MEd / Department of Education Management

Department of Curriculum Studies and Education Management. / MEd

MPH / Department of Public Health / Multiple sexual partners, unprotected sex and transactional sex are considered risky sexual behaviour worldwide and continue to pose risks of sexual transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancy as well as increased termination of pregnancy amongst young people. The reported study was aimed at describing factors associated with risky sexual behaviour amongst students at Vhembe Technical Vocational Education and Training College. Within the quantitative paradigm, the study adopted a descriptive, cross-sectional survey design to describe factors associated with risky sexual behaviour amongst students. The targeted population were all the registered students at Vhembe Technical Vocational Education and Training College, Mashamba Campus. Self-administered questionnaires with close ended questions were administered to 307 students whom were sampled using a simple random technique. Out of 307 students, 217(70.3%) were females and 90 (29.3%) were males. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23.0 was used to manage and analyse data. The study results revealed that demographic factors such as gender, age and sexual orientation contributed to students in engaging in risky sexual behaviour. A majority of the male students 64 (61.2%) were found to be having multiple sexual partners as compared to 107(54.2%) female students. Students aged 21-24 years 98(31.9%) were having multiple sexual partners. The study further revealed that sexual orientation contributes to students engaging in risky sexual behaviour. The students who reported that they were bisexual, gay or lesbian 33 (84.6%) were not using condoms. Environmental factors such as staying alone in a rental place contributed to students engaging in risky sexual behaviour. A majority 97(51.2%) of college students who were staying at a rental place were engaging in unprotected sex. In this study, socio-economic factors such as depending on National Financial Aid Scheme have been identified as the main driver of transactional sex. About 131(49%) students who depend on National Financial Aid Scheme reported were found to be prone to engaging in transactional sex. The study recommends that the Department of Health and Department of Education initiate strategies such as having a clinic inside the Technical Vocational Educational and Training College and peer educators to expand knowledge of students on risky sexual behaviour and on lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and intersex.

MEd (Curriculum Studies) / Department of Curriculum Studies / Learning Geometry has been identified as an area of Mathematics that poses various problems for many secondary school learners’. Many learners’ fail to develop an adequate understanding of geometrical concepts and to demonstrate good reasoning and problem solving skills. Poor performance of learners’ in Euclidian Geometry has been a concern to Mathematics teachers, parents and government. The purpose of this study was to enhance learners’ performance in Euclidian Geometry as a branch of Mathematics in the FET band of secondary schools. The research question was: What factors facilitate the enhancement of learners’ performance in Euclidian Geometry in the FET band of secondary schools? The study adopted the mixed methods design. The population were all the FET band learners who chose Mathematics as a field of study at secondary schools in Nzhelele East Circuit. Purposive sampling was used to select participants who contributed to qualitative data. For quantitative data, clusters and random sampling methods were used to select learners who participated in the study. The sample consisted of 6 school principals, 6 heads of departments and 6 teachers. These groups of people participated in the interviews. Nine schools were sampled from the population and questionnaires were administered to 405 learners of which 45 were randomly selected from each school and 15 learners were randomly selected from each grade level. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data and the SPSS Version 22 was employed to analyze quantitative data. The data collected revealed the causes of poor performance in Geometry at Grades 10-12. The results of this study described how learners in Grades 10-12 could improve their performance in Geometry.

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MCur / Department of Advanced Nursing Science / See the attached abstract below

DEd (Educational Management) / Department of Educational Management / Performance of learners in Chemistry in South Africa has been below the international average. This study intended to investigate the management of high school learners’ academic performance in Chemistry as a component of Physical Science. The study employed mixed designs which are qualitative and quantitative. The population of this study comprised learners who were doing Physical Science, Physical Science teachers and school principals. The principals as participants were purposively sampled whereas teachers and learners were stratified random sampled. Data were collected through questionnaires which were distributed to learners and teachers, while school principals were orally interviewed. Data obtained from questionnaires were analysed using SPSS software. Qualitative data were analysed through identification of themes, development of codes and sub-themes. The improvement of teaching and learning will have a positive impact on the academic performance of high school learners in Chemistry. The findings showed that there are factors which affect the management of high school learners like (school location, inadequate physical resources, attitude and anxiety) contribute to the performance of learners in Chemistry. The findings also showed that factors influencing the academic performance of learners in Chemistry like (effective teaching, In-service Training of Chemistry teachers and Chemistry syllabus and content) contribute to the performance of learners in Chemistry. This study will give new insight to curriculum developers and implementers, and researchers regarding emerging issues on performance and influence the Ministry of Basic Education on policy formulation. Improved Chemistry performance will give learners opportunities to pursue science related courses in higher institutions of learning and middle level colleges.

