Magister Educationis - MEd / This study was conducted in three rural high schools in the province of the Eastern Cape, South Africa whose physical sciences results were not consistent. The main issue in the research was that when schools’ results improve it becomes a challenge to keep it consistent. It is therefore important to reflect and assess what were the good practices that resulted in the results improving. Practices by both teachers and learners need reflection in order to keep what works and get rid of all the bad influences that affect the achievement of physical sciences results. The physical sciences performance for the past three years (2011-2013) for the whole country (excluding 2014) had shown steady improvement, but this could not readily mean that all was well in our schools. There is more to be done because the physical sciences results are not highly rated against those of other countries. The research itself was an attempt to highlight the importance of always looking back at what has been influencing the teaching and learning in the classroom, whether good or bad results were achieved, to see what practices could still be improved, while also looking at or reflecting on the strategies used by educators in delivering the subject matter. The study used reflective practice theory which was related by several authors. The physical sciences learners and physical sciences teachers were the participants where interviews were conducted to obtain reflections by the participants. The data was collected at three different schools whose learners had passed grade 12 in physical sciences to reflect on their own experiences in the teaching and learning of physical sciences. The study identified a number of factors affecting the performance in physical sciences, particularly in the three schools sampled in the district of the Eastern Cape. The factors include the lack of resources, lack of time to complete the syllabus, exclusion of practical work, learner participation, inability of learners to explain or present what was taught in the physical science classes and teacher confidence. The study contributes to identifying the factors that contributed to the poor performance in physical sciences and demonstrates that reflection is a key strategy that teachers could employ to ensure that the teaching and learning environment receive the value-addition it deserves.

The first democratic elections held in South Africa in 1994 brought about many changes in the South African education system. Among the new policies and legislations introduced to transform the education and training system was the introduction of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE), commonly known as curriculum 2005 to accommodate the needs of all learners and society as a whole (Williams 2002:2). As a result of these changes, many educators, especially those at secondary schools found themselves in the state of uncertainty about the relevance of their skills in the classroom situation. These educators found themselves in need of skills and knowledge that would enable them to cope with the educational challenges. Ravhudzulo (2004: 1) notes that if SSEs are to move with changes and provide quality education, they need INSET and should be involved in it throughout their careers. After all, educators and principals are a school's most important resource and continual investment in their professional development contributes to raising the quality and standards of learners' learning and achievement. In the Free State Province, for example, School Management Developers (SMGDS) have the responsibility to establish what knowledge, skills and abilities are essential to enable SSEs to perform their jobs competently. Based on the foregoing, an exploratory research study was conducted to investigate the role function of the SMGDS as providers of INSET for SSEs in the Thabo Mofutsanyana Education District (TMED) of the Free State Province. The research was conducted by means of a literature study and an empirical investigation. The literature review explored various definitions of INSET and related concepts as used in the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa. The empirical study investigated the role of SMGDS as providers of INSET for SSEs in TMD of the Free State Province by using questionnaires administered to fifty-two secondary schools in the TMD. The research findings indicated that there is a need for SMGDS to provide vigorous INSET programmes in order to improve SSEs' knowledge and skills. The type of INSET provided to SSEs becomes relevant only if their needs are addressed. Based on the literature- and empirical research findings, recommendations were made for the Department of Education regarding the need for SMGDS to provide INSET to SSEs. Further indications are that INSET provided by SMGDS improves educator performance in the classroom. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education Management))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The first democratic elections held in South Africa in 1994 brought about many changes in the South African education system. Among the new policies and legislations introduced to transform the education and training system was the introduction of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE), commonly known as curriculum 2005 to accommodate the needs of all learners and society as a whole (Williams 2002:2). As a result of these changes, many educators, especially those at secondary schools found themselves in the state of uncertainty about the relevance of their skills in the classroom situation. These educators found themselves in need of skills and knowledge that would enable them to cope with the educational challenges. Ravhudzulo (2004: 1) notes that if SSEs are to move with changes and provide quality education, they need INSET and should be involved in it throughout their careers. After all, educators and principals are a school's most