M.Ed. / Education in South Africa is in a process of transformation. The opening of public schools to all races has resulted in the exodus of learners from township to suburban schools. Parents have transferred their children because of, among other reasons, lack of culture of learning and teaching, lack of quality teaching, lack of resources, and violence in township schools.The movement of learners from township to suburban schools has necessitated a new management technique that will accommodate the unique characteristics of learners from diverse cultural, linguistic and socio-economic backgrounds.Head masters and educators need to develop an approach that will lead to the transformation of the total school environment, and the creation of equal educational opportunities for learners who have for a long time been deprived quality education. Headmasters and educators need to be aware that education provided by the state to African learners is not of equal standard to white education. Therefore tolerance, empathy and understanding of the problems these learners bring with them is essential. They need to be equipped with the necessary knowledge in managing learners from diverse cultural backgrounds. They require cultural literacy and sensitivity which can be acquired through in-service training. To provide all learners with an equal opportunity to achieve in the classroom, multicultural education should be practised. Diversity of culture must be acknowledged, and teaching methods ought to be altered to accommodate the different kinds of learning styles and children with different learning needs.

In the years before 2004 teacher training was presented through two routes, one, the degree route through the university or two, a diploma route through a teachers training college. Where universities acted as autonomous institutions having control of their administrative and academic activities the colleges of education were administered and controlled by the government through the Department of Education. This included the setting and assessment of the curriculum. The role of the lecturers in the teacher training colleges was simply to present the prescribed syllabus to the students. Drastic changes were implemented by the government in 2004. In its restructuring programme the government made two major changes to teacher training. Firstly, they closed all the colleges of education and moved the departments into a university or a technikon. The technikons eventually became Universities of Technology. Secondly, they changed the four year teacher‟s diploma to a four year degree in education. The impact of this restructuring meant that lecturers were now in an autonomous environment in which they were expected to develop a syllabus for the Bachelor of Education degree course on their own. This research investigates the process that the lecturers applied in designing a suitable syllabus for the Bachelor of Education (Engineering Graphics and Design) degree and how it relates to the process that the theory advocates should be used. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

