Thesis (Ph. D. (Media Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This study focuses on the use of the internet for students’ academic performance at institutions of higher learning. Various internet applications including search engines, online library resources and social media are evaluated to explore how best they can be used to enhance students’ performance at institutions of higher learning. This is critical to ensure that students maximise the use of technology specifically for academic purposes. Generally, students are constant users of the internet at institutions of higher learning, hence it is cardinal to examine their internet use patterns for academic purposes. Institutions of higher learning have invested in advanced technology through the internet to enhance student academic purposes. Therefore, one would expect students to use various internet applications effectively for the betterment of their studies. In this study, the researcher used both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The researcher also employed exploratory and descriptive designs. These methodologies and designs are appropriate for this study because they allow data to be collected through focus group interviews and questionnaires. Focus group interviews were employed to collect qualitative data and questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data. The researcher conducted six focus groups from three institutions of higher learning, namely the University of Limpopo, University of Venda and Tshwane University of Technology, Polokwane campus. Three hundred and forty-three (343) questionnaires were analysed for this study. These data collection tools were pertinent for this study since they assist to determine factors that influence the attitudes, opinions and behavior of the participants. Online library resources play a cardinal role in enhancing the learning process for students by providing online content which could have been difficult to access without the internet. Social media improve and enhance students’ academic performance, but students do not know how best to use it for academic purposes. Proper integration of social media into education is needed. In contrast, students prefer to use social media purely for socialising and entertainment. Despite their ability to assist students in enhancing and improving learning process, social media are, mostly not used for academic purposes. xiv Additionally, students’ use of internet search engines exposes them to an array of information which require critical online information literacy in order to choose the best information. Lastly, the study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by creating a model which will enhance and assist students to easily access academic information through the use of a mobile application. The study also provides significant information which could be used to amend and draft new ICT policies within institutions of higher learning, taking into consideration the adoption of online learning through the use various technologies including social media. / The National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS)

Thesis (M. Ed.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This study reports on factors influencing a decline of learner’s enrolment in commercial subjects: a case of Driekop circuit in Limpopo province. The study followed a qualitative research methodology underpinned by a case study design. The uncertainty reduction theory by Berger and Calabre (1983) guided the study. The aim of the study was to investigate the factors influencing learner enrolment in commercial subjects in Driekop Circuit and the sample of participants was comprised of eight teachers and twenty leaners from four secondary schools. Data were collected through interviews and document analysis. The finding of the study revealed a number of factors influencing learners enrolment in commercial subjects which includes; i). leaners’ ability in the subject, ii) peer pressure, iii) the influence of teachers and school managers, and iv) learners’ misconceptions about commercial subjects. The study makes a number of recommendations: Firstly, leaners should be advised, guided and supported in their decision making. Secondly, aptitude and interest tests should be taken, and thirdly appropriate interventions from professionals should be sought by schools.

Thesis(Ph.D. (Education Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / This study reports on the evaluation of Teaching Practice necessary for guiding future best practice of Teaching Practice at the University of Limpopo. The key research question answered in this study was: How is Teaching Practice implemented at the University of Limpopo? The study is embedded within the interpretive paradigm. A qualitative research approach was employed using case study design. Case study design was used in order to explore the research questions that guided the entire study. This enabled the researcher to interact with the participants, immerse himself in the data for better and deeper understanding of the implementation of Teaching Practice. The case study design was also adopted because the researcher had no control over the implementation of Teaching Practice. In other words, the researcher could not manipulate the behaviour of the participants involved in the study. Purposive sampling was used to select knowledgeable and information rich participants comprising of the Director of the School of Education, three Heads of Department, the Teaching Practice coordinator, two academic staff members in the Teaching Practice Unit, the Teaching Practice administrative officer, six academic staff members, six four-year Bachelor of Education in Senior and Further Education and Training students, six Postgraduate Certificate in Education students, four schoolbased mentors in Limpopo, and four school-based mentors in the Mpumalanga Province. Data were captured through document analysis, semi-structured interviews and observations. Inductive analysis was used to analyse data from the documents. Data from semi-structured interviews and observations were analysed thematically. Findings from the documents, semi-structured interviews and observations were used to make recommendations for establishing an Integrated Model of Teaching Practice at the University of Limpopo. The study revealed lack of appropriate policy for Teaching Practice; lack of clear frameworks for the responsibilities of supervisors; student teachers and school-based mentors; lack of school-university partnerships; inadequate training of supervisors and school-based mentors in relation to supervision and assessment of student teachers; lack of a structured programme on the induction of student teachers into schools; poor human, physical and financial resources, and an inappropriate model for Teaching Practice.

Bibliography: pages 66-71. / In 1984 Bybee used 262 science educators from 41 countries to develop an instrument for measuring their ranked priorities of science and technology related global problems. In 1995 the original Bybee scale was updated and clarified, and a new 15-item version, the Le Grange Global Priorities Instrument (LGPI) was piloted, refined and administered in fifteen schools to 946 secondary school pupils speaking three different home languages in two provinces in South Africa. The study is an enlargement of the work of Bybee and Mau (1986); Bybee and 'Najafi (1986); Ndodana, Rochford and Fraser (1994); and Le Grange, Rochford and Sass (1995), and is carried out in the context of the new key programme of Meeting Basic Needs presented in Section 1.4.1 of the Government White Paper on the Reconstruction and Development Programme for the New South Africa which states:- The basic needs of people extend from job creation, land and agrarian reform to housing, water and sanitation, energy supplies, transport, nutrition, health care, the environment, social welfare and security (Government Gazette No. 16085, 23 November 1994:9). The 946 pupils surveyed in this study in 1995 comprised 414 rural-Northern Sotho pupils (sample 1) from the Northern Province; 189 urban-Xhosa speaking pupils (sample 2) and 343 urban-English speaking pupils (sample 3) from the Western Cape.

