Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Doctor in Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies in the Faculty of education at the University of Zululand, 2018. / In an effort to understand why there is a general outcry about the poor quality of teachers who are produced by many institutions of higher learning, despite the practice teaching which is highly emphasised and offered to all pre-service teachers who intend to become teachers; this study sought to evaluate the pre-service teachers’ readiness to teach. The expectation in education is that pre-service teachers should complete their studies having been adequately prepared to teach. On the contrary, most of them exit the programme underequipped to teach. Within the qualitative methodology, a case study of a South African University was used. Sixteen third year B.Ed. pre-service teachers who were placed in uMkhanyakude and King Cetshwayo districts were purposively selected and observed during their practice teaching period. They were also interviewed and documents which consisted of their files as well as university supervisors’ reports were analysed after practice teaching. Furthermore, sixteen subject mentors were interviewed because they spend adequate time with the pre-service teachers in schools during practice teaching session. The findings revealed, among others, that although the pre-service teachers displayed appropriate professionalism in schools, most of them lacked content knowledge as well as pedagogical skills. However, subject mentors portrayed them as being outstanding in content and pedagogy. Another finding was that the pre-service teachers did not have adequate competence on lesson presentation and development. They also lacked confidence in maintaining order in their classrooms. Because of the above mentioned findings, this study therefore suggests, among other things, the need for the institution of higher learning to revisit the curriculum of pre-service teachers and involve the partner schools during the redesigning of pre-service teachers’ curriculum to strengthen the confidence of both pre-service teachers and subject mentors. It also posits that pre-service teachers should be provided with sufficient teaching practice session in order to be well equipped with all activities that are rendered in schools from the beginning to the end of the school period.

This semi-structured interview study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of Filipino pre-service teachers’ perceptions of sexuality education. It also aimed to study how the pre-service teachers’ perceptions related to international recommendations on sexuality education and the theoretical perspectives of gender and power and Freiran theory that these draw on. Main findings included that the pre-service teachers critically reflected on own experiences of sexuality education and did not intend to repeat the education they received to future students. Furthermore, they expressed problem-focused perceptions of sexuality education content but positive approaches to the subject in general, and were hopeful of positive sexual health outcomes in the Philippines. Objections from the Catholic Church and parents to future students were perceived as the biggest challenges to the implementation of sexuality education. More information to, and collaboration with, parents regarding sexuality education were suggested as means to face resistance in the Philippine society. The pre-service teachers’ perceptions agreed with international recommendations on sexuality education to some extent, but results showed contradicting opinions regarding gender equality and sexual diversity. This point to a conclusion that the pre-service teachers need extended and improved teacher training on sexuality education, that develop their knowledge and allow them to critically reflect on norms in their society.

The objective of this thesis was to investigate pre-service teachers and student misconceptions of the equal sign, and then offer suggestions to pre-service teachers, teachers, university programs, and schools to prevent common misconceptions from occurring in classrooms. Some students do not realize the equal sign can have two different functions, operational and relational. There are several different reasons for this misconception, beginning with the lack of defining what the equal sign is and what it means in the classroom. In the first study, eighteen participants were interviewed to explain their responses when evaluating student work to gain an in-depth knowledge of pre-service teachers' perceptions of the equal sign and their ability to evaluate a students' response to a specific math task. Results showed that pre-service teachers have a better understanding of the equal sign and may be ready to teach the equal sign as a relationship between numbers. Furthermore, pre-service teachers would benefit greatly from evaluating students' work and looking for common misperceptions that students may have. In the second study, six fifth grade classes were studied to determine if there was a positive relationship for teaching atypical type equivalence statements to students and performing better on equivalence questions. Three classes from Spring 2011, were administered a test; two of the test items were used to analyze their understanding of the equal sign. In Fall 2011, another three fifth grade classes participated in lessons, which required students to analyze atypical type equivalence statements, and then they were given the same two test items. Results from this study supported the use of atypical type equivalence statements because more students in the experimental group correctly responded to the two items and were also able to justify their responses with work that exemplified good understanding of the equal sign as being a relationship. Both of these studies support increasing student and pre-service teachers understanding of the equal sign and the misconceptions students have regarding the equal sign. University programs and schools should utilize these results to require preservice teachers and teachers to evaluate student work to identify common misconceptions and teach the equal sign as a relationship between both sides and not as an operation.