important resource and continual investment in their professional development contributes to raising the quality and standards of learners' learning and achievement. In the Free State Province, for example, School Management Developers (SMGDS) have the responsibility to establish what knowledge, skills and abilities are essential to enable SSEs to perform their jobs competently. Based on the foregoing, an exploratory research study was conducted to investigate the role function of the SMGDS as providers of INSET for SSEs in the Thabo Mofutsanyana Education District (TMED) of the Free State Province. The research was conducted by means of a literature study and an empirical investigation. The literature review explored various definitions of INSET and related concepts as used in the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa. The empirical study investigated the role of SMGDS as providers of INSET for SSEs in TMD of the Free State Province by using questionnaires administered to fifty-two secondary schools in the TMD. The research findings indicated that there is a need for SMGDS to provide vigorous INSET programmes in order to improve SSEs' knowledge and skills. The type of INSET provided to SSEs becomes relevant only if their needs are addressed. Based on the literature- and empirical research findings, recommendations were made for the Department of Education regarding the need for SMGDS to provide INSET to SSEs. Further indications are that INSET provided by SMGDS improves educator performance in the classroom. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education Management))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The phenomenon of the public policy process, which encapsulates the public policy implementation, has been in existence long before the political transformation that took place in South Africa in 1994. However, the ushering in of the new dispensation saw the integration of the existing public policies. In addition, it inevitably heralded the introduction of the new public policies and national guidelines across all sectors of the South African public institutions. Public policy implementation, as an integral stage of the public policy process, emerged as indispensable towards effective and efficient public service. The basic education, as a public institution, could also not be exempted from such inevitability of heightened public policy implementation. The introduction of the new education related public policies included the developmental appraisal system (DAS), the whole school evaluation (WSE), the integrated quality management systems (IQMS) and the discipline and safety national guidelines (DSNG). This, consequently, bears testament to what became an inevitable transformation process in South African basic education. Using the DAS, the WSE, the IQMS and the DSNG as points of departure and Empangeni education district as a reference area, the focus of this study has been the public policy process, the internal organisational arrangements and structures for public policy implementation, the public policy implementation process together with its inherent challenges and an improved model aimed at alleviating or even eradicating such public policy implementation challenges. The theoretical models, both descriptive and prescriptive, suggest that the public policy process, which entails namely: public policy agenda, public policy formulation, public policy adoption, public policy implementation and public policy evaluation, is premised on the public policy models. Of all the above-listed public policy process stages, public policy implementation stands out as the pinnacle around which the public policy process revolves. The public policy implementation stage, therefore, suggests a point where the influence, the impact and the successes or failures of the public policy process unfold. In light of this inextricable link of the public policy implementation stage to the general public policy process that is influenced by models, the effective public policy implementation is, subsequently, embracive of attributes and lessons derived from the public policy models. Some of these attributes and lessons, inter alia, include; the mutual participation by all actors involved, rather than dominance by an elite group (derived from the elite/mass model), the identification of institutional structures responsible for the public policy implementation (derived from the institutional model) and the accommodation of the implementation review as well as feedback (all indicative of the systems model). The literature review and the empirical data analyses show convergent views that suggest that the effective public policy implementation is directly proportional to the extent of internal organisational arrangements and structures as well as to the basic functionality of schools as centres for the implementation process. This implies that where internal institutional arrangements and structures are evident and functional, the implementation of public policies is bound to be effective and efficient, while the contrary also holds. Given Empangeni education district being the focal point of the study, it has emerged that the use of personnel from other units and the absence of a district unit designated to solely oversee the coordination, the implementation and the evaluation of the education related public policies, inhibit the potential of adequately achieving the intended objectives of the education related public policies implemented. In case of schools as the institutional centres for public policy implementation, empirical data analyses have established an inter-connection between the public policy implementation and the schools‟ basic functionality. Consequently, it is in functional schools (i.e. schools where the school management teams and school governing bodies are visible, effective and work collaboratively), where public policy implementation thrives and is effective. The