DEd (Educational Management) / Department of Educational Management / This study focuses on safety and security in public schools. School violence is a sad reality encountered by whoever takes up the responsibility for the safety of learners and teachers. Both teachers and learners have the right to feel safe and secure at school. The aim of the study was to investigate how school management teams and school governing bodies take reasonable measures to ensure the safety and security of learners at schools. A mixed-methods research design was used in this study. The quantitative data, collected through questionnaires, were analysed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23, while the qualitative data, gathered through semi-structured interviews, were thematically analysed. The study revealed that successful school leaders have the potential to tremendously reduce safety and security challenges when necessary support is provided. Establishing partnerships with other sectors not only manage and improve the learners' behaviour and lessen learning difficulties but also create a more supportive climate within the school, home and society. Unavailability of school psychologists and/or social workers who would join forces with teachers, parents, and other professionals to create safe and supportive learning environments increase the manifestations of school safety and security challenges.

PhDRDV / Institute for Rural Development / The need for sustaining the provision of high quality education in all countries cannot be overemphasised. Linked to this is the centrality of ensuring that effective governance prevails. In an effort to address the latter challenge in South Africa, School Governing Bodies (SGBs) were introduced through the South African Schools Act (SASA) 84 of 1996. A SGB is composed of democratically elected members, viz. Principal who serves in an ex officio capacity, teacher representatives, learner representatives in secondary schools, and parent representatives. The parent representatives are the majority in this body. The current case study was carried out to analyse the effectiveness of SGBs in rural secondary schools with respect to their designated roles and responsibilities. The mixed methods approach in two sequentially integrated phases was applied in the study undertaken in Vhembe District‟s Thulamela Municipality in Limpopo Province of South Africa. There were nine secondary schools located in rural areas from four circuits. In each circuit two schools were sampled, a performing and an underperforming. Principals, teacher governors and non-governors, learner governors and non-governors, teacher union representatives, a traditional leader, circuit managers, manager for governance, deputy managers for governance and parent governors participated in the study. Interviews were held with Principals, and the following governors; teachers, learners and parents, individually, and focus group interviews were held with the following non-governors: teachers and learners who were purposively sampled to take part in this study in Malamulele cluster of Vhembe Education District. A questionnaire was generated from the results of the qualitative data and completed by Principals, parent governors, teachers and learners. To analyse and organise qualitative data, Thematic Content Analysis was used and for quantitative data, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 was used. The results revealed that the governors related well with traditional leaders; parent governors‟ illiteracy impacted negatively on their performance; Principals and teachers were not supportive to parent governors; funding received from government was insufficient; and learner governors were passive during meetings with other governors. There were no statistically significant effects of schools and interest group or category of respondents on the views expressed. However, statistically significant effects (P < 0.05) were observed with regard to the following challenges: “some Principals are not conversant with Department of Basic Education (DBE) policies and may mislead SGBs in making informed decisions”; „„the writing of quarterly reports v by SGBs that would assess their progress in relation to their plans,‟‟ and “some teacher governors are bench warmers and are not interested in SGB activities”. It was recommend that Traditional leaders be represented in the SGB; parent governors be encouraged to further their studies to improve their literacy; training should address the needs of schools instead of using a one-size-fits-all type of training; and the funding model used by government be relooked into so that rural secondary schools and their communities could benefit more. The cordial relationship existing between traditional leaders and SGBs was crucial for improved disciplining of learners and nurturing strong bonds between schools and neighbouring communities. This work provides ingredients for formulating strategies for improving the performance of rural-based secondary SGBs and enhancing their contribution to local development.

MEd (Educational Management) / Department of Educational Management / See the attached abstract below