In the post de Lange period education was faced by uncertainty and change. There was a call for a greater contribution to education by the private sector and parent communities . This case study examines the response of a co-educational white high school, High School 139, to its environment. Different environmental types are discussed and the concept of turbulence introduced. The macro and meso environments of High School 139 are described with attention paid to the legal, political, economic, cultural, educational, sociological and technological factors which influence school management in times of uncertainty and change. Socio-political issues are addressed as well as problems relating to customers, suppliers and competition within the school. The case study explains how government funding at High School 139 was not adequate for the cost of education if standards were to be maintained and how the school management explored alternative approaches in order to meet these financial needs. The school introduced a ' Foundation Trust Fund ' and the way this was done, together with the impact on internal structures, is described. The academic and secretarial staff are one of any school's most valuable resources. Consequent the researcher sought the opinion of the staff on how the introduction of a Foundation Trust had affected their involvement at High School 139. This was done by means of a questionnaire and the results of this survey are presented in detail. The researcher concludes that turbulent environmental conditions are not likely to abate in the foreseeable future. Improvement in educational activity does not necessarily depend on mere money and more teachers being available, but on the articulation of practical and moral decisions. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Durban, 1992.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Education and vocational training in South Africa are currently in the throes of various changes, especially with regard to the college sector. The process commenced after 1994's historic first democratic elections in South Africa. The rationale for these changes presently taking place regarding education and vocational training is the total transformation of this system inherited from the apartheid era. These changes will put South Africa in a position to prepare itself for the challenges of the twenty first century, especially in the context of globalisation. Subsequent to the apartheid era many more opportunities on international markets arose for the country than ever before. In this context of globalisation it is thus indispensable for the country to dispose of a well trained and skilled workforce. In this connection the need for training also becomes closely allied to the macro economic plan, GEAR, of the South African Government. For the purpose of this thesis the first and second phase of the changes in the education and vocational training system in South Africa were investigated. The first phase was the policy formulation that gave rise to the Act on Further Education and Training, Act 98 of 1998. This then provided the impetus behind the process of transformation in further education and training. The second phase is the implementation phase, currently being executed. In addition, the historical roots of the present changes in the relevant education sectors were discussed. Four strategic aims of the above changes in education and vocational training are highlighted: The South African Qualifications Authority is to take charge of quality control and standards in the new South African qualification system. The National Qualification Framework is to establish a structured qualification framework for the new Further Education and Training (FET) system. Learnerships, replacing apprenticeships, are being envisaged for the vocational and inservice training system. New ways of funding the FET system, with special reference to the sector education- and training authorities. Finally a description follows of the implementation of these on the national, provincial, and specifically the college level as FET institutional level. On the basis of research undertaken, various interim findings are elucidated concerning the implementation of the changes in the education and vocational training system. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Onderwys en beroepsopleiding in Suid-Afrika ondergaan tans verskeie veranderinge, veral ten opsigte van die kollegesektor. Die proses het in 1994 begin nadat die eerste demokratiese verkiesing in Suid-Afrika plaasgevind het. Die rasionaal vir hierdie veranderinge wat tans in die onderwys en beroepsopleiding plaasvind, is om die stelsel wat uit die Apartheidsera oorgeërf is, in sy geheel te transformeer. Sodoende kan Suid Afrika hom voorberei op die uitdagings van die een-en-twintigste eeu, veral in die konteks van globalisering. Na die einde van die Apartheidsera het veel meer internasionale markte as in die verlede vir Suid-Afrika oopgegaan. Dus is dit noodsaaklik dat die land in die konteks van globalisering oor' n behoorlik geskoolde werksmag behoort te beskik. In hierdie verband sluit die noodsaak vir opleiding ook verder aan by die Suid-Afrikaanse regering se makro-ekonomiese plan, GEAR. Vir die doeleindes van hierdie proefskrif is ondersoek ingestel na die eerste- en tweede fase van veranderings in die onderwys- en beroepsopleidingstelsel in Suid-Afrika. Die eerste fase was die beleidsformulering, wat gelei het tot die Wet op Verdere Onderwys en Opleiding, Wet 98 van 1998. Dit was dan ook die dryfkrag agter die proses van transformasie in verdere onderwys en beroepsopleiding. Die tweede fase is die implementeringsfase wat tans aan die gang is. Daarbenewens is 'n historiese perspektief en die wortels van die huidige veranderinge in onderwys en beroepsopleiding bespreek. Aandag word geskenk aan vier strategiese doelwitte om die bovermelde verandering in onderwys en beroepsopleiding te bewerkstellig. -Die SA Kwalifikasie-owerheid om gehaltebeheer en standaarde in die nuwe Suid- Afrikaanse kwalifikasiestelsel te bewerkstellig; -Die Nasionale Kwalifikasieraamwerk om 'n gestruktureerde kwalifikasieraamwerk in die nuwe Verdere Onderwys en Opleidingstelsel (VOO) daar te stel. -Leerlingskappe, in plaas van vakleerlingskappe, wat vir beroeps- en indiensopleiding beoog word. -Nuwe wyses om die VOO-stelsel te befonds, met spesifieke verwysing na die Sektorale Onderwys- en Opleidingsowerhede. Laastens volg 'n beskrywing van die implementering daarvan op nasionale-, provinsiale- en spesifiek op die kollegesektor as VOO instellingsvlak. Op grond van die navorsing wat onderneem is, word verskeie tussentydse bevindinge rakende die implementering van veranderinge in die onderwys- en beroepsopleidingstelsel onder die loep geneem.

South Africa's decade of democracy inevitably gave rise to a transformed South Africa. She enjoys international status in the world and is one of the foremost countries in Africa. This status requires communication to engender good relations. Language is one of the key issues facing South Africa. There are eleven official languages in South Africa alone and a host of other languages in the world. English plays a very important role. It has become the lingua franca for South Africans. This qualitative case study investigated how English how English was taught to primary school pupils. Five teacher-trainees were observed and the lessons they delivered were captured on video camera. The trainees and the pupils have as their mother tongue, Xhosa. The researcher used purposeful sampling when selecting the teacher-trainees. The schools chosen were in close proximity to the college where the trainees lodged. This was convenient and economical. The purpose of the study was to establish how orientated the trainees were towards the communicative approach, the recommended approach by the Collegiate of Education, an arm of the University of Transkei. All colleges of education in the former Transkei fell under the jurisdiction of that Collegiate. Another factor was the transformation and its impact in the classroom. This study addressed the following issues. * Colleges of Education in transition * General educational transformation * State of feeder schools * Culture of learning and teaching The literature study included current changes in education that appeared in newspapers of the day. The paradigm shift from the apartheid system to present day was examined in this qualitative research. The focus of this empirical study was on the method of teaching English adopted by the teacher-trainees. Left to their own resources, the trainees delivered lessons. The data obtained from these lessons were analysed and interpreted using an evaluation sheet. There was clear indication that the lessons generally were teacher-centred. There was a lack of healthy communication in the classrooms. The passive pupils responded to questions posed by the trainees. The pupils were not given much chance to talk freely to the trainees or even among themselves, though they were seated in groups and groupwork was indicated.. Emerging out of these findings are implications for all concerned : the prospective and present teachers ; tertiary teacher training institutions ; and the Department of Education. In conclusion, there is recommendation for INSET and PRESET training for teachers, not only for English language teaching but also other subjects across-the-curriculum as the medium of instruction in a majority of schools in South Africa is in English. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Didacties)

