The aim of this study was to find ways of improving the quality of teaching and learning in the Erongo primary schools in Namibia. The study focussed on the numerous education reforms that Namibia underwent since independence in 1990 and how these have assisted in providing quality education to all its inhabitants. The quality of the education has been a topic widely debated and the Government of Namibia’s records of attempts to create a change within the education system can be found in published documents such as: Records of attempts by the Namibian Government to improve the quality of education in the country are found in published documents such as; Ministry of Basic Education and Culture (1992a); Ministry of Education and Culture, (1992b); Ministry of Education and Culture (1993); Ministry of Basic Education and Culture (1999); Ministry of Education and Culture (2003); Government of the Republic of Namibia (1999); Government of the Republic of Namibia (2004); Government of the Republic of Namibia (2007a) and Government of the Republic of Namibia, (2007b). In this study, the researcher looked at the inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes of education in schools, tried to define the term quality in education, and also focussed on both the human and material resources that influence education. Through this, focus was placed on the school as a unit that could provide change. The investigation was conducted in 18 schools, randomly selected, in the Erongo region in the western part of Namibia. Initially, the researcher intended to administer two questionnaires at the 25 schools selected, but during data collections, principals at some schools indicated that their teachers were unwilling and reasons were given, as mentioned in Chapter 5 of 5.1. Therefore, the initial total of schools selected could not be met. In the 18 schools, more participants completed questionnaires than others. However, the total of 50 questionnaires was completed as envisaged. For the interviews, the researcher randomly selected twenty percent (20%) from the teachers who completed the questionnaires thus a total number of 10 teachers were selected. The need for quality in schools is seen as a major challenge and places huge demands on educational institutions. The frameworks selected in this study are relevant because they can be applied to the understanding of the concept of quality in the education context and direct the improvement of the whole school towards educational change and assist in addressing the factors that could hamper the quality of education provided. The study also focused on the education systems in four Sub-Saharan countries: Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Malawi and three European countries: Germany, Belgium and Finland. These countries were selected to find ways that could assist its quest to provide quality teaching and learning in schools. The Sub-Saharan countries have shown that change has an impact on the outcomes of education, yet to reach these outcomes, many reforms and transformations need to take place. This has important implications for the education system in Namibia where various reforms and transformations are currently taking place to address the quality of education in schools. The European countries have been found to have good quality schools and their policies in education are aimed at achieving quality education. The strengths and weaknesses of the countries selected for this study could serve as essentially vital lessons to the challenges the Namibian government is still faced with in respect of the teaching and learning process. This study used the mixed method for data collection. Both questionnaires and interviews were used and the study was conducted in the Erongo education region of Namibia. The findings of this study indicated that schools are still faced with many challenges in realising the ultimate goal of Vision 2030, whereby all citizens would receive quality education and meet the challenges of an industrialised country. The results of the study suggested that quality human and material resources were still lacking which resulted in schools not being able to provide the quality of education envisaged by the Ministry of Education. The immense administrative work given to teachers has surfaced as one of the areas that need improvement and that could result in teachers being able to utilize sufficient time in the classrooms during teaching. As far as the material resources were concerned, it was discovered that learners, at some schools, shared desks and chairs as well as textbooks. There appears to be a slow pace with which Information, Communication and Technology is introduced and used in schools. The need for computers in schools; the need for learners to become familiar with technology; and the need for teacher training in the use of computers appeared to be a dire need. Although the clustering system of schools has being regarded as very valuable in the improvement of quality teaching and learning in classrooms, there was however a need expressed for funds to assist in transport costs to attend the meetings as schools were situated at vast distances from each other. The study has thus arrived at the conclusion that stakeholders, namely teachers, principals and heads of departments are attempting to improve the quality of teaching and learning at their schools but are however hampered by the factors mentioned. The need for improved quality teaching and learning is a challenge at schools and support is needed from the Ministry of Education to reach the ultimate goal of the Government of the Republic of Namibia in providing quality teaching and learning to all its learners. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

