The primary purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that cause most Lesotho secondary schools to perform poorly in the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate examinations. The findings of the study show that the problems that contribute to the ineffectiveness of most secondary schools are multiple and interrelated. These problems can be identified at the macro or policy-making level at the Ministry of Education, and at the micro or the individual school level. At macro level, there appears to be a lack of adequate capacity among the senior management staff to perform the management and governance functions effectively, so that substantive improvement could be realised in the day-to-day operations, and academic results of schools. An upshot of this is that the professional support that the Ministry of Education provides to secondary schools is inadequate. Furthermore, despite the deepening poverty in Lesotho, the state does not provide textbooks to learners in secondary schools. Consequently, many learners do not have all the textbooks, and this affects their learning negatively. At micro level, the problems that contribute to the ineffectiveness of most secondary schools include teacher tardiness, teacher absenteeism and a lack of learner determination. It is contended that these factors indicate that the management of the school principals is weak. Moreover, because of poverty, many parents fail to pay school fees for their children on time. As a result, many learners are frequently sent back home by the principals to fetch money, and this reduces their academic learning time. The study also revealed that prior academic achievement of learners in primary schools is, to a large extent, a major predictor of their achievement in secondary schools. In this regard, the highly effective schools, which have selective admission policies and accept mainly Form A applicants, tend to consistently outperform the average and less effective schools, which have open admission policies. In order to improve the academic performance of secondary schools, it is recommended that the Ministry of Education officials, principals, teachers and learners should work more diligently and refocus their efforts on the core business of schools, namely, teaching and learning. / Teacher Education / D. Ed. (Education Management)

The concept of parental involvement has been viewed as an ideal style of leadership and management for school development purposes. In South Africa’s case, it is an educational policy which is expected to reign in all school management bodies. Many theorists envisaged parental involvement as enhancing active involvement of parents and it has been advocated by many scholars who believe it is the best leadership style in implementing democratic values to education, particularly South African rural education, which is still in a transitional stage. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which parents contribute towards education of their children. This study involved transformative case study as a research design at one rural school in Waterberg district in South Africa. This research employed three data collection techniques, namely semi-structured interviews, focus groups and document analysis. When formal education was introduced in South Africa schools it was regarded as exceptional environment for teachers, school administrators and learners. To a large extent, parents and the communities regarded themselves as something outside of the education system. The main findings of this study revealed that there is a lack of joint understanding and shared vision between educators and parents in the School Governing Body. This problem underpins other more symptomatic problems, such as lack of accountability in the matter of school finances, differences in understanding the roles of School Board members and lack of parents’ motivation from the school management. It highlighted some of the challenges that hinder the effective involvement of parents in rural school governance, such as poor educational background among parents. The study has also revealed challenges and consequences of non-parental involvement in school governance. The conclusion that could be drawn from the study is that in schools where parent-community involvement is highly visible, teacher effectiveness is apparent and this contributed significantly to the improvement of learner performance while in schools where parent-community involvement is non-existent or minimal, the result is the opposite. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The purpose of this study was to undertake an investigation into the investigation into the management of Grade 3 mathematics curriculum in a Transformational leadership Approach in Johannesburg East public school which is in D9 District of the Gauteng Department of Education. The role of the Leader in the school is to make sure the educative function us carried out to the desired level. Curriculum management referred to the provision of effective leadership and supervision by HOD's and other education managers of the activities of teaching staff in a school in order to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency with which the curriculum is delivered. The managers must ensure that quality teaching and learning is being provided and it is the responsibility of all education managers. A qualitative approach was undertaken to enable the researcher to explore the experiences, feelings and perceptions of the educators, Heads of department (HODs) and Deputy Principals to have a wider and richer assortment of current, valid and relevant data of how management of Grade 3 Mathematics in curriculum in Transformational Leadership approach. The quality of teaching in schools strongly influences levels of pupil motivation and achievement, Fullan (2001). The managers in schools has been consistently alluded to as the most significant factor in the success and quality of the school’s improvement process (Petersen, 2001: 159) The data collected for the research was analysed by using qualitative techniques and the findings showed that through the responses from the educators, Heads of Department, Principals showed that not enough support was given by the Department, workshops presented were not enough and educators , HOD and Deputy Principals were unable to implement as required. Educators felt that they did not receive proper and enough support from the SMT as the SMT was not fully equipped to support them. The HOD and Deputies responded that they felt limited in taking part in the Grade 3 mathematics curriculum transformational approach as educators were confined to a classroom management style of thinking. The deputy principal, the heads of department and subjects heads in primary schools as formal leaders, all have crucial responsibilities in assist the principal in meeting the school’s instructional goals. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The social and economic environments in which children develop are regarded as important variables which relate to academic performance. In order to support learners in achieving academically, an understanding of the role of these different variables is essential. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of additional educational support on the resilient behaviour and subsequent academic performance of adolescents in Grades 9 and 10. A sample of 117 high school adolescents was used. Schools that offer additional educational support tend, on average, to show a healthier teacher-learner relationship, more parental involvement, superior cognitive development and better study orientation. All these factors were also found to contribute to a learner’s potential to demonstrate resilient behaviour. Based on the literature study and the empirical investigation, recommendations to parents, teachers and schools have been made. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

