There are vast differences between traditional content-based education and transformational outcomes-based education. For example, in content-based education teachers are viewed as the main sources of knowledge whereas in OBE teachers are viewed as facilitators of learning. In content-based education, assessment mostly focuses on the knowledge aspect of learners, rather than on skills, attitude and values. Teachers trained for traditional teaching should somehow be assisted to adjust to the outcomes-based way of teaching. This study firstly wants to identify the didactic-professional needs related to OBE of secondary school teachers in the Venda region of the Limpopo Province. The study identifies two categories of didactic-professional needs, namely: • Needs to improve secondary school teachers' academic competence • Needs to improve secondary school teachers' professional competence. The second objective of this study is to analyse and evaluate current distance education practice based in a printed format as means to satisfy secondary school teachers' didactic-professional needs related to OBE. The third objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of distance education based on print to satisfy the Limpopo Province Venda region secondary school teachers' didactic-professional and academic needs related to OBE to determine criteria and guidelines to this effect. A stratified systematic sample of 331 secondary school teachers and managers, including 148 persons who are or have already been involved in distance education, was selected to participate in the study. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire and interviews with selected persons. Quantitative analysis of data employed a factor analysis to determine significant factors to work with. Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha to establish reliability of instruments, and Cohen's Criterion of effect size to determine significance of differences were used. The main findings of the study are: • The following six factors are regarded as important to satisfy secondary school teachers' didactic-professional needs: 1. Learning strategies centring around learner activities 2. Learner-centred assessing strategies 3. Learners' performance assessing strategies 4. Outcomes and methods of achieving outcomes 5. Educator centred teaching strategies 6. Learner- centred teaching strategies. • Counselling, tutoring and preparation for study are important in distance education to satisfy secondaly school teachers' didactic-professional needs related to OBE. However, counselling and preparation for study sometimes occur in the distance education currently available in the region, particularly in distance education programmes offered through an agent for a university. The findings further show certain differences with regard to teachers' needs and their satisfaction according to the experience, the nature of initial professional training, and the level of the current academic qualifications of the teachers. Finally the study recommends a plan of action to provide distance education based on print to satisfy the didactic-professional needs related to OBE of the Venda region secondary school teachers in Limpopo. The main elements of the plan include: • Effective contact sessions with lecturers. • Regular tutorial sessions under guidance of facilitators (tutors). • A multi-media approach. • Access to counselling and study guidance. • Relevant and integrated summative and formative assessment. • Efficient communication between the academic institution involved and the agent that acts on their behalf (where applicable). / Thesis (Ph.D. (Didactics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006

On the 30 July 1996, the Department of Education launched a national curriculum process. Included in this process was the establishment of an outcomes-based education (OBE) system. This research reflects how selected South African teachers responded to the implementation of an outcomes-based education curriculum, at the onset of 1998. The research also reflects the perspectives of individuals whose task it is to design the new curriculum. The research is housed in an interpretative paradigm and has a qualitative perspective to it, in that it is primarily concerned with understanding the individual teacher’s perspective and experience of outcomes-based education. The case study research method is used, with interviews and questionnaires as the data gathering methods. The research reveals teachers’ understanding of OBE, as well as their concerns and aspirations of an outcomes-based curriculum. A number of recommendations are made to aid teachers and curriculum developers during this time of curriculum change.

The purpose of this Master’s thesis was to examine different factors influencing the process of establishing and developing school libraries in relation to the implementation of a new outcome based curriculum, Curriculum 2005. The main focus was on under resourced areas and a field study was conducted in 1998 in the Western Cape Province during the first year of implementation. As a frame a Swedish – South African school library project, that lasted between 1997- 2002, was used. The findings from the field study were analysed according to a model identifying different factors influencing the process of implementation ofeducational change in underdeveloped countries. Four evaluations of the project were incorporated in the analysis with the aim to enhance the findings from the field study but also to question them. The aim was not to evaluate the project itself. The conclusions reached were that several ofthe factors found to affect the implementation process were not specificfor under resourced areas, but could also be found in the research regarding developed countries. Some factors were however found to be specific for many of the under resourced areas, such as shortage ofadequate learning resources, especially in the indigenous languages, dependence on external support such as voluntary workers and donations, infrastructural problems, absence of possible co-operating public libraries, locked libraries due to security problems etc. Many of these factors couldbe referred back to inherited inequalities. / Uppsatsnivå: D

