<p>Comparative analysis of the CPD systems internationally and nationally revealed that CPD is mandatory for some whilst for other countries it is compulsory, but not mandatory for licensing purposes. Licensing occurs on a yearly basis, but CPD recognition is accredited over a time period with expiry deadlines and minimum requirements. A portfolio was a common method of recording and proof of evidence for CPD, and a continuous theme was that CPD is needed to ensure competency. The Nursing Act 33 of 2005 makes provision for CPD for nurses but to date the South African Nursing Council has not yet decided on a model of CPD for implementation for SA nurses.</p>

The motivation for this study was the comments by supervisors in the radiography workplace about the students' lack of critical skills when they went for experiential learning. Higher education institutions are required to teach all students the critical crossfield outcomes (CCFOs) so that they can apply them in the world of work. The purpose of the study was to understand the problems in the workplace so that training gaps could be identified. The training gaps were to be used to improve the current curriculum so as to prepare the students more adequately for the workplace. The Durban Institute of Technology (DIT) prepares students to function as radiographers in hospitals and private practices where all the CCFOs are needed. This is done using the Outcomes Based Education (OBE) approach to teaching, where students work collaboratively in groups of various sizes ranging from two to six doing theory and practical activities. The training programme includes experiential learning that is done in accredited hospitals where students work under the supervision of qualified radiographers. The study focussed on the first year student radiographers at DIT who had been placed in the Pietermaritzburg hospitals for their experiential learning. All the supervisors in these hospitals were included in the study as well. Students were interviewed at the end of their first experiential learning block, before they commenced with their second year programme. A qualitative research approach was used to explore the perceptions of the students and supervisors in terms of the development of workplace skills by students. Questionnaires were given to the supervisors and students were interviewed. All questions asked in both the questionnaires and the interviews related to the CCFOs. The findings showed that the perceptions of the students and supervisors were not very different in terms of which skills had been developed and which ones had not. The results also showed that the teaching strategies used at DIT were effective in teaching the CCFOs. A number of issues emerged that affected the way students learnt these skills. These were related to teaching and learning, the institutions and the students themselves. These were found to have both negative and positive effects on the learning of CCFOs. The research also found that neither the DIT nor the hospitals were successful in teaching the art of reflective practice, possibly due to the type of assessment strategies currently used to assess experiential learning. From the findings a number of training gaps were identified and recommendations have been made to address them. The current curriculum should be reviewed and it has been suggested that a shift towards the emancipatory paradigm would be more effective in producing a critical reflective radiographer who possessed all the CCFOs. The first year curriculum should be reduced so that only relevant subjects are taught. The assessment of experiential learning should be restructured to align it with the DIT experiential learning policy and clinical tutors should be trained to work with students in the hospitals. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005

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Environmental Education is widely considered to be indispensable for realizing behaviour which supports sustainable life. Several international declarations and South African policy documents plead for the inclusion of environmental education processes at all levels of formal education. The White Paper for Education and Training (1995) stipulates that environmental education should be presented in accordance with an interdisciplinary, integrated and active approach to learning. The aim of this study was to investigate the role a learner activity plays in the decisions learners make to live more in the interest of the sustainability of the environment. Three schools that are engaged in the project Build capacity for life were selected. The project aims at implementing an environment management system at the schools by means of which the environment forms an integral part of school management and of the curriculum. The study is performed as a qualitative case study in which data was collected by means of observation, focus group sessions and interviews. The learner involvement in the staging of an activity that dealt with energy consumption and the influence thereof on the environment was investigated. Firstly, the collected data was organised by means of matrixes and brain charts and then analysed with the help of plotting charts. The findings indicate that learners are capable of recognising the relationship between electric energy, littering and air pollution. Learners are aware of the impact they as energy consumers have on the environment and could list methods according to which they creatively save energy on the school grounds and at their homes. Their performance is testament to a responsible attitude towards the environment and to the fact that they are convinced of the value of making people aware of environmental issues. From this, it can be inferred that, should channels and structures exist at schools by means of which learners can gain access to the management of their schools, they would be able to make contributions to promoting the sustainability of the environment. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

In die Grondslagfase is Lewensvaardighede een van drie leerprogramme wat deur die Departement van Onderwys voorgeskryf en verder in die Nasionale Kurrikulumverklaring uiteengesit word. Lewensvaardighede fokus op die ontwikkellng van lewenswaardes en stel die ontwikkeling van verantwoordelike en gedissiplineerde landsburgers. van Suid-Afrika ten doe!. Teen die agtergrond van die bogenoemde oorkoepelende uitkoms van Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding, was die doel van die studie om antwoorde op die volgende navorsingsvrae te ViFld: • Wat is Grondslagfase-onderwysers se houding teenoor Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding? • Is daar 'n verband. tussen sekere biografiese veranderlikes en Grondslagfaseonderwysers se houding teenoor Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding? • Hoeveel tyd bestee Grondslagfase-onderwysers