There is a paramount need for online university education to effectively contribute in the development of students' ability to construct and create new knowledge. Online learning should thus go beyond the production of knowledge for knowledge's sake, but should result in relevant and meaningful learning on the part of the online learner. In addition, online learning ought to result in the application of knowledge to practice. While gains made by constructivism and observational learning are well documented, research addressing online media blends that best encourage constructivist and observational learning in open and distance and e-learning (ODeL) contexts is limited. In addition, guidelines that can be used by online learning facilitators and policy makers regarding media for constructivist and observational learning were lacking when this research was conducted. The research was deemed significant in contributing to the development of an online learning framework that could be used to guide policy formulation and practice in the area of online course implementation in ODeL institutions. Using an explorative qualitative approach, this study explored online media blends for constructivist and observational learning. The study comprised three phases. The first phase was a meta-ethnography study whose objective was to synthesise previous research theses in order to gain an understanding of lecturers' and students' experiences of online media, constructivism and observational learning. The second phase consisted of a phenomenological study conducted at the University of South Africa, to explore lecturers' experiences of online media in the facilitation of constructivism and observational learning. The final phase of the research was the development of a framework based on constructivism and observational learning to guide online teaching and learning. The findings of this research study revealed that lecturers did not use media blends to a large extent in their interaction with students. The study indicated that some cognitive processes need to be exercised on the part of the facilitators when online learning is offered. It is concluded that during the curriculum planning phase, lecturers should decide on methods and media to arouse the students' attention during online courses. This also implies a more reasonable lecturer­ student ratio because large numbers of students per lecturer is not feasible in online learning. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The research investigates the retention of employees in the institutions of higher learning and the focus is placed on the Central University of Technology: Free State (CUT). The research is undertaken because the employees at the Central University of Technology: Free State, are resigning from their positions and join rival institutions and other organisations. This creates a problem on part of students, fellow employees and management. There is therefore, a need to find reasons behind these mass resignations of employees and also to look at the retention strategies that can be employed to keep employees at the Central University of Technology: Free State. In order to address the above purpose of the research, various retention strategies to keep talented employees are discussed, and factors that lead to employees leaving the institutions are also placed under the spotlight. The discussion shows that talent management has a direct relationship with employee needs and motivation. Qualitative and quantitative methods of research are used to analyse the retention strategies employed at the Central University of Technology: Free State. The findings of the research reveal that factors such as working environment, satisfying work-life, personal career development, emotional exhaustion as well as rewards versus performance exacerbate mass exodus of talented employees at the institution. It is also disclosed that there are retention strategies in place but are not effectively implemented. The findings revealed that managers and supervisors play crucial roles in the interpretation and implementation of strategies. Working conditions should be improved so that employees stay with the institution and perform to the best of their ability. Training should be made compulsory for every employee as it provides necessary skills. Best performance and rewards should match performance in order to keep employees at the institution. / Public Administration & Management / M.Admin. (Public Administration)

