This research focuses on educators' experience of implementing outcomes-based education in grade nine in secondary schools in South Africa. Two schools were chosen as settings for the qualitative research project. Three focus groups with 20 educators, two focus groups with 14 managers and seven personal interviews were conducted. Twelve classrooms were also observed where grade nine learners were being taught. Findings indicated that some educators found the experience of implementing OBE positive in that it improved their repertoire of facilitating and assessing skills. The reasons for citing OBE as a negative experience were given as the following: an increased workload, poor training and lack of follow-up by the Department and the school management team's degree of involvement. Recommendations were made on how to ease the burden on educators implementing OBE in their classrooms and to empower school managers to manage the implementation of OBE within their respective areas of responsibility. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The new higher education system of South Africa is in the process of transformation. Part of the transformation process involves raising the use and status of indigenous languages to become essential part of the country‟s higher education system. The constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) laid a foundation responding to the imperative regarding the use and status of indigenous languages. The Ministry of Education (Higher Education) pays special attention to fitting their education policies to the constitution by incorporating subsection 27(2) of the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act 101 of 1997) that states “subject to the policy determined by the Minister, the council, with the concurrence of the senate, must determine the institutional language policy of a public higher education institution and must publish and make it available on request”. The Language Policy for Higher Education was published by the Ministry of Education in November 2002. Lastly, the Ministry of Education appointed a Ministerial Committee “to advise on the development of African (indigenous) languages as mediums of instruction in higher education.” This committee published its report in 2005. This study investigates the fit between government language policies and institutional language policies. The focus is on indigenous languages in the South African higher education system. The main purpose is to argue for the design of an integrated institutional language policy framework in a holistic way. The study population consisted of the 23 universities and the indigenous language academic staff. A case study and survey were used. All twenty-three indigenous language units from the 23 universities‟ departments were used in the survey section of this research. A random sample of respondents was used, all the respondents were indigenous language academic personnel. Questionnaires were sent to each one who agreed to participate. This questionnaire was the main research instrument for collecting data. The research showed that there is no fit between government language policies and institutional language policies. It is recommended that improvements in fit between government language policies and institutional language policies be embarked upon across the 23 universities‟ staff members and stakeholders (students). / African Languages / Thesis (D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages))

The democratic era in South Africa has led to the introduction of a wide-ranging series of teaching and learning policies aimed at school reform. The study aimed at establishing how these policies are implemented by educators in selected schools. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather information from educators, members of the School Management Teams and learners through in-depth individual and focus group interviews as the main data collection methods. Critical discourse analysis was used to examine participants‟ spoken words and the content of relevant documents such as lesson plans in detail. Comparisons were drawn and similarities identified through the coding, categorisation and condensation of data. The researcher interpreted the displayed data. A discussion of the main themes was presented and supported by quotations by participants. Findings indicate that there have been only few changes in terms of how educators teach; some educators conceded that they had not changed the way they teach since the introduction of new curriculum and assessment policies. The role played by learning outcomes in teachers‟ lesson planning was uneven. Members of School Management Teams demonstrated diverse views on teaching and learning policies. Learners who are taught in their home language encounter few difficulties in learning; this is not the case with learners who are taught through medium of a second language and thus lack the necessary language proficiency necessary for academic achievement. A shift from teacher-centred to learner-centred approaches to teaching is still required: that is, a shift from teaching to learning to enhance thinking and reflection which accommodates and draws on learners‟ prior knowledge and experiences. Class sizes should be reduced to enable effective educator and learner interaction. Educators‟ interest, tolerance, innovativeness and competency in the subject matter will help sustain learners‟ interest in the learning activities. Policy makers should explore professional development from viewpoint of the participating educators in order to identify the most effective strategies to support and change educators‟ classroom practice where necessary. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The concept of parental involvement has been viewed as an ideal style of leadership and management for school development purposes. In South Africa’s case, it is an educational policy which is expected to reign in all school management bodies. Many theorists envisaged parental involvement as enhancing active involvement of parents and it has been advocated by many scholars who believe it is the best leadership style in implementing democratic values to education, particularly South African rural education, which is still in a transitional stage. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which parents contribute towards education of their children. This study involved transformative case study as a research design at one rural school in Waterberg district in South Africa. This research employed three data collection techniques, namely semi-structured interviews, focus groups and document analysis. When formal education was introduced in South Africa schools it was regarded as exceptional environment for teachers, school administrators and learners. To a large extent, parents and the communities regarded themselves as something outside of the education system. The main findings of this study revealed that there is a lack of joint understanding and shared vision between educators and parents in the School Governing Body. This problem underpins other more symptomatic problems, such as lack of accountability in the matter of school finances, differences in understanding the roles of School Board members and lack of parents’ motivation from the school management. It highlighted some of the challenges that hinder the effective involvement of parents in rural school governance, such as poor educational background among parents. The study has also revealed challenges and consequences of non-parental involvement in school governance. The conclusion that could be drawn from the study is that in schools where parent-community involvement is highly visible, teacher effectiveness is apparent and this contributed significantly to the improvement of learner performance while in schools where parent-community involvement is non-existent or minimal, the result is the opposite. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