Bibliography: pages 48-50. / Through the analysis of an 18-school research project that was conducted in the Western Cape in 1994, the aim of this report is to emphasize the need for and importance of effectively researching the educational setting in order to obtain quality data. This task will take the form of a general discussion concerning "what information..." should be collected and "how..." it should be "collected, analyzed, and interpreted" from the perspective that it is "critical to remember that decision-makers require information to be provided promptly... in order to make informed policy decisions" (Ross & Postlethwaite, 1992:1-2).

Bibliography: pages 181-186. / The study recorded in this dissertation was undertaken in the School of Education at the University of Cape Town (UCT) during the period 1986-1990. It was motivated by perceived anomalies in the administration of State regulations for endorsement of teachers' diplomas in respect of ability in English (E/e). The study commences with an analysis of the relevant requirements of the regulations for teacher bilingualism, as set out in sections 10 and 11 of Criteria for the Evaluation of South African Qualifications for Employment in Education, 1988. Theoretical and practical problems of evaluation and endorsement identified at UCT are considered in relation to the concept of test failure, as opposed to testee failure. Responses to a questionnaire sent to other teacher training centres indicate similar concerns elsewhere. Arising from a review of recent literature on language testing, and against the background of the multilingual target groups tested at UCT, a proposition is put forward for a distinction between communicative competence and language proficiency as criteria in language assessment, depending on whether English is the medium (communicative competence), or the subject (proficiency), of instruction. Assuming that English will remain a medium of instruction in a changing socio-political dispensation, at least in the short and medium terms, the study then focuses on test design, construction and scoring, where the objective is to test communicative competence in English, rather than proficiency. The role of English in the curriculum in a future South Africa is discussed briefly. It is concluded that current regulations for language endorsement are in urgent need of review. The following recommendations are made in this regard: that the relevant requirements for teachers in State schools be reformulated to account for one level, rather than two, of endorsement in English as the medium of instruction; that such endorsement be required only in the case of non-English medium graduates, thereby recognising the integrity of the English medium teachers' diploma itself; that procedures for assessment for the purpose of diploma endorsement be standardised; and that the State support further research in this area.

The purpose of this study was to explore the career decision making of grade 12 learners at a rural high school in Limpopo. The world of work has changed and there is a need for young people entering this world of work to be well matched and have the necessary skills to cope with the challenges it brings. Informed career decision-making is therefore essential. The study was exploratory and qualitative in nature, conducted within an interpretive paradigm. A purposeful sample consisting of 18 grade 12 learners at a rural high school in Limpopo was utilised. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and data were analysed using the thematic analysis. The study findings identified the factors considered by the learners under study in career decision-making as well as the challenges they face, when making career related decisions. The results were integrated with literature and theory and finally recommendations to aid the learners’ in their career decision-making. Recommendations for future research were also made. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Bibliography: pages 136-142. / This dissertation is a report of my work in schools in the Eastern Cape while assisting the Primary Education project (PREP) to develop a resource pack for in-service education. In-service education has received much attention in recent years in South Africa. Both the state sector and non-government organisations have provided various in-service interventions in an attempt to improve both the qualifications of teachers and the results of pupils in schools. However, the dismal state of education in ex-DET schools bears witness to the fact that such interventions have by and large been ineffectual. This study shows how one project developed and trialled parts of a distance learning in-service course in conjunction with junior primary farm school teachers. The need for innovative and creative models of distance education is explored and our understanding of the nature of distance learning is detailed. The study goes on to include an analysis of the political economy of farm schools. It also details the constraints acting upon teachers in such schools and shows how these impacted on the study. The research procedures and methods of data collection are outlined and a framework for analysing the data is developed and justified. The actual data generated during the study is then measured against this framework in order to gauge its effectiveness as an in-service intervention. Finally, I draw conclusions and make certain recommendations based on the evidence presented. Whilst these recommendations are tentative, they may have relevance in terms of future in-service education policies and procedures.

Bibliography: pages 167-184. / Through this study I will be able to focus on how school effectiveness factors as identified in school effectiveness literature operate in relation to the individual circumstances of a particular school. This is an element that signifies a point of departure from the school effectiveness paradigm that sought to generalize or view such factors as operating similarly in all schools with similar outcomes. Through this study I intend to understand that factors of effectiveness identified in school effectiveness literature operate differently in different schools.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Psychology of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2007. / The aim of this investigation was to establish the challenges facing educators in the implementation of inclusive education. From the literature study it emerges that inclusive education constitutes a challenge to the education system in South Africa, in particular to mainstream educators. Successful implementation of inclusive education requires educators to have a positive attitude, be flexible and critical, creative and innovative in their approach to teaching and learning. Educators are expected to have the necessary knowledge, skills, competencies and support to accommodate a wide range of diversity among learners in an inclusive classroom. They must be able to select appropriate teaching strategies to achieve specific outcomes. Effective inclusion will only stay a dream if educators do not have the necessary training, support systems and appropriate resources. For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self-structured questionnaire, to be completed by educators from primary schools, was utilised. The data obtained from the completed questionnaires were analysed and commented on by means of descriptive statistics. In conclusion a summary was presented on the findings of the literature review and empirical investigation and the following are some of the recommendations that were made: > Opportunities for in-service training regarding inclusive education must be made available to mainstream educators. > The Department of Education must provide adequate support to educators concerning all aspects of inclusive education.