A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education (Geography) in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies at the University of Zululand, 2017 / The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influence the low academic performance of learners in geography during the National Senior Certificate examination within the uThungulu District. The study made use of the national and district matriculation results from the examination directorate of the Department of Basic Education. The conceptualisation developed from the contemporary literature was used to develop instruments for data collection. A questionnaire was developed to collect views from Grade 12 geography educators on factors influencing learner performance in the district. It also solicited ideas about what should be done to improve learner performance in the subject. The second phase of data collection was qualitative study, which was conducted to augment the quantitative findings, which took place at the same time. Fifty (50) questionnaires were issued and only forty (40) educators responded and ten (10) other educators were taken through an interview. The district geography subject adviser was also interviewed. The results indicate that there are various factors that impede learner performances in geography in the district. The results from both descriptive and inferential statistics reveal factors such as educator characteristics, school management and resource availability, parental involvement in education and learner characteristics as emerging factors influencing the performance of learners in geography. Learners’ average matriculation (matric) results from the schools were estimated against educators’ characteristics such as qualifications, experience in teaching the subject, approaches used in teaching, and matric marking experience. The relationship between the independent and the dependent variables was determined using the t-test at 0.05 level of significance. The result indicated that in the uThungulu District learners’ performance in geography is strongly influenced by educators’ qualifications, and experience in matric marking. Findings from the this study were compared with the existing contemporary literature to enable the researcher to make recommendations to stakeholders to remedy deficiencies found to impede learners’ performance in geography in the National Senior Certificate in public high schools within the uThungulu District.

A mini-dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Educational Psychology in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies at the University of Zululand, 2017 / There was a limited amount of research that looked at the experiences of educators teaching learners with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Many learners enter schools without a diagnosis of ADHD only to find that they present with the symptoms of ADHD. So, it is important for educators to know these symptoms and what to do with such learners in a classroom. The Department of Basic Education can better understand how to assist educators in order for them to teach ADHD learners effectively. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of educators teaching learners with ADHD. This study had the following objectives: The first objective was to explore the experiences of educators who teach learners with ADHD. The second objective was to determine whether or not there is adequate training provided for educators to teach learners with ADHD. The third objective was to establish if there are intervention strategies teachers use to teach ADHD learners. The participants in this study were ten (10) educators from three (3) different schools in uMtunzini Circuit, KwaZulu Natal. Themes from the interview were analysed using Thematic Analysis method. The views expressed by educators in most instances were in line with those of the research authors identified in this study. The conclusions amongst others were that educators are experiencing difficulties teaching learners with ADHD. They are challenged in terms of managing ADHD learners in classrooms. It is clear that educators require training to equip themselves with knowledge and skills on ADHD.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master Of Education in Research Methodology in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University Of Zululand, 2018 / The investigation of high school learners’ attitudes towards physical science has been one of the prominent areas of research for the science education research community globally for some time now. However, its current importance in South Africa is emphasised by the mounting evidence of poor performance in physical science at matriculation level. Consequently, identifying the nature of learners’ attitudes towards physical science, and promoting favourable attitudes towards physical science is increasingly a matter of concern. The present study therefore investigated high school learners’ attitudes towards physical science and the relationship between their attitudes and learners’ biographical data such as gender, age and grade level. Both systematic and stratified sampling techniques were used to select a sample size of 298 respondents from five high schools in the Nongoma circuit in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The research was based on descriptive research design to obtain information from respondents in their natural environment through the use of adopted attitude scale. Permission was sought and obtained through email to use the attitude scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to present and analyse the data. The findings from the present study suggest that majority of high school learners hold positive attitudes towards physical science. Findings with regard to the relationship between learners’ attitudes and their biographical data reveal that there is no association between attitudes and learners’ biographical data such as gender, age and grade level. The findings from this study will add value to education policy pertaining to science education in the country. It will also contribute to the theory of attitudes towards physical science. However, there is a need in future to study ways of encouraging learners to have positive attitudes towards physical science.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs Education at the University Of Zululand, 2017 / The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between texting language and language development amongst Intermediate Phase learners. The study, which used the quantitative approach, sought to determine the influence of learner characteristics on texting language, determine if learners use texting language in the written forms of English, determine if learners are able to write in the standard form of English, and ascertain if texting affects spelling.The target population were learners in the Intermediate Phase, which is learners from Grade 4 up to Grade 6. There were 213 learners who took part in the study. All these learners were from five African schools, and learnt English as a second language. The instrument used for data collection was divided into four sections: demographic characteristics, translation of texts from Standard English to texting language, translation of texts from texting language to Standard English and also spelling. The SPSS version 24 was used to analyse the results collected from the study. The findings of the study reveal that age and the grade that the learner is doing has no influence on texting and the learner’s language development. Gender has an influence on texting and the learner’s language development. Female learners were found to text more than male learners. There is also no relationship between learner’s access to cellular phones and their language development. Learners are texting and they know how to text irrespective of whether they own a cellular phone, have access to one or do not have access to one at all. However, the study revealed that there is a positive relationship between texting language and Standard English. Texting language cannot come into existence without one first learning and knowing the Standard English language.Based on the findings, the study recommended that teachers should recognise the importance of English language and should organise extra-curricular and co-curricular activities to enhance language development in learners. The Department of Education should promote and support activities that will help learners to improve their language skills.

