M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Science Education) / The nature of science (NOS) remains a problematic construct, which many science teachers do not address in their science teaching. This is owing to an uninformed understanding of the NOS by teachers, who therefore do not include NOS aspects in their science teaching. It is, however, imperative to introduce learners in the Intermediate Phase to NOS elements because it is during this phase that they formally learn science Although there is no specific definition of the NOS, there are guidelines in the framework provided by Chiappetta, Fillman and Sethna on the NOS elements that should be included in science textbooks. The NOS framework for science textbook analysis comprises four themes: Science as a body of knowledge, Science as a way of investigating, Science as a way of thinking and the Interaction among Science, Technology and Society. My study focuses on the analysis of workbooks in the Intermediate Phase Natural Sciences and Technology that were distributed by the South African Department of Basic Education during 2013. These workbooks were distributed as part of the implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) in the Intermediate Phase. The workbooks are a combination of textbook and writing book. These workbooks contain ample information about science concept knowledge and colourful illustrations of real life science phenomena. The NOS units of analysis as stipulated in the NOS framework by Chiappetta et al., were identified for the content analysis of science textbooks, in this case science workbooks. As part of the process of content analysis, a qualified science teacher and I analysed the identified pages in each of the six workbooks from Grades 4 to 6. The overall agreement of codes indicated that the NOS themes are substantially covered in the Natural Sciences workbooks, especially the theme Science as a way of investigating and Science as a body of knowledge. The NOS theme Science as a way of thinking receives more coverage than the NOS theme Interaction among Science, Technology and Society. The latter theme was poorly covered in the identified pages of analysis from the six different workbooks. It is suggested that future writing of science textbooks, especially in the Intermediate Phase, should cover all four NOS themes equally. This could assist Intermediate Phase learners in gaining an informed understanding of the nature of science in order to make educated decisions in the scientific enterprise as adults.

M.Ed. (Education) / This study is an analysis of Grade 9 Natural Sciences textbooks for their representation of the nature of science. The textbooks analysed are CAPS compliant and approved by the Department of Basic Education. Like any other modern education system in a democratic dispensation, the South African education system has undergone several curricular changes post- independence (1994). These changes have been due to, but not limited by, factors pertaining to political and economic reforms. Curricular revisions have spanned a period of almost 20 years, commencing with Curriculum 2005 (C2005) to the current revised Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS). Science curriculum documents subscribe to the tenets of the nature of science (Lederman, 2007). Bell (2008) suggests that science is best defined by its characteristics, otherwise known as the tenets of NOS. Eleven key aspects of NOS that are intricately related to the basic tenets of science derived by Lederman (2007) form the analytical framework used in this study. The aspects are: Empirical; Inferential; Creative; Theory-driven; Tentative; Myth of the scientific method; Scientific theories; Scientific laws; Social dimensions of science; Social and cultural embeddedness of science and Science vs. pseudoscience. These aspects further formed a detailed scoring rubric to record the extent to which NOS is represented in the units of analysis, which comprise complete paragraphs, activities, worked examples, figures with captions, tables with captions, charts with captions, and marginal comments of the sampled topics ...

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / The provision and management of education for Blacks in South Africa is currently a complicated and problematic matter. Of all the challenges which face the Department of Education and Training, it seems the demographic factors create the most problems and offer the greatest challenge. The number of pupils handled by the Department necessitates that the Department reorganise its management system so that a more effective service can be offered. It is especially difficult to plan an action at Head Office and execute it in an isolated location in another province. Service and planning should be closer functionally and thus serious attention should be paid to the decentralisation of as many sections of the Department as possible. Educational Auxiliary Services is a service which represents an integral part of the educational system. It was established to render assistance to educationalists, parents, teachers and others involved on a differentiated and coordinated basis. Since it is impossible for the five specialists of Educational Auxiliary Services at Head Office to be physically present in every region in need of assistance, it is important that serious thought be given to decentralisation of the Service, so that specialist personnel for each component is available in the regions. In the overseas countries decentralisation and centralisation in education is also being considered. The conclusion is, however, that such structural changes in the educational system cannot be separated from a country's political system as it is manifested in the Central Government...

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / Various observations by the researcher aroused an interest to investigate the position of Religious Education on Black Senior Secondary level. This study may in part be seen as a model as to why this subject has been introduced in Black Secondary schools. This study is also designed to enquire as to why the subject is taken as an examination subject in some schools and not in others.

M.A. (Counselling Psychology) / The aim of this study was to evaluate qualitatively career information as presented at the Careers 2000 exhibition held at NASREC, Johannesburg from 28 April to 6 May 1992. The major reason for doing the research was the lack of data collected in this area, with only one previous project covering such exhibitions in this country. Both qualitative and quantitative data regarding the career information exhibition was collected from 48 pupils and 33 exhibitors. The group of pupils was divided into English, Afrikaans and Black home language groups, with pupils being selected for each group irrespective of race or creed ...

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Faculty of Humanities Department of Psychology Date: 29 May 2017 / The transition to higher education is a complex period for most youth that challenges them to constantly negotiate their identities. In the university campus, students interact and socialize with students from diverse cultural backgrounds and they are confronted with reflecting on their existing attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviours. The current study aims to understand how different cultural values and beliefs may influence the personal identity of students in a multicultural university. This study employed a qualitative research approach. The study employed an interpretive research design which entailed conducting semi-structured, individual interviews to collect data. The participants were 6 second year students enrolled in the Humanities faculty, who were purposely selected at the University of the Witwatersrand. Thematic analysis was employed in analysing the data. The specific thematic analysis method employed was interpretative phenomenological analysis, in which the focus was on understanding how students make sense of the experience regarding being in contact with other students from diverse backgrounds. The findings of the study show that students identify with different social structures, thus maintaining multiple identities in diverse setting of the university. These identities are found to be dominant in contexts in which they are established. The findings show that students maintain a positive self-concept, which is contributory to how they adjust and find belonging in the university environment. Belonging was found to occur within the student cultures inherent in the university setting, such as leisure activities, religious involvement, and other activities of entertainment on campus. Religion emerged as the dominant influence on the personal identity of the majority of the participants; however, other students highlighted other social structures as contributory factors as compared to religion. Parental involvement and childhood experiences continue to influence students' negotiation of a personal identity in the university campus. In conclusion, based on the findings of the study, it is clear that students embrace the diversity within the university campus, while maintaining connections with identities that existed prior their time spent in university. This is a clear demonstration of the continuity in identity formation and belonging in the social setting of Higher Education. / MT2018