Department of Curriculum Studies and Education Management / MEd

Praktiese onderwys is onderrig aan leerders by skole. Die onderrigleier is die persoon wat die verantwoordelikheid vir die onderwysstudente by die skool aanvaar. Die doel van die navorsing is om vas te stel wat die rol van die onderrigleier in die opleiding van onderwysstudente by die skool is. As ‘n kwalitatiewe benadering is ‘n etnografiese ontwerp gebruik om vas te stel watter leierskaprol die geskikste sou wees vir die begeleiding van onderwysstudente by skole. Dienslewerende leierskap is as konseptuele raamwerk gebruik. In die navorsing van dienslewerende leierskap word die “SERVE”-model gebruik om die toepassing van dienslewerende leierskap te evalueer. Daar is gevind dat onderrigleiers wat dienslewerende leierskap toepas die onderwysstudene die beste dien deur hulle toekomsgerig voor te berei en deur professionele opleiding te bied wat gerig is op moontlike veranderinge en aanpassings in die onderwys. Die onderwysstudente moet voldoen aan die hoë verwagtinge wat gestel word deur die personeel by die skool. Dienslewerende onderrigleiers stel self die voorbeeld deur hulle leefwyse en professionele optrede in en buite die skool. Die onderrigleiers voldoen aan die verwagtinge van die universiteite en die Departement van Basiese Onderwys (DBO) deur dienslewerende leierskap aan te wend tot voordeel van die onderwysstudente. Die rol van die onderrigleiers is dus om die onderwysstudente te dien op alle vlakke van die onderwys. Die onderrigleiers moet in vennootskap tree met die universiteite en die universiteite adviseer oor tekortkominge en veranderinge in die voorgeskrewe kurrikulum wat die opleiding van onderwysstudente kan verbeter. Die onderrigleiers moet die verantwoordelikheid wat deur die DBO aan hulle opgedra is, nakom deur mentoronderwysers op te lei en te bemagtig sodat hulle saam met die onderrigleiers die onderwysstudente beter tot diens kan wees. / ENGLISH : Practical teacher training is the short-term “in-service training” (exposure to the teaching profession’s day-to-day tasks and responsibilities) of education students at schools. Practical teacher training is the responsibility of a specifically appointed instructional leader at a school. The purpose of the research is to determine what the role of the instructional leader should be in the practical training of education students at schools. As a qualitative approach an ethnographic design was used to determine what kind of leadership model would be most suitable for the instructional leader to utilise in the guidance of education students at the school during in-service training. Four case studies were used to assess the utilisation of the “SERVE” model (Blanchard en Miller, 1994) in the application of servant leadership by the instructional leaders during the practical teaching process at school. It was found that instructional leaders who use the “SERVE” model for the application of servant leadership serve their educational students best by preparing them for the future with a shared vision and through professional training and teaching them to be flexible so as to adapt to any changes and alterations in education. The education students will be able to satisfy the high expectations that are set by the staff at the school. Servant-instructional leaders set the example through their own way of life and their professional conduct in and outside the school. The instructional leaders are able to satisfy the expectations of the universities and the Department of Basic Education (DBE) through the application of servant leadership to the benefit of the education students. Therefore the role of the instructional leader at the school is to serve the education students on all levels of teaching. The instructional leaders must enter into a partnership with the universities to advise them about shortcomings and changes that can improve the practical teaching of education students. The instructional leaders must take up the responsibilities that the Department of Basic Education bestows on them by appointing mentor teachers who have been trained and empowered to assist the instructional leaders to best serve the education students. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Although access to South African universities has increased, academic persistence among undergraduate students remains low. Three cross-sectional studies were conducted to investigate the underlying psychosocial and social identity factors that influence academic persistence among undergraduate students at a South African university. Studies 1, 2, and 3 demonstrated that academic adjustment, academic motivation and identification with the academic department are prominent factors in predicting academic persistence. Studies 1 and 2 supported the hypothesis that students who highly identified with the university/academic department were more likely to adjust to the university environment and to be academically motivated and academically persistent. Study 3 confirmed that students who highly identified with the academic department were more likely to adjust to the university environment and to persist academically. The studies also revealed that the relationship between identification with the university/academic department and academic persistence via academic adjustment and academic motivation was conditional on whether students were from historically underrepresented or overrepresented racial groups (Studies 1 and 2) and whether students were first-generation or continuing-generation students (Study 3). These results underscore the importance of psychosocial and social identity factors on academic persistence among undergraduate students. / Psychology / D. Phil (Psychology)

