M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Education, 1979. / This study investigated the effectiveness of televised lectures in teaching an introductory statistics course to first year commerce undergraduates, Certain constraints imposed themselves on this introductory course which dictated many of the teaching conditions. Some of these conditions were that the lecture situation formed the major teaching component in the course and that these lectures were administered to large numbers of students (groups of between 70 and 120). The primary aim of the investigation was to determine whether or not the effectiveness of these lectures (when televised) could be assessed. A secondary aim was to determine whether or not (once the effectiveness of the lectures had been assessed) the areas in the lectures which had been identified as ineffective, could be analysed and changed, so as to become effective. In order to conduct this investigation the method employed demanded that three preliminary areas be fully expounded. The first was that the meaning of 'instructional effectiveness' be fully defined in terms of the previling conditions. In order to achieve this a criterion referenced approach to instruction was adapted to the television lectures. Secondly, the 'type' of television lecture had to be disclosed. The televised lectures were traditional in that they were similar to die 'live' lectures except for a few novel innovations. The study did not however set out to compare the effectiveness of the 'live and 'T.V,1 instruction - a point which is fully discussed in the second and sixth chapters, The third preliminary area was the means employed to collect the data which was needed for the evaluation of the lectures. A recently devoWpcd educational computer system was used for this purpose and a full description of this novel system is given in this study. The experimentation was based on two important premises. First, the evaluative means which were used to assess the lectures had to be valid. In other words they had to measure what they were supposed to iii. measure. The validation procedure, adopted is therefore fully discussed. Secondly the variables had to be Identified and controlled when improvements were attempted so as to ensure that the only variable which was allowed to change was the instruction. This procedure is always a difficult one and is fully discussed in chapter six and chapter eight. The results of this investigation indicated that it was both possible to assess and improve the effectiveness of a televised lecture within the prevailing conditions. However this investigation is seen only as a preliminary study into an area which requires scientifically based analyses and conclusions in order to achieve both effective and efficient instruction in this teaching area. Therefore there is much which this study did not do and several criticisms are made in the final chapter.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 170 p. Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: Robert Lawson, School of Educational Policy and Leadership. Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-170).

Long-term social processes are explored to examine the shaping of environmental education in eastern southern Africa. The study opens with early Nguni social figurations when 'to conserve was to hunt.' It then examines colonial conservation on the frontiers of imperial expansion and developing struggles for and against wildlife preservation. These processes shaped an inversion of earlier harmonies as declining wildlife was protected in island sanctuaries of natural wilderness and 'to conserve was not to hunt.' Inside protected areas, conservation management struggles shaped new harmonies of interdependence in nature, enabling better steering choices in developing conservation science institutions. Here more reality congruent knowledge also revealed escalating risk which was linked to a lack of awareness amongst communities of 'others' outside. Within continuing conservation struggles, education in, about and for the environment emerged as new institutional processes of social control. The study examines wilderness experience, interpretation, extension, conservancies and the development of an environmental education field centre, a teacher education programme and a school curriculum. Naming and clarifying the emergent education game for reshaping the awareness and behaviour of others is examined within a developing figuration of environmental education specialists. Particular attention is given to academic and statutory processes shaping environmental education as a field of objective principles and rational processes within modernist continuities and discontinuities into the 1990's. An environmental education field centre, an earth-love curriculum and research on reserve neighbour interaction are examined as political sociologies developing within a declining power gradient and wide ranging socio-political change. Into the present, a final window on a local case of water pollution examines shifting relational dynamics revealing how environment and development education models of process may have little resonance amidst long-term socio-historical struggles and shifting controls over surroundings, others and self. A concluding review suggests that grounded critical processes engaging somewhat blind control over surroundings may yet reshape self-control and social control amongst others. The trajectories of these clarifying struggles must remain open-ended as sedimented myth and memory is reshaped within ongoing processes of escalating risk and global intermeshing.

