Thesis (Master of Education), University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, School of Education, 2016 / Skills in South Africa are seen as essential for building the economy. This is why the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) sees developing a skills planning mechanism as important in the current context. The 2013 White Paper on the Post-School Education and Training System says that the function of skills planning should be centralized in DHET, with support from universities and/or other national research institutes. More specifically, DHET (2013) suggests that skills planning is required in the short, medium, and long term in order to shape the education system accordingly to meet the demand for skills. The literature on skills planning is full of debates on the kinds of skills planning that are possible in different contexts of economic and education systems. There are different notions of what skills planning is, how possible it is to predict skills demand, and how this should be done. There are also differences in ways in which economies are managed which have direct implications for skills planning. However imperfect, skills planning is needed as it provides an indication of what skills are needed to enable development in the country and provide guidance for the state to support initiatives. This study investigates the emerging skills planning mechanism in South Africa, the views of different stakeholders in this process and the projects that form part of skills planning. It argues that in the South African environment, skills planning has focused on the elements potentially needed to plan skills, however it is unclear how these elements will work together in a skills planning mechanism

A research report in part fulfilment of the requirements of an MSc in Science Education at the University of the Witwatersrand / This study reports the findings of a research project in a DET (Department of Education and Training)* school in Mamelodi, South Africa, in 1995. An investigrtion was carried out to ascertain whether students benefit from having access to science definitions in their vernacular, and to determine their preference in terms of the medium of instruction in the science classroom. A Science Concept Guide, written at RADMASTE** Centre, was used as the main component of the intervention in a pretest - post-test study. This was followed by student questionnaires and interviews. The Concept Guide consisted of definitions and explanations of Physics and Chemistry concepts arranged according to themes. These explanations were translated into North Sotho. Two groups of Std 10 students participated in the evaluation of the Concept Guide. One group used an English version of the Concept Guide and the other an English and North Sotho version. The differences between the pre-test and post-test scores of each group were compared. The results indicated that a significant improvement in scores had occurred in the English and North Sotho Group. Interview results showed that a number of students were in favour of having learning material of this sort available in their vernacular and claimed that they had found it helpful. In general, both groups expressed favourable comments about the Guide. Opinions about medium of instruction varied. Overall, findings indicate that further efforts in the development of vernacular material for the learning of science would prove beneficial. Although the area of policy decision is outside the scope of this study, it hopes to contribute in some way to the knowledge about the preferred medium of learning in South Africa. / Andrew Chakane 2018

A report on a research study presented to The Department of Social Work, School of Human and Community Development, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree, Masters of Arts in Social Development, 2016 / Prior to 1994, education in South Africa was formally and legally segregated according to race. The post-1994 democratic government had the task of implementing educational policies to promote and facilitate equal access in the educational sector. Twenty-one years later, the expectation is that every citizen should be enjoying equal access, regardless of their socio-economic conditions. However, this is not the case, as most people are still excluded in the education sector by one factor or another. This study attempts to understand the factors that contribute to the slow transformation and access of rural learners to institutions of higher learning. Ten Grade 12 learners, consisting of five males and five females from the Vhembe District in Limpopo, were interviewed for the study. A qualitative research method was used with data collected using in-depth interviews supported by a question guide, to facilitate a discussion with the participants. From the findings of the research, three themes emerged, which participants indicated were constraints in accessing institutions of higher learning. These included educational factors, economic factors and socio-cultural factors. The research found that these factors cannot be treated in isolation from one another. This is supported by General Systems Theory, which argues that everything is connected to everything else (Dawson, 2006). Therefore, in addressing the issue of access to institutions of higher learning, improving the quality of school teachers will not automatically lead to access, as factors such as poverty and unemployment will still be prevalent. Thus, a broader more purposeful approach to social reform, as well as more comprehensive and equitable strategies of redistribution of wealth and income are required, to empower disadvantaged communities to access institutions of higher learning in South Africa. / GR2017

This research aimed to understand the literacy and language experiences of a group of immigrant girls in an inner city school. It takes a socio-cultural approach to literacy and emphasizes the intersections between home, school and community. Eight weeks were spent in the school with learners and teachers, guided by the principles of ethnographic research. The data was analysed using a combination of methods. Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) was used to identify patterns and themes in accordance with community theory. Narrative Analysis was used as a means to foreground the voices of the research participants in sharing their experiences. The research found that literacy and language practices do not exist in isolation, but rather as part of a complex and distinctive layering of communities: the community in the suburb where the school is, the immigrant community, the school community and community of learners in the school. In addition the ways in which literacy and language are used, are attached to different relations of power within different communities. The study raises questions about the way in which schools operate as part of or distinct from the communities in which they are located.