At the time of this study, there is intensified awareness of the importance of special education and the appropriate implementation of supports and services for the students identified as having special needs. In the United States, understanding special education laws, the needs of students with special needs who are served in the school building, and effective ways to interact with staff members and families about special education are important components of principal leadership success. Principal supervisors and others who provide training and ongoing professional development for principals and potential school leaders need to understand more about issues principals face in these expanding roles. This phenomenological study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of principals regarding their experiences and perceptions related to their levels of preparation for special education leadership. The conceptual framework based upon Bandura's social learning theory presented the principal as the role model for teachers and the leader in building relationships with families and supporting student success. Ten principals from K-12 schools were interviewed in person and on the phone. A priori and open coding were used to support interpretive analysis. Principals reported three main areas of concern related to their expanded role: knowing how to work with parents, responding to citations their district received due to not following laws, and learning how to handle challenging situations better. These results suggest that having more preparation and continuing training in the area of special education might contribute to principals' greater understanding of best practices, policies, and procedures.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The nursing shortage has reached unprecedented levels in the United States. In a response to meet current educational needs and demands to recruit, retain, and expand enrollment of students in baccalaureate programs in nursing, the growth of online education has been dramatic. As growth continues, graduation rates and program retention are a concern. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between student motivation, academic context, cost-benefit appraisal, and intent to persist in RNBS completion online programs. The conceptual model used in this study was Student Online Academic Persistence a researcher developed model which is primarily based on the work of Tinto, Bean & Metzner, and Rosenbaum. Research questions: 1. Among students enrolled in RNBS completion online programs, do motivation and context predict cost-benefit appraisal? 2. Among students enrolled in RNBS completion online programs, what is the relationship between cost-benefit appraisal and intent to persist in the program? Data were collected via a Web-based self-report questionnaire and subjected to descriptive and inferential analyses which included the use of linear regression and correlations. From a population of 3606 students from three schools of nursing who were enrolled in an RNBS completion online program, 704 usable surveys were returned, with a response rate of 19%. Technology self-efficacy correlated positively with goal orientation, goal commitment, satisfaction with institution and faculty, cost-benefit appraisal and intent to persist. Goal commitment to the program and satisfaction with institution were found to be important in the persistence of students. A continual decision making process involving cost-benefit appraisal was also found to impact student intention to persist in the program of study. Recommendations for faculty include assuring student technology self-efficacy and developing an online transition course designed to normalize the experience of adults engaging in online education. Future research which further tests the Student Academic Online Persistence model and explores the lived experience of the online student is suggested.

Social interaction is the foundation of knowledge construction in a constructivist classroom. This project proposes a mediated instruction that is based on the theory of constructivism and social interaction to help new adult immigrants successfully achieve English competence and adapt quickly to the culture of the United States.