The researcher wants to create a learning environment where learners are much more involved in their own learning. The progressive teaching design implies that the contribution of the learner to the development of knowledge is recognised. The educator also acknowledges the learner as a social being reliant on interaction with others to generate meaning. The problem statement for this study is based on the researcher’s opinion that In South African schools rote learning and memorisation are still the main methods of learning. The reason for this is because the majority of educators have been schooled in the traditional educational paradigm where the teaching process essentially revolves around the educator. In such a system learners who can recall facts best and obtain the best grades are regarded as having learnt well. The researcher contests the assertion that the learners learnt authentically. The progressive teaching approach is proffered by the educator as an alternative for the attainment of authentic learning in a grade 10 Economics classroom. In an authentic learning environment learners are prepared to face challenges in the real world through the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Learners collaborate and cooperate as members of a group to unravel problems. The researcher makes use of a qualitative research design for this study. The grade 10 Economics class of the researcher is used a case study to ascertain whether a progressive teaching approach can enhance authentic learning. Twelve learners out 26 that indicated that they would participate eventually took part in the study. The research instruments used were the video recorded lessons, teacher observation sheets and learner focused-group interviews. One of the findings from the study was that authentic learning skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking can be developed through the educator using the progressive teaching approach. This is in line with the principles of the CAPS for Economics. Another finding is that although more learner involvement is required for the progressive approach, the role of the educator remains crucial as a knowledge expert and a facilitator in the classroom. A further finding was that learners embraced the co-operative learning strategy which is one of the fundamentals of authentic learning. They enjoyed teaching to and learning from one another in group work. Finally, learners appreciated the use of cartoons and team-games by the progressive educator as additional strategies to further authenticate and enhance the learning experience. In summary the researcher wants to contend that from the literature study, the findings of the empirical research and the recommendation of this study that by working within the parameters of the CAPS for Economics, authentic learning can be achieved via a progressive teaching design. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The out of field phenomenon, that is, educators who teach outside their field of expertise, adds complexity to the education environment. This growing phenomenon in South African schools impacts colleagues, learners, parents, governing bodies and school management. Teaching characteristics that ensure success in classrooms are threatened by the out of field phenomenon. It puts extra strain on school management's responsibility to provide quality management and jeopardises effective teaching and quality learning. This problem was investigated by a literature study and an empirical investigation using a qualitative approach. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with selected participants who shared their experiences of the phenomenon. Findings indicated that the existence of the out of field phenomenon should be recognised in order to provide substantial educator support and sufficient staff development programmes. It is recommended that new evidence-informed knowledge about the out of field phenomenon can contribute to improve effective decision making and policy developing in this regard. / Education management / M.Ed.

Like other countries globally, South Africa has embraced inclusive education as a reform that supports and welcomes diversity among all learners. Inclusive education is a process of addressing the diverse learning needs of all learners by reducing barriers to and within the learning environment, as well as to increase their full participation in the learning process. In every classroom, there are learners who present with a diversity of personal characteristics and experiences attributable to physical, personal health or wellbeing, intellectual, psychological, religious, cultural, socio-economic or life experiences that may impact on their access to and participation in learning. It is important to respect the learners’ diversity in order to respond to the unique strengths and needs of every individual learner. The problem is that the pathological-deficit model seems to play a dominant role in teaching and learning, whereby learners who experience barriers to learning and development are not given opportunity to participate fully in learning. The purpose of this study is to enhance productive pedagogies to shift from pathological-deficit model which approaches learners based upon the perceptions of their weaknesses rather than their strengths and views those learners’ differences as deficits. The theoretical framework of critical pedagogy and social constructivism provided an extensive platform from which to engage with the study. A mixed methods study was conducted in two phases. Both phases were conducted at the Bojanala district in the North West Province. Phase one comprised a qualitative approach where focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with SBSTs and principals. Phase two comprised the quantitative approach where all teachers at the selected schools completed a questionnaire. A sequential mixed methods sampling was used with a multilevel purposive sample for choosing the schools. In both phases data were gathered from mainstream, full-service and special schools’ SBST, principals and all teachers selected by purposive and probability sampling respectively. The findings from the qualitative phase revealed that some schools are fully resourced to address diversity and respond to diverse learning needs of all learners. It is further revealed that inclusive practices are effectively implemented at those schools. It was also revealed that some schools were under-resourced to address barriers to learning and to respond to learners’ diverse needs. The SBST from the mentioned schools were not