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This study examines the role of academic literacies and academic-writing practices at two diverse South African senior secondary schools and the implications that these practices have for academic-literacy teaching in Higher Education (HE). As student academic writing is central to teaching, learning and assessment in HE, learner academic-writing standards at schools will often impact on academic success in HE. This is a concern for HE as research from South African schooling contexts have found that students from secondary schools are seldom equipped to cope with the demands of HE writing practices. In addition, the introduction of a new curriculum (National Curriculum Statement – NCS) based on the principles of the South African constitution and informed by the Bill of Rights, impacted for the first time on senior secondary schools in 2006, when it was implemented in grade 10, and HE received its first cohort of matriculants with an NCS educational background in 2009. Therefore, this study specifically explores teachers' writing practices within an NCS writing-practice design for grades 11 and 12, and assesses its current implications for academic-writing practices in HE. Critical ethnography was selected as the primary methodology as it is concerned with multiple perspectives and explores local-practice contexts. Therefore, it provides a holistic understanding of the complexity of writing practices by examining the participants' writing-practice perceptions, observing their teaching practices and analysing their written responses or feedback to first and final drafts. The data/study sample consisted of three grades 11 and one grade 12 English Home Language and English First Additional Language teachers as well as selected learners from two secondary schools in the Port Elizabeth district. The data was collected by means of classroom observations, teacher interviews and learner samples of academic writing. Although this study focused on the teaching of academic writing by the four teachers, literacy understandings were also explored by describing what literacy practices subjectively meant to the four teachers by determining the meanings they collectively and individually gave to dominant literacy practices in academic writing, especially feedback practices in text production. A detailed examination of the new NCS requirements suggest that it offers an understanding of knowledge as a social construct, advocates a multiple literacies approach to teaching and learning, and allows for a process approach to cognitively-demanding writing which takes cognisance of the rhetorical, social and cultural dimensions of literacy. Collectively, the ASs in LO3 reflect a process approach to writing, from planning, drafting, feedback, revision to presentation of the final text. It also considers the specific rhetorical dimensions of purpose, audience, and context. Therefore, these NCS writing practices should benefit learners advancing to HE. This study argues that if teachers in secondary schools were to adhere more closely to the NCS's LO3 and its ASs implementation guidelines, learners would be better prepared to cope with HE academic-writing requirements. Instead, the study found that the teachers tended to reduce writing practices to the mastery of discrete sets of technical skills with a focus on surface features of language like spelling and grammar. In addition, the study found that when the teachers' perceptions of the NCS and their own classroom-writing practices were explored, they tended to resist a social-practice approach to academic writing, and, as a result, mostly adapted LO3 of the NCS rather than adopting it as intended by the policy-makers. Similar to other South African studies, this study concludes that teachers remain largely rooted in their autonomous teaching practices favouring traditional methods with which they are familiar over curricula policies which could emancipate learners toward levels of achievement which would better prepare them for both HE and the world of work. In other words, teachers in the sample tend to conserve their traditional methodologies which are predominantly informed by deficit views of learners‟ problems, selectively including new policy requirements which create the impression of compliance, rather than fundamentally altering their approaches pedagogically in the classroom and their academic-writing practices in particular.