本研究旨在探究兩個不同電腦支援合作學習環境，知識論壇平台（Knowledge Forum, KF）與黑板數位學習平台（Blackboard, BB），在支援師培生學習教育理論、教師專業與教學實務等概念過程中之影響。BB的設計主要以一般的學習理論為基礎，KF的設計則是以知識建構（knowledge building）理論為中心。研究設計採混合研究法之橫斷取向策略，研究對象為某國立大學修習一師培必修課程「教育理念與實際之整合」之49位學生。於學期初將研究對象分成二組，其中BB組25人，KF組24人。課程目標主要希望學生在修課後能對自己即將投入之事業，以及對於教學理論、教師專業與教學實務間的關係，能有更深入的瞭解，並進一步反思自己在未來實習階段需要加強之處。 研究資料主要來自兩個數位學習平台上自動存取的紀錄(例如：建立文章次數、對他人文章回覆次數等)、以及學生於兩平台上所發表的文章內容。資料分析主要為推論統計之單因子變異數分析及質性的內容分析法。根據分析結果，本研究提出以下三點結論： 一、兩組學生在相同教師及相同課程設計下，在兩個學習平台上的活動量大致相同，但是於KF環境下學習的學生則表現出較多的成員互動。根據本研究結果推論，會產生此現象是因為BB的平台設計僅提供單一回文機制，供學生對他人的文章做回饋。而KF平台的設計則提供較多元的互動機制，除了可以對他人文章做回應(build-on)外，還可以對別人的文章做註解(annotation)、引用他人文章(reference)、以及統整文章(rise-above)等功能。 二、在學生於教育理論與教學實務間關係概念的理解上，首先，於低層次的理解面向上（主要包含教師要能「知道且理解教學理論」和「應用教學理論」）兩組學生沒有顯著差異。但是，在高層次的理解上（主要為教師要能「分析理論和實務上的關係」），KF組則比BB組表現好。根據本研究結果推論，KF的學習環境可以幫助學生發展更高層次的思考。 三、在學生對教師專業與教學實務間關係概念的理解上，首先，在低層次的理解面向上（主要包含教師要「理解並應用專業於實務」和「從實務中歸納專業為多面向的整合」），兩組學生沒有顯著差異。然而，在較高層次的理解上（主要包含教師要能「分析專業和實務上的關係」和「評鑑、反思自己在專業上的表現」），KF組的表現比BB組好。研究推論KF環境較能幫助提昇學生的概念學習至較成熟的理解層次。 根據上述結論，本研究提出下列四點建議：（1）電腦支援合作式學習環境應發展更多元的文章互動機制；（2）師培教育應更重視師培生對教學理論、教師專業與教學實務間關係的理解；（3）教師選擇使用電腦支援合作式學習環境時，應將是否能幫助學生產生深層理解做為其中考量；以及（4）教師應幫助學生發展知識創新概念。 / This study investigated the effects of two different computer-supported collaborative learning environments, Knowledge Forum (KF) and Blackboard (BB), on teacher-education students’ conceptual understanding of theories, expertise, and practices in teaching. Blackboard is designed generally based on conventional learning theories. In contrast, Knowledge Forum is designed particularly based on knowledge building theory and pedagogy. Participants were 49 students who took a course titled “Integrating Instructional Theory and Practice,” which was offered by a teacher-education program in a national university, Taiwan. The study employed a mixed-method design, with the participants being divided into a BB group (N=25) and a KF group (N=24), with the later serving as an experimental group. The main instructional goal was to help students deepen their understanding of the relationships between theories, expertise and practices in teaching and to become more reflective on their future teaching practice. Data primarily came from students’ online discourse posted in the form of notes and were recorded in the aforementioned two BB and KF databases. To analyze, one-way ANOVA was employed to describe students’ online activities (e.g., number of notes posted) and an open-coding procedure were adapted to content-analyze student notes. There were three main findings as follows: (1) It was found there was no significant difference observed between the two groups in terms of the number of notes posted online in each database. But in terms of interactivity, there were more note linking actives in the KF group than in the BB group. It is suggested that this might be due to the design mechanism of the BB environment being less supportive for discourse interaction among students. In contrast, the KF environment has more design features such as annotations, references, and rise-above to support student interactions. (2) In terms of students’ conceptual understanding of the relationships between theories and practices in teaching, it was found that there were no significant differences between the two groups at the two lower conceptual levels (including teachers should “know and understand most teaching theories” and “be able to put theories into practices”.) But in contrast, it was found that there was a significant difference between the two groups at a higher level of understanding (i.e., teachers should be able to “analyze the relationship between theory and practice”). The findings suggest that as compared with Blackboard, Knowledge Forum seemed to be a more supportive environment that tended to help students achieve a deeper conceptual understanding of the relationships between theories and practices in teaching. (3) In terms of students’ conceptual understanding of the relationships between expertise and practices in teaching, it was found that there were no significant differences between the two groups at the two lower levels (including teachers should “understand the practice and the application of teacher expertise” and be able to “integrate practice into the multifaceted teaching expertise.”) But in contrast, it was found that there was a significant difference between the two groups at a higher level (i.e., teachers should be able to “analyze the relationships between teacher expertise and teaching practice” and “evaluate, reflect on their own professional performance.”) The findings suggest that Knowledge Forum seemed to be a more supportive environment capable of helping students achieve a higher level of conceptual understanding of the relationships between teacher expertise and practices in teaching. Building on the above results, this study made the following four suggestions: (1) a good computer-supported collaborative learning environment should include necessary design features that support multiple interactive mechanisms; (2) teacher education program should help its students develop deeper conceptual understanding of educational theories, teacher expertise, and teaching practices; (3) teachers should be equipped with the necessary knowledge in order to choose a good computer-supported collaborative learning environment to support teaching; and (4) Teacher education program should help its students develop more knowledge building oriented concepts towards teaching and learning.