The integration of modern science and indigenous knowledge systems in the science education curriculum for South African schools represents social justice for the majority of South Africans as they determine the knowledge necessary for themselves and for future generations in the new South Africa. An exploratory research reveals tension and a dichotomous relationship between modern science and IKS, caused by false hierarchies that are influenced by factors such as colonialism, capitalism and modernisation to the exclusion of the core values held by indigenous people in their relationship with nature. The thesis demonstrates that the integration requires an epistemology that puts humanity first and a framework that accommodates both ways of knowing. This should allow for the best in the two systems of knowing to serve humanity in a dialogical manner. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how teachers implement school-based psychosocial support to Grade 12 learners who have behavioural and emotional problems. As a secondary school teacher herself, the researcher frequently interacts with Grade 12 learners who have behavioural and emotional problems. Occurrences of behavioural and emotional problems are on the increase. This inference is based on the large number of reported learner problems in the School-based Support Team (SBST) records of a secondary school. The behavioural and emotional problems reported included violent aggressive behaviour, sexual and substance dependency, teenage pregnancy, early school drop-out and truancy. Learner problems may be caused by a variety of factors emanating from unmet development needs (Mwawenda, 2003), as well as biological factors and family and /or school factors (Papalia, Olds and Feldman, 2008). Kapp (2003), on the other hand, is of the opinion that a conducive environment may reduce learner problems and enhance improved learner wellbeing. This study forms part of the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI) introduced to certain secondary schools in 2008. Ten teachers, who were part of the school-based team of the secondary school researched, participated in this initiative. REPPSI’s initial objective was to provide psychosocial support to children orphaned by HIV/Aids in South African Development Countries (SADC). The initiative focused on taking care of children’s developmental needs– social, emotional, behavioural, physical and spiritual. In the case of the school researched, this study was a pilot project to use REPPSI guidelines to provide psychosocial support to learners who have behavioural and emotional problems in participating schools. The study investigates how teachers implement psychosocial support based on the REPSSI Initiative. The study further explores how an ecosystemic approach can be used as an alternative approach to enhance the implementation of psychosocial services provided to learners. The study anticipates that an alternative approach will improve the school-based psychosocial initiative for adolescent learners who have behavioural and emotional problems in schools. The researcher used a constructivist paradigm to describe the school-based psychosocial support provided to adolescent learners who have behavioural and emotional problems. A case study design with 10 teachers in the school-based support team was selected. The participant teachers were conveniently and purposefully selected from REPSSI trained teachers. A focus group was used to facilitate semi-structured interviews. Ten participants shared their common perceptions and concerns (De Vos, Strydom Fouche’ and Delport, 2006) in a fairly short period (two sessions of one and half hours duration with teachers). Observations, photographs, reflective notes and field notes were used to gather information. A thematic content analysis of data was used to interpret data. To ensure rigour, it was verified with participants that they agreed with the results of the data analysis process. Debriefing meetings were also held with the researcher’s supervisor. The results of this study showed that teachers view need the pre and in-service training in ecosystemic approach to reduce behavioural and emotional problems of learners important. The results reveal that the use of ecosystemic approach by teachers and all role players in the adolescent learner’s life may enhance the effectiveness of school-based psychosocial support. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

This research was undertaken to investigate the role of motivation in influencing secondary school pupils to learn effectively. The researcher determined that without teacher motivation, pupils cannot learn to their full capacity. A number of motivational theories, principles and strategies, were found which if used properly can improve classroom learning. The ultimate decision concerning how and when to use them is in the hands of the teachers. Pupils should be inspired to perform and reach beyond their perceived limits which demands different learning incentives. As becoming adults, pupils must be encouraged to achieve positive learning and discouraged from negative behaviour that could harm their development. Learning motives remain the strongest driving force to improve pupils' performance as they change their learning behaviour towards achieving set goals. To re-establish the true meaning of education, both teachers and pupils should act responsibly as both bear blame for education having lost its meaning. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

Van der Horst, H van R. / With the introduction in 1998 of Outcomes-Based Education in South Africa, educators will no longer be passive recipients of a curriculum developed within the ivory towers of a Department of Education. Curriculum development will be the task of every educator at the site of delivery. Media articles have painted a gloomy picture of the calibre of educator expected to manage the demands of Outcomes-Based Education. The researcher is of the opinion that there are many dedicated educators willing to accept the historic nature of the journey which lies ahead of them, and who, with the adoption of an encouraging, supportive approach to professional development, will be willing to work with, adapt, modify and improve the Outcomes-Based curriculum presented to them. Educators need to assume responsibility for the professional development of Learning Programmes and the learner support materials to ensure that learners get to grips with the new curriculum. This task can be achieved through high-quality in-service education, training and re-training of educators. This study describes workshops developed by the researcher to familiarise the educators with the Specific Outcomes Framework of Curriculum 2005, and to develop an in-depth understanding of the Specific Outcomes without which, the educators would be at a loss to develop meaningful Learning Programmes. Examples of Learning Programmes developed by some of the participating educators over a period of twelve months indicate the levels of proficiency attained through close monitoring and assistance offered by the researcher. Outcomes-Based Education has been successful where all involved have taken on the challenge to do their best and as we collectively strive to improve the standard of education in South Africa, let us, in the words of Jane Hofmeyer (Article (b),Sunday Times, 25/10/98), "look forward to the day when every child as an educational birthright, can claim access to competent, caring and committed teachers and schools that are organised for success." / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Thesis (M.Ed.(Socio-Ed.))--University of South Africa, 2002.