This study is contextualised within the field of post-graduate, continuing teacher education, and the vibrant and demanding policy context that has characterised higher education in post-apartheid South Africa. Situated within a module specifically designed to address what is commonly understood to be the academic literacy development needs of students in the Bachelor of Education Honours programme at the former University of Natal, it aims to unveil the lived experiences of students taking this module. The module, Reading and Writing Academic Texts (RWAT), was developed in direct response to academics’ call that something be done about the ‘problem’ of students’ reading and writing proficiency. As a core, compulsory module, RWAT was informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics and drew on Genre Theory for its conceptual and theoretical framework. It foregrounded the genre of the academic argument as the key academic literacy that was taught. The motivation for this study came from my own increasing concern that the theoretical and conceptual framework we had adopted for the module was emerging as an inherently limiting and formulaic model of literacy, and was resulting in students exiting the module with little or no ‘critical’ perspective on any aspect of literacy as social practice. I was also keen, in a climate of increasing de-personalisation and the massification of education, to reinstate the personal. Thus, I chose to focus on individual lives, and through an exploration of a small group of participants’ ‘lived’ experiences of the RWAT module, ascertain what it is like to acquire an academic literacy. The key research question is, therefore: What is it like to acquire an academic literacy? The secondary research question is: How is this experience influenced by the mode of delivery in which it occurs? For its conceptual and theoretical framing, this study draws on social literacy theory and phenomenology, the latter as both a philosophy and a methodology. However, although the study has drawn significantly on the phenomenological tradition for inspiration and direction, it has not done so uncritically. Thus, the study engages with phenomenology-as-philosophy in great depth before turning to phenomenology-as-methodology, in order to arrive at a point where the methods and procedures applied in it, are justified. The main findings of the study suggest that, despite the RWAT module espousing an ideological model (Street, 1984) of literacy in its learning materials and readings, participants came very much closer to experiencing an autonomous model of literacy (Street, 1984). The data shows that the RWAT module was largely inadequate to the task of inducting participants into the ‘situated practices’ and ‘situated meanings’ of the Discourse of Genre Theory and/or the academy, hence the many ‘lived’ difficulties participants experienced. The data also highlights the ease with which an autonomous model of literacy can come to govern practice and student experience even when curriculum intention is underpinned by an ideological position on literacy as social practice. Finally, the study suggests that the research community in South Africa, characterised as it is by such diversity, would be enriched by more studies derived from phenomenology, and a continuing engagement with phenomenology-as-a-movement in order to both challenge and expand its existing framework.

Although the word “participation” has been with mankind for a long time and is widely used by writers on management areas, it still remains difficult to define precisely what it means. As a result, “participation” is one of the most misunderstood and confusing ideas that have emerged from the field of human relations. This study seeks to explore the perceptions and understanding that the various stakeholders have about participative management. The purpose is to find out the meaning and interpretations the stakeholders attach to the idea of participation. This study is an interpretive case study of a Senior Secondary School in the Cala District of the Eastern Cape. A phenomenological approach was employed in data gathering using two data collection tools namely questionnaires and interviews. The collected data provided insight into stakeholders’ views on participative management, highlighted challenges around the implementation of participative management, and revealed strategies to be utilized in promoting participation. The findings reveal that participation is a controversial idea that is easier said than done. There is no recipe for the implementation of a participative approach; it depends on the situation and nature of the subordinates. Furthermore, organization members need to adopt new thinking patterns in order to be responsive to change. Open communication emerges as the key to having genuine participation. However, participation still brings anxiety and fear of losing power to those managers who do not take kindly to it. It is recommended that good interpersonal relations should be maintained at all times to promote participation and that for schools to be effective, partnership with parents and stakeholders is essential.

