published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

This thesis provides an ethnography of the final year at an emerging middle-class private high school in the Northeast of Brazil. It draws on 15 months of fieldwork, including participant observation in the classroom wherein I followed students whilst they prepared for vestibular (the university entrance exam). Students' movements through Fortaleza, one of the world's most unequal cities, produced knowledge about the kind of person that one could and should be in the future. Private schooling appeared to provide a route for students to realise that metaphorical (and perhaps physical) movement. Vestibular served as a sort of rite of passage that could transform (emerging middle-class) youth into (middle-class) adults. Students and teachers characterised vestibular as a luta (fight) that could be won with enough training, flexibility and commitment. Good or high self-esteem was needed to overcome laziness and endure this luta and, thus, teachers and students worked on producing better self-esteem through affective work. Dreams (aspirations for the future) also played a critical role: the school encouraged students to engage in time work, to imagine appropriate future(s) into which students could channel their energies in the present. This version of individual power differed from the political and economic power structures portrayed in the classroom. Students grew indignant as, through curriculum and pedagogy, they came to understand that they were oppressed and that Brazil was underdeveloped and not quite modern. The university entrance exam served as a national meritocratic ritual that portrayed Brazil as becoming modern with governable and governing citizens. Students resisted these assertions and/but their cynicisms belied hope for better imagined futures. Using the classroom as container, this thesis presents a portrait of people and ideas in formation during a post-Lula era.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2017. / The emergence of a highly competitive and integrated international economy, rapid technological innovation, and a growing knowledge base will continue to have a profound impact on the lives of communities. In recent years there has been an international movement towards educational reform, particularly in science education, to meet the need for a sustainable environment, economy, and society. Science education is a key element in developing scientific literacy among today’s and tomorrow’s youth. Recent decades have seen an exponential growth in scientific applications, and one would expect an accompanied increase in science interests in the classroom, as well as an increased understanding of basic science ideas and ways of thinking will follow. However, research has shown that this is not the case. In this study, the researcher, through the research methodology, took an in-depth look at whether the curriculum reform in the Life Science curriculum was forthcoming to lifelong learning. The key questions guiding this study are as follows: (a) What are the perceptions and expectations of grade 12 learners regarding the quality of the Life Sciences curriculum in respect of lifelong learning; (b) What are the perceptions and expectations of grade 12 learners regarding the their Life Sciences educators; (c) What are the perceptions of the grade 12 Life Sciences educators of the relevance of the grade 12 Life Sciences curriculum with a view to lifelong learning; (d) How does the grade 12 Life Sciences curriculum impact on lifelong learning of learners. This study falls within the realm of mixed methods study. Mixed methods encompass both a quantitative and a qualitative study. The study was conducted in the district of Pinetown because in 2013 this district produced the best results in Kwa-Zulu Natal in the National Senior Certificate Life Sciences examination. This study used simple random sampling to obtain the learner participants. The researcher conducted the study in 16 schools and 25 learners from each school were randomly selected. The educator sample comprised 75 grade 12 Life Sciences educators. The SERVQUAL questionnaire was administered to the 400 learners that were randomly selected while; the educator questionnaire was administered to the sample of 75 educators. The findings of the research revealed that educators experienced many challenges which hindered the successful implementation of the Life Sciences curriculum effectively. The quality of the Life Sciences curriculum itself did not that hinge on lifelong learning. It did not have very much relevance to the lives of the learners and as such the learners were learning about things that were abstract to them. Another finding was that educators found it challenging to relate the grade 12 Life Sciences curriculum to the everyday experiences of the learners because time was a limiting factor. The exam driven nature of Life Sciences had resulted in rote memorisation of scientific facts by the students without any or very little attention being paid to analysis and application of knowledge. The inability to evaluate the process of curriculum implementation by curriculum developers could have serious consequences for the learners and communities at large. For any qualitative change to occur in Life Sciences education, the curriculum must undergo a paradigm shift. To encourage schools and teachers to implement this paradigm shift, fundamentally there needs to be an overarching reform of teacher empowerment. In essence, what is needed from the national educational policy makers is a shift towards more evolutionary policy planning which aims to improve the fit between the intention of the curriculum and the conditions on the ground, to blend top-down policy initiative and bottom-up participation and to promote continuous interaction between all policy actors. / D