The present study investigated imagery and visualisation characteristics of undergraduate students’ thinking processes in learning selected concepts of mathematical analysis. The aim was to discover the nature of images evoked by these undergraduate students and the role of imagery and visualisations when students were solving some selected problems related to mathematical analysis. The study was guided by the theory of registers of semiotic representations. Psychological notions on imagery were also fused to cater for a cognitive approach to the study. A sample of 50 undergraduate mathematics students participated in the study. The researcher employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. Before the main study, a pilot study was conducted to account for the reliability and validity of the research instruments. The data were collected through use of a cognitive test that was composed of 12 tasks with items selected from mathematical analysis. These tasks were specially designed to capture the variables of imagery and visualisations. A structured interview was also conducted as a follow-up to the results of the cognitive test. The study found that visual images were noticeable in the thinking processes of undergraduate students in solving problems related to mathematical analysis. The nature of the visual images evoked by the students varied from person to person. The nature of these images was also determined by the nature of the task. The most common types of imagery were diagrams, prototypes and symbols. On rare occasions the students also evoked metaphoric images. It was also observed that these images were used for illustrative purposes and to spark the idea for a proof. It was also interesting to note that some images were used to discover the limit of a converging series. The results confirmed the need to use visualisation with caution, especially when treating concepts which involve infinity. The study recommends that instructors of mathematics should encourage visual thinking in the learning and teaching of mathematical analysis. Knowledge of the students’ concept images helped the researcher to understand the nature of the learning difficulties of the students. Further research should focus on the strengths and weaknesses of visual-mediated learning and also on the relationship between creativity and visual thinking. / Mathematics Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (Mathematics Education))

This study focuses on student support service quality with particular reference to an Open Distance Learning (ODL) environment. Taking student support services as anchors in mainstreaming ODL, the aims of the study are to develop an instrument that can accurately measure student support service quality in an Ethiopian ODL environment. Simultaneously, it is to investigate an alleged gap between students’ expectations and experiences of service quality in the Ethiopia-UNISA context. In doing so, an attempt is made to determine the students’ level of satisfaction with the student support services provided. The study relies on quantitative methods and a design-based research strategy, which involves iterative and step-by-step processes of investigation. The theoretical framework employed in this study is Gaps Model by Parasuraman, Ziethaml and Berry (1985). Using an instrument of which the possible level of external and internal validity has been ensured, data are collected and quantitatively analysed using a standard Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The data suggest that there are five dimensions that play a cardinal role in the measurement of student support service quality in an ODL context, namely supervision support, infrastructure, administrative support, academic facilitation and corporate image. In the Ethiopian context, there appears to be a discrepancy between students’ expectations and their experiences of the quality of student support services. More than often their expectations exceed their actual experiences of quality service provision. Students’ satisfaction levels are negatively affected by the quality of four of the support services provided by UNISA as measured through expectations and experiences. In contrast, the students’ responses show that they are highly satisfied with the corporate image UNISA holds both in Ethiopia and internationally. From among the five dimensions, however, corporate image and supervision support stand out to be the most important dimensions in contributing to the students’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction, respectively. As a recommendation, this study highlights that these two dimensions must be focal areas by UNISA as more effort must be exerted to build the image of UNISA in Ethiopia and to improve the supervision support provided to students. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Student assessment and feedback is not new to open and distance learning (ODL) but there is a paucity of empirical evidence as to its effectiveness in improving the performance of students and institutions. The objective of this study was to identify key aspects required to optimise feedback in ODL. In various studies, feedback has been heralded for its key role in the improvement of student learning. However, there are on-going expressions of uncertainty about whether assessment feedback is indeed delivering this potential, particularly in ODL mode. Against this backdrop of uncertainty and circumspection, this study offers a critical reflection on assessment feedback with particular focus on ODL. This case study was undertaken using semi-structured interviews with the students, which were conducted to explore and extrapolate their experiences and views on feedback. Focus group interviews with tutors were also conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of participants’ experiences and perceptions. Document analysis was used to make informed recommendations. The study recommends that creating an effective assessment programme, developing criteria, guides, exemplars and models; discussing and refining them and communicating them to students and their staff — will have a positive impact on the workload for staff with coordinating responsibilities. It is recommended that a student charter be devised to lay out student expectations alongside the expectations of an ODL institution. Such a student charter will ensure that both tutors and students know what is expected of them during the feedback giving and receiving process. My findings offer a deeper understanding of the assessment of code disciplines which require a specialist gaze for the judgement of student work, and the pressures experienced in this type of assessment in an ODL context. It is envisaged that the research findings will assist ODL practitioners with decisions related to assessment and feedback. There are clear implications for staff in ODL institutions to encourage changes in feedback culture. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum and Instructional Studies)