functional because they were not trained on their roles and responsibilities as support structures at their respective schools. Furthermore, several factors were identified as challenges in implementing inclusive practices and responding to diverse learning needs, and these are: limited teaching and learning time, overcrowding, lack of support from the District-based Support Team (DBST), insufficient knowledge and skills on addressing diversity and barriers to learning, lack of parental involvement and inadequate learner progression policy. The questionnaire findings indicated that some teachers did not have knowledge and skills on inclusive practices, did not attend inclusive education workshops and that there is a need for an extensive continuous professional teacher development programme for such teachers. Based on the findings of the empirical inquiry, recommendations are made to enhance productive pedagogies, improve inclusive practice and a call is made for extensive continuous professional teacher development where teachers can talk and share ideas about different approaches and strategies on how they can adjust their pedagogies, respond to diverse learning needs of all learners and get learners involved in learning. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Full-Service Schools are new institutions in South Africa which have been established in terms of the Education White Paper 6, Special Needs Education and Training System (Department of Education, 2001: 22-23; 2014: 9) as pilot schools for the rolling out of the Inclusion Policy in South Africa. A full-service school is a school that encourages learners who experience barriers to learning and learners without barriers to learning to learn and live together (Department of Education, 2001, 2014). For this reason, all learners must have opportunities to learn and play together and participate in educational activities in full-service schools. These inclusion practices, which promote acceptance, equity and collaboration, are responsive to individual needs, and embrace diversity (The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act No. 108 of 1996). The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of educators in management of inclusive classrooms. This study focused on how the educators perform the three of the seven educators roles as expected in the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ) (Department of Education, 2011).The educators, over and above these roles, are expected also to participate in extra-curricular programmes, such as sports, cultural and artistic activities, and thus taking more of their time, most probably to the detriment of not fulfilling their Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications as expected. The three selected educators roles are ‘the educator as a learning mediator’, ‘the educator as assessor’ and ‘the educator as support provider’, viz. the community, citizenship and pastoral roles of educators for the learners who experience barriers to learning in English First Additional Language (FAL) in the Grade Six inclusive classrooms. A qualitative research method was employed in this study, to explore the way in which individuals make sense of their world in the naturalistic setting of the classroom, without predetermining the research outcomes (Patton 2002, MacMillan & Schumacher 2010, Denzin & Lincoln 2011, Creswell, 2013). Data analysed was gathered through in-depth interviews, non-participatory observation, and document analysis. Data was analysed through content analysis. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

The study was primary undertaken to critically study the nature of learner performance and teaching in public secondary schools in Zambia, with a focus on four public, co-education, day schools in the Copperbelt region for the purposes of addressing the challenge of poor performance in the Grade 12 National examinations that has characterised public secondary schools in the country. The researcher was guided by the main research question: ‘What is the nature of learner performance and teaching in public secondary schools in Zambia?’ The aim of the research was to establish the factors that negatively affected learner performance and teaching in the selected schools in order to develop effective mechanisms that would improve the education system in public secondary schools both at regional and national levels. The study was undertaken using a qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach mainly propounded by Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), for the purposes of collecting the lived experiences of the 24 purposively selected participants employed in this research: 4 head teachers, 8 teachers and 12 learners. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews among the two longest serving teachers (male and female) per school and each of the head teachers in all the four schools; and two focus group interviews (from the highest and lowest performing schools) comprising six learners per group of equal gender among the selected Grade 12 candidates from the debate club and school council. The research also included analysis of documents like: school mission statements and visions, schemes and records of work and learners’ record of performance. The gathered information was manually analysed and interpreted. The major findings from the analysed data were that public secondary schools were negatively affected by four main categories of factors: (a) socio-economic factors; (b) the nature of the teaching and learning environment; (c) personal factors relating to the learners, teachers and head teachers; and (d) policy issues relating to learner enrolment and assessment, teacher selection, recruitment and development and highly controlled bureaucratic systems. The study established that improved learner performance is crucial to national development because the quality of an education system is measured by the performance of learners, and is the major drive for many aspects of development. The study also revealed that it was possible to improve learner performance, based on a number of lessons that can be drawn from the international research findings on characteristics of high-performing schools. Finally, the study recommends that public secondary schools in Zambia should revise their approach to enrolment of learners, teacher recruitment and development, and leadership appointment, and should adopt policies that meet the needs of the Zambian context as well as investing in research. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