Management development in educational contexts is a relatively recent development in South Africa. The Task Team Report on Education Management Development of 1996 drew pertinent attention to the need for education management development in South Africa, and set an agenda for such development. Since then many management development programmes have been launched by both National and Provincial government. However, very little research seems to have been conducted on these programmes, especially on how they have been received. This study seeks to address that need. The study is a qualitative phenomenological investigation of how four secondary school principals experienced and perceived the management development programmes they have attended. In line with a phenomenological approach, the study sets aside preconceived ideas and attempts to describe the phenomenon through the eyes of the participants. Findings suggest that management development programmes are perceived as having a big role to play in the development of school managers, but that the programmes on offer suffer from various shortcomings. These include poor planning, lack of organisational and facilitating skills in presenters, lack of commitment, monitoring and support from the bodies offering the courses, and especially the failure of training programmes to bring about increased confidence and self-awareness among participants. Increased selfawareness can help in personal and organisational renewal and growth, and help to minimise the dependency syndrome among principals. Particular needs highlighted by the findings include training in the new curriculum (Outcomes Based Education), holistic development by experts in all facets of school management, training of School Governing Bodies and development of all educators in management as future managers. These findings may prove helpful to education departments and other bodies in the planning and delivery of programmes for new and incumbent school managers.

This study sets out to investigate democratic participation in South Africa and the role that media play and can potentially play within this context. It considers a social movement, as one way in which citizens can organise themselves and make their voices heard to improve their chances of making a meaningful contribution to democracy. It employs Susan Bickford's theory of 'political listening', which offers a potential solution to the lack of political representativeness and inclusiveness, by focusing on the way citizens relate to each other through speaking, listening and dialogue. This study examines whether the interaction between learners and the social movement Equal Education could be considered 'political listening', and the current and possible role of the media within this context of participation. The study also attempts to develop and make a contribution to the language of description for the theory of political listening in order to map it onto the data. Using evidence or data gathered through observation of Equal Education's youth group meetings with learners and in-depth interviews with learners, youth group facilitators, Equal Education staff members and journalists, this study shows how the interaction amongst learners and between Equal Education and learners could be considered political listening and how the social movement works as a democratic project which offers learners an opportunity to exercise their citizenship. Furthermore, it also details the current role of the media and possible role of the media as perceived by Equal Education, learners and by journalists who report on Equal Education's activities. The study does not make conclusive claims about whether 'political listening' occurs between Equal Education and learners and the media because the study is exploratory in nature and involves a lot of trial and error when it comes to applying the theory of political listening to interview and textual data, which is a communication context that the theory is only beginning to chart.

The research presented in this thesis is a case study analysis of outcomes-based assessment in Grade 9 Human and Social Sciences of Curriculum 2005 in two South African schools. The research consists of two parts: Phase One, 2002 to 2003, was a qualitative case study, interpretive in orientation and using ethnographic techniques, aimed at understanding teachers’ responses to curriculum policy and the role of a school-based intervention, located within critically reflexive practice, in supporting change. During this phase, I was a co-participant operating from an insider position. During Phase Two, 2004-2005, I withdrew from the schools and took up an outsider position in order to analyse and theorise the case study. The findings of the interpretive review revealed a fascinating process of change, with some unexpected results that I lacked the theoretical and methodological tools to process. With support from critical friends, I realised that a dynamic and social process of knowledge recontextualisation had taken place, and that the research had moved beyond its initial goals. Not wishing to compromise my integrity as a qualitative researcher, I changed direction and made use of Basil Bernstein’s theorising (1990, 1996) to arrive at a suitable vantage point for the analysis. The main contention of this thesis is that the new OBE curriculum framework offers exciting opportunities for teacher participation in curriculum processes. However, if teachers are to maximise these and become agents of change, they need to acquire the rules of recontextualisation and reposition themselves in the recontextualising field. This implies epistemological empowerment, which takes time and mediation but which can be achieved through an approach to teacher professional development located in critically reflexive practice.