South African learners continue to perform poorly in high school Circle Geometry. Lack of learner confidence and motivation in Mathematics may be the contributing factors to the low success rate in Circle Geometry. These factors, coupled with Conventional Teaching Instructions (CTI), may have contributed to the significant reduction in the number of learners enrolled for Mathematics, and provided a rationale for the study that explored a possible alternative teaching pedagogy to motivate and eventually improve learner performance in Circle Geometry. The study aimed to investigate the comparative effects of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) and CTI on the performance and motivation of Grade 11 learners in the topic of Circle Geometry. The population of the study consisted of Grade 11 Mathematics learners from 65 secondary schools in the Ekurhuleni North District of Gauteng province in South Africa. Using convenience sampling techniques two schools with n=136 Grade 11 Mathematics learners and two teachers participated in the study. One school formed the experimental group (n=71) and the other school formed the control group (n=65). The study followed a quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group approach consisting of pre-and post-test measures. Intact classes participated in the study as it was not possible to randomly select participants for the study. Both groups wrote a standardised achievement pre-test to ascertain their performance status at the beginning of the study. CAI was implemented in the experimental school while CTI was implemented in the control school. A similar post-test was administered on both groups to measure the comparative effects of each teaching method on the performance of learners. A questionnaire was also administered to both groups to measure the motivation of learners. A purposive sample (n=12) was selected from both groups to participate in semi-structured interviews to account for the results of the test and the questionnaire. A socio-constructivist theory framed the study. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyse data. The results of this investigation indicated that the use of the computer software, GeoGebra, in the teaching and learning of Circle Geometry improved the performance and motivation of Grade 11 learners. / Mathematics Education / M. Ed. (Mathematics Education)

Inclusive Education has gained significant currency nationally and internationally. It demands that the teacher be able to meet the needs of learners with impairments in ordinary classrooms. The success of inclusive education rests on quality teacher preparation geared towards inclusive education. The focus of this investigation is on preparedness of mainstream primary school teachers in implementing inclusive education policy in the Nongoma circuit. The lack of teachers prepared to provide quality inclusive teaching to learners and the limitations of existing support structures both impact on inclusion. Through a questionnaire an effort was made to ascertain teachers’ preparedness for inclusive education in the Nongoma circuit. This measure was utilized to determine the extent to which teachers are prepared for the implementation of inclusive education in the classroom. It was also used to describe the nature of training provided by District Based Support Team in an advancement of inclusive education practices in the classroom. The researcher also identified enabling strategies required for teachers in an inclusive classroom environment. Finally, recommendations on strategies for the successful implementation of inclusive education in the classroom were made. The data was collected through a questionnaire. The researcher selected three wards Nongoma circuit as research sites with all teachers in the selected schools participating. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive education)

Although South African teachers have ample opportunities for professional development (PD), weak results of learners show that these opportunities have had a limited effect on the development of the Mathematics teachers’ instructional skills. The improvement of the teaching of Mathematics is regarded as a solution to learners’ poor performance, because teachers play a key role in the improvement of pupils’ learning. In the light of this, a Mathematics PD programme implemented in a province of South Africa was evaluated and served as a case study. The aim of this evaluation was to probe the quality of the programme since it had been suggested that improving the quality of teaching can be achieved by offering effective PD programmes. Thus, the evaluation was done in an attempt to establish the academic value of the intervention. The investigated programme – which was implemented in a rural and under-resourced setting – focused on FET Mathematics teachers and used mentoring and workshops as its key intervention implementers. Five teachers were involved in this programme. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, lesson observations, mentoring and workshop reports, the results of learners, and pre- and post-test results of the participants. The evaluation of the PD programme revealed the following: that the workshops addressed the participants’ content knowledge gap to a limited degree; that mentoring was able to assist with the individual classroom-related needs of the participants, and that the community of practice formed in the workshops helped the participants to develop by means of working together on lesson preparation, micro-teaching, and content knowledge exercises. Other findings revealed that the duration of the workshops were adequate, however their intensity was insufficient to effectively address the participants’ needs, and that the workshops were carefully planned, given that the same topics were repeated. The mentor teachers and other facilitators encountered challenges relating to the long intervals between the mentoring sessions, the limited post-lesson-observation discussion time, the significant distances between the involved schools and the heavy teaching load of the participants. Nevertheless, recommendations on improving the effectiveness of future PD programmes included careful selection of the dosage of interventions, site-based mentoring, to incentivise participants of PD programmes, alleviating the teaching load of overburdened participants and the creation of conducive environments in rural areas for the formation of communities of practice. / Mathematics Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (Mathematics Education))