The study focused on the challenges pre-service teachers face while learning to teach Accounting in the context of mentoring at a University of Technology. The major purpose was to investigate the kinds of challenges pre-service teachers face in teaching Accounting and how their respective school-based mentors respond to these challenges. It is vital to understand these challenges while learning to teach Accounting before a mentor can respond to them. This study was located within an interpretivist paradigm. The interpretivist researcher is keen to address social issues in and through their research. To position this study within the context of learning while teaching within a context of mentoring, I utilized case study research methodology. The main purpose of utilizing case study methodology was to develop a deep understanding of the challenges pre-service teachers face while learning to teach Accounting and the nature of mentoring. The voices and experiences of the respondents were used to explore and understand the reality embedded in the mentoring of pre-service teachers during teaching practice. The research sites included six schools located in the Cape Metropole, Western Cape, South Africa. I used purposive sampling to select the participants for my study. I focused on Accounting as a ‘vehicle’ to guide my choice of sampling to explore how pre-service teachers learn while teaching Accounting. The sample of this study consisted of six pre-service teachers learning to teach Accounting in the fourth year B Ed:FET programme and their respective school-based Accounting mentors. The main reason for using the fourth year preservice teachers was that in their final year of study they spend six months at a school to work alongside a school-based mentor. This time period gave the researcher sufficient time to explore challenges and how the school-based mentors respond to them. The research methods used in this study were reflection journals, unstructured interviews, focus group interviews and fieldnotes. Reflective journals can provide the teacher educator with a valuable tool showing how pre-service teachers perceive and experience teaching practice while learning to teach (Mills, 2007:69). The pre-service teachers were requested to complete entries in a reflection journal on a weekly basis, to write on their experiences while learning to teach Accounting and to describe the nature of their school-based mentors’ support. The purpose of the unstructured interview with the pre-service teachers was to gain a better understanding of their challenges while learning to teach Accounting and their interaction with their mentors, if the information in their reflection journals were unclear. Unstructured interviews were conducted with the Accounting school-based mentors to ascertain the preservice teachers’ performance while learning to teach Accounting, and to gain perspective of the Accounting mentor’s role as mentor. Two focus group interviews were conducted with the pre-service teachers to corroborate the challenges the pre-service teachers experience while learning to teach Accounting. A total of 96 reflection journal entries were collected from the pre-service teachers, 18 unstructured interviews were conducted with the pre-service teachers, 12 unstructured interviews were conducted with the school-based mentors and 2 focus group interviews were conducted. Data revealed that despite mentoring having the potential to enhance the preparation of preservice teachers, it does not always yield positive results. It also became clear in the data that the nature of the Accounting discipline requires a different type of mentoring as opposed to other disciplines. Hence a ‘one size fits all’ mentoring institutional policy does not yield the desired results of mentoring pre-service teachers in the B Ed:FET programme. Findings from this study suggest that the university must play a greater role in developing mentorship programmes to support pre-service teachers learning to teach during teaching practice, especially for Accounting pre-service teachers.

Magister Educationis - MEd / This study involves a group of pre-service teachers who are specialising in Science and Mathematics education at a university in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The aim of the study was to investigate perceptions about the earth in space held by the pre-service natural science teachers. A related aim was to create awareness among the prospective teachers about various views that people hold about the earth as against the scientifically valid view (Govender, 2009, Plummer & Zahm, 2010, Schneps & Sadler, 1989). To determine and improve the prospective teachers’ perceptions and awareness about the significance of the earth in space the study adopted the dialogical argumentation model (DAIM) and spatial modelling as a theoretical framework (Ogunniyi, 2013). Further, the study used pre- and post-test data based on the responses of the pre-service teachers to questionnaires, focus group interviews and reflective diaries. The data set was analysed using a mixed methods approach (qualitative and quantitative). Results from the study show that most the pre-service teachers involved in the study hold both scientific and alternative conceptions about the earth in space. However, they seem to suppress the latter because they believe them to be unscientific. In addition they believe that their role is to impart scientific knowledge to learners. As has been revealed in a number of studies, some of the prospective teachers did not have much background in geography.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education (D.Ed) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, University of Zululand, South Africa, 2014. / The study compared the perceptions of continuing education programmes by in-service teachers from two universities in Africa; University of Zululand, South Africa (UZ), and Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Nigeria, (AAU). The study covers the impact, effectiveness and efficiency of UZ and AAU on in-service teachers of continuing education programme. The target population and sample for the study were the current teachers of continuing education programmes of these universities. The instrument tagged ‘Questionnaire for Perceptions of Continuing Education Programmes by in-service Teachers’ (QPCEPIT) was designed and used for data collection. The descriptive survey research design of ex-post facto was adopted for the study.150 questionnaires were randomly used for pilot study, carried out at University of Ado Ekiti, Nigeria, whilst 500 questionnaires each were administered at both UZ and AAU of which 365 and 321 responses were valid and analysed respectively. Five research hypotheses and questions were carefully formulated to ascertain the perceptions of continuing education programmes by in-service teachers in the selected universities. Inferential statistics was used to draw conclusions and test the research hypotheses and questions for the study. The results of the comparative study revealed that the conclusiveness of the learning environment, the nature and quality of student support services provided, the quality and learners’ perception of course modules or materials, accommodation problems and venue of the programme were the major predictors for motivation of in-service teachers of the programme. There were similarities and dissimilarities between the methods of operation of the programmes in the two selected universities. Based on the findings of the study recommendations were made on how the programme will have impact on the in-service teachers and how the universities that are running the programme will be effectively and efficiently manage the programme for the acceleration and advancement of socio-economic growth in South Africa, Nigeria, and the world at large. / University of Zululand