A literature and an empirical study were undertaken to investigate home factors affecting the academic performance of a group of learners in three primary schools in the Brits district. From the literature it became evident that the early years of an individual's life are critical for development, especially cognitive development. Parents, as a child's primary educators have an important role to play in their child's cognitive development. By establishing a challenging and stimulating environment in which the child is exposed to a variety of experiences, the parents can enhance their child's cognitive development and by implication his/her later academic performance. Various other factors such as parental involvement, expectations, parenting style and home background were found to affect a child's academic performance. In the empirical study a group of academic achievers and underachievers were compared with regards to early cognitive stimulation received, degree of parental involvement and the quality of their homes. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed. (Specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)

This study is based on a need for community involvement in farm schools to enhance effective teaching and efficient learning. The rationale behind it was to determine the current state of community involvement in farm schools in the Pietermaritzburg area, with a view to determining the extent to which the current community i nvolvement, namely, the active participation of parents, teachers, the farmer, the church, the state and the private sector could be extended on a large scale. The study revealed that the community involvement dimension of schooling is central to the teaching profession. If neglected, no effective teaching and efficient learning can materialise. The role of the farm school principal in the realisation of this goal is indispensable. The empirical survey and literature revealed that farm school principals can address the serious shortcoming concerning the participation of community members in the affairs of farm schools. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Comparative Education)

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / The promotion of multi-cultural education and the upliftment of milieu disadvantaged children are closely related to each other, and is presently an important issue in the South African educational system. Poor knowledge of milieu disadvantaged children and multi-cultural education result in the loss of valuable learner potential and the non-fulfilment of the education policy. In this study, the promotion of self-actualisation of milieu disadvantaged children within a multi-cultural education system is discussed from a psychological-educational perspective. Attention is given to the problems and issues that play a defining role in the implementation of such an educational system. The influence of the environment en the development and functioning of milieu disadvantaged learners is investigated further. Qualitative research is done to identify the developmental areas where most problems occur. Finally, recommendations are made to the government, teachers and parents that ~an serve as guidelines to promote the selfactualisation of these learners. / Die bevordering van multikulturele onderwys en die opheffing van die milieu-geremde leerder hou nou verband met mekaar, en is tans 'n belangrike vraagstuk in die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwyssisteem. Gebrekkige kennis van milieu-geremdheid en multikulturele onderwys veroorsaak dat leerderpotensiaal verlore gaan en die onderwysbeleid nie uitgevoer word nie .. In hierdie studie word die bevordering van selfaktualisering van milieu-geremde leerders binne 'n multikulturele onderwyssisteem vanuit 'n opvoedkundig-sielkundige perspektief bespreek. Aandag word geskenk aan die problema en faktore wat 'n bepalende rol by die suksesvolle implementering van 'n multikulturele onderwyssisteem speel. Die invloed van die omgewing op die ontwikkeling en funksionering van milieu-geremde leerders word verder ondersoek. Kwalitatiewe navorsing is gedoen om die ontwikkelingsareas waar die meeste problema ervaar word, te identifiseer. Laastens word aanbevelings aan die regering, onderwysers en ouers gemaak wat as riglyne kan dien om die selfaktualisering van hierdie leerders te bevorder. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (met spesialisering in Voorligting)

National legislation such as South African Schools Act, No. 84 of 1996 introduced important reforms impacting on school and parent communication. It mandated the establishment of school governing bodies in all schools to ensure that parents participate in their schools and to open an effective way of communication between educators and parents. However, the literature study established that in some schools, mostly the historically disadvantaged black schools, communication between educators and parents is still very poor and mostly ineffective. This study examined the role of the school principals in managing effective communication between educators and parents at schools to ensure that effective partnerships between educators and parents are achieved. A qualitative investigation in two public secondary schools in the Umbumbulu Circuit, KwaZulu-Natal was done. Data were gathered by means of in-depth interviews with the principals of each school, and focus group interviews with the educators and parents of each school and document analysis. The findings revealed the following: relationship between educators and parents is still very poor in some schools, the communication between educators and parents is still ineffective, there is still a lack of parental involvement in some schools, and most schools do not have policies on effective management of communication and comprehensive programmes on parental involvement. The study recommends that principals need to be empowered to effectively manage communication in their schools to ensure effective partnerships between educators and parents, and schools should design their own training programmes conducted by principals or specialists for parents on the importance of parental involvement in the education of their children. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The purpose of the study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions of parental involvement in children’s education in the rural Mawa and Molototsi circuits in the Mopani district, Limpopo Province. Three-hundred-and-thirty (330) teachers participated in this research survey. The results indicated that the common perception amongst teachers was that parental involvement had positive benefits for both learner performance and social behaviour. The study also revealed that schools used involvement initiatives and strategies to a lesser extent than expected. Primary schools reported higher rates of parental involvement than secondary schools, which suggested that parents of primary school children were likelier to involve themselves in school governance than those of secondary school children. The extent to which the school used media to promote parental involvement was found to be small and moderate. The respondents also perceived certain social and economic barriers as moderate to large impediments to parental involvement. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The study population for the research comprised Grade 9 learners attending three co-educational, independent schools in KwaZulu-Natal in order to determine factors influencing the selection of business studies for FET phase. Methodology involved qualitative and quantitative approaches with closed and open-ended questionnaires plus one-on-one interviews. Descriptive statistics were produced and opened ended questions and interviews were examined for trends and influences. Findings reflected wide divergence in factual information, attitudes, and opinions on significant issues such as expected level of difficulty, influence of educators, parents and peers on selection, amount of work required and value of subject for future studies or careers. Conclusions were that there was a lack of completed research indicating a need for future research, greater preparation was required pre-FET level to assist decision making about selection of the subject which should involve parents, educators and input from the business world. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)