The research describes how creativity in higher education can be introduced as a concept that could enhance the creative thinking and application of adult learners enrolled in the Advertising Management Diploma. A number of different routes were attempted in order to answer the research question „can creativity be taught? ‟ Cord and Clement (2010) stated that adult learners should be allowed to practice their skills and prior knowledge, and that the learning material should promote generic workplace skills. The research discovered that the learning material for the Advertising Management diploma does little to enhance or even cater for imagination and creative application. It is vital for accurate application to take place, as this will enhance creativity. The problem formation is centered on the lack of sufficient skills in using one‟s imagination to generate creative ideas. This research study included five research activities that employed a semi-structured interview that involved sessions spanning over a period of six months, aligned to the course material‟s learning outcomes, and creative application of such acquired knowledge. It was established that, in order to further the creative application of young adults, it is important that they are able to link theory to practical and so be able to create concrete examples of what they are capable of doing. / ABET and Youth Development / M. Ed. (Adult Education)

Prompted by increasing demand in South Africa for the development of a focused but flexible English Second Language (ESL) curriculum at university level, this thesis contends that substantial theoretical under-pinning is needed for decisions on ESL course materials. Once the theoretical constructs are determined, a model based on a systematic approach to course design is proposed. It maximizes the individualization of experiential learning, despite the large numbers of students who take these courses, through a multi-form course structure offering four streams of study at three levels of difficulty. Entry is possible at the start of the year and at mid-year. The empirical research which forms the basis of the study is an analysis of the 1985 student group at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Several methods are used, including post-course questionnaires, diagnostic assignments and a detailed language and stylistic error count linked with a clause analysis of a sample of assignments and examination scripts. The model curriculum meets the contextually basic science requirements of a university course, within the parameters of response needed in regard to the ESL student profile determined by the needs and role analysis completed in Chapter 2. Model aims and terminal learning objectives are presented in Chapter 3 as the foundation on which the rest of the thesis is constructed, and include comprehension, applied composition, oral and aural skills, use of reference works, methods of thinking, and occupationally relevant specialist language. In Chapters 4 and 5, in-depth analyses of appropriate course content and methods emphasize the use of Afrocentric English literature in contemporary settings with appropriate readability levels, language in use in specified contexts, development of vocabulary, remedying incorrect usage, comprehension skills, composition skills, development of cognitive processes, oral and listening skills, and the purpose and place of grammar. The final chapters outline approaches to criterion-referenced assessment and evaluation, and suggest appropriate set works and criteria for their selection. The course materials aim at improving English communicative performance. The underlying principles used in developing this course design and its associated materials can be valuably extrapolated and applied at universities and other tertiary institutions. / English Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (English)

Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbsoch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The primary concern of the study is how pre-service teachers perform after they have been exposed to a section of a linear algebra course based on the problem-centred approach. The students were in their final (3rd ) year of a teacher education course at a college of education which prepares them to teach mathematics at high school level. Sixty students, who formed the experimental group, were exposed to a linear algebra section, which was underpinned by the tenets of the problem-centred approach. The control group comprised of 60 students of similar mathematical background and they were taught the linear algebra section in the conventional way. The main study is preceded by an overview of the history of the teaching of linear algebra and this overview rendered that certain aspects of linear algebra were historically taught in context. Furthermore an analysis of current secondary school mathematics curricula indicated that there are components of linear algebra present in these syllabi. To test whether there was any significant effect of the experimental course, both groups were subjected to the same linear algebra test items at the end of the experimental period. The null hypothesis tested was: there will be no significant difference between the achievement scores of the experimental and control groups. A simple statistical two-tailed test for the difference between two means was done. This test confirmed the rejection of the null hypothesis at the 0,01 level of significance. It is thus accepted that the superior achievement of the experimental group was due to the intervention - approaching aspects of linear algebra through the problem-centred approach. To get an indication of the strategies the experimental group followed to solve linear algebra problems, an analysis was done of the written work of the students. This analysis showed that students applied an absolute calculation strategy to seek solutions to the problems. The study had the following limitations: 1. The students were not representative of the pre-service secondary teachers in South Africa. Only students from the developing population group were involved. 