At the best of times, education policy implementation is a difficult and uncertain process. Taking this as a point of departure, the researcher advanced the hypothesis that education policy implementation in a society in transition: is accompanied by a fragmentation of the pre-transition coherence in interpersonal relations among policy actors; is affected by a heightening of value conflicts and the emergence of competing interpretive schemes; is influenced by the perceived self-interest of policy actors; is affected by changing power relationships and structural adjustments; and reflects a general weakening of interpersonal, cultural, and structural linkages that had evolved in pre-transition years. The Indian education system in South Africa was studied as an exemplar of a system located in a society in transition. The data collated by means of three research strategies - historical report, questionnaire, and structured interview - gave strong support to the hypothesis. In addition, they pointed to the significance of variables such as policy content and policy quality, political interference and pressure, bias and favouritism among senior officials, religious, sectional, and language loyalties of participants, and loss of job satisfaction and morale among policy actors. These findings were discussed against the background of relevant literature. This concluded in the development_gf a theoretical model to explain education policy implementation in a society in transition. Basically, the model suggests that socio-political struggles in the larger society tend. to be replicated in the micro-contexts of the education system, producing fundamental alterations in the interpersonal, cultural, and structural aspects of the system, a general weakening of system linkages, and a progressive de-coupling of system components. All these changes recursively impact on and are impacted on by policymaking and policy implementation processes and outcomes. These impacts, however, tend to occur in a non-standard, nonlinear manner. The theoretical underpinnings of the model emerge from general systems theory, modern social systems theory, chaos/ complexity theory, conflict theory, structuration theory, organisation change theory, and loosely coupled systems theory. Finally, the study concludes with general propositions relating to education policy implementation in a society in transition and a set of research and management-oriented recommendations. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)

. This investigation focuses on the leadership role of the principal in managing and supporting curriculum change in South African schools. The results reveal that principals are required to initiate change and to lead the curriculum change process in schools. Principals are expected to monitor, manage and evaluate the implementation of OBE in their schools. They also need to provide ongoing support to colleagues and are further required to acquire and employ skills, qualities, characteristics and a management style that is suitable for the OBE leader. This investigation recommends that for principals to manage and support curriculum change effectively in South African schools: • Principals are in need of more training and ongoing support • Commitment and support to the outcomes based curriculum is called for • Skills and qualities, for effective leadership, needs to be acquired and employed • A strategy to manage, monitor, support and evaluate curriculum implementation in the school is needed. / Educational Leadership and Management / M.Ed. (Educational Management)