This study empirically compares the Classical Test Theory (CTT) and the Partial Credit Model (PCM) of Rasch focusing on the invariance of item parameters. The invariance concept which is the consequence of the principle of specific objectivity was tested in both CTT and PCM using the results of learners who wrote the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Mathematics examinations in 2010. The difficulty levels of the test items were estimated from the independent samples of learn- ers. The same sample of learners used in the calibration of the difficulty levels of the test items in the PCM model were also used in the calibration of the difficulty levels of the test items in CTT model. The estimates of the difficulty levels of the test items were done using RUMM2030 in the case of PCM while SAS was used in the case of CTT. RUMM2030 and SAS are both the statistical softwares. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the four different design groups of test takers. In cases where the ANOVA showed a significant difference between the means of the design groups, the Tukeys groupings was used to establish where the difference came from. The research findings were that the test items' difficulty parameter estimates based on the CTT theoretical framework were not invariant across the different independent sample groups. The over- all findings from this study were that the CTT theoretical framework was unable to produce item difficulty invariant parameter estimates. The PCM estimates were very stable in the sense that for most of the items, there was no significant difference between the means of at least three design groups and the one that deviated from the rest did not deviate that much. The item parameters of the group that was representative of the population (proportional allocation) and the one where the same number of learners (50 learners) was taken from different performance categories did not differ significantly for all the items except for item 6.6 in examination question paper 2. It is apparent that for the test item parameters to be invariant of the group of test takers in PCM, the group of test takers must be heterogeneous and each performance category needed to be big enough for the proper calibration of item parameters. The higher values of the estimated item parameters in CTT were consistently found in the sample that was dominated by the high proficient learners in Mathematics ("bad") and the lowest values were consistently calculated in the design group that was dominated by the less proficient learners. This phenomenon was not apparent in the Rasch model. / Mathematical Sciences / M.Sc. (Statistics)

Educational Foundations / M. Ed. (Socio Education)

A growing body of research has emphasised the social processes by which teachers – who are curriculum policy implementing agents – are trained and supported on how to practically implement policies in the classroom. Yet, little attention has been paid to the factors that influence teachers’ interpretation of curriculum policy and how their understanding of policy implementation influences the ways in which they respond to policies. Some research has already been done on the implementation of curriculum policies in schools, with findings centred largely on the disjuncture between policy and practice. Research has also established that much of what teachers are doing in the classroom does not reflect policy. Although teachers have opportunities to enhance the implementation of policy, there are also factors that negatively influence their implementation of educational policy. This is basically because of the gap between the policy makers and the implementing agents. The lack of a shared understanding between these two stakeholders’ results in a perception of policy as a set of strict rules and procedures meant to be followed by teachers. This study aims to develop an understanding of what influences teachers in their attempts to implement the curriculum policy on environmental education in the classroom. The study further aims to gain an understanding, from the practitioners’ perspectives, of how policy implementation challenges their habitual patterns of teaching and schooling and whether, to them, this implementation seems to threaten the conventional disciplinary curricular structures of fixed timetables and depending on textbooks, and leaves little room for outdoor or hands-on activities. The focus on teachers is motivated by the fact that they are the primary curriculum implementers in schools and as such, are expected to play a significant role in implementing the curriculum according to policy. This study advocates an interdisciplinary approach to implementing environmental education policy in teaching and learning in the Natural Sciences. This entails environmental education becoming part of the curriculum, and being taught as a cross-curricula component. In this context, environmental education will form part of teaching and learning in every learning area of the curriculum for the General Education and Training band of the South African education system. What this means for teachers is that they have to integrate environmental concepts or topics within their respective learning areas, and that they have to follow a learner-centred approach that allows learners the opportunity to become active participants, responsible for their own learning. This implies that, for learners to develop knowledge, skills, and correct attitudes regarding the environment, teachers have to use available, local teaching materials or resources. As the classroom becomes free from traditional teaching styles, learners become active and take responsibility for their own learning. They discuss and share ideas with one another, and the teacher becomes the facilitator of the teaching and learning process. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)