M.Ed. (Sociology of Education) / This study is part of a broader research project that deals with educating towards human rights. The purpose of this study was to determine the matriculants' perception of the duty of the State and the responsibility of the individual towards the State. It is also aimed at informing readers about the rights and duties of the State and individuals as far as education is concerned.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / South Africa can be metaphorically described as a quilt – a combination of diverse languages, ethnicities, beliefs and cultural practices, carefully stitched together and passed on from one generation to the next. South African children grow and develop surrounded by the comfort and warmth of this colourful quilt. Although this provides a rich and dynamic learning environment, we face the challenge of providing equal quality education and educational psychological services to all our children. Psychological testing aids with the deeper understanding of an individual’s area of development and strengths in order to be able to make informed decisions about appropriate interventions, support and recommendations. However, due to South Africa’s problematic political past, psychological testing is faced with challenges of its own such as unavailability of tests that are culturally sensitive. This study forms part of a longitudinal study which is addressing this challenge by implementing a localized solution to a local problem, at an affordable cost. The Junior South African Intelligence Scale (JSAIS) is an instrument which measures the intelligence of 3- to 7-year-old children, and is currently standardised for Afrikaans and English-speaking children only. In an effort to eliminate the language barrier and make it more applicable of our South African population, the JSAIS GIQ-8 was translated into Sesotho and isiZulu. In previous studies, the translated tests were administered and a Rasch measure of analysis used to determine the quality of the items in relation to the ability of the participants. This exploratory qualitative study focuses on acquiring recommendations from a panel of people experienced in administering the JSAIS with the aim to improve the quality of the Sesotho JSAIS. Findings show that the Sesotho used in the initial translation is a pure form of Sesotho and participants are concerned that children living in townships around the country may not understand this well. The participants recommend administration to a wider sample group to learn more about the Sesotho dialects used in different regions of South Africa. A Sesotho manual needs to be added to guide administrators in regional word use and in providing standard instructions. The answer sheets needs to be adapted. Some of the pictures on the picture cards need to be changed and the Sesotho questions on those picture cards added as appendices...

M.Ed. (Education Management) / Schools receive detailed curricula from the Department of Education. The successful application of these curricula is mainly the task of the headmaster. In the school another curriculum, namely the hidden curriculum, also functions. Coming to grips with the hidden curriculum is, however, no easy task, seeing as it involves the conveying of values and norms which is, to a great extent, in the hands of the teachers of the school. The headmaster, as managerial leader, is responsible for both the successful application of the formal curriculum and the hidden curriculum. This application has to be done in such a way that the hidden curriculum will supplement and strengthen the formal curriculum. Through his managerial style the headmaster can create the necessary positive school climate which will facilitate the teachers task in this respect. By applying the hidden curriculum the educator is able to supply pupils with anchors which should be of inestimable value in life. These anchors include religion, national- ties and morality. These anchors should supply the adolescent with steadfastness in an ever changing world. Abovementioned anchors form an integral part of mans view of life. The conveyance of the educators view of life to the adolescent places an extremely heavy responsibility on the shoulders of the headmaster. He as educational leader, has to see to it that the hidden curriculum, as such, will be implemented in such a way that it complements the formal curriculum. As managerial leader the headmaster has to see to it that his staffs cultural values and view of life will correspond with the Christian principle. This implies that the view of life should be such that he can point the direction in which the school should move. The headmasters view of life is determined by his personal relationship with God, his fellow - man and other matters. It can be stated, that all the headmasters other relationships are determined by his relationship to God. The headmasters relationship towards his God is conveyed to both the teaching staff and the pupils of the school. The teacher~s relationship towards his God is also conveyed to the pupils in the same way. This principle becomes part of the way of life of the whole school community, and in this way the hidden curriculum becomes an integral part of the formal curriculum. Owing to the fact that the hidden curriculum is dependant on the teacher's view of life, it is essential that education will be and stay a particular matter. Blending of cultural ties can have traumatic consequences for the pupils and can even lead to a dualistic view of life. This will confuse pupils and the conveyance of values and norms won't take place, resulting in failure to achieve the goals of education.

M.A. / The objective of this research is to determine the effectiveness, or lack of, the mentor program, as part of the Rand Afrikaans University's (RAU) project 100, as well as obtaining workable suggestions to improve the mentorprogram. Project 100 was developed through RAU for first year students who did not obtain full exemption, but who were conditionally accepted. In the program the focus is on three main fields, namely: cognitive, meta-cognitive development, personal development and social adaptation. A variety of skills are taught to the students, in every field, so that the student can develop in total. The hope is through acquiring these skills the student will become more self-sufficient. Data is obtained through qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Qualitative research consists of the interviews with students that took part in Project 100, as well as the analysis of mentor reports. Quantitative research is obtain by using the following measurement instruments: ability, processing of information and learning (LASSI), the learning and the General Questionnaire about Lifeskills and Aptitude. Exam marks were also used. Quantitative results shows that most students are positive towards the mentorprogram, but factors such as transport, freedom of choice of attendance and uncertainty about procedures influenced the program negatively. Results in turn shows that students who attend the program did not obtain higher academic results than the student who did not attend the program. Even though the student attended Project 100, this does not guarantee the students academic success. The students attitude, motivation and preparedness to acquire new skills and the ability how to implement them influences the success of the students academic, personal and social life.

