Die ondersoek handel oor onderwysaangeleenthede in die vier Karoo-distrikte Aberdeen, Graaff-Reinet, (wat Adendorp insluit), Jansenville-Klipplaat en Murraysburg. Die ondersoek wil ten aanvang wys op n verskynsel waaroor Morton hom soos volg uitlaat: "There is an inevitable time-lag between the evolution of an educational system and the society and the culture that it serves, and from which it stems". Chapter 1, p. 1.

The thesis illustrates the contention that an outcomes-based system with its underlying philosophy of social constructivism cannot operate effectively within a traditional school system. Restructuring of an institution is necessary to accommodate the outcomes-based system. Using the research instruments of interviews, questionnaires, journals, participant observations and collection of physical artefacts, two case studies investigating systemic factors as they influence science learning were conducted in two South African schools. The one school, St Sebastian's College, was an extremely well resourced school while the other, Mtunzini High School was a middle class school in comparatively deprived circumstances. Attempts were made to introduce an outcomes-based education course involving a group of grade 8 learners in the respective schools. Difficulties in implementation were encountered and at best only very limited success was achieved. There were two reasons for this. First, particularly in the case of St Sebastian's College, I designed a course which was over ambitious in that it was not suited to the developmental stage of the learners. Second, traditional schooling systems follow a perspective of education termed 'the structure of the disciplines' which fosters a system of rigid time tabling, compartmentalisation of subjects and emphasis upon summative assessment. In contrast, the curricula I designed involved a 'cognitive' perspective which required flexible time scheduling, integration of subjects and developmental assessment. The conflicts which arose include time constraints and resistant attitudes on the part of learners and teachers. The thesis culminates with some suggested steps to follow should a school community wish to restructure. These include a shared vision, employing organised abandonment, capacity building and commitment to a systemic perspective.

This research investigates cases of learning pathways for improving rehabilitation practices for key occupations in the mining industry. The study is set up as a partnership research programme between Rhodes University Environmental Learning Research Centre in South Africa, and the South African Qualification Authority, focussing on workplace learning and sustainability practices. This research programme seeks to understand the implications of the move to a knowledge society, with its emphasis on knowledge building over time, particularly in and for the environmental sector. The research was conducted as a qualitative case study that made use of semi-structured interviews, document analysis, visual photographs and observations as instruments of data gathering. Participants were sampled from two case studies, one in Limpopo province and the other one in Mpumalanga Province, who are directly involved in rehabilitation practices and related education and training programmes. The study makes use of career stories from the key occupations to provide insight into workplace learning pathways to inform education and training in the mining industry. A series of analytical statements captures some of the main findings on early education histories, career choices, learning pathway decisions and experiences related to sustainable practices and some complexities related to learning pathways. Environment and sustainability education is a cross-cutting issue in the NQF; and it pertains to the mining sector, especially to rehabilitation practices, which form the focus of this study as little is known about learning pathways associated with these sustainability practices. Insights from the study should enable the sector to enhance rehabilitation training for key occupations and at the same time encourage lifelong learning contributing towards sustainable development.

This study investigated the access to learner support services by Unisa‟s ABET students in the Department of Adult Education in one of the rural provinces in South Africa. Specifically, a survey using questionnaire and focus group interview was carried out to determine the access gaps in to the learner support services by Unisa‟s adult students. A literature study preceded the empirical study to fully comprehend the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of the role of learner support in bridging the transactional distance between students on the one hand and the institution on the other hand. In the empirical study phase, a questionnaire was administered to 150 ABET Students in one province in South Africa through the stratified sampling technique and one focus group interview comprising 10 students who access support services at one of the regional offices to assess the importance they attach to the support services that are offered at the regional centres and the extent to which they are able to access them. The focus group interview comprised questions on the students‟ understanding of learner support services and their experiences in accessing them. Moore‟s theory of transactional distance was used as the theoretical base for the study. Out of a total of the 150 questionnaires that were distributed, 117 were the usable representing 78.0% response rate. One of the conclusions drawn from this study is that, although Unisa has most of the learner support services in place but for various reasons, a lot of the students are not able to access the support services as expected as the needs gap for almost all the support services were high. The chi-square tests found significant differences (p is less than 0.05) between the students on the extent to which they are able to access the support services. An integrated learner support framework was suggested for Unisa and other distance providing institutions to address the access gaps adult students‟ encounter in their studies.

