<p>This is a study of the discourses of empowerment and disempowerment that emerge from the critical discourse analysis (CDA) of life-histories written by two classes of Grade 11 high school learners in a township school in Cape Town, South Africa. The line of argument presented by this thesis is that there are political, socio-economic, familial and institutional factors and the discourses that construct them which affect learners&rsquo / resilience.</p>

<p>The aims of this study were to understand stress, coping strategies and social support amongst grade 11 students.</p>

<p>This is a study of the discourses of empowerment and disempowerment that emerge from the critical discourse analysis (CDA) of life-histories written by two classes of Grade 11 high school learners in a township school in Cape Town, South Africa. The line of argument presented by this thesis is that there are political, socio-economic, familial and institutional factors and the discourses that construct them which affect learners&rsquo / resilience.</p>

<p>The aims of this study were to understand stress, coping strategies and social support amongst grade 11 students.</p>

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / The aims of this study were to understand stress, coping strategies and social support amongst grade 11 students. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This is a study of the discourses of empowerment and disempowerment that emerge from the critical discourse analysis (CDA) of life-histories written by two classes of Grade 11 high school learners in a township school in Cape Town, South Africa. The line of argument presented by this thesis is that there are political, socio-economic, familial and institutional factors and the discourses that construct them which affect learners&rsquo; resilience. / South Africa

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / Self-Determination Theory is a theory of motivation that aims to explain individuals' goal directed behaviour. Grade 11 learners are naturally in a stage of pursuing certain life goals and aspirations in the process of completing their schooling careers. Often the circumstances or environment provide the opportunities for individuals to be motivated towards aspiring to their life goals. Parents are key role players in either enhancing or hindering the motivation for children to be goal directed. This study examined the association of parenting practices and styles on the identification of goals and aspirations of Grade 11 learners in secondary schools in the Metro South region of the Western Cape. The objectives were to determine: (1) the content of the goals and aspirations of Grade 11 learners, (2) the perceived parental styles and practices of their parents and (3) the relationship between (1) and (2). A quantitative research method with a cross-sectional correlation design was used. The Parental Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire and the Aspiration Index were the instruments for collecting the data. The final sample consisted of 257 participants of which 155 (60.3%) were females. The mean age was 17.3 years. The results suggest that the maternal parenting was more prevalent than paternal parenting. Maternal and paternal authoritative parentings were significantly positively related to both intrinsic and extrinsic goals and aspirations whereas maternal and paternal permissive parentings were significantly positively related to only extrinsic goals. The study showed that the participants are inclined towards intrinsic goal pursuits. Furthermore, maternal parenting was a significant predictor of both intrinsic and extrinsic goals and aspirations and both parents predicted a stronger association.

M.Ed. / This dissertation is about the instructional approaches used by teachers to teach Grade 11 quadratic equations, errors learners made and misconceptions they possessed. The main topics that I had focused on were solving quadratic equations by factoring, completing a square and using quadratic formula. The intention was to observe teachers’ teaching approaches in quadratic equations and diagnosed types of errors learners displayed and misconceptions they possessed in quadratic equations. Literature review had served as a secondary source of information that was relied upon for the research study. Sources such as scholarly books, government documents, dissertations, professional journals and electronic resources were used to gather the information pertinent to the research topic. Review was also done on how teachers teach quadratic equations, learners’ learning of quadratic equations and teachers teach and learners learn mathematics. This study is action research under qualitative research paradigm in which the information collected was analyzed through thick description and not statistically. Pre-test, self and post test evaluation methods are discussed of quadratic equations by factorization, completing a square and using quadratic formula. Learners were tested on factoring, completing a square and using quadratic formula. In addition to the learners’ class exercises and home work, these scripts were also analysed for errors and misconceptions. Collected data is presented that helped to address errors and misconceptions learners displayed in solving quadratic equations and teachers’ teaching methods and approaches. Data was collected from schools in the neighborhood and the school I was attached as a mathematics teacher. In all schools, five teachers’ three lessons were observed which added up to a total of fifteen. All five teachers were interviewed as well as five learners in each school. Interviews were analyzed by comparing what their teaching approaches with the types of learners’ errors and misconceptions. In classroom observations, Indicator Evaluation Form adopted from Luneta (2006) was used to collect data as well as analyzing it. Questionnaires were prepared for both teachers and learners for interviews.

