Submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Linguistics in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, 2005. / In 1994 South Africa gained democracy. A new dispensation had to emerge in almost all spheres of life. The constitution that was drawn does not only guarantee, but also promotes and celebrates a South African linguistic diversity - a different approach of the apartheid years. Every educational institution in the country is expected to be engaged in rethinking policy on all aspects of learning. It is, therefore, proper to consider possibilities for and the limitations of language learning in South African schools. The main aim of this research was to look at the role the indigenous languages may play in early education and that of English as a complementary language, along with other languages in public life in South Africa. School governing bodies (SGBs) were and still are expected to know the pedagogical implications of language learning and acquisition, that is; if children are denied their first language during their formative early years and are not yet fluent enough in their home language, their second language learning and acquisition is bound to suffer and that in the long run thus rendering their cognitive development irretrievably inhibited. The development of these children's additional language/s becomes hampered and negatively affected. For young linguistically developing children the language taught and the language used daily or at home must be the same for a number of years until a firm grounding in the first language is achieved. It is after this firm grounding then that a gradual introduction of another language should take place. Since South Africa belongs to a wider family, the global technological world; it needs to accept the hegemony and usefulness of English as an international language. Access to English has to be facilitated for all learners in this country. Mastery of English in particular or any other additional language in general depends on a firm mastery of one's home language. It is therefore quite disturbing to witness that the majority of school governing bodies (SGBs) are not informed about this responsibility of ensuring that their children learn in the language that has a potential for their cognitive development. In practice very few schools have taken this language responsibility seriously. In fact one doubts whether school governing bodies (SGBs) know of this responsibility. Languages taught and learnt currently were taught and learnt during the apartheid years. This is due to the fact that the majority of schools do not have an informed democratic language policy. The findings * of the present investigation present a number of recommendations and educational implications. The major findings include: 1. Awareness campaigns about the sensitive issue of languages to be embarked upon by the state and all its departments led by the Department of Education both nationally and provincially. 2. In all schools, learners should have access to, and be required to learn, at least a minimum of three (major) languages as subjects and/or as languages of learning. One of these languages should be an African language used in that particular province (e.g. IsiZulu in KwaZulu-Natal). 3. Languages chosen by the schools to reflect the language spoken by the institutional community (staff and learners) as well as the broader community within which the institution is located. 4. Curriculum designers to seriously consider improving both the content and the methodologies of teaching languages, particularly the indigenous languages, which still suffer from marginalisation. 5. The state to provide and allocate resources to ensure the equal development of all the (major) languages of South Africa. 6. No learner to be refused admission on the basis of a lack of language proficiency. 7. Schools to draw and publicise their language polices for everyone to see in their respective premises. 8. Cultural groups, institutions of higher learning as well as non¬governmental organisations, with diversity in mind, should pursue, promote, market and uplift all major South African languages to a level where even foreign countries are interested in studying these languages. These are the crucial recommendations the present investigation came up with. It is hoped that these recommendations would go a long way in ensuring a smooth transition of our learners from their home languages to additional languages, particularly English. The adherence to these recommendations may also help the majority of South African citizens to participate fully in their society and their economy through equitable and meaningful access to education. This study concludes by stating that the primacy of the mother-tongue in early education is a base for language transfer and hence, successful education in higher education. The mastery of English in particular or any other additional language in general, depends on a firm mastery of one's home language.

There is a pervasive reading crisis in the United States. Critics, including policymakers, educators, literacy scholars, and professional educational organizations have openly accused university teacher preparation programs of not preparing candidates to deliver effective reading instruction. This qualitative study used narrative inquiry to explore ways in which teacher candidates' participation in a research-based university clinical practicum contributed to their pedagogical understanding of literacy instruction. Conceptually this study was based on constructivism and the ideas of Dewey, Freire, Vygotsky, and Schon. Data collection included multiple interviews and observations to determine how teacher candidates' participation in clinical practicum affects their assumptions about literacy instruction. Interpretive initially emanated from inductive analysis involving a typological framework, and proceeded to an in-depth level of interpretation and data transformation and member-checking to verify participants' evolving stories. Results of the study indicated that the clinical experience imbued teacher candidates with the confidence, skills, and knowledge to affect the literate lives of all children. Further, interpretation of findings revealed that teaching a child to read gave preservice teachers opportunities to explore multiple teaching approaches for ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse learners, while working through paradigmatic barriers and preconceived beliefs. Ultimately, this study helped the teacher candidate realize that the work of an emissary for social change begins with a commitment to increase the quality of life for the children they teach through masterful and responsive teaching.