Today's students are incessantly "plugged in" to media such as film, television, and the Internet. Despite media's starring role, youth in the U.S. are not necessarily experts in critically viewing media nor is media literacy a standard part of the curriculum. Some advocates propose extending the definition of "literacy" beyond simply reading and writing (see Eisner, 1991; Friere & Macedo, 1987; Hobbs, 1997; Messaris, 1997; Reinking, 1998). However, the current lack of U.S. recognition of "media literacy" in education opens the possibility that pre-service teachers graduate from teacher preparation programs without the competencies or disposition to integrate media into the classroom. The purpose of this study was to describe and to understand more fully the rationale that a secondary pre-service teacher uses to plan and implement "media" during his/her student teaching experience. To better understand this, I studied how pre-service teachers define and conceptualize media, as well as the reasons that influence their teaching decisions regarding inclusion or exclusion of media in support of their teaching. Two pre-service teachers at the same high school, in different content areas (one in English; one in social studies), from the same university teacher preparation program, were the participants. This case study drew from and contributes to the literature in three areas: (a) "media education," (b) "pre-service teachers" and (c) "secondary teacher education" literature. Data collection consisted of 6 structured interviews, 13 observations, and extensive document review. Data were then processed through constant comparative analysis. Findings describe more fully this particular case, investigating the pre-service teachers' past experiences with media and present media utilization in the classroom. Two threads of discussion were provided. First, the participants' definitions of media and selection of media were largely based on media preferences and usage in their personal lives. Second, media, itself, was primarily described as a means to entertain and to engage students, not necessarily as a way to effectively reach the content learning objectives or for purposes of media literacy. Media was perceived as a useful tool by the pre-service teachers as they continued to develop pedagogical content knowledge as beginning teachers. Finally, personal and professional recommendations were drawn from the findings. / Ph. D.

The purpose of the study is to describe the current status of and the relationships between teacher self-efficacy and in-service teachers’ perceptions and/or attitudes of (a) the quantity and quality of feedback from formative evaluation, (b) toward feedback from formative evaluation, and (c) the impact of feedback from formative evaluation on teacher self-efficacy. In addition to calculating correlation coefficients, 6 teachers were interviewed – 2 each from high, medium, and low efficacy schools. The quantitative data reported low, positive correlations between all of the factors. Statistically significant correlations were found between 8 of the 12 factors including teacher attitudes toward feedback from formative evaluation and: overall Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (r = .302), student engagement (r = .309), instructional strategies (r = .237) and classroom management (r =.266). Other statistically significant correlations were found between teacher perceptions of the impact of feedback from formative evaluation and its relationship to self-efficacy and: overall Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (r = .295), Student Engagement (r = .300), Instructional Strategies (r = .209), and Classroom Management (r = .282). The face-to-face interviews and online focus group supported the quantitative findings as the participants reported that they value formative evaluation and feedback and deem it a necessary component of professional growth. Participants felt that they would benefit from an increased number of formative evaluations followed by specific, frequent and positive feedback. The participants indicated that their self-efficacy was not negatively impacted by infrequent observations and/or feedback that lacks detail.

As mathematical modeling gains popularity in K-12 classrooms, it is important to define what this entails for both students and teachers. The following study reviews various definitions of mathematical modeling and how these definitions are relevant for middle grades (5-9) teachers. Following a professional development workshop on mathematical modeling, four middle school teachers expressed their views about teaching mathematics through modeling tasks. This study documents the teachers' perceptions of what it means to model with mathematics, which tasks are most appropriate for their students, and why this is important in each of their classrooms. Although the teachers varied in their views depending on the context and circumstances surrounding each modeling task, they agreed that mathematical modeling helps students build critical thinking skills and provides an opportunity to align mathematics concepts with engaging, realistic phenomena.

Ensuring that teachers have high mental health literacy (MHL) is paramount, particularly because the prevalence rate for mental illness among children and adolescents is 10-20% (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2013). Currently, there are few programs designed to increase the MHL of teachers, and the research base examining these is scant. As a result, more research is required to find effective methods of improving MHL among teachers. The current study explored the influence of a new, interactive MHL learning module on the MHL levels of B.Ed. candidates. A questionnaire largely adapted from existing measures was developed and factor analysis was conducted. Pre- and post-module MHL scores were analyzed using descriptive approaches and a repeated-measures MANOVA. Results indicate that pre-service teachers have high knowledge and non-stigmatizing beliefs in relation to MHL which did not change post- module completion; self-efficacy levels did show a small, non-significant increase.