Technology continues to progress due to the enormous growth of wireless technologies and mobile computing. Mobile devices such as handheld computers, smartphones and mobile phones are integrated into the daily lives of many people irrespective of their age, nationality or gender. These devices are embedded with computer functionalities and their ease of use and mobility functionality enable the people to use and move around with the mobile devices everywhere they go; the sophistication of these devices fascinates many learners thus they are fluent in using digital technology. The aim of this thesis is to describe how these devices are being utilised for learning purposes using the qualitative data collection method, to use the FRAME model to evaluate the usefulness of mobile digital technology and to also understand the educator’s role in the mobile age. This thesis explores the relationship between education (what is being taught), society (individual learners and their learning preferences) and technology (mobile tools used for learning), conceptualising the learner’s perspective. The research findings indicate that learners in the case study are enthusiastic about mobile educational technology, fluent in using digital technology and they prefer pen and paper for taking notes. The outcomes of this study suggest that although mobile technology has the potential to enhance teaching and learning, educators need to put more emphasis on providing technology-rich learning activities to empower high level of student involvement and take into consideration the learner’s learning preferences towards learning using mobile technology. / College of Engineering, Science and Technology / M.Tech. (Information Technology)

Submitted in fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Technology: Human Resource Management, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Since the advent of democracy in 1994, South African society has been undergoing a rapid transformation. By the time the second democratic elections had come around, the focus had turned to transforming and restructuring the higher education sector. Mergers became an instrument in the hands of the Government to restructure and configure the higher education landscape. Mergers are not new and have been used by many countries to transform or restructure their higher education sector. However, comparison with higher education mergers in other countries would point to the most ambitious change programme ever undertaken in recent times, especially given the large scale of mergers and incorporations that were planned for the South African higher education sector. The Durban University of Technology merger which took place in 2002 preceded the main wave of the Government decreed mergers that took place in 2004 and in 2005. This thesis focuses on contributing to the knowledge of higher education mergers by investigating higher education mergers in South Africa from a micro as well as macro perspective. At a micro level the study undertaken is a case study of the Durban University of Technology (DUT), the first merged higher institution in the country, while from a macro perspective, an examination into the impact that mergers have had on the transformation of the higher education sector. This second part has been undertaken through a perception survey of staff at merged institutions. The emphasis is on providing a detailed analysis of DUT merger in terms of its problems, pitfalls and peculiarities. It covers an examination of the processes, procedures, practices and trials and tribulations when two or more higher education institutions merge. This study is guided by two central research questions. The first is: What can be learned about higher education mergers as examined through the Durban University of Technology (DUT) case study? The second question, whether higher education mergers have been successful or otherwise in South Africa? In particular this question seeks to elicit whether the broader goals and objectives of higher education transformation have been or are being achieved or accomplished through mergers in the sector. The literature review emphasized a conceptual understanding of higher education mergers, merger processes and steps. The review also touches on the limitations and gaps in higher education literature when examined from a iv South African perspective. In particular a detailed study of the South African merger policy development was undertaken. The DUT merger experience allows one to draw a distinction between what is termed the technical merger issues and the soft issues. Technical aspects of a merger would simply be those aspects that have to be done to ensure the physical merger of two or more institutions. In a sense it is the soft issues which shape the merger process. These soft issues largely relate to people, the consultation with stakeholders, the negotiations and the cultural dimensions. Despite the assumption that voluntary mergers are generally easier to negotiate and execute because of the perceived greater involvement of stakeholders, the DUT case provides no evidence to support this position. If anything, the DUT merger although voluntary was at best difficult and beset with people and human relations problems. The findings from the case study point to the following: Government initiated mergers (forced mergers) are less likely to failure because of a greater national agenda; that an all new embracing style of leadership is needed when institutions undergo great changes such as through a merger; that where trade unions exist they will become powerful forces if people management issues are neglected or dealt with poorly during the merger. A genuinely co-operative and consultative process is the way to go; that to overcome past cultural differences a new cultural identity must be established early in the merger by sharing the new vision and mission of the new entity; that mergers could be understood and managed in three distinct phases, which are, the pre-merger phase, the integration phase and the consolidation phase. Equally there are a number of merger steps. By reviewing the processes, procedures and practices of the DUT merger, a model has been developed to understand how mergers take place. In respect of the perception survey of merged institutions, respondents saw some benefits accrue to the academic goals and there were some efficiency gains. More students came into the higher education system. Not many were complementary about their state of physical resources including teaching and learning facilities. Some even felt that teaching and learning were set back during the merger period and this is backed up by key statistics for example like pass rates and dropout rates. Given the difficulty with the softer issues in mergers, much of the blame seems to have been directed at Management and Leadership. Nearly 50% of respondents felt that mergers did not result in high quality Management, while a slightly lower percentage of 42% thought that v mergers did not help establish high quality Councils. Many thought that their governance structures and systems were also weakened. Mergers are complex and it invariably affects the entire institution. It requires careful planning and preparation, inclusivity and a developmental approach to mergers. It also requires effective leaders to manage change of such magnitude. These are the ingredients to ensuring successful higher education mergers.