Research conducted over multiple decades explores student attrition from higher education institutions. The majority of this research relates to traditional, on-campus student populations. However, colleges and universities are serving more nontraditional students than before by increasing distance education course offerings. Although enrollments are increasing, few studies examine retention of nontraditional learners in a distance education setting. Even fewer suggest institutional action based on student satisfaction of nontraditional, distance learners. This study examined student satisfaction and education-related priorities of Utah State University (USU) undergraduate students at regional campus locations throughout the state of Utah. Perceived programming needs were determined based on the discrepancy between student-reported satisfaction and importance rankings of education-related items. The highest discrepancies between priorities and satisfaction of undergraduate students at USU regional campus locations were: use of student activity fees, adequate availability of financial aid, tuition being a worthwhile investment, registering for classes with few conflicts, scheduling of courses to complete program, timeliness of financial aid announcements, academic advisor’s knowledge of major requirements, instruction within major, variety of course offerings, and classes being scheduled at convenient times.

The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of the learners in a fifth-grade coteaching classroom. Because the practice of coteaching is gaining popularity in schools, there is increasing use of this teaching method in general education classrooms. If learning in a coteaching classroom is to be meaningful for students, it is important to have their perspective of this instructional delivery option. Through careful listening, observation, and interpretation of the students’ lived experience, a better understanding of the students’ perspective in a coteaching classroom was gained. Data for this qualitative study were triangulated using classroom observations, student drawn images, and interviews with selected students and the coteachers. Findings indicate that (1) students can give voice to their lived experience when given the opportunity to use images to do so; (2) the ability of coteachers to get along with each other is an important aspect of students lived experience in the coteaching classroom; (3) another aspect of the lived experience of students in the coteaching classroom is learning the ethics of the caring classroom from their coteachers. The findings support the literature, which suggests coteaching can be an effective teaching delivery option and that the voices of the learners in the classroom are an important source of information about what works in schools. These results are significant because they help to inform future decisions about the practice of coteaching. The results of this study also clarify ways the coteaching model can be strengthened or improved for greater success and benefit for both the teachers and the students.

Master of Arts in Community-Based Counselling Psychology - Psychology / The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of alcohol and other drug use amongst school learners in Alexandra Township. The participants in this study were 118 school learners in Alexandra Township. Of these 44 (40%) were in grade 9, 37 (32.2%) in grade 10 and 32 (27.8%) in grade 11; 55 (46.6%) were males and 63 (53.4%) were females; 50.4% were aged between 14—16, while 49.5% were aged between 17-20 years. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire, mostly requiring ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers to determine use of various substances, the age of first use and the frequency use of these substances. This questionnaire has been used in other local studies and translated from English into Sesotho to maximize the validity of responses. The findings of this study indicate that in the past month the prevalence of 54.5% of males and 38.4% of females smoked cigarettes; 49.1% of males and 39.1% of females drank alcohol; and 36% of males and 12.6% of females smoked dagga. The everyday use of cigarettes was 41.7% for females and 47.2% for males; 7.2% of males and 3.6% females for alcohol; and 29.9% of males and 6.3 % for dagga. The results showed that there were no significant age and gender differences regarding the use of these drugs, except for dagga (X²=.005), with more males than females reported the use. It seems that the everyday use of alcohol, tobacco and dagga is very common than the use of other illicit drugs. Mental health workers should take note of the above findings while planning preventative strategies for the reduction of everyday dagga use, daily cigarette smoking and drinking of alcohol. The results are also important for those involved in treatment programmes to assist these school learners before they progress into more other serious drugs such as ecstasy, LSD, Crack cocaine and heroin.

The legislation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has brought to educators’ attention the need, requirement, and demand that all children are guaranteed an equitable education. In support of this mandate, Assistant Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Education Kathleen Leos (2006) states, “There are approximately 5 ½ million non-English-speaking students in the United States public schools, speaking 440 different languages and 80% of those English language learners speak Spanish” (p. 2). Continuing, Leos reports that English language learners are the fastest growing K–12 population in the United States with 16 states reporting a 200% increase in English language learner enrollment from 1991–2001, (NCELA, 2006b). The Mississippi English language learner population has steadily grown between 50–100% during this same time period (NCELA, 2006b). Since 1994, the steady growth of numbers of English language learners is an indicator of why NCLB mandates specific requirements for English language learners in school districts across the nation(NCLB, 2002). NCLB includes basic principles that require stronger accountability in all realms of education, increase flexibility and local control, expand options for parents, and emphasize utilizing teaching methods that have proven to work in other school programs. Other stipulations of NCLB include providing assistance to schools in need of improvement, providing better information to teachers and administrators, ensuring teacher quality is a high priority, and giving more resources to the schools to accomplish these goals (USDE, 2004). Furthermore, this law has prioritized that all school-age children must make the grade state-defined education standards by the end of the 2013–2014 school year. Stemming from this legislation, educators and school districts have become more aware of their obligations to identify and provide English language instruction for immigrant students in order for them to understand and perform successfully in an all-English-speaking academic setting. Because of the impact of immigration in Mississippi and the legislation of NCLB, this study was designed to determine the progress of English language acquisition of English language learners (ELLs) on the Stanford English Language Proficiency test (SELP), and the relationship, if any, to the progress of English language learners on the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT). The results of this study show that ELLs showed English language acquisition on the (SELP) and academic progress on the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT) and that there was a significant positive relationship between the two assessments administered during the 3-year period of this study in the Rankin County School District in Mississippi.

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