Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Masters in Education in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration in the Faculty of education at the University of Zululand, 2019. / The 1994 democratic government of South Africa brought greater responsibility and growth of school-based management in schools which impacted on the role and workload of school leaders. Principals of public foundation phase school teachers delegated greater responsibility to Heads of Departments who had to ensure that teachers are professionally developed. The assumption was that teachers should be supported and developed professionally to do their best work with learners, and, to be retained. Despite the belief that school-based Teacher Professional Development may have a positive impact, little is known about the challenges Heads of Departments’ of Tshivenda Language in a rural context face in managing teachers for them to promote quality teaching and learning. The aim of this study was to investigate the challenges that heads of departments face in managing the teaching of Tshivenda home language in rural primary schools of Dzindi circuit in Vhembe District. This study was positivist in nature following the quantitative research methodology. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from 107 respondents from the 200 who were sampled through simple random sampling procedure. Several challenges that face the HODs were identified. These include the need to supervise teachers in the process of teaching to improve learning in schools. The study points to a strong need for workshops to fully capacitate HODs of Tshivenda in rural primary schools of Dzindi Circuit. However, the various management challenges that have emerged should be considered. Mentoring of Tshivenda Home Language teachers by HODs remains very crucial for the promotion of teaching and learning in rural primary schools of Dzindi Circuit. The study recommends a need for HODs to motivate teachers in their management process. / National Research Foundation of South Africa

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Education (Early Childhood Education) in the Department of Foundations of Education at the University of Zululand, 2016 / The increase in the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) has caused a remarkable transformation in the field of education in the 21st century. This transformation has led to the restructuring of school curricula to incorporate ICT in order to equip teachers with the necessary tools to enhance achievement. The ability to read and write at the foundation level of education embraces the most fundamental skills learners obtain. To develop these skills, new methods and forms of teaching should always be considered. This is why the introduction of ICT innovation makes major demands on teachers’ professional skills. ICT plays a very crucial role in the expansion of language skills as it has become an indispensible way of learning and a valuable area of research for both teachers and learners. This paper explores the experiences of foundation phase teachers in integrating ICT into language learning and teaching focusing on Grade 3 teachers in six primary schools in UThungulu Education District. The following research questions were answered: What are teachers’ experiences in incorporating ICT into language learning? What are teachers’ attitudes towards the use of ICT? What is the level of teachers’ resistance to the use of ICT? What is the level of appropriate use of ICT for curriculum delivery in language learning and teaching? The study adopted a purposive sampling technique and a qualitative research method in which the researcher conducted focus group interviews and class lessons were also observed. The target population was primary school teachers from government and privately owned schools in the UThungulu district. Data were analysed using the descriptive analysis technique. The study revealed that only 1.2% of the schools investigated were well resourced in the field of ICT facilities. It was also observed that teachers who claimed to have ICT skills only have basic computer skills. The study also discovered that teachers in the UThungulu Education District are not familiar with any English language online learning resources and software. Schools lack proper funding to integrate ICT and teachers are rarely trained on proper integration skills. The study suggests ways that will lead to effective integration of ICT into language learning and teaching in UThungulu District schools: Policy makers should partner with teachers in drafting the English language curriculum so as to incorporate ICT; stakeholders in the education sector should provide and monitor funds allocated to schools in order to see to the successful integration of ICT in education; frequent ICT integration accredited trainings should be organised for teachers and ICT integration should be incorporated into the teacher education curriculum from the very first year.