The procurement function accounts for the largest total amount of organisational expenditure. This fact notwithstanding, the function is still referred to as non-strategic and is often subordinate to finance in the public or service sectors, and is therefore considered as a non-value-adding task in some organisations. Despite the fact that renowned scholars have revealed that organisations may eliminate waste, realise more prospects and cut costs if they implement procurement best practices. It is reported that few organisations have adopted procurement best practices, especially in the public sector. In South Africa, public universities face numerous procurement challenges, such as procurement irregularities and wasteful expenditure of resources and money. Corruption and maladministration in the procurement system have been noticed, which involves among others, the payment of suppliers, owned or co-owned by university employees who have failed to declare their interest when providing services to the university. This study determines whether South African comprehensive universities conduct procurement according to the best practices. In order to investigate the problem, an exploratory study was carried out in two phases. The first phase comprised the literature study, while the second phase entailed an empirical study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using open-ended questions. The findings of the study revealed that that some participating South African comprehensive universities do not conduct their procurement according to procurement best practices and consequently do not contribute sufficiently to the university’s overall objectives for competitive advantage and sustainability. While others displayed elementary initiatives in the adoption of procurement best practices, some universities had developed turnaround strategies for implementing procurement best practices. The slow progression can be attributed to the rigid, cumbersome and unclear public procurement policies that govern procurement in South Africa. So, comprehensive universities face diverse challenges in the adoption of procurement best practices. A framework for implementing procurement best practices in South African Comprehensive universities was developed. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology: Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / Education is constantly challenged by rapid technological changes both in terms of curriculum renewal and in terms of students’ awareness of these new technologies. This is the reason why the aim of this study is to analyse factors affecting computing students’ awareness of the latest ICTs. This aim is further divided into four research sub-aims: the selection of the relevant theories for this research; the design of an appropriate conceptual model to support it; the empirical testing of the above mentioned model; and finally, recommendations arising from the research results. The first research sub-aim is accomplished through selection of the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) as the theoretical framework of this study after a review of different theories of technology adoption. The second research sub-aim is accomplished through the design of a conceptual model which is an adaptation of the relationship between the prior conditions construct and the knowledge/awareness construct of IDT. The prior conditions that were studied are students’ perceived exposure to career guidance and students’ perceived curriculum currency. These prior conditions were analysed as possible predictors of computing students’ technology awareness. The third sub-aim is accomplished by means of a survey of 116 computing students from the four universities of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, the results of which validated most of the relationships hypothesized by the above mentioned model. Having knowledge/awareness as the main variable of the current study can be seen as its main contribution in view of the fact that only two studies from the reviewed literature on IDT are examining the awareness/knowledge construct. The fourth sub-aim is accomplished by means of some recommendations, one of which is that gender and ethnicity be considered when curriculating computing courses both at the high school level and at the university level.