In this investigation, two schools - a control school and an experimental school – were compared in terms of learner performance in two traditional grade 11 mathematics tests, namely the pre-intervention test and the post-intervention test. Both schools completed the two tests simultaneously. Educators saw both tests before intervention. In the experimental school, four grade 11 mathematics classes were studied. The four classes were given worksheets that complied with an open-ended approach (OEA) to mathematics teaching and learning for learners to work independently on, with the teacher only facilitating. The learner-centredness expressed in the OEA complied with learner-centredness as envisaged by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), and was predominantly constructivist in character. Throughout the five-month intervention, the author observed proceedings in two of the four classes in the experimental school, ensuring that questions the teacher asked complied with the OEA. The two classes would be referred to as monitored classes. The other two classes at the experimental school worked on the worksheet, with the teacher having been briefed about what was expected of the learners using the worksheet -basically that the learners would have to take own initiatives in solving the mathematics problems with minimal teacher intervention. The two grade 11 mathematics classes were monitored, but not as frequently as the monitored classes. The classes will be referred to as unmonitored classes. At the control school the educators followed their usual (traditional) teaching approach. Both the experimental and control schools followed the same grade 11 mathematics work schedule. The educators in the control school taught without any interference from the author, but the classes at the control school were occasionally observed by the author. In addition to the intervention comparison, the author also gathered qualitative information about participating educators' and learners' experiences and opinions about the OEA at the experimental school by using interviews. The results of the pre-intervention test showed no statistical difference between the experimental and control school performance, meaning that the learners from both schools were of comparable pre-requisite knowledge. In the post-intervention test, learners from the two monitored classes meaningfully outperformed those from the two unmonitored experimental classes and those from the control school. However, there was no significant difference in performance between learners from the two unmonitored classes and those from control school, The study concludes that the appropriate OEA intervention was responsible for the good results of the monitored classes., and then uses the gathered qualitative information to design a model for the successful implementation of' OEA in mathematics classes. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

In this investigation, two schools - a control school and an experimental school – were compared in terms of learner performance in two traditional grade 11 mathematics tests, namely the pre-intervention test and the post-intervention test. Both schools completed the two tests simultaneously. Educators saw both tests before intervention. In the experimental school, four grade 11 mathematics classes were studied. The four classes were given worksheets that complied with an open-ended approach (OEA) to mathematics teaching and learning for learners to work independently on, with the teacher only facilitating. The learner-centredness expressed in the OEA complied with learner-centredness as envisaged by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), and was predominantly constructivist in character. Throughout the five-month intervention, the author observed proceedings in two of the four classes in the experimental school, ensuring that questions the teacher asked complied with the OEA. The two classes would be referred to as monitored classes. The other two classes at the experimental school worked on the worksheet, with the teacher having been briefed about what was expected of the learners using the worksheet -basically that the learners would have to take own initiatives in solving the mathematics problems with minimal teacher intervention. The two grade 11 mathematics classes were monitored, but not as frequently as the monitored classes. The classes will be referred to as unmonitored classes. At the control school the educators followed their usual (traditional) teaching approach. Both the experimental and control schools followed the same grade 11 mathematics work schedule. The educators in the control school taught without any interference from the author, but the classes at the control school were occasionally observed by the author. In addition to the intervention comparison, the author also gathered qualitative information about participating educators' and learners' experiences and opinions about the OEA at the experimental school by using interviews. The results of the pre-intervention test showed no statistical difference between the experimental and control school performance, meaning that the learners from both schools were of comparable pre-requisite knowledge. In the post-intervention test, learners from the two monitored classes meaningfully outperformed those from the two unmonitored experimental classes and those from the control school. However, there was no significant difference in performance between learners from the two unmonitored classes and those from control school, The study concludes that the appropriate OEA intervention was responsible for the good results of the monitored classes., and then uses the gathered qualitative information to design a model for the successful implementation of' OEA in mathematics classes. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.