Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / The present study is about stakeholder participation in Early Childhood Development in Polokwane Circuit, Limpopo Province. The main aim of the study was to investigate poor stakeholder participation in ECD programme. The objectives were to evaluate the extent of stakeholders participation in ECD programmers, to assess the attitude of stakeholders towards ECD programmes, and to determine the impact of lack of resources on ECD projects and to suggest probable solutions to problems facing ECD programmes. Structured interview questionnaires and literature were used to collect data. The study concluded that some stakeholders namely parents and educators fully participate in ECD programmes while officials in the Department of Education are not fully participative.

Thesis (M.Ed. (Adult Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2011 / Refer to document

Thesis (D. Min.)--Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1988. / Abstract. Bibliography: leaves 130-133.

M. Tech. Education / Since 1994, the field of education in South Africa has been facing a huge number of challenges. Curriculums and matters associated with curriculums in South Africa did unfortunately not escape these challenges. The current state of affairs is that South African educators do not play any part in curriculum development and are in no way involved in it. It seems that curriculums developed somewhere by government officials, or so-called curriculum specialists, and that those curriculums are then handed over to the educators for implementation. The above situation is a cause of concern for educator, who despite being regarded as the most important stakeholders in education; ironically have no say in the curriculums they have to implement. The current top down approach in curriculum development is detrimental to education in this country, since educators cannot adjust something they were not part of. Educators, business people and parents should be afforded opportunities to become partners in the process of curriculum development by letting their voices be heard before the actual implementation of any curriculum development. It is therefore imperative that educators should be given opportunities and platforms to give their inputs and to play an active role in all curriculum matters. Educators are the principal role-players in addressing educational challenges. The process has not yet stabilised and therefore it is so important that there should be dialogue about what is expected of educators when it is suggested that they should be involved in curriculum development. The main purpose of this study was to investigate and explain the possible links between curriculum development and the involvement of educators.

M. Tech. Education / The Department of Basic Education is extremely dedicated to developing its human resource's performance, to bring their practices to excellence for the benefit of the whole education system in South Africa. However, a closer scrutiny at the Department of Education reveals chronic ailments of lack of competency among teachers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Integrated Quality Management System on quality academic achievement and human relations in primary schools located in Ladysmith. The aim was to make a contribution to the policy makers in the department of education, for the betterment of the quality management system and the achievement of its objective which is quality education.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Education) / Investigates the challenges faced by colleges of further education and training in merging the previously segregrated colleges.

This study is conceptualized within the broad context of a national education system struggling to produce within learners either the academic outcomes required for economically productive adulthood or the social and moral outcomes required for active and responsible citizenship. Feeling a sense-of-belonging is a basic human need and crucial for successful communal living as it fosters solidarity. A complicating factor is the notion that diversity negatively affects solidarity. As the only remaining compulsory social institution, schools provide the ideal location for instilling the values required for solidarity. Additionally, since education occurs in a social setting, a sense-of-belonging facilitates the environments required for effective learning. The study adopts the position that both social (relationships) and non-social (structures and resources) components of the “school climate” (a term used to denote the whole-school context) affect the development of a sense-of-belonging in learners. The questions are posed: which aspects of school climate show the greatest effect on sense-of-belonging? What are the effects of diversity and minority group status? Adopting a structural model developed by Cemalcilar (2010), a quantitative methodology is used to measure various aspects of learners’ experiences in terms of their levels of subjective satisfaction and identifies the effects of the aspects on sense-of-belonging. Further, the relationships are examined in relation to the effects of components of the concept of diversity. Brofenbrenner’s ecological theory of human development (1979) and various normative functionalist theories of social control, primarily those of Hirschi (1969), are applied to explain variations in satisfaction and sense-of-belonging. Regression analysis indicates that the strongest determinants on learners’ satisfaction with the school climate are the relationships with peers and teachers, and the quality of the campus and resources. The need for emotional bonds characterised by trust and respect emerges as vital. An unexpected result is that social and structural satisfaction as conceptualized in the model do not significantly account for variations in sense-of-belonging. The learners do, however, report relatively high levels of sense-of-belonging, so alternate sources of the sensation not directly measured by the model are presented as possible explanations (e.g. extra-murals and gangs). The results do not support the hypothesis that diversity negatively affects sense-of-belonging and few significant effects were found for belonging to a minority group. Concluding remarks highlight the need for government to continue the improvement of the structural conditions of our schools and the greater need for an emphasis on respect - Ubuntu - in the hidden and visible curricula to foster improvements in both academic and civil outcomes. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011

This research was an evaluation of Westerhoff's model of catechesis in order to determine whether a new model of religious education relevant to the present context in South Africa may be developed from his views on catechesis. The research also highlighted key contributions from other writers with regard to Westerhoff's work on catechesis.