contextualisation of the empirical research analyses to the study focus area, Empangeni Education District (EED), established that its current implementation model faces public policy implementation challenges. The most evident challenges, inter alia, include: * the inadequate advocacy of the education related public policies to be implemented; * the two or three days, currently accepted as a capacity building period by those expected to implement education related public policies, are not proportional to the volume of work to be covered and it suggests an inadequate time-frame for capacity development in the EED's current model; * the material and mechanisms used to perform functional work do not accommodate all role-players (also called actors in this study) according to their demographical needs, like language, which renders them inept to perform to their optimum level; * the primary structure of the current EED's public policy implementation model is a top-down directional structure which underscores the top-down cascading model; * current communication technology employed, do not take advantage of the 21 century‟s information computer technology in order to make the work environment more user-friendly, efficient and effective; * the simultaneous implementation of education related public policies poses a challenge to internal organisational arrangements, such as public policy implementation (PPI) structures and personnel, for effective implementation of such policies; and * the evident inadequate continuous and deliberate monitoring of implemented education related public policies. Conclusions and inferences drawn from this study suggest that the EED's current public policy implementation model is inadequate to deal with the identified challenges. Finally, this study proposes a strengthened EED public policy model, which accommodates recommendations to EED's public policy implementation challenges. Inherently, the proposed strengthened public policy implementation model is not limited to dealing with the identified challenges only, but it radically embraces the introduction of systems and internal organisational structures that promote inclusive, collaborative and traceable implementation of education related public policies. / PhD (Public Management and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The phenomenon of the public policy process, which encapsulates the public policy implementation, has been in existence long before the political transformation that took place in South Africa in 1994. However, the ushering in of the new dispensation saw the integration of the existing public policies. In addition, it inevitably heralded the introduction of the new public policies and national guidelines across all sectors of the South African public institutions. Public policy implementation, as an integral stage of the public policy process, emerged as indispensable towards effective and efficient public service. The basic education, as a public institution, could also not be exempted from such inevitability of heightened public policy implementation. The introduction of the new education related public policies included the developmental appraisal system (DAS), the whole school evaluation (WSE), the integrated quality management systems (IQMS) and the discipline and safety national guidelines (DSNG). This, consequently, bears testament to what became an inevitable transformation process in South African basic education. Using the DAS, the WSE, the IQMS and the DSNG as points of departure and Empangeni education district as a reference area, the focus of this study has been the public policy process, the internal organisational arrangements and structures for public policy implementation, the public policy implementation process together with its inherent challenges and an improved model aimed at alleviating or even eradicating such public policy implementation challenges. The theoretical models, both descriptive and prescriptive, suggest that the public policy process, which entails namely: public policy agenda, public policy formulation, public policy adoption, public policy implementation and public policy evaluation, is premised on the public policy models. Of all the above-listed public policy process stages, public policy implementation stands out as the pinnacle around which the public policy process revolves. The public policy implementation stage, therefore, suggests a point where the influence, the impact and the successes or failures of the public policy process unfold. In light of this inextricable link of the public policy implementation stage to the general public policy process that is influenced by models, the effective public policy implementation is, subsequently, embracive of attributes and lessons derived from the public policy models. Some of these attributes and lessons, inter alia, include; the mutual participation by all actors involved, rather than dominance by an elite group (derived from the elite/mass model), the identification of institutional structures responsible for the public policy implementation (derived from the institutional model) and the accommodation of the implementation review as well as feedback (all indicative of the systems model). The literature review and the empirical data analyses show convergent views that suggest that the effective public policy implementation is directly proportional to the extent of internal organisational arrangements and structures as well as to the basic functionality of schools as centres for the implementation process. This implies that where internal institutional arrangements and structures are evident and functional, the implementation of public policies is bound to be effective and efficient, while the contrary also holds. Given Empangeni education district being the focal point of the study, it has emerged that the use of personnel from other units and the absence of a district unit designated to solely oversee the coordination, the