A thesis submitted to the Wits School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education. Johannesburg 2016 / Instructional Leadership has been researched extensively in secondary schools in South Africa, and not much is known about it in South African primary schools. Instructional Leadership is concerned with teaching and learning and the behaviour of teachers in enhancing student or learner performance as the core business and function of schools. However, many principals in the low-functioning township primary schools do not conceptualise instructional leadership as such. Many of these schools continue to perform poorly academically. In a longitudinal study for the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance (MGSLG) it was discovered that more than 500 school principals in Gauteng province did not conceptualise instructional leadership as their main role. The management of teaching and learning was ranked only seventh out of ten leadership activities. Principals shift their instructional leadership role to deputy principals and Head of Departments. This research explores principals’ structional leadership practices in relation to student achievement. This study employs a mixed-method approach which incorporates a qualitative and quantitative design and observation of principals’ instructional leadership practices. The participants in the study involve all levels of the teaching force which includes the principal, the deputy principal, the Head of Department (HoD) and the teachers in two township primary schools. The research findings reveal that school principals shift their instructional leadership to their lower level management colleagues. Key words: Instructional leadership, distributed leadership, student achievement, under-performance, curriculum management

This is a study of secondary mathematics teachers' knowledge of the dynamics of learning and teaching mathematics in multilingual classrooms in South Africa. It probes teachers' articulated and tacit knowledge through a qualitative methodology that includes In-depth interviews, classroom observations, and reflective workshops. The sample is purposive and theoretical, comprising SIX teachers drawn from three different multilingual school contexts. Categories of description and analytic narrative vignettes enable a qualitative, layered analysis of what the teachers said and how they acted.

The primary purpose of this study was to develop an industry-specific total quality service framework (as a potential basis for an established total quality service model) for private higher education institutions in South Africa. The framework (as a tool) will contribute to the need to manage service quality of these institutions on a holistic and strategic basis. Service quality is a challenge for any enterprise, especially for those in the service industry. It is of particular concern for private higher education institutions and one of their key challenges due to the increasingly competitive, marketing-oriented and highly regulated environment. In this environment, these institutions have to function, survive and compete, not only with one another, but also with public institutions of higher education. Competition is on the increase, and private higher education institutions need to find new ways to compete if they wish to survive in this dynamic service industry environment. The offering of excellent service quality could add to the long-term sustainability of private institutions and it could therefore also be the differentiating factor for success. The literature review for this study suggested that service quality can only be improved by identifying industry-specific service quality dimensions as a basis for the development of industry-specific frameworks and models. Using a mixed methods research approach (exploratory sequential mixed methods research design), this research was conducted on six private higher education institutes with 13 sites of delivery. Stage 1 of the study consisted of the qualitative exploration of total quality service dimensions from a top management perspective by means of semi-structured in-depth interviews following a conversational mode. A thematic analysis approach was applied during the data analysis. The validity and reliability of the data were tested via different strategies of trustworthiness. The instrument development stage was added as an intermediate stage of the research study. The developed instrument was informed and complemented by literature as well as the qualitative findings. Stage 2 of the research study consisted of the quantitative exploration of the importance of total quality service dimensions from the perspective of the internal (lecturers) and external (students) customers. The questionnaire was distributed via e-mail to all specified students and lecturers of selected private higher education institutions in the sampling frame. Data analysis included an exploratory factor analysis approach, which was followed by a confirmatory factor analysis. A conceptual measurement model was presented consisting of five 26 dimensions (variables) represented by five primary constructs. Both the internal and composite reliability scores were strong and the confirmatory factor analysis yielded a model with good fit. The modified conceptual model demonstrated evidence of unidimensionality and construct validity. The final step in the data analysis process represented thematic analysis of responses to the only open-ended question in the questionnaire, which yielded additional service quality dimensions. The application of the exploratory sequential mixed methods research design thus culminated in the final total quality service framework, which consists of selected top management perspectives (qualitative stage), the conceptual measurement model (quantitative stage) and the additional service quality dimensions identified from the open-ended question analysis. The current study was a pioneering effort that bridged a significant gap with the development of the first total quality service framework for private higher education institutions in South Africa. The framework provides the first building blocks towards a comprehensive total quality service model for measuring, managing and continuous improvement of total quality service in private higher education in South Africa. / Business Management / Ph. D. (Management Studies)

A submitted thesis of Masters of Art in Social and Psychological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, School of Human and Community Development, 2017 / The career trajectory for persons with disabilities (PWDs) has largely been associated with decline and stagnation. Resilience and positive attributes have not been investigated related to graduates with disabilities (GWDs) successfully entering, adjusting to and further developing within the work environment. The aim of this study was to report on challenges, resilience and positive attributes amongst GWDs as a positive contributing factor to employment practices as well as policy. A participant sample of 6 employed GWDs (working age 26-45; 4 males and 2 females; 3 Black, 2 White and 1 Coloured) were individually interviewed. The participants’ disabilities consisted mainly of physical, hearing and visual impairments. The data was analysed using thematic and discourse analysis. Results show that despite the negative experiences encountered within the social and work environment, participants demonstrated resilience within their narratives and decision-making processes. A self-developed conceptual model of resilience and positive attributes was thus proposed to track this resilience. However, the resilience observed amongst participants did not fully reflect the existing definitions and theoretical frameworks around resilience. Critically re-examining these existing definitions and the theoretical framework showed new meanings can be derived with implications for policy and intervention. The fact that the majority of participants did not show awareness of or ownership of their resilience shows a missing key element – that they are not only making use of it, but they also do not even appear to realise its importance. / MT2018

As technology has become a part of our everyday lives, including our educational institutions, it will definitely have an impact on the teaching and learning. The premise is that the use of ICTs has the ability to transform teaching and learning effectively if it is implemented constructively. The research is to ascertain whether Facebook is used for academic purposes as well as the integration of other Information and Communications Technologies. The study was conducted with a group of lecturers at the University of the Witwatersrand. Data was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed at a later stage. Common themes were identified. Positivity about the implementation of ICTs as well as institutional support is imperative for lecturers to continue their commitment to the process.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2003 / Refer to the document