Thesis (Ph.D. (Didactics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

<p>The main objective of this study was to investigate the attitudes, perceptions and factors affecting the implementation of the Consumer Studies teaching portfolio in the<br /> Educational Management Developmental Centres (EMDCs) of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). The sub-objectives were firstly to assess the teachers' attitudes toward the Consumer Studies teaching portfolio as an assessment tool. A second aim was to describe teachers&rsquo / perceptions of assessment methods in the Consumer Studies teaching portfolio, while a third was to identify the factors that affect the development of the said portfolio.</p>

<p>Both international and local authors argue strongly that state education systems have an important role to play in the development and nurturing of positive values and attitudes in learners. In some instances, as is the case in South Africa, the education system may even prescribe the values that ought to be taught in the institutions of learning. While I agree that education institutions have a responsibility to teach positive values to learners, it is my contention that it is unlikely that educators will be able to fulfil this role in any meaningful way, without an informed understanding of how to reconcile the tensions between personal and common values, the nature of values knowledge and the complexities and challenges that surround the teaching and assessment of values. This study begins to explore some of these complexities by addressing the historical events, education initiatives and policy decisions that have informed and shaped values education policies in South Africa. I conclude that while the inclusion of values in the curriculum is a commendable education initiative to root democratic values in society, it must be acknowledged that values education inevitably, has a political role to fulfil. The teaching of values knowledge cannot be limited to behaviourist approaches. Learners deserve an education that offers opportunities to them to develop into responsible, caring and morally just citizens. A central aim of values education should thus be to provide learners with opportunities and tools to construct meaning around moral concepts and positive values. I strongly believe that it is unlikely that this will occur if educators are not appropriately capacitated to provide such opportunities to their learners.</p>

<p>The main objective of this study was to investigate the attitudes, perceptions and factors affecting the implementation of the Consumer Studies teaching portfolio in the<br /> Educational Management Developmental Centres (EMDCs) of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). The sub-objectives were firstly to assess the teachers' attitudes toward the Consumer Studies teaching portfolio as an assessment tool. A second aim was to describe teachers&rsquo / perceptions of assessment methods in the Consumer Studies teaching portfolio, while a third was to identify the factors that affect the development of the said portfolio.</p>

<p>Both international and local authors argue strongly that state education systems have an important role to play in the development and nurturing of positive values and attitudes in learners. In some instances, as is the case in South Africa, the education system may even prescribe the values that ought to be taught in the institutions of learning. While I agree that education institutions have a responsibility to teach positive values to learners, it is my contention that it is unlikely that educators will be able to fulfil this role in any meaningful way, without an informed understanding of how to reconcile the tensions between personal and common values, the nature of values knowledge and the complexities and challenges that surround the teaching and assessment of values. This study begins to explore some of these complexities by addressing the historical events, education initiatives and policy decisions that have informed and shaped values education policies in South Africa. I conclude that while the inclusion of values in the curriculum is a commendable education initiative to root democratic values in society, it must be acknowledged that values education inevitably, has a political role to fulfil. The teaching of values knowledge cannot be limited to behaviourist approaches. Learners deserve an education that offers opportunities to them to develop into responsible, caring and morally just citizens. A central aim of values education should thus be to provide learners with opportunities and tools to construct meaning around moral concepts and positive values. I strongly believe that it is unlikely that this will occur if educators are not appropriately capacitated to provide such opportunities to their learners.</p>