In this study, I conduct a genealogical analysis of intersubjective assessment practices. With the help of Foucault (1926-1984) as well as other writers who provide genealogical insights, I set out to examine the effects of productive power within the realm of intersubjective assessment practice. My key concern, guided by Foucault, was to investigate the forms of power, trace its pathways and explore the discourses involved. The study was carried out in a high school located within a city suburb. The key participants were three teachers within the learning areas of Maths, Languages (English Home Language) and Arts and Culture and their respective learners. Data was reduced from video transcripts, observations, and documents. Taking on the genealogical role of “specific intellectual” (Foucault, 1984), I attempted to “disturb” the truth of intersubjective assessment by standing up against the current of new ideas in assessment. I aimed to challenge the things that came across as natural or unquestionable about intersubjective assessment. As part of this project, I tell two stories. In the first, I show through a look into the limitations of the past “objective” view of assessment, how the present “intersubjective” view has been conceptualised. I portray this move from the “objective” to the “intersubjective” view as a story of victory- which I go on to challenge through genealogical analysis. In the other story, I provide a perspective of actual practices of intersubjective assessment. My aim is to show that both stories are tied up in power, substantiating this study’s decision to explore the phenomenon of intersubjective assessment via a genealogical approach. This genealogical analysis revealed a complexity of struggles on the part of teachers and learners in their intersubjective assessment practices. The sense was conveyed that the actual complexity of intersubjective assessment is back-grounded in the many petty and detailed practices in and around it. Some of these include, the conflicting subjectivities on ii the part of both teachers and learners; the impact of the school’s order mark system on intersubjective assessment; the impact of oppositional discourses in existence beneath the surface of schooling life; the panoptic hold those in power have over individual bodies, and the extent to which normalizing practices, both from sources external and internal to the school, impact on intersubjective assessment practices. A pervasive discourse revealed by the analysis was that of “composed performances” of intersubjective assessment. The study found that overt and covert forms of Accountability within the context of the study constructed teachers and learners as compliant subjects rather than autonomous and critically questioning individuals. This study demonstrates that Foucault’s (1926-1984) theories, methods and the model constructed for this study are respectively relevant, valuable and effective when investigating power in intersubjective assessment. Foucault’s suggestions for genealogical inquiry have enabled a perspective of “different things” that exist within the notion of intersubjective assessment. It has revealed points of “fragility”, possibilities for resistance and openings for change within the practice of intersubjective assessment. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

Amid the dearth of implementation of South Africa’s post-apartheid Language-in-education policy which encourages multilingualism and recognizes the value of instruction in the home language of learners, internal change agents initiating language change in their schools were identified in a Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) project on multilingual education. With limited policy support these change agents had sought ways of transforming language policy and practices at their schools to address the linguistic diversity of their learners. The initiative taken by these change agents to transform language policy and practice in their schools was the point of departure for the study. While the HSRC project focused broadly on the factors enabling and disabling multilingual education with a view to exploring strategies to encourage greater implementation of multilingual education, the study interrogated the work of the change agents with particular focus on the sustainability of their language change initiatives. The change agents were two school principals, a Level 1 educator (classroom practitioner) and a School Governing Body chairperson, operating in four public primary schools (one in each school) in KwaZulu-Natal. The experiences of sustaining school language change of these change agents were interrogated to elicit how and why they were able to sustain or not sustain the school language change that they had initiated in their schools. The insights drawn from this interrogation were used to deepen understanding of the process of school language change that encourages multilingual education. The data used in this study was gathered from in-depth interviews with the change agents and significant others (educators/school managers) in their schools, documentation (school language policies and notices to parents) and a Focus Group Discussion in which the change agents engaged in reflecting on their experiences of driving school language change and commenting on the process of sustaining school language change. The findings from the study revealed that all but two of the change agents were marginally successful in sustaining language change in their schools. The study revealed that school language change was a complex process involving the interplay of various factors and the existence of such factors enabled but did not guarantee the sustainability of school language change. The non-existence of some or any of the factors necessary for school language change thwarted the attempts of the change agents to sustain language change in their schools. Using the experiences of each of the change agents and the collective experience of all four change agents contextualized in qualitatively-oriented case study research and using features of grounded theory research to develop theory from case studies, the study developed a theoretical framework explicating the process of school language change led by internal agents of language change. It is suggested that the framework which seeks to deepen understanding of the complexities of the school language change process can be used as a guide to planning language change but cautions against using it as a blue print for school language change. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.