M.Ed. / The world is currently in the grip of educational dilemmas of massive proportions. As a result of these various educational reform initiatives have been launched all seeking to remedy the ills in international public school systems. One of the reforms of this century is the establishment of evangelically Christian private schools. The research eminates from the confusion which is prevalent in South Africa with regards to what "Christian" education really is. White public schools are legislated to provide so-called "Christian" education; whilst evangelically Christian private schools claim they provide truly Christian education. There exists a need to distinguish between these two types of educational provision. This can only be done successfully, if the nature of each is scrutinised: it should provide the clue as to the reason why evangelically Christian private schools have increased with such urgency over the past few years. The primary purpose of this research is to discuss education from both a biblical and state perspective. In doing this the factors 'determining the founding of evangelically Christian private schools will be determined. Three fundamental structural elements of a Christian educational philosophy have been isolated into a model: these are the metaphysical, axiological and epistemological perspectives. The metaphysical foundation demands that education in order to be truly Christian, must be Christ-centred, evangelical and meta-cultural.

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / The purpose of this study is to determine whether affective considerations have a claim on inclusion in the curriculum and, if so, how these claims may be accommodated. The target group is the adolescents in their secondary school phase. Current research has indicated beyond doubt that curriculum planning can no longer be restricted to the cognitive domain. Feelings and emotions are involved in every learning experience and hamper or enhance cognitive development. Therefore the teacher's responsibility should be extended to include the education of feeling and emotion as well. The study proposes an approach based on sound educational principles and scientifically acquired data. The point of departure is the widely accepted principles and criteria for curriculum design. The relatively new communicative curriculum provides a useful framework, but it has innate weaknesses. Only if care is taken to counter the possible effects of such weaknesses, will the new sillabi have a chance of success. Affective aims should, however, not oust cognitive aims. Intellectual development is the primary goal of the school curriculum. A continuous stream of interaction flows between the affective and the cognitive fields. On all levels of curriculum design the approach should be to take the development patterns of the adolescents as the vantage points, formulate aims to accommodate affective development and only then to choose the relevant cognitive aims. Such an approach will hopefully lead to the achievement of a more balanced education for the volatile adolescent.

M.Ed. (Education Management) / The White paper 6 advocates the introduction of inclusive education in all public schools in South Africa, where all learners irrespective of their abilities, would have to be taught together.That leaves educators with the biggest challenges. Among others, the educators must change their method of teaching in order to be able to deal with multi-lingual and multi-cultural classrooms. Moreover, educators are expected to change their attitudes and perception on learners with special educational needs. In addition, they should be reskilled to serve as managers, counsellors and consultants. However, in South Africa there is no single model that could be used to address all the challenges left by the legacy of apartheid in public primary schools. The purpose of this study is to contribute and add to the existing body of knowledge on the challenges facing educators in implementing inclusive education. In order to accomplish this aim, the main endeavour is to reveal the biggest challenges facing educators in implementing inclusive education in public primary schools and to highlight the implications of inclusive education in schools. The researcher used the critical qualitative action research approach to probe eight educators and school principals regarding their training, whether they have the necessary skills to deal with the implementation of inclusive education in their mainstream schools and probing them about effective models of inclusion that are applicable to their schools. The research sample was randomly selected from two public primary schools in Gauteng Province in District 011. Interviews, classroom observation and closed questionnaires were used as instruments of obtaining relevant data. In this study, interaction schedules, coupled with other data processes such as inductive analysis and verifications were used to analyze data. Data collected was catergorise into themes and comparisons were made on patterns that appeared and reappeared during this study. The research study revealed that, there is a need for a change or shift from traditional practice to new paradigms where teachers as reflective practitioners, are expected to take a closure, critical look at their way of teaching, as dictated by the new curriculum. Furthermore, the study revealed that there is a need for a shift from a medical model to a understanding system located within an understanding of barriers to learning. Secondly, perceptions of educators on learners with barriers should change. Furthermore, there is a need of giving learners extra support so that they can fit or be integrated into the mainstream classrooms. Moreover, assessment should cater for diverse needs of all learners and very crucial, there should be a shift from pedagogy of exclusion to a pedagogy of possibilities that takes into consideration barriers to learning, different intelligences and learning styles. In order for the implementation of inclusive education to take place smoothly in public primary schools, the researcher recommended that: schools should develop effective partnership with parents, organizations and other community stakeholders. The Department of education in conjunction with schools should embark on an advocacy campaign. Furthermore, the Department of education should strengthen the site-based support teams (SBST) and ensure that educators receive quality training in inclusive education for human resource development and lastly, the Department should ensure that special schools are strengthened as resource centres.

M.Ed. (Linguistics and Literary Science) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The study of music has long been seen as élitist in South African education, a ‘talent’ subject rather than an academic one. The country’s political history has played a significant role in this perception. Under the apartheid government, education in the arts was considered appropriate only for gifted, mostly white, students and a grossly inequitable distribution of resources placed the study of music beyond the reach of most students. The ANC government has declared educational reform a priority, but faces enormous challenges in redressing inequities of the past. This study examines the relevance and academic rigour of music curricula past and present, in the light of political influences; and the challenges that face schools and education departments in sustaining growth and development of music as an academic subject, accessible to all at senior secondary school level. / Music / M. Mus.

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