The crucial issue in the new democratic South Africa was to change the type of education system that was based on social discrimination to one which is non- discriminatory, unbiased and accessible to all South Africans. However, to teach in a multicultural society and being faced with the challenge of teaching multicultural diverse classes, within an OBE paradigm, demands special knowledge, skills and attributes of teachers. Therefore, this study intended to investigate teachers’ OBE practices in multicultural classrooms in order to determine the strengths and weaknesses that could be useful for the improvement of teaching and learning within multicultural contexts. The study was approached from a socio-reconstructivist point of view and focused specifically on schools in the Harrismith region. The purpose of this study was thus to explore and come to a better understanding of how teachers’ OBE practices accommodate multicultural diverse learners in the Harrismith region. In order to direct the study towards the intended purpose, a literature study was undertaken to define multicultural diversity and to conceptualize OBE practices in order to operationalize the concept within the context of the study. The empirical research was done by following a qualitative research design in the form of a case study. Semi-structured, individual interviews and observations were used as data collection instruments. Interviews were conducted with teachers teaching Grade 8 and 9 learners as well as learners from the same grades, of five purposefully selected schools in the Harrismith region. By using maximal variation sampling, ten teachers and ten learners from the selected schools eventually participated in the research. Observations were recorded by means of anecdotal notes which were used to verify and supplement data obtained through the interviews. According to the findings of the empirical research, it appears that the research participants’ understanding of multiculturalism lack substance. The findings also revealed that multiculturalism is mainly accommodated by implementing the following OBE practices: working together with others, showing respect, cultural sensitivity, acknowledgement of individual learner differences, and by creating positive classroom climates. It was also evident that teachers act as change agents by discrediting discrimination and prejudice. Teaching in multicultural classrooms also poses some challenges. These included language problems, acceptance of different cultural practices, racial differences and “inherent” segregation. Though the findings revealed that teachers’ OBE practices still need to be refined in order to successfully accommodate multicultural diversity, positive attitudes were reflected in terms of improving their competence with regard to teaching in a multicultural diverse environment. / MEd, Learning and Teaching, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

There are vast differences between traditional content-based education and transformational outcomes-based education. For example, in content-based education teachers are viewed as the main sources of knowledge whereas in OBE teachers are viewed as facilitators of learning. In content-based education, assessment mostly focuses on the knowledge aspect of learners, rather than on skills, attitude and values. Teachers trained for traditional teaching should somehow be assisted to adjust to the outcomes-based way of teaching. This study firstly wants to identify the didactic-professional needs related to OBE of secondary school teachers in the Venda region of the Limpopo Province. The study identifies two categories of didactic-professional needs, namely: • Needs to improve secondary school teachers' academic competence • Needs to improve secondary school teachers' professional competence. The second objective of this study is to analyse and evaluate current distance education practice based in a printed format as means to satisfy secondary school teachers' didactic-professional needs related to OBE. The third objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of distance education based on print to satisfy the Limpopo Province Venda region secondary school teachers' didactic-professional and academic needs related to OBE to determine criteria and guidelines to this effect. A stratified systematic sample of 331 secondary school teachers and managers, including 148 persons who are or have already been involved in distance education, was selected to participate in the study. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire and interviews with selected persons. Quantitative analysis of data employed a factor analysis to determine significant factors to work with. Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha to establish reliability of instruments, and Cohen's Criterion of effect size to determine significance of differences were used. The main findings of the study are: • The following six factors are regarded as important to satisfy secondary school teachers' didactic-professional needs: 1. Learning strategies centring around learner activities 2. Learner-centred assessing strategies 3. Learners' performance assessing strategies 4. Outcomes and methods of achieving outcomes 5. Educator centred teaching strategies 6. Learner- centred teaching strategies. • Counselling, tutoring and preparation for study are important in distance education to satisfy secondaly school teachers' didactic-professional needs related to OBE. However, counselling and preparation for study sometimes occur in the distance education currently available in the region, particularly in distance education programmes offered through an agent for a university. The findings further show certain differences with regard to teachers' needs and their satisfaction according to the experience, the nature of initial professional training, and the level of the current academic qualifications of the teachers. Finally the study recommends a plan of action to provide distance education based on print to satisfy the didactic-professional needs related to OBE of the Venda region secondary school teachers in Limpopo. The main elements of the plan include: • Effective contact sessions with lecturers. • Regular tutorial sessions under guidance of facilitators (tutors). • A multi-media approach. • Access to counselling and study guidance. • Relevant and integrated summative and formative assessment. • Efficient communication between the academic institution involved and the agent that acts on their behalf (where applicable). / Thesis (Ph.D. (Didactics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006