No abstract available / Teacher education / M.Ed. (Education Management)

The aim of this study was to determine how teachers experienced transformation in education and what the implications were for education management. The approach was qualitative, exploratory and descriptive. In a case study design six redeployed teachers from an ex-model C school were purposefully selected as sample. In-depth interviews were conducted with the teachers. Informal interviews and observation were also used to collect data. The results focussed on the teachers‟ views of transformation and their experiences of transformation policy and how it was managed; the financial implications of transformation and the impact thereof on the teachers. It was concluded that individual teachers experienced some aspects of transformation positively, for example promotion opportunities. Negative experiences were related to transformation that was enforced overhastily and did not consider all role players or prepare teachers well. Recommendations were made for managing transformation and for further study. Key concepts: transformation; education management; case study design; redeployed teachers; positive experiences of education transformation; negative experiences / Further Teacher Education / M. Ed. ((Onderwysbestuur) Further Teacher Education)

The study identifies the challenges in the implementation of Inclusive Education in the Umgungundlovu District of Education and establishes the possible solutions. The basis for this investigation is the Education White Paper 6, Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System (Department of Education, 2001). The study was conducted in the Umgungundlovu District of Education in the area of Pietermaritzburg. A qualitative research method was used. Data collection strategies that were used are structured interviews, observation and a questionnaire. The study reveals the following challenges that hamper theimplementation;Negative attitudes of some educators and parents towards inclusion, lack of Skills Development Programmes for educators, minimal involvement of parents as well as lack of infrastructural development. These challenges could be dealt with by appointing a Manager within the District to ensure that advocacy on Inclusive Education, training of educators and infrastructural improvement in all schools are done. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Since the advent of democracy in 1994, social changes in South Africa have impacted on schools. In the past, parent involvement in the township schools was viewed as unimportant. However, with the change to a democratic South Africa, parents as critical stakeholders were put under tremendous pressure to get involved in the education of their children. The role that parents are expected to play in education has grown immensely and has been receiving greater interest. The South African Schools Act (Act no. 84 of 1996) makes provision for parents‟ participation in the activities of the schools. The underlying principle is to ensure that parents are actively involved in the governance and management of schools with a view to create a conducive environment for a better teaching and learning. According to Bloch (2009:22) the more parents are involved in their children‟s schooling the better their children‟s academic achievements, the more confident their attitudes to schooling and the lower the drop-out rate. However, the parents in the township schools in South Africa have dismally failed to live up to these expectations. Almost 80% of dysfunctional schools in South Africa are predominantly located in the townships (Smit & Oosthuizen, 2011:64). These schools are ineffective and inefficient; and lack of parental involvement has been cited as a key reason for the decline of academic achievement. Efforts to improve the culture of teaching and learning in these schools have failed. In this study, the extent to which parents in the township schools are involved in the education of their children is interrogated as the focus area. Similarly, the objective of this study is to investigate and evaluate the factors that influence or inhibit parents‟ participation in the education of their children in the township schools. The study confined itself to three secondary schools in Ekurhuleni North district and used both educators and parents as its sample. The sample was purposefully selected. A mixed methodology of qualitative and quantitative approaches was used for this study. The data presented in this study are mainly derived from the responses to the ninety questionnaires that were distributed to educators as well as the responses of the six parents from the interviews with them. In this study, the ethical considerations of the research as espoused by Merriam (1998:198) were adhered to. This study v stems from the necessity to contribute to the scholarly debate on the involvement of parents in education as it seeks to determine the factors which hamper parental involvement in the education process of the learners in the township schools; and to suggest possible solutions to eliminate them wherever feasible. The reluctance of parents to participate in the education of their children in the township schools remains a mystery which needs to be unravelled. This is the basic premise of this research. The researcher further hopes that when the Findings and the Recommendations of this study are completed, they will be able to add value to the education system in the township schools by conscientising parents about their full role in the governance of the schools as mandated by legislation. / Department of Educational Leadership and Management / M.Ed. (Education Management))

with the emergence of multiculturalism and the opening up of schools to all races in South Africa, the education system is undergoing enormous changes. Educators and pupils are faced with unfamiliar cultures, languages and backgrounds. This diversity has resulted in a need for schools to evolve I with the changing circumstances. The complexities associated with racial integration necessitates an educational programme suitable to meet the I needs of our culturally diverse society. A change strategy is necessary to provide teachers with a multicultural approach to education which is ultimately aimed at providing pupils o e cultures with equal opportunities to learn and succeed in a multicultural society. It is the concern of this dissertation to examine the role and function of the school guidance counsellor in attempting to meet the needs of educators, and pupils coming from different cultural, ethnic, racial and socio-economic backgrounds. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie verhandeling word gepoog om teen die agtergrond van multikulturele skoolsituasies in Suid-Afrika 'n oorsig van die problematiek random kommunikasievaardighede te gee. Algemene intra- en interpersoonlike kommunikasievaardighede word uitgelig. In aansluiting by 'n literatuurondersoek is kwalitatiewe data deur middel van onderhoude met skoolhoofde en onderwysers wat by multikulturele skoolsituasies betrokke is, ingesamel. Die wyse waarop mense met mekaar praat is deurslaggewend. Kommunikasieprobleme kan ontstaan wanneer kultuurgroepe met mekaar kommunikeer. Die hantering van misverstande en konflik in multikulturele skoolsituasies is belangrik. Onderwysbestuurders moet verskeie kommunikasievaardighede tydens 'n konfliksituasie aanwend. Die doeltreffende funksionering van 'n skool word grootliks medebepaal deur effektiewe kommunikasievaardighede wat toegepas word om verhoudinge tussen verskillende groepe te verbeter. Onderwysbestuurders behoort opgelei te word om effektief met alle betrokkenes in 'n konfliksituasie te kommunikeer. / This paper endeavours to give a review of the problematic nature of communication skills against the background of multicultural school situations in South Africa. General intra and interpersonal communication skills are highlighted. Further to the literature review, qualitative data has been gathered through interviews with a number of principals and teachers who are involved in multicultural school situations. The manner in which people speak to each other is important. Communication problems can occur when culture groups communicate. The management of misunderstandings and conflict is important in multicultural school situations. Education managers must utilise several communication skills during a conflict situation. The successful functioning of a school is essentially co-determined by the employment of effective communication skills to improve relationships between different groups. Education managers should be trained to communicate effectively with all persons involved in a conflict situation. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Onderwysbestuur)