implementation and the evaluation of the education related public policies, inhibit the potential of adequately achieving the intended objectives of the education related public policies implemented. In case of schools as the institutional centres for public policy implementation, empirical data analyses have established an inter-connection between the public policy implementation and the schools‟ basic functionality. Consequently, it is in functional schools (i.e. schools where the school management teams and school governing bodies are visible, effective and work collaboratively), where public policy implementation thrives and is effective. The contextualisation of the empirical research analyses to the study focus area, Empangeni Education District (EED), established that its current implementation model faces public policy implementation challenges. The most evident challenges, inter alia, include: * the inadequate advocacy of the education related public policies to be implemented; * the two or three days, currently accepted as a capacity building period by those expected to implement education related public policies, are not proportional to the volume of work to be covered and it suggests an inadequate time-frame for capacity development in the EED's current model; * the material and mechanisms used to perform functional work do not accommodate all role-players (also called actors in this study) according to their demographical needs, like language, which renders them inept to perform to their optimum level; * the primary structure of the current EED's public policy implementation model is a top-down directional structure which underscores the top-down cascading model; * current communication technology employed, do not take advantage of the 21 century‟s information computer technology in order to make the work environment more user-friendly, efficient and effective; * the simultaneous implementation of education related public policies poses a challenge to internal organisational arrangements, such as public policy implementation (PPI) structures and personnel, for effective implementation of such policies; and * the evident inadequate continuous and deliberate monitoring of implemented education related public policies. Conclusions and inferences drawn from this study suggest that the EED's current public policy implementation model is inadequate to deal with the identified challenges. Finally, this study proposes a strengthened EED public policy model, which accommodates recommendations to EED's public policy implementation challenges. Inherently, the proposed strengthened public policy implementation model is not limited to dealing with the identified challenges only, but it radically embraces the introduction of systems and internal organisational structures that promote inclusive, collaborative and traceable implementation of education related public policies. / PhD (Public Management and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This exploratory study investigated the influence of grandparent-headed families on the academic performance of secondary school learners in Port Elizabeth education district. It draws on Family systems theory and Role Theory to allow one to understand the organizational complexity of families, as well as the interactive patterns that guide family interactions.These theories capture the essence of this study which argues that grandparent-headed family is a very important family unit that needs to be supported in order to function well and thereby giving a better parental support and guidance to those learners who are in need. The study was conducted in five secondary schools and also in fifteen grandparent-headed homes. The participants included sixteen learners, 5 Life Orientation educators and sixteen grandparents who are caregivers to these learners. The learners were interviewed at their schools, after obtaining consent from them, the school personnel, their grandparents and the Department of Education in Port Elizabeth. The educators were interviewed at their respective schools after they signed written consent. The grandparents were interviewed in a naturalistic setting, namely at their homes after they have given their written consent. Data was gathered using semi-structured open-ended interviews. Interpretive analysis was used to analyse the audio-taped data. The interviews were voluntarily and anonymity was guaranteed. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)

This exploratory study investigated the influence of grandparent-headed families on the academic performance of secondary school learners in Port Elizabeth education district. It draws on Family systems theory and Role Theory to allow one to understand the organizational complexity of families, as well as the interactive patterns that guide family interactions.These theories capture the essence of this study which argues that grandparent-headed family is a very important family unit that needs to be supported in order to function well and thereby giving a better parental support and guidance to those learners who are in need. The study was conducted in five secondary schools and also in fifteen grandparent-headed homes. The participants included sixteen learners, 5 Life Orientation educators and sixteen grandparents who are caregivers to these learners. The learners were interviewed at their schools, after obtaining consent from them, the school personnel, their grandparents and the Department of Education in Port Elizabeth. The educators were interviewed at their respective schools after they signed written consent. The grandparents were interviewed in a naturalistic setting, namely at their homes after they have given their written consent. Data was gathered using semi-structured open-ended interviews. Interpretive analysis was used to analyse the audio-taped data. The interviews were voluntarily and anonymity was guaranteed. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)