The purpose of this interpretive qualitative study was to determine the extent of conceptual and procedural difficulties that NCV Level 4 students encountered when factorising and solving problems involving factorisation. This study is based on Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findel’s (2001) ideas on mathematical proficiency, focusing on conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge and the flexibility of integrating both appropriately to solve algebra problems involving factorisation. This study also explored reasons why NCV Level 4 students demonstrated such difficulties and suggested possible ways that could assist them to understand and flexibly use factorisation to solve problems. A purposive sample consisting of 30 NCV Level 4 students and 5 Subject Matter Experts participated in this study, which adopted a phenomenological case study research design. Triangulation of method was adopted for consistent gathering of information. Data was collected through a written assessment on factorisation under controlled test conditions, and semi-structured interviews. The researcher reduced and analysed data by utilising an integration of constant comparison analysis and classical content analysis. The findings and relevant recommendations concluded this research. / Mathematics Education / M. Ed. (Mathematical Education)

The primary purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that cause most Lesotho secondary schools to perform poorly in the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate examinations. The findings of the study show that the problems that contribute to the ineffectiveness of most secondary schools are multiple and interrelated. These problems can be identified at the macro or policy-making level at the Ministry of Education, and at the micro or the individual school level. At macro level, there appears to be a lack of adequate capacity among the senior management staff to perform the management and governance functions effectively, so that substantive improvement could be realised in the day-to-day operations, and academic results of schools. An upshot of this is that the professional support that the Ministry of Education provides to secondary schools is inadequate. Furthermore, despite the deepening poverty in Lesotho, the state does not provide textbooks to learners in secondary schools. Consequently, many learners do not have all the textbooks, and this affects their learning negatively. At micro level, the problems that contribute to the ineffectiveness of most secondary schools include teacher tardiness, teacher absenteeism and a lack of learner determination. It is contended that these factors indicate that the management of the school principals is weak. Moreover, because of poverty, many parents fail to pay school fees for their children on time. As a result, many learners are frequently sent back home by the principals to fetch money, and this reduces their academic learning time. The study also revealed that prior academic achievement of learners in primary schools is, to a large extent, a major predictor of their achievement in secondary schools. In this regard, the highly effective schools, which have selective admission policies and accept mainly Form A applicants, tend to consistently outperform the average and less effective schools, which have open admission policies. In order to improve the academic performance of secondary schools, it is recommended that the Ministry of Education officials, principals, teachers and learners should work more diligently and refocus their efforts on the core business of schools, namely, teaching and learning. / Teacher Education / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Acknowledging the various benefits that can be reaped from good quality education in schools, the primary aim of this study was to explore and investigate the effect of the BETD Graduates on the quality of education in primary schools, in Kunene region. Seventeen primary school principals took part in the study. They completed a questionnaire and the data was analysed using a qualitative method. Four main categories were investigated: (i) socio-demographic information (ii) the implementation of the BETD skills (iii) job performance and (iv) organizational effectiveness. This study suggests that there is a strong relationship between the type and quality of teacher education and its effect on the achievement and performances of learners in particular and the school in general. Therefore the quality of education in schools can be determined by the quality of the teachers on the ground. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The aim of this study was to find out the perceptions on the principals’ implementation of instructional leadership in the Amajuba District of KwaZulu-Natal with a view to provide guidelines that may be employed to enhance the execution of this role. Scholars believe that instructional leadership can assist in the transformation of schools into effective schools with consistent high learner achievement. In the Amajuba District schools show fluctuation in their grade twelve results, hence the need to investigate the principals’ implementation of instructional leadership. The grade 12 results were used because it is assumed that the variance is indicative of the differences in the principal’ leadership roles in these schools. This qualitative study examines the principals’ instructional leadership role. Data was gathered by means of literature study and focus group interviews. Four interviews were held: three with Deputy Principals and Heads of Departments, and the fourth one comprised of principals of the six selected secondary schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)