M.Ed. / The aim of this study is to explore best practices instructional strategies for facilitating learner self-regulated learning in an online learning environment by determining, by means of a formal literature review, best practices instructional strategies that facilitate learners' strategy use and acquisition during learning. The knowledge gained by this study will be used to construct a matrix/guide that can be used by online higher education practitioners who would want to facilitate SRL in their online courses.

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. / Many countries all over the world are currently looking for better ways of educating their people and organising their education so that they can compete internationally. The rapid technological developments of the twentieth century have placed education systems under extreme pressure as they try to adapt and incorporate these changes in an effort to produce more creative, effective and adaptable people (Ramphele, 2000:3). The question that remains to be answered is how nations of the world can improve the effectiveness of their various schooling systems. Instructional technology can improve teaching by upgrading the quality of classroom instruction and raising the productivity of the individual teacher. A variety of educational materials and media can be introduced into the conventional classroom environment, including demonstration objects such as flip charts, pictures, photographs, booklets, as well as electronic systems such as films, video players and tapes, slides, transparencies, and audio cassettes, all with the intentions of improving teaching and learning (Val, Rust, & Dalin,1990:281-282). From the background and problem statement, it is imperative to indicate that the study aims: To investigate the extent to which rural further education and training institutions in the Hlanganani area of the Northern Province are equipped with resources and educational media. To investigate the use of educational media and other resources in the schools. The perceptions of educators in the use of media are also going to be interrogated. From the study, the relationships between experience, subject and media use are also going to be interrogated.

M.Ed. / This study has been devoted to an investigation into a phenomenon called "separation anxiety", which manifests in some children who enter into nursery school at a very young age. The principal aim of the said investigation has been to identify possible causes for this anxiety in a bid to formulate guidelines for the parents of children suffering from this form of anxiety. An unfortunate trend in the modern-day workplace is the expectation that mothers resume their duties all too soon after the birth of their babies. In order to provide in the subsequent clamant need for child care, nursery schools and day-care centres have been obliged progressively to provide such care for ever-younger children; in fact, from as young as three months. In doing so, both parents and teachers/facilitators are confronted with the oft-times Herculean task of having to deal with a toddler who experiences anxiety upon being separated from his/her mother/father. Parents (and teachers/facilitators alike) are often left feeling utterly helpless and frustrated at being unable to allay the child's fears and anxiety. An important first step, however, is to make parents and teachers/facilitators understand that the nursery school represents, in a very real sense, the baby or toddler's first separation from the safety and security of his/her family and home environment. In view of the above postulation of the research problem, this study has commenced with the establishment of a theoretical framework within which to explore the emotional, physical and intellectual development of the young child. The said theoretical framework has subsequently been further enhanced by a study of relevant anxieties that the young child may experience.. For this purpose, an in-depth discussion has been undertaken on relevant literature on separation anxiety. The results of the research have been as follows: Parents need more detailed information on the emotional, physical and intellectual development of their children. Mothers need to be supported in their dual role of working and of being the primary educator at home. Fathers are largely absent from the education of their children. A traumatic experience, such as hospitalisation, could serve as a contributing factor to the anxiety a young child exhibits when separated from its mother. The choice of nursery school and the resident teachers/facilitators could play a deciding part in the way in which toddlers perceive their separation from their parents.

M.Ed. (Education Management) / The effectiveness of proper educational teaching can be ascribed to a great extent to the efficacy of principals. Consequently, this paper attempts to determine the requirements for successful principal ship in secondary schools of the Department Education and Training. On the basis of the annual reports of the Department Education and Training there seem to be certain striking problem areas which can be identified and with which the principals of this department have to cope ...

M.Ed. (Educational and Learning Support) / The research problem addressed in this research essay focused on the teaching strategies that were used by the teacher in the classroom to facilitate inclusion. The investigation was carried out with the aim of exploring these teaching strategies. The South African Constitution supports the inclusion of learners with barriers to learning and development in regular classrooms as a human rights issue. This right is further underpinned by White Paper 6, which compels all the schools to admit and accommodate these learners in their classrooms. One of the aims of inclusion is quality education for all. The change to inclusion implies that teachers are required to adapt their teaching strategies to accommodate all learners in their classrooms. This means that teachers need to be trained in the relevant teaching skills if they are to accommodate the needs of all learners in their classrooms. Qualitative research methods were used for data collection and analysis. The literature review in this investigation was confined to inclusive teaching strategies, the teacher used to accommodate learners with barriers to learning in her classroom. It also included the development of an inclusive education and training system, the principles of inclusive teaching strategies and the role of the educator in response to change. To identify the school and a suitable classroom for observation, purposive sampling was used. Two individual interviews and four observations were used to collect data. Data collection took place in a classroom situation were the researcher observed the strategies the teacher used to include all learners in the classroom. Data analysis in this study was done using the constant comparative method. Findings indicated that the teacher adapted her teaching strategies to accommodate learners with barriers to learning and development in her classroom. The strategies she used were co-operative learning, direct instruction and motivation. She has found the value of collaborating with colleagues and thus began the process of teacher support. The Education Support Services can use the findings of the investigation towards the structuring of training for teachers in inclusive settings.