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 (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

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

Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

<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>

When Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) reached the Further Education and Training (FET) band in 2006, teachers were confronted for the first time with a new curriculum that challenged them to implement a learner-centred approach to teaching, learning and assessment. Since assessment is seen as the heart of effective teaching and learning, this research was aimed at establishing how effective teachers of English First Additional Language (EFAL) in the FET band were in implementing Outcomes-Based Assessment (OBA). A thorough literary survey on OBE and OBA was conducted. This survey included a study of the principles and philosophical underpinnings of OBE and the clarification of the key concepts of OBE and OBA. Various documents on the teaching, learning and assessment of English Second Language from the Departments of Education in New Zealand, Canada and Australia were studied to gain an international perspective. This was followed by an analysis of South African policy documents on the teaching, learning and assessment of EFAL. Empirical research was conducted by means of a survey in which both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were used. The data analysis revealed that teachers of EFAL in the FET band experience problems with the practical implementation of the curriculum and the assessment thereof. Problems were mainly experienced with setting achievable outcomes, designing lessons, teaching material and learning activities, teaching and assessing in a learner-centred way, employing the most appropriate types and methods of assessment and using feedback to enhance learning. A model for assessment has been designed to fill the gap left between the theory of OBE and OBA as expressed in the NCS for EFAL and the successful, practical implementation thereof. It is anticipated that this model will contribute to the improvement of teaching, learning and assessment of EFAL in the FET band in public schools. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Since its inception, the Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) curriculum in South Africa has caused much confusion and frustration among teachers, especially with regard to the implementation of Outcomes- Based Assessment (OBA). From the onset of the implementation of OBE in South Africa, teachers were confronted with unfamiliar challenges with regard to teaching, learning and assessment. Most teachers experienced these challenges as very stressful, because they were inadequately prepared for the didactical paradigm shift. This resulted in a general degree of negativity and resistance towards OBE amongst teachers. In particular, there seemed to be much confusion and frustration about the workload and administrative burden that OBA imposed on teachers. In the light of the afore-mentioned, the researcher wished to determine how the teachers from the North- West Province experience the OBA of Physical Sciences in the Further Education and Training (FET) Band. In order to achieve the aim and objectives of the research, a literature study as well as an empirical investigation was undertaken. The literature study focused on OBA, OBE, and the National Policy Document on the teaching, learning and assessment of Physical Sciences in the FET Band. For the purposes of the empirical investigation, quantitative and qualitative data were collected by means of a questionnaire that was distributed among a sample of teachers who taught Physical Sciences in the FET Band schools in the North-West Province. The data were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed and on the basis of the findings the following conclusions were drawn: • Although most participants indicated that they received training in OBA and were in possession of the relevant National Curriculum Statement (NCS) documents, some of their responses indicated a lack of practical implementation skills. It also transpired that some of the participants experienced a lack of resources and inadequate support from subject advisors in implementing OBA. • Participants experienced the following obstacles with regard to the assessment of Physical Sciences in the FET Band: - inadequate training to conduct practical work; - a complicated and confusing NCS document that does not contain clear guidelines; - an overloaded curriculum; and - limited resources, time constraints, overcrowded classrooms and an overloaded curriculum make practical work and experimentation very difficult. On the basis of the findings emanating from the research, a model for the implementation of OBA of Physical Sciences in the FET Band was proposed to close the gap between the theory and assessment practice. / Thesis (PhD (Natural Science Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.