School districts struggle to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in reading in first grade. Nine percent of first grade students at the study site were not meeting state performance standards in the area of language arts. Specifically in the area of fluency, 38% of first grade students were not achieving AYP. Because of the close connection between oral fluency and early reading achievement, first grade students need to be more fluent to attain state standards. Based on LaBerge and Samuels theory of automaticity within reading fluency, the purpose of this study was to identify the impact of the Scholastic Guided Reading Program and Harcourt Trophies basal reading program on students reading fluency, as measured by the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Oral Reading Fluency (DIBELS). Over eight months, the fluency levels of 129 first grade students were assessed three times. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant increase in the DIBELS gain scores between the pretest Fall Y2 Word Fluency (WF) scores in relation to the posttest Winter Y2 Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) scores for those students who received Scholastic Guided Reading instruction. Students who received Harcourt basal reading instruction gain scores showed a slight regression in fluency between the pretest Fall Y2 WF and the posttest Winter Y2 ORF. These results suggest that individual leveled reading instruction increases students' fluency skills. Improving reading fluency early is essential; students who become proficient readers have the ability to contribute and participatee in all areas of societal change.

Middle-school male students currently face a disadvantage in reading comprehension compared to female students. Research suggests the problem is that more male students score below grade level in reading comprehension because they require more cognitive scaffolding. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of text-to-self reading instruction and to compare the comprehension achievement of male and female students in 6th-grade reading and language-arts classes using guided reading of text-to-self instruction and guided reading using novels. The foundation of this study was based on constructivist theories including Dewey's pragmatist philosophy, Piaget's developmental theory, and Vygotsky's theory of zone of proximal development. Research questions focused on differences in reading comprehension scores between male and female students, using guided reading with text-to-self reading connections, and using guided reading using novels. The study involved a quantitative methodology using a pretest--posttest, quasiexperimental design. Two-way factorial analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compute the differences between the means of the experimental and control group students. The 2 independent variables were reading strategies and gender. The dependent variable was the 6th-grade WESTEST reading scores (converted to z--scores), and the covariate was the 5th-grade WESTEST reading scores (also converted to z-scores). Results indicated that 6th-grade male and female students in the text-to-self reading program had higher levels of reading comprehension, however only the females' gains were statistically significant suggesting that the problem of male literacy achievement is multifaceted. This study offers implications for positive social change by offering 1 strategy for parents, teachers, and policymakers to cognitively scaffold student reading comprehension while also offering a step toward better understanding male literacy underachievement.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education, September 2018 / Access to mathematical concepts has for long been a major talking point, not only in South Africa, but throughout the world. Sadly, debate on ways of assisting learners to improve their understanding of mathematical concepts appear not to be yielding desirable results. One of the major barriers to effective and meaningful mathematics learning is errors which usually arise from misconceptions. To my knowledge and experience, learners hold a lot of misconceptions in the area of variability of data. In spite of this, little ground has been covered in misconception research around the study of statistics. In this regard, the study aimed at establishing the nature of errors which arise from misconceptions which learners hold particularly in representing and interpreting variability of data on ogives, frequency polygons and box plots. In addition, the study sought to establish the extent to which teaching intervention could assist towards error minimisation. Using ideas of constructivism and sociocultural theory, the study involved a group of eighteen Grade 11 learners and the researcher. It was conducted at a township high school in Gauteng, South Africa. The researcher was involved in the delivery of ten lessons on statistics. Upon completion of the topic, two tasks were assigned to learners prior to as well as after conducting a constructivist-based intervention lesson. The rationale for conducting the lesson was to determine the extent to which remediation could assist in minimising incidences of these errors. In order to capture as much data as possible, particularly on the thinking behind the errors, an interview was conducted on a sample of four learners. The study found that most errors made by learners emanated from application of irrelevant prior knowledge (conceptual errors) which led to the use of unsuitable methods (procedural errors). Through interviews, it emerged that misconceptions in the study of statistics arise from poor language proficiency. Learners struggled to express themselves in giving verbal responses to questions posed to them by the interviewer. The study recommends that teachers should always use the language of teaching and learning all the time so as to enable learners to improve their communication skills as well as enhance understanding of statistical concepts. Moreover, this study recommends that future studies be carried out on the statistical content knowledge of teachers as this could be yet another source of misconceptions held by learners in statistics. / XL2019

