claims of influence.ConclusionsDue to the population of the study, no attempt was made to generalize from the respondents to the total organizations. Generally, the respondents reported attitudes and perceptions in keeping with stated organizational policy; differences occurred in the reported degree of agreement or disagreement on various topics.

The purpose of the study was to prepare a confluent curriculum to be used in conjunction with seminars which were held during the Spring Semester of 1974 for twenty-four student teachers enrolled at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.

The Major Problem of the StudyThe major problem of the study was to determine the effects of the cooperative curriculum assessment project of the Northwest Indiana Public School Study Council as perceived by school administrators who actively participated in this project.Methods and Procedures of the StudyMethods and procedures used to determine the effects of the cooperative curriculum assessment project included the selection of school corporations and the population to be sampled, the preparation and refinement of the survey instrument as a data-collecting device, and the preparation and refinement of the structured interview guide as a data collecting device.ConclusionsConclusions were based on the findings of the study, on the literature and research reviewed as part of the study, and on the writer's experiences in conducting the study.1. A cooperative curriculum assessment has potential for the improvement of communications among the staff members, faculty members, administrative personnel, and students.2. Curriculum evaluation has potential value as a means of in-service training of school personnel for curriculum change and improvement.3. The process of curriculum assessment has potential for involvement of students and parents in curriculum development and change.4. The use of school personnel as participants in curriculum evaluation provides potential value as a means to create positive attitudes toward self-evaluation.5. The positive attitudes of participants in curriculum evaluation indicate the sincere interest of professional educators for the improvement of education for young people.6. Group training of school personnel to act as data collectors has potential as an effective method to initiate a curriculum evaluation project.7. With a limited amount of preparation, public school personnel can become effective in assessing curriculum. More thorough preparation may increase their efficiency in curriculum evaluation.8. University personnel working in cooperation with public school personnel have potential as an effective team in cooperative curriculum assessment.9. The use of teachers as data collectors allows them to acquire new ideas for their own use and also provides them with the opportunity to view objectively the problems in other educational situations.Recommendations for Further StudyRecommendations for further study were based on the findings of the study, on the literature and research reviewed as part of the study, and on the writer's experiences in conducting the study.1. All participants, rather than just the administrators, should be surveyed in regard to the impact of the project in order to obtain the perceptions of all personnel involved in the project.2. Follow-up studies should be conducted involving teachers, students, administrators, and the public concerning the results reported in the final report.3. Studies should be initiated to explore possible means of involving teachers, supervisors, and administrators with university faculty members and other resource persons for planning future curriculum assessments.4. In future curriculum assessments, efforts should be made to encourage all superintendents to include principals, supervisors, and other administrators in the project from the beginning. 5. In future curriculum assessments, efforts should be made to provide a continuous feedback system so that the project staff can study the communications of the liaison persons.

M.Ed. / This thesis follows the Grade 7-9 teachers at the three Middle schools at the Temba District of Bojanala East Region in the North West Province about their lesson planning to include an Environmental Education focus. Environmental learning principle of the NCS (R-9) has been used to trace teachers’ understanding, knowledge and skills about the “environment”, as well as to check their level of compliance with the NCS as a prescribed policy for their teaching practices. The use of the NCS as an Outcomes- Based Education and Training approach in teaching assisted me to get a clear indication of the situation that prevailed at the schools that were sampled with regard to the recontextualisation of environmental learning. The study acknowledged that the situation at schools was found to have been entrenched and influenced by the past socio-historical, socio-political, the cultural and traditional realities that have infiltrated into the curriculum approaches and hindered the existence of opportunities for best Environmental Education practices. Teachers on the ground level were found to not have sufficient knowledge of what Environmental Education is all about. It was found that they lacked the basic background information about the environment itself. They are faced with situations where classes are overcrowded, with no community involvement in school activities. Added to these challenges is the reluctance on the part of the national and local education bodies to provide teachers with the necessary support. Teachers are as a result, not coping with these appalling circumstances surrounding them and proper Environmental learning thus becomes a thing they are unable to deal with. This study recommended that teachers’ skills be harnessed for effective and progressive teaching. The Department of Education was urged to take a step to initiate a collaborative change in attitude of both the school communities and the government by providing the necessary support to teachers, as well as to allocate to schools budgets and resources to assist them to cope with the demands brought about by the new policies they are supposed to implement. The implementation of the recommendations of this thesis will bring about systematic change in attitude and behaviour, with simultaneous social change in values, as well as direct management from national and local bodies.

M.Ed. / The Technical Colleges are important links between the community and industry since it is eminently responsible for the academic training of mid-level manpower, namely artisans and apprentices. The responsibility of Technical Colleges is to make post-school education available. This post-school training is offer with a view to the practice of a career and is geared towards any school leaver, who requires practical-orientated career training. Technical Colleges offer training on a continual basis where the differentiated secondary school system ceases to prepare students to be able to practice a career, trade-or professional skill in commerce and industry. The technical college focuses on career training aimed towards the practice, which is market orientated and set towards job opportunities. With reference to the aforementioned mission of the Technical Colleges, it becomes essential that theory becomes reconciled with practice in order to apply practice-orientated career training. III This study is aimed at compiling a syllabus for Fitting and Machining Theory (N 1N3) at Technical Colleges on a scientific basis, which will comply with the demands and needs of the community and industry. The study has been carried out on the ground that a need has been established during an ATC (Association of Technical Colleges (now Committee of Technical College Principals CTCP) seminar for the curriculum development of the subject Fitting and Machining (N1-N3) at Technical Colleges. The researcher, as chairman of the CTCP sub-subject committee for Fitting and Machining (N1-N3) as well as Tool, Jig and Die Maker's Theory (N2 and N3) undertook this study with the approval and support of the CTCP under the direction of the University of Pretoria. The dissertation was eventually finalised and completed at the Rand Afrikaans University. A literary study has been undertaken in order to be able to choose a curriculum model based on the opinions of a number of curriculum experts. This should be useful in setting a direction according to which the present Fitting and Machining Theory syllabi (N1-N3) at Technical Colleges can be developed. The research includes the distribution of scientifically based questionnaire, which were sent to selected respondents, as well as with structured interviews. This was done to pinpoint the similarities between and the differences in the Fitting and Machining syllabus at Technical Colleges and the training schedules in the Metal Industries. The purpose with this information which has been computerised and processed by the Department of Information Management, Section: Research and Training Support, at the University of Pretoria is to compile well-founded syllabi for Fitting and Machining (N1-N3). It is nonetheless imperative that the curriculum development of Engineering Studies syllabi at Technical Colleges be developed on a regular basis and in co- IV operation with the industry with cognisance of technological development in order to offer career training in the real sense of the word.