In South African schools various factors influence relationships between facilitators and learners, compounding their frustrations: class sizes, cultural and language barriers, and hierarchical power/knowledge relations. These problems have led to a polarisation between facilitators and learners which could cause facilitators to experience a lack of appreciation and agency. Learners participated in this qualitative study experienced themselves as without voices, and wanted to be acknowledged as people with worthwhile knowledges of their own. This report shows how the therapist and participants engaged in a participatory process of narrative co-search during individual and group conversations where social construction of knowledges and practices of acknowledgement and care, enchanced by letters and externalising conversations, led to the co-creation of a better understanding of one another. This resulted in a more caring, supportive and acknowledging school community, where facilitators re-connected with their preferred stories, and learners found acknowledgement for their own knowledge and preferred ways of living. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology with specialisation in Pastoral Theology)

In the new democratic dispensation, the Gauteng Education and Training Council (GETC) is the first statutory council instituted in South Africa, allowing civil society to participate in education policy-making. Against this background, this study explored the policy process and the participation of stakeholders. A literature study investigated the theory on policy and the participation of civil society in the policy process. The inception of the GETC was fully documented and a qualitative study undertaken to determine the role of the GETC in education policy-making. Data gathering was done mainly through semi-structured interviews with GETC members. The data was analysed, discussed and synthesised. The major findings were that stakeholders valued the opportunity to participate and members had high expectations of the contribution they could render in the policy-making process. Although most members had a good grasp of the policy process, lack of administrative resources and participative skills founded in the exclusion of large segments of society from partaking in such consultative structures in the past, was evident in some organisations. The function of the Administrative Secretary is deemed important in facilitating the functions of the GETC and training for this incumbent was emphasised. The lines of communication between the GETC and the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) need to be clearly structured in order to expedite the movement of documents between them. The I'vfEC needs to be more visible to GETC members. The GETC, MEC and the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) have to explore ways and means of establishing a sound relationship to serve the cause. Consensus between the GETC and the GDE should be reached regarding the role and place of the GETC in the GDE Policy Route. Areas for further investigation that would enhance the role of the GETC in the policy-making process have been identified. The study concluded that the GETC renders a valuable contribution empowering citizens to become involved in formal participative structures which will contribute towards broadening the basis of acceptance of responsibility for education, by society. This will assist in attaining its declared vision to improve the level of education in South Africa / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Comparative Education)

In the nineteen years of South Africa’s democracy, its education system, as a vehicle for political, economic and social reform, has been characterised by transformation and change. Educators, as policy implementers, have been integral to that process. For the educators at the school selected for this study, changes have included, among others, frequent curriculum revision; a different approach to assessment; changes in school management as well as making a transition from a mainstream to a full service school, focused on the inclusion of learners who experience mild to moderate barriers to learning. Against this background the purpose of this study was to explore the subjective experience of educators in this particular school, and the subsequent impact that aspects of curriculum change and educational reform may have had on them; then secondly to put practices in place that would enable them to positively embrace new ideas, create knowledge and share ideas as educators. The study was conducted with 21 educators at a full service school. The research findings show them to be overloaded with administrative tasks as pressure is put on them to present evidence of their competence and functionality; many of them were tired, confused or angry. They felt rushed and obligated to implement a curriculum that they perceive to compromise effective teaching and learning; and ultimately, the learners. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

This thesis examined the 2004 SA higher education merger processes in order to determine the extent to which these mergers have achieved in the context of the broader transformation goals of the post-1994 government’s policy objectives. Mergers have become part of the South African higher education landscape and system since their implementation in 2004. The merger process induced the reduction of higher education institutions from 36 to 23 (at least until 2012 at the time of writing this report). The merger implementation process itself was not voluntary. Some South African universities did not just willingly opt for the transformation process. It took the government a range of strategies, elaborate consultations and ‘carrot and stick’ approaches to convince some of the targeted institutions. The merger was not only limited to physical reconfiguration, but also to the systemic aspects motivated by the need to open the doors of learning and culture to all South Africans without barriers of ethnicity, race and other forms of discrimination. The ‘ivory tower’ universities had to be reigned into the national transformation project as well. Curriculum which was mainly crafted from an epistemological-ideological premise of the supremacy of Afrikaans as a language of the government of the day and the employer of choice had to be reviewed. Admission criteria, advanced access restrictions to the majority of black students to urban and more advanced universities, also warranted scrutiny / Public Administration / Ph. D. (Public Administration)