No abstract available / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Thesis (M.A.) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / The study was undertaken because the researcher was concerned about the denial of poor learners the right to education, as their parents could not afford to pay School Fees due to high unemployment and poverty in rural schools. The researcher noticed that schools sent learners home to collect school fees and also withheld learner reports until the required amount was paid. As a result, “Fee Exemption policy” was available to exempt poor parents from paying School Fees, but it was not effective because schools did not inform them to apply for this policy. As a result, poor learners decide to dropout. The government introduced “no-fee-schools” policy to end marginalisation of poor learners. Further, it appeared that School Allocations are little because rural schools have a shortage of school facilities and some of the facilities are too expensive.A purposive sampling strategy was used to select 3 public secondary schools as research sites and 26 respondents as a sample of the target population. Respondents consisted of 8 members; the principal, SGB member and 6 educators from School A; Nine (9) respondents; the principal, 2 SGB members and 6 educators from School B; the principal, 2 SGB members and 6 educators from School C. Twenty-six respondents were considered to be sufficient because my focus was not on representation. The respondents were considered to be key informants with required data. Interviews and document analysis were used as data collection methods. The researcher used semi-structured interviews because they are interactive, and they also give the respondents a voice associated with their perspectives and experiences. Document analysis was used to supplement data collected through interviews. The interviewees discovered that learners were denied the right to education, despite the departmental policies formulated to help poor learners and theirparents. Furthermore, “no-fee-schools” policy was formulated to enable poor students to access education, but it is problematic because School Allocation is not deposited to school accounts on time and does not cover all the school costs. The study recommends that poor learners should not be denied the right to education and that the departmental policy (viz., Fee Exemption Policy) should be monitored to ensure that marginalised learners benefit from this scheme. This policy should also be budgeted for so as to enable poor schools to purchase modern facilities to improve the quality of teaching and learning and employ extra educators so as to reduce the educator-learner ratios and so on.

Magister Educationis - MEd / Since the onset of democracy in 1994, education in South Africa has undergone many developments and changes due to curriculum innovations and interventions. For more than two decades, the government has been seeking to eliminate the divisions of the past by establishing a society based on democratic values, social justice and the observance of fundamental human rights as described in Act 108 of 1996 in the Constitution. The curriculum changes in South Africa after 1994 had a huge impact on the education system as a whole, and classroom teaching shifted from being largely teacher- centered to being predominantly learner-centered. Hence, the newly revised Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) was introduced (DBE, 2011) to provide all teachers with the same outline of what should be taught, when and how. The government's efforts at improving teaching and learning as well as maintaining a high standard of education are commendable, however, findings through this research demonstrate that CAPS disregards the massive differences in terms of contexts within which schools operate and the general lack of resources faced by certain schools. The main aim of this research was to explore the nature of the capability sets of teachers with respect to the implementation of the CAPS curriculum in a no fee school community in the Western Cape. The research was conducted within the framework of a qualitative research approach with a case study design. Classroom observation, focus group interviews and document analysis were utilized as data collection methods. The capability approach of Amartya Sen was applied to unveil the nature of teachers' capability sets in a no fee school in the Western Cape. This study has established that there are several factors inside and outside the school, which influence the implementation of CAPS during the teaching and assessment processes. Therefore, recommendations are made that the policymakers should take into account the context and socio economic background of the school and learners before changing the curriculum.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Curriculum Studies)) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / After the establishment of the first democratic government in South Africa in 1994, the Education Ministry started transforming the apartheid education system into the democratic education system aimed at achieving equity, redress and access to education. Amongst the policies developed, were South African Schools Act (Act No. 84 of 1996), National Norms and Standards for School Funding, Exemption of Parents from Payment of School Fees Regulations, Education Laws Amendment Act (Act No. 24 of 2005), Amended National Norms and Standards For School Funding, and No- Fee School Policy. In this study, I analysed how schools in Bolobedu cluster circuits of Mopani District implemented the No-Fee School policy regarding the use and management of school finances. Qualitative case study was used. Four schools, two primary and two secondary schools, were sampled. Three methods of data collection were used: interviews, document analysis (school records such as SGB minutes, finance policy, School Business Plan/School Development Plan, budgets, auditors’ reports, etc.) and observation. Interviews were conducted with school principals, teachers, parents and learners. The research findings indicate that the three SGBs have the capacity to practise good financial management in relation to the No-Fee school policy, although they still need to improve on some areas of responsibility. These SGBs demonstrated sound and good practice in the use and management of school finances. However, one SGB was struggling to practice good financial management responsibility. This school has the potential to improve its capacity to execute its financial responsibility if provided with support. Key words: South African Schools Act (SASA), National Norms and Standards for School Funding (NNSSF), Amended National Norms and Standards For School Funding (ANNSSF), No-Fee School Policy, Equity, Access and Redress, Use and management of school finances.