Submitted on completed of Master’s Degree of Technology: Quality, Department of Operations and Quality Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / Similar to a production line, the development of a dissertation is a process within a research dyad that is affected by many factors. On completion, the customer / student is either satisfied or dissatisfied with the outcome of the research process. However, errors in the dissertation detract from its quality and this may leave students dissatisfied with the overall outcome of the marking and review process. To improve the product, it is critical that factors contributing to the production of a quality dissertation are understood. The aim of this study was to determine which components of the SERVQUAL model (namely, Responsiveness, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Reliability) contributed to a lower quality dissertation, thereby gaining an understanding of, and implementing factors which enable the production of a good quality dissertation which meets all stakeholders’ expectations. This was achieved through a prospective, mixed-methods study which analyzed the quality of 30 dissertations by means of a Checklist, denoting the quality of the dissertations. Thereafter, the 30 students and 30 supervisors involved in these dyads were asked to each complete separate questionnaires. The questions covered their respective demographics, research knowledge, expectations and perceptions of the research process. The data was then descriptively analysed and presented by way of tables to demonstrate the quality of the dissertation, and the characteristics of the students and the supervisors. The Chi-Squared statistics and Fisher’s Exact tests were then computed to determine relationships between these characteristics. It was revealed that significant differences between the students and the supervisors existed regarding: the length of time to completion of their Master’s; the roles of facilitators in the research process; student and supervisor role ambiguity; the reason for and need to complete research and specific knowledge of the research process. It was noted that a lack of communication resulted in a significant impact on reliability of the university service, moderate impact on assurance and responsiveness, with the least impact on empathy. In contrast, both the student and the supervisor perceived the tangibles provided by the university as satisfactory. Then, through the process of triangulation, it was shown that the relationship within the dyad lacked clear communication and common understanding of the research processes which was likely to result in a lower quality dissertation. It is, therefore, recommended that all students and supervisors that enter into a dyadic relationship need to find mechanisms (for example: learning contract, weekly meetings) to ensure a consistent and common understanding of the research process throughout its development to allow for the effective production of a good quality dissertation.

South African universities have embarked upon a wide range of initiatives to foster and acclimatise to new social development needs of the society. A significant area of change involved implementation of employment equity. This study investigated the manner in which universities manage employment equity.The composition of staff in higher education institutions fails to reflect the demographic realities of South Africa.As a result, black people and women are still severely under-represented, especially in senior academic management positions. Universities are slowly, but steadily redirecting their student bodies and staff to reflect the demographics of South African society applying fragmented effort and piecemeal approach. The “as is” statistical reports obtained from the Department of Labour were used to substantiate the progress being made in the selected universities. Quantitative research methods were employed to collect data. University of Pretoria, University of Witwatersrand, and Free State University were selected as the population and the academic managers (Heads of Departments, Directors of Schools, and Deans of Faculties) as the sample of the study. The study finds that white males still dominate in the universities and white females are adequately represented, particularly in the professional and academic categories. The academic managers responded less positively on retention strategies for academic staff, especially for the designated groups and the functionality of employment equity awareness campaigns. The study also outlined the success of employment equity factors that the academic managers indicated, such as their loyalties to the institutions, prospects of career development, and collegial relations. The study recommended proficient leadership to drive the employment equity process, development of employment equity strategy with reasonable goals, diversity management, retention strategy, and vigorous employment equity awareness. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

This study used discourse analysis (Gee, 2011; 2005; 1999) in order to explore a socio-situated view of how teachers created learning opportunities for the participation of immigrant learners when learning linear programming in a Grade 11 mathematics classroom in South Africa. The aim was to explore that which mathematics teachers do in classrooms with immigrant learners that they will not do if there were no immigrants. A discourse analysis approach was used in order to view the opportunities created through language use not as a tool for communication only but also as a tool for building reality. The study reported in this thesis was conducted in three different settings which are in; urban, township and rural environments. The urban environment focuses on immigrant learners who were born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and started schooling there, in the township and rural environment it focuses on immigrant learners born in South Africa with parents born in the Republic of Mozambique or Angola. Three different mathematics classrooms were observed in their natural environment during lessons focusing on linear programming. Data was collected through a learner questionnaire issued before lesson observations. The aim of the learner questionnaire was to understand the language background of the learners in the mathematics classrooms selected for the study. The second method included lesson observation for at most five consecutive days at each setting. It involved observing teachers and immigrant learners during teaching sessions of linear programming activities. The activities included reading, writing, speaking and participating in mathematical activities. These activities were then analysed to understand how teachers created learning opportunities for the immigrant learners. The study contextualised the results from lesson observations by conducting clinical interviews with three immigrant learners, one from each site, to provide insights into the explanations on immigrant learners approaches when solving a linear programming task. The main conclusion in this study is that immigrant learners were successful in linear programming when teachers’ created learning opportunities by using code switching to support them. The main contribution of this study is that it focuses on multilingual mathematics classrooms of immigrant learners in South Africa – a context that has not yet been researched in South African vi mathematics education. Exploring language practices in multilingual mathematics classrooms of immigrant learners provides a different gaze into teaching and learning mathematics in multilingual classrooms in South Africa. Equally important is the extent to which immigrant learners are distinct to multilingual learners in the teaching and learning of linear programming. / Mathematics Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)