This thesis seeks to determine whether an integrated program provided a progressive enlargement of experience or participation in social situations; whether it placed value upon service to others through social participation; whether it resulted in personal satisfactions through the development and use of the capacity of each individual; whether it provided for the development of functional knowledge, skills, attitudes, and appreciations by which the problems were solved in situations which were real, meaningful, and worthwhile.

With the rise of the number of immigrant children in schools across the U.S., education research has directed its attention to understanding these newcomers' social experiences at school. Though Brazilian immigrant populations are growing, research on their unique social experiences remains limited. Grounded in critical sociocultural theory, this interpretive phenomenological study shares the social experiences of four Brazilian newcomers in elementary school. Participants were adolescents who had immigrated to the U.S. as children and attended English-only and/or Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) programs. As adolescents, participants were able to look back on their experiences as a newcomer in elementary school with greater perspective. Analysis of interview data reveal three main themes in Brazilian newcomers' experiences: (a) positive interactions with other Brazilian immigrant students; (b) microaggressions from non-Brazilian immigrant students; and (c) isolation due to the dominance of English at school. Findings underscore the importance of Portuguese-English DLBE programs as a place for Brazilian newcomers to support one another. Additionally, findings reveal the prevalence of microaggressions across English-only and DLBE settings, underscoring the need for schools and teacher preparation programs to equip teachers with tools to support these students' sociocultural competence in order to address microaggressions.

No description available.

Thesis (M. Tech. (Education)) -- Central University of Technology, Free state, 2013 / This study investigates current pedagogical practices in teaching in English as a language of learning and instruction. The study seeks to examine whether current teachers are in need of re-training or whether they possess relevant content pedagogical knowledge to use English as a medium of instruction. At present, the Governing Bodies of schools have the authority to choose the language of learning and instruction according to the provisions of the Constitution.The language chosen as the medium is critical since it assumes the role of mediator between text and learner, and teacher and learner. The research uses the interpretive paradigm and in particular engages (Vygotsky 1978) and Chomsky (1986) as theorists of language acquisition who write from a constructivist perspective. Methods of data collection are drawn largely from the qualitative methods and to a lesser extent from quantitative methods. Instruments for data collection included questionnaires, interviews and lesson observations. The research study focuses on foundation phase teachers and learners in four purposefully selected schools, comprising former Model C and public township primary schools. The findings of the study suggest that learners, especially from township schools, find it difficult to learn in English as a medium of instruction probably because of limited exposure to English in both the school and home environment. On the contrary, learners from former Model C schools seem to be at an advantage because they use English in all spheres of school life, in and out of the class, resulting in more exposure and repetition. The findings seem to indicate that teachers‘ limited proficiency in English negatively affects quality of pedagogical practises in the language of learning and instruction. Lesson observations support findings that teachers‘ limited proficiency do affect education. This study further suggests that most non-native English teachers are inadequately prepared to use English as the medium of instruction. This inadequacy consequently results in some teachers failing to meet the language-related needs of learners due to their limited proficiency in the language of learning. This point is demonstrated by evidence from the observed lessons, recorded interviews and reviewed literature. The study further reveals that most teachers have difficulties with pronunciations, terms and vocabulary appropriate for grade two learners in this instance. Additionally, four factors affecting pedagogic practises were reflected in the study. These were class inequalities, different distribution of knowledge, differences in access to knowledge and social class differences. These factors were experienced through different pedagogic practices employed by different participants.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education