2. The students were not randomly assigned to the experimental and control group. They were in their normal college classes . . Notwithstanding the above limitations it is recommended that: 1. The problem-centred approach, which support the ideals of outcomes-based education, be applied to a major part of the South African school and college of education mathematics syllabi. 2. Appropriate assessment procedures consonant with the problem-centered approach are installed. 3. Adequate support systems are put in place to support teacher transition from the conventional to the problem-centred approach. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die primêre fokus van die studie is die effek van In lineêre algebra kursus, aangebied volgens die probleem-gesentreerde benadering, op kollege onderwysstudente. Die studente was in hulle finale (3de) jaar van In kursus aan In onderwyskollege wat hulle voorberei om wiskunde op hoërskoolvlak te onderrig. Die eksperimentele groep, bestaande uit 60 studente, het aspekte van lineêre algebra geleer, onderrig volgens die probleem-gesentreerde benadering. Die kontrolegroep, bestaande uit 60 studente met omtrent dieselfde wiskunde agtergrond, het dieselfde lineêre algebra geleer, onderrig volgens die konvensionele metode. Die hoofstudie is voorafgegaan deur In oorsig van die geskiedenis van die onderrig van lineêre algebra, wat getoon het dat dat sekere aspekte van lineêre algebra histories in konteks onderrig is. In Ontleding van die huidige hoërkool wiskundekurrikulum toon dat dit komponente van lineêre algebra bevat. Om die impak van die eksperimentele kursus te bepaal, het beide groepe aan die einde van die eksperimentele periode dieselfde lineêre algebra toetsitems voltooi. Die volgende nul-hipotese is getoets: Daar is geen beduidende verskil tussen die prestasies van die eksperimentele en die kontrole groepe nie. In Eenvoudige tweevlerk statistiese toets vir die verskil tussen twee gemiddeldes is gedoen. Die toets bevestig die verwerping van die nul-hipotese op die 0,01 vlak van beduidendheid. Dit word dus aanvaar dat die beter prestasie van die eksperimentele groep toegeskryf kan word aan die intervensie, naamlik die leer van lineêre algebra volgens die probleem-gesentreerde benadering. Om "n aanduiding te kry van die strategieë wat die eksperimentele groep gebruik het in die oplos van lineêre algebra probleme, is die geskrewe werk van die studente ontleed. Die ontleding het getoon dat studente 'n absolute rekenstrategie gebruik het om oplossings vir die probleme te soek. Die studie het die volgende beperkings: 1. Die studente was nie verteenwoordigend van sekondêre onderwysstudente in Suid Afrika nie. Slegs studente uit die onwikkelinggroep was betrokke. 2. Die studente is nie willekeurig aan die eksperimentele en kontrole groepe toegewys nie. Hulle was in hul gewone kollege klasse. Ondanks die bogenoemde beperkings, word daar aanbeveel dat: 1. Die probleem-gesentreerde benadering, wat die beginsels van uitkomsgebaseerde onderwys ondersteun, behoort in die wiskunde kurrikulum vir skole en onderwyserskolleges gebruik te word. 2. Gepaste assesseringsmetodes, soos in die probleem-gesentreerde benadering gebruik, moet toegepas word. 3. Doeltreffende ondersteuningstelsels moet geïmplementeer word om onderwysers te ondersteun in huloorgang na die probleem-gesentreerde benadering.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Relevant literature in higher education indicates that the higher education scene is changing fast and that higher education providers and their educators are at the centre of such change. The changing student body is of particular interest to higher education providers as the changing needs of students result in new inquiries into how current students learn and perform. Student engagement is widely suggested as a means of addressing the changing nature of the current generation of students and enhancing student success. Student engagement may be defined as the time and effort students devote to activities that are empirically linked to the desired higher education outcomes. Student success is no longer considered merely as cognitive competence as there is a greater understanding today of what makes up the entire student and his or her learning needs. This study was aimed at determining to what extent student engagement is being promoted at a private higher education institution in the Western Cape, South Africa. A mixed method research design was applied. Self-constructed questionnaires were distributed to staff members and students at the institution and semi-structured interviews with individual staff members and focus group interviews with students were also conducted. Both quantitative and qualitative data were generated and appropriately analysed. From the findings of this study a number of issues emerged. Firstly, it was revealed that the institution as a private provider in the field of culinary arts and hospitality and its educators recognise the changing nature of their students. Secondly, staff seem committed to the concept of student engagement and related practices to foster student success. Thirdly, students acknowledge engagement in their own learning as a favourable feature, but indicate further engagement opportunities to be created by their lecturing staff and the institution. A number of implications also emerged from the study. It is evident that lecturers at The Private Hotel School may aim to gain a better understanding of the current generation of students and they may also focus on determining more ways to facilitate engagement. Furthermore, it is evident that students at this institution may be made more aware of their role in engaging in their own learning. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die relevante literatuur in hoër onderwys dui daarop dat die hoëronderwysomgewing besig is om vinnig te verander en dat die verskaffers van hoër onderwys en hul opvoeders sentraal staan in sulke verandering. Die veranderende behoeftes van studente dien as aansporing vir nuwe navorsing oor hoe teenswoordige studente leer en presteer; gevolglik is die veranderende studenteliggaam van besondere belang vir die verskaffers van hoër onderwys. Daar word algemeen aanbeveel dat studentebetrokkenheid ondersoek word om die veranderende aard van die huidige geslag studente te verken en studentesukses te verhoog. Studentebetrokkenheid kan gedefinieer word as die tyd en moeite wat studente aan aktiwiteite wy wat empiries verbind kan word met verlangde uitkomste in hoër onderwys. Studentesukses word nie meer gesien as slegs kognitiewe bevoegdheid nie aangesien daar tans meer begrip is van wat die hele student en sy of haar leerbehoeftes behels. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was om te bepaal tot watter mate studentebetrokkenheid bevorder word by ʼn private hoëronderwysinstelling in die Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika. ʼn Gemengde-metode navorsingsontwerp is gebruik, en self-opgestelde vraelyste is aan personeellede en studente by die instelling uitgedeel. Semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude is gevoer met individuele personeellede en fokusgroep-onderhoude is met studente gedoen. Beide kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe data is gegenereer en toepaslik ontleed. ʼn Aantal kwessies het vanuit die bevindinge van hierdie studie aan die lig gekom: Eerstens, dat die opvoeders van die instelling as ʼn private verskaffer op die terrein van kulinêre kuns en gasvryheid die veranderende aard van hul studente herken; tweedens, dat die personeel verbind is tot die bevordering van studentebetrokkenheid en verwante praktyke om studentesukses te bevorder; en derdens, dat studente betrokkenheid in hul eie leerproses as ʼn positiewe doelstelling beskou, maar dat verdere geleenthede tot betrokkenheid geskep kan word deur hul doserende personeel en die instelling. ʼn Aantal verdere implikasies het ook vanuit hierdie studie aan die lig gekom. Dit is duidelik dat dosente by The Private Hotel School nog ʼn groter poging kan aanwend om die huidige geslag studente beter te begryp en dat hulle ook kan probeer om meer maniere te vind om studentebetrokkenheid te fasiliteer. Dit blyk verder dat studente by hierdie instelling nog meer bewus kan raak van hoe hulle self tot groter betrokkenheid by hulle eie leerproses kan bydra.

M.A. / The purpose of this study is to promote the analysis and study of the structure and function of texts as a strategy which can be used in language courses for improving the writing proficiency of distance teaching technikon students in their fields of employment ...

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, June 2017 / The language issues in South Africa recently made headlines where inclusive education in respective mother tongues has been the outcry. South Africa has been a democratic state for more than 20 years and still such language inequalities are most prevalent. The issue of language redress to accommodate the country’s educational needs and demographics remains a big concern even at University levels. The focus of this study was to investigate the challenges, concerns, familiarity and understandings of the difficulties that non-technical terms presented to B.Ed. second year University students. This case study explored whether issues with non-technical terms’ science contextual meanings and familiarity in science related fields of study were still persistent at University level. The study was conducted at an English medium South African University, with student demographics coming from mostly urban settings with mixed home language backgrounds where English was highly spoken in school. The data collected in this case study was derived from University students’ responses on a questionnaire to predetermined questions that focused on non-technical terms’ meanings followed by a semi-structured group interview. The findings in the interview with participants gave an indication to their contextual familiarity and understanding of non-technical terms’ science context meanings, with the aim to improving teaching and learning of physical sciences in schools as a preparatory measure for further University studying. Similar to the findings from studies with South African teachers and Grade 12 learners’ (see Oyoo, 2016, in press; Oyoo & Semeon, 2015) which revealed that South African school learners encountered difficulties with non-technical terms presented in the science context, this study revealed that South African University students’ also experience difficulty with non-technical terms’ science context meanings. The main sources of difficulty identified in the study were attributed to the South African language and historical background which contributes to poor vocabulary. Students’ lacked the exposure, and contextual familiarity to the language that these meanings are embedded in. This led to students’ inability to differentiate between non-technical terms’ specific scientific context meaning from terms’ everyday meaning. The lowered exposure to these terms’ actual contextual use inside and outside classroom conversations is a factor that needs to be countered. Students’ acknowledged that explicit meaning of non-technical terms’ science context meanings should have been made when learning science at school. School science instruction needs to pay special attention to details on the context of the word in use as a preparatory measure for University. This claim is more on the fact that, participants acknowledged that familiarity is the major factor to their difficulty based on their different lived experiences. / LG2017