Evaluation of intervention programmes is essential to adduce evidential information on their implementation, delivery and effectiveness. Evaluation of programmes is conducted for various reasons: to identify provision of programme services and ways to improve the programme, to judge programme merit and to generate knowledge about programme functioning. Process evaluation explains the operation of the programme, service delivery and the utilisation of resources with a view to continuous improvement. However, process evaluation has been neglected despite the significant role it plays in the continuum of evaluation strategies. In South Africa, the poor performance of Grade 12 learners has led to the introduction of the Secondary School Intervention Programme (SSIP) to reduce the number of failures in the matriculation examination and improve the results, particularly in underperforming secondary schools. This study evaluated the delivery of the SSIP in the Tshwane West district through process evaluation using qualitative research methods. As part of the evaluation, relevant records and SSIP documents, which yielded information on the participating schools, learner attendance, the tutors and their qualifications were examined. During the course of the fieldwork, 10 lesson presentations were observed and 10 tutors were interviewed immediately thereafter. Ten learners, the Programme Coordinator and 3 site managers volunteered for interviews about the programme. Findings indicated the necessity of tutor training in the use of the programme materials and frequent assessment of learners to determine improvements in learner performance. The SSIP should focus not only on improving matriculation results but also on the education and professional development of educators. To enhance effective programme delivery, innovative and modern teaching resources, such as computers to access the internet and other technologies, should be introduced. Based on the findings, it was recommended that SSIP should not be confined to underperforming schools but should be extended to other schools as well. Learner feedback on strengths and weaknesses in the programme and how the latter can be remedied will contribute to programme improvement. Finally, this study reflects the need to adopt process evaluation as a significant component of evaluation and advocates further research conducted on other areas of evaluation. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The aim of this study was to find solutions to problems relating to the fact that many township learners are not optimally prepared for the Grade 12 final examination resulting in them having limited possibilities for further studies and after-school employment. The main research question focused on how Grade 12 learners can be assisted to perform optimally in the final examination. A qualitative research approach was adopted using focus group interviews. School management team members and Grade 12 educators and learners from one township secondary school were selected as participants. The main factors that assist Grade 12 learners to perform optimally in the Grade 12 final examination relate to well executed leadership functions, competent teaching, learner commitment, effective policy implementation and sound school, home and township conditions. A school intervention programme that included formal studying by camping on the school grounds improved Grade 12 performance significantly. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The National Senior Certificate Grade 12 results in the Pinetown District between 2010 and 2015 revealed that a number of township and rural schools are struggling to obtain an overall 60% pass rate. But some schools in similar circumstances managed to achieve above this pass percentage. The study sought to enquire about the role of school management teams (SMTs) in managing factors that influenced learner academic performance in Grade 12 examinations The study was conducted in three purposely selected public schools that each surpassed the 60 percent overall pass in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in the Pinetown District, KwaZulu-Natal. The study employed a qualitative approach and was located in the interpretive paradigm. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The identities of all respondents were protected. Upon analysis of results, several measures the schools applied emerged. Topics for future research are also suggested. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

South African learners transitioning into the world of work are currently lacking adequate career education in schools. It is well documented that preparedness for the world of work sets learners in a locus of control. The main aim of this case study was to interpret learners’ reflections of selfconstructing a career with the psychosocial construct of career adaptability as an instructional scaffold. The study leaned on the life design for career construction theory, a combination of the career construction theory of Savickas, and the selfconstruction theory of Guichard. I utilised interpretivism as a research paradigm and a single case study design. Following purposeful convenience sampling, sixteen Grade 11 learners in a South African public school participated in Phase 1: a workshop comprising five sessions. Phase 2 consisted of a focus group interview with eight learners selected from the original group on their level of contribution and commitment. Data collection included group reflection, reflective writing, observation, researcher reflective field notes, and a focus group interview. Six themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the data. Learners successfully initiated career planning activities by reflecting on the career adaptability construct. The research results suggest a need for an alternative approach in the manner career education is presented in schools. This study hopes to provide insight into career selfconstruction initiatives learners employ when using the career adaptability construct as an instructional scaffold. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This research was conducted to confirm and identify possible and intrinsic factors which may influence the academic achievement of senior secondary pupils in the rural Eastem Cape. The literature study indicates that factors such as parental involvement, motivation, the role of teachers and peers as well as learners' attribution of meaning, involvement, and experience have a direct influence on academic achievement. To confmn the influence of the above factors, the researcher conducted a structured interview with ten respondents, consisting of four pupils, their parents and two teachers. Questions to parents investigated their relationship with theii·children in terms of discipline, motivation as well as involvement in their education. Questions to pupils investigated their relationship with their parents, teachers, peers and self. Learners' level of self-actualization in terms of attribution of meaning, involvement, experience and self-concept was also examined. The research revealed that most of the parents are not adequately involved in their children s education, and the fmdings confirmed this as an extrinsic factor that influenced the learners achievement. The findings also indicated that teachers have somewhat lost sight of their role in promoting learners' potential, contributing to the high failure rate in the Eastern Cape rural schools. The fmdings further confirmed that the learners level of self­ actualization, in terms of attribution of meaning, involvement and experience influences academic achievement. Based on the findings, recommendations were made to improve the situation of education in the rural Eastern Cape. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This research was conducted to confirm and identify possible and intrinsic factors which may influence the academic achievement of senior secondary pupils in the rural Eastem Cape. The literature study indicates that factors such as parental involvement, motivation, the role of teachers and peers as well as learners' attribution of meaning, involvement, and experience have a direct influence on academic achievement. To confmn the influence of the above factors, the researcher conducted a structured interview with ten respondents, consisting of four pupils, their parents and two teachers. Questions to parents investigated their relationship with theii·children in terms of discipline, motivation as well as involvement in their education. Questions to pupils investigated their relationship with their parents, teachers, peers and self. Learners' level of self-actualization in terms of attribution of meaning, involvement, experience and self-concept was also examined. The research revealed that most of the parents are not adequately involved in their children s education, and the fmdings confirmed this as an extrinsic factor that influenced the learners achievement. The findings also indicated that teachers have somewhat lost sight of their role in promoting learners' potential, contributing to the high failure rate in the Eastern Cape rural schools. The fmdings further confirmed that the learners level of self­ actualization, in terms of attribution of meaning, involvement and experience influences academic achievement. Based on the findings, recommendations were made to improve the situation of education in the rural Eastern Cape. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)