Abstract in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa / The main aim of this study was to explore the extent to which teachers use group investigation as a teaching approach for Life Orientation in selected secondary schools in the Northern Cape Province in South Africa. Group investigation (GI) as a cooperative learning teaching approach is based on the philosophical principles of John Dewey who believed that schools had the responsibility of capturing learners’ interests, to expand and develop their horizons and to assist them in responding appropriately to new ideas and influences. Group investigation, a particular cooperative learning strategy, is based on the pragmatic paradigm that suggests that learners construct and apply knowledge as they interact with one another in a teacher-learner environment. This study was adopted in a concurrent triangulation mixed methods research design to be conducted concurrently. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed separately but simultaneously, the findings converged in the conclusion in order to respond to the research question. Convenient and purposive sampling was employed to select teachers and learners as participants in this study. Data were collected in the social setting where teachers employed group investigation as a teaching strategy with learners in cooperative working groups participating in learner-centred activities. The researcher used face-to-face interviews, focus group interviews, classroom observations as well as document analysis to collect data. The findings of this study revealed that teachers tend to display adequate content and pedagogical knowledge for the teaching of Life Orientation. However, the findings established that there is a need for novice teacher development in the interpretation and application of the content. Furthermore, group investigation has indicated that learners developed group skills easily, learn to work cooperatively in groups and that learners can depend on each other for the groups’ success. This study recommends that group investigation as a teaching approach be incorporated in the Life Orientation curriculum and that this needs to be shown in the lesson planning of teachers. The importance in the body of knowledge regarding teaching approaches and the academic value of the subject, Life Orientation as a fundamental subject, is indispensable within the FET curriculum. / Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om te bepaal in watter mate onderwysers groepondersoek as ʼn onderrigbenadering vir Lewensoriëntering in uitgesoekte sekondêre skole in die Noord-Kaapprovinsie gebruik. Groepondersoek as ʼn koöperatiewe leer- en onderrigbenadering is gegrond op die filosofiese beginsels van John Dewey, wat geglo het dat skole die verantwoordelikheid het om leerders se belange te akkommodeer, om hul horisonne te verbreed en te ontwikkel en om hulle by te staan om gepas op nuwe idees en invloede te reageer. Groepondersoek, ʼn spesifieke koöperatieweleerstrategie, is gegrond op die sosiaal-interpretivistiese-konstruktivistiese paradigma wat suggereer dat leerders kennis konstrueer en toepas wanneer hulle met mekaar interaksie het in ʼn onderwyser-leerder-omgewing. Hierdie studie is in ʼn konkurrente triangulering- gemengdemetodenavorsingsontwerp aangepak – om samelopend maar afsonderlik uitgevoer te word. Kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe data is afsonderlik ingesamel en ontleed, maar terselfdertyd is die resultate gekonvergeer in die gevolgtrekking om die navorsingsvraag te beantwoord. Gerieflikheid- en doelbewuste steekproefneming is gebruik om onderwysers en leerders te kies om aan die navorsing deel te neem. Data is ingesamel in die sosiale situasie waar onderwysers groepondersoeke as ʼn onderrigstrategie aangewend het, met leerders wat in koöperatiewe werksgroepe aan leergesentreerde aktiwiteite deelneem. Die navorser het persoonlike onderhoude, fokusgroeponderhoude, klaskamerwaarnemings sowel as dokumentontleding gebruik om data in te samel. Die bevindings van die studie het getoon dat onderwysers geneig is om voldoende inhoud en pedagogiese kennis vir die onderrig van Lewensoriëntering te toon, terwyl daar ʼn behoefte aan die ontwikkeling van nuweling-onderwysers se interpretasie en toepassing van die inhoud is. Daarbenewens het die groepondersoeke ook gewys dat leerders maklik groepvaardighede ontwikkel, leer om koöperatief in groepe te werk, en dat hulle op mekaar kan staatmaak vir die sukses van die groep. Hierdie studie beveel aan dat groepondersoeke as ‘n onderrigstrategie in die Lewensorientering kurrikulum geïnkorporeer moet word en dat dit in die lesbeplanning van die onderwysers aangedui moet word. Die belangrikheid van kennis met verwysing na die onderrrigstrategieë en die akademiese waarde van die vak, is Lewensorientering as ‘n fundamentele vak onvervangbaar binne die VOO kurrikulum. / Injongo ephambili yesi sifundo kukuqwalasela ukuba ootitshala bayisebenzisa kangakanani indlela yokufundisa yophando lweqela kwizifundo ngobomi ekuthiwa yiLife Orientation kwizikolo zesekondari ezikhethiweyo kwiPhondo loMntla Koloni. Uphando lweqela, njengecebo lokufunda nokufundisa ngokubambisana lusekelwe kwiinqobo zefilosofi kaJohn Dewey, owayekholelwa ekubeni izikolo zinoxanduva lokudlwengula umdla wabafundi, zinabise amathuba olwazi, zibancedise ekusabeleni ngokufanelekileyo kwizimvo neempembelelo ezintsha. Uphando lweqela, nolulicebo lobulumko lokusebenza ngokubambisana, lusekelwe kwiingcinga zokwakha intsingiselo ngokusebenzisana, le nto kuthiwa yisocial interpretivist-constructivist paradigm ngolwimi lwesiNgesi. Ezi ngcinga zithi abafundi bazakhela ulwazi, balusebenzise xa besebenzisana kuloo ndawo bafundela kuyo. Esi sifundo siqhutywe ngokusebenzisa iindlela zophando ezixubeneyo neziqhutywa ngaxeshanye lo gama zahlukene. Kuqokelelwe, kwaphengululwa idatha ngokwahlukeneyo ngokobuninzi bayo ngaxeshanye nangokokucinga nzulu ngayo, okufunyanisiweyo kwadityaniswa esiphelweni ngenjongo yokuphendula umbuzo wophando. Isampulu yophando yakhethwa ngononophelo nangendlela enokusebenza lula xa kwakukhethwa ootitshala nabafundi abaza kuba ngabathathi nxaxheba kwesi sifundo. Idatha yaqokelelwa kwimeko yezentlalo apho ootitshala babesebenzisa uphando lweqela njengecebo lokufundisa, apho abafundi babesebenza ngokwamaqela ancedisanayo kwimisebenzi yezifundo zabo. Umphandi waqhuba udliwano ndlebe nomntu ngamnye, udliwano ndlebe namaqela achaphazelekayo, waqwalasela okwenzeka eklasini, waphengulula nemibhalo ekhoyo xa wayeqokelela idatha. Okufunyaniswe kwesi sifundo kwadiza ukuba ootitshala babonisa ulwazi olwaneleyo ngeziqulatho neendlela zokufundisa izifundo ngobomi okanye iLife Orientation, lo gama sikho sona isidingo sokuphuhlisa izakhono zootitshala abatsha ekutolikeni nasekusebenzeni ngeziqulatho zezi zifundo. Ngaphezu koko, uphando lweqela lubonise ukuba izakhono zabafundi zokusebenza ngamaqela ziphuhla lula, bafunda ukusebenzisana bengamaqela kwaye bafunda ukwazi ukuxhomekeka omnye komnye ukuze iqela liphumelele. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / Ph. D. (Curriculum Studies)