Thesis (MPA) --University of Limpopo, 2007 / The aim of this study was to check on the impact of transformation in a higher education institution with particular reference to the University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), hence the work entitled “Evaluation of the impact of transformation at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus): A review of the progress during the period 2000 – 2007”. The 1990s marked the period during which all government departments went through a rough time in that they were required to transform or sink. The higher education realm was not immune to this tedious process with challenging factors, which were, among others, economic forces, the emergence of technology, competition in terms of educational products, new funding programmes with public accountability, mergers and globalisation trends. In order for the universities to keep pace with the aforementioned challenges, a need for not merely administering, but managing the process of change as it presented itself to the universities, the need for visionary and transformational leadership became apparent. To ensure that the process of transformation in the higher education realm took place, the government enacted a number of items of legislation, and among others, the White Paper on Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education (Government Gazette, no. 4, 18207, 15 August 1997) was passed. It was abundantly clear from the literature reviewed that the Transformation of Higher Education in South Africa was long overdue. This was marked by the 1975 uprisings and other related activities such as the demand for academic autonomy by institutions of higher learning. It was evident from the results of the study that transformation at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus) was anathema to many. It is advisable for the University to take note of the results of this study, and that there is need for a turn-around strategy that would include Total Quality Management to be drawn up, implemented and monitored forthwith.

The advancement of knowledge through research has long been a major objective of higher education institutions. Most higher education institutions in South Africa strive for being 'excellent' in research. However, the 21st century has brought some challenges to institutions of higher education in South Africa. Among the challenges encountered include the increasing pressure on academic staff to either 'publish or perish', obtain funding and a rating from the National Research Foundation and the need to be promoted. Addressing these challenges calls for institutions of higher learning to reappraise their research and development strategies and create an environment in which research of all kinds can flourish. Building capacity in research is crucial, in that it reinforces the institution's ability to improve its overall impact on research. The present study was conducted to establish the research capacity needs of academic staff in the humanities at the University of Zululand. The study intended to identify research capacity strategies and policies in p lace at the University of Zululand, determine the level of research support available for academic staff, establish the level of research competencies and skills of academic staff, examine factors influencing research productivity and recommend possible solutions that could lead to the improvement of the research environment at the University of Zululand. Due to the nature of the problem investigated, the study used a descriptive survey research design, as well as a knowledge audit process to gain an understanding of research capacity needs of academic staff in the humanities at the University of Zululand. Self-administered questionnaires, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. The collected data was analysed using the computer program SPSS and content analysis. The overall findings revealed that research support provided to academic staff was not adequate and that correlated with the relatively low research productivity in the humanities at the University of Zululand. The study also revealed that grants for research, v access and publication, research networking, sufficient work time, teaching loads, motivation and rewards were cited as the major factors that inhibited research productivity. The study found that the university did not have formal research policy and strategies in place. It was also found that the university did not have a formal research office or centre. Based on the findings, the study recommended that academic staff should insist that the institution ensures that policies on research are established and written in black and white. The study recommended that the institution should develop a research rapport with academic staff and provide more research support for academic s taff, if the university desires to be excellent in research. This would include the development of the research centre/office that would support academics . The study further recommended a similar study, but extended on a larger scale, to include more universities and make comparative analysis of research needs of academic staff. / Thesis (M.I.S.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.