South Africa is undergoing fundamental transformation at all levels of government and civil society, requiring a firm commitment to redressing the legacy of apartheid and to the development of South Africa's people. Part of this commitment is to undertake research which complements transformation processes, investigating the most appropriate ways to meet the challenges posed by such change. This study examines the potential of drama in the secondary school to meet key educational challenges, motivating strongly for the inclusion of drama as part of the formal curriculum in all schools. Social transformation has been greatly influenced by policy such as the Reconstruction & Development Programme (RDP) and subsequent Government White Papers which identify the need to develop South Africa's human resources as crucial. It is in this light, arid in the context of great disparity that exists across the education spectrum, that learning experiences of high quality must be provided in schools. It is argued that drama, as an lift form and an educational medium, is able to provide such qualitatively sound learning experiences because it is essentially learner-centered, experiential and holistic, offering unique ways of knowing, understanding and gaining insights. However, the classroom drama experience needs careful conceptualisation itself, particularly in view of the fact that life experiences of pupils are characteriseg by multiplicity and diversity within a new era of social and cultural mixing, as well as increased global interaction through, for example, the mass media and the internet. This study thus argues from a post-structuralist perspective, which embraces notions of multiplicity, proposing a reconceptualisation of the classroom drama experience that challenges the oppositional or binary perspectives that have previously characterised the way we think about drama and education. Example~ include art versus utilitarianism; process versus product; drama versus theatre. Investigating the classroom drama experierice in the light of developments in postmodern theatre, this study proposes that classroom drama should be seen as a form of theatre itself and suggests the term theatricalisaction to describe this classroom-theatre process which is based on action, reflection, experience and creative expression. It becomes a theatre of activity or an activating theatre. In this light classroom drama is considered in a specifically South Mrican context. In particular, this study examines the ways in which the following contexts impact upon the drama experience: the education system, the place of the arts within that system, and cultural and linguistic diversity in the classroom. Drawing on policy documentation, conference proceedings and studies that have been carried out in multiculturalism and multilingualism, the specific educational challenges facing South Africans are identified. In further exploring the potential of drama to meeting these challenges, this study documents the results of surveys conducted with drama teachers and with ~students who have studied drama as one of their formal subjects, highlighting in particular their perceptions, perspectives and experiences regarding the aims and value of drama education. Finally, in light of the information gained from teachers and learners, and of the concepts and contexts investigated, this thesis considers the ways in which the drama experience can contribute to meeting three primary educational challenges: the building of a culture of learning; the development and empowerment of pupils; and the embracing of cultural and linguistic diversity. This study concludes that drama is able to contribute significantly to educational change because of the teaching and learning processes it offers as an art form, and in particular, a theatre form. It is such a participatory, democratic classroom-theatre which provides a teaching and learning approach that should be at the core of transformation.

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Bibliography: p. [A41-A42]. / Essentially, this history recounts the endeavours of a comparatively small Jewish Community, distant from the main centres of culture and population, in its search for assurance of continuity expressed in terms of an educational response to positive as well as negative forces acting on its group-existence. Interestingly enough, it is epitomised in the story of one or two Jewish schools: generally, one main school holds the stage. It is a story, however, which cannot be adequately understood without an examination of its long historical roots.

When the implementation of inclusive education was announced by government, it did not come without shared concerns by many parents, educators, lecturers, specialists and learners about the future of the educational system in South Africa. Research needs to be done in order to address these concerns. The present study aims to address some of those concerns as well as to investigate what is provided to mainstream educators in terms of training, support and skills in three schools in the Cape Winelands district of the Western Cape Education Department. These educators have all previously received training in inclusive education. The researcher embarked research to establish whether the educators believed the training and support they received was effective. Previous studies, local as well as abroad, indicate the importance of effective training and support for mainstream educators when it comes to the successful implementation of inclusive education. Aspects the researcher attempted to highlight are pre-service and in-service training of educators. A closer look is taken at classroom support, collaboration among all parties involved and peer support in order to get a clear understanding of what is needed, with special reference to the issue of support. The researcher also took a closer look at the types of skills that are required for the successful implementation of inclusive education-Data was collected through the administration of a questionnaire. The main findings revealed that the majority of educators believe that the training, support and skills they received from the Western Cape Education Department were effective. These results were interesting, given the fact that most educators, both locally and abroad, still raise concerns about training and support. Some key focus areas the researcher identified for the successful implementation of inclusive education are the integration of pre-service and in-service training programmes, parental involvement and collaboration between special and mainstream schools.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Philosophy of Education of the University of Zululand, 1995. / The aim of this study is to describe different works of art in order to establish the educational objectives for each type of art as a school subject. An introductory theoretical background of works of art is provided with specific reference to traditional, semiotic and marketing values of art articles. The form and meaning of township art are examined closely. In the discussion of performing arts attention is given to drama, traditional music and dance as interrelated aspects of art. Attention was also given to works of art in KwaZulu-Natal schools (DEC schools}. Certain aesthetic objectives in education are highlighted. The educational objectives of graphic art, music, sports, dance, games, poetry, script-writing, drama, claywork, embroidery and sewing are scrutinised. For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self-structured questionnaire was used. The questionnaire was completed by 200 randomly-selected teachers. An analysis was done of the questionnaires and the data obtained processed and interpreted by means of descriptive statistics. In conclusion the findings emanating from the literature study and descriptive statistics are presented. Based on these findings the following recommendations are made: • Urgent attention must be given to the content of the art curriculum in schools. institutions for teacher training should incorporate suitable art courses. Both co-ordination between art teachers and the continuity in the teaching of art subjects should get priority attention.