Like so many aspects of South African society, teacher education is undergoing change. The researcher studied existing school-based in-service education and training (SBINSET) programmes in the Northern Province and to improve the programmes, proposes Continuous Self-Renewal School-Based INSET (CSR SB INSET). Based on the extensive literature survey, strategies that would improve effective educational transformation are identified. Different concepts of INSET are explained. Components of teacher education are examined as are those factors that influence educational transformation. Advantages and limitations are identified and guidance on how to overcome these are suggested. The aim of this study was to examine INSET towards educational transformation with reference to primary schools in the Northern Province in order to introduce and assess a CSR SBINSET. The study examines the existing SBINSET programmes which are run in the Northern Province. The importance of teachers' continued professional growth is emphasised throughout this study. The researcher views systematic in-service training programmes for teachers as an educational necessity for the continuing professional growth of primary school teachers. An empirical survey has been undertaken to ascertain the effectiveness of CSR SBINSET and the type of delivery strategy that may be implemented.The research considers particular aspects of classroom practice addressed in the programme. The research was guided by the following questions: + Which methods do teachers use in their subject teaching? + What are their approaches to learners and learning? + How do teachers reflect on their teaching? + What strategies do teachers use? This research aims to improve existing SBINSET programmes run in the Northern Province inter alia by observing practising teachers. CSR SBINSET attempts to improve the competencies teachers, lecturers and District Officials, through such means as the presentation of centre-based, school-based and cluster-based workshops. Although the educational authorities should take initiative to provide educational transformation, the following share responsibility in this vital aspect of education: + those in the Department of Education who are responsible for planning; + superintendents of education within districts and regions; + training institutions such as universities, technikons, colleges and private agencies. The importance of and necessity for, continuous professional development of primary school teachers by means of SBINSET programmes, is emphasised. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Text in Afrikaans / Te midde van ingrypende veranderinge in die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysstelsel, word verwag dat opvoeders hul taak op 'n gemotiveerde wyse moet uitvoer om die jeug voor te berei vir die toekoms. Hierdie kwalitatiewe navorsing het ten doel die ondersoek na faktore waardeur opvoedermotivering beinvloed word en die rol van skoolbestuurders (skoolhoofde en hul bestuurspanne) in die motivering van opvoeders. Deur 'n omvattende hteratuurstudie is die begrip motivering duideliker belig en is die verskynsel van motivering ondersoek aan die hand van verskillende moti veringsteoriee. 'n Empiriese ondersoek, deur middel van semi-gestruktureerde onderhoudvoering met opvoeders en skoolbestuurders in die Oos-Kaap, is uitgevoer om te bepaal watter faktore opvoederrnotivering beinvloed. Daar is bevind dat opvoedermotivering deur "n groot verskeidenheid faktore beinvloed word en dat skoolbestuurders 'n belangrike rol te speel bet in die motivering van opvoeders. Op grond van die bevindinge van die empiriese ondersoek is aanbevelings gemaak wat kan lei tot beter opvoedermotivering. / In the midst of drastic educational change in South Africa, it is expected that educators must fulfil their duties in a motivated manner and to thoroughly prepare our youth for the future. This qualitative research sought to explore the factors contributing to the motivation of educators and to determine what role school managers (principals and their management teams) play in the motivation of educators. By means of an extensive literature search, the term motivation was iluminated and the phenomenon of motivation was explored through different motivational theories.. An empirical inquiry through semi-structured interviews with educators and school managers were conducted in the Eastern Cape to determine the factors contributing to the motivation of educators.. The findings in this research showed that educators are motivated or demotivated by a variety of factors. It also showed that school managers have an important role to play in the motivation of educators. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Onderwysbestuur)

Multicultural education is only one of the major changes, which have occurred since the inception of the new democracy in South Africa. However, this inevitable change has resulted in many challenges for both educators and educational institutions. A literature study was done to discuss and clarity concepts of multicultural education, culture, race, ethnicity, bias and anti-bias. The perspectives, principles and history of multicultural education in the United States of America, Britain and South Africa were also investigated. An exploratory study, using a qualitative research design, was done to investigate educators' viewpoints on multicultural education in schools. The results of the investigation indicate that there is a lack of tolerance in schools and that educators require training and intervention strategies to help them cope with the changes in a multicultural education system in South Africa. Recommendations regarding training and policy implementation were discussed and intervention strategies for educators have been given. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (with specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)

South Africa, a country in transition, is characterised by drastic policy shifts in the social, economic and political arenas. These policy shifts are also directed towards educational reform. The South African Schools Act of 1996 is the first step towards educational change. Other changes focus on the curriculum, new appraisal procedures for educators, and the establishment of the South African Council for Educators. All of the above constitute a new working paradigm for school principals. This study sought to determine the influence of this changing school environment on school principals. It looked at how principals perceive the change and examines the impact of change on their management role. A literature study was made of the restructuring process in the USA and in England and Wales. The transformation of the South African education system was also examined. A qualitative investigation was pursued with secondary school principals. Data gathering was done through participant-observation, questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Data was analysed, discussed and later synthesised. The major findings with respect to the SA Schools Act are: * * The lack of capacity of governing body members to participate meaningfully at meetings. Principals believe the ban on corporal punishment has weakened their authority. * School fees and fundraising pose a problem to some principals. * Most principals welcome the code of conduct for learners. * Schools have not developed language policies. * Principals accept the freedom of conscience clause in the Act. * SRC's are not very effective. The other findings are: * * * Power relations between and among various stakeholders impact negatively on school management. A breakdown in the culture oflearning and teaching especially in former DET and HOD schools. Teachers are not adequately trained to handle OBE and the new system of assessments. The study concluded with recommendations being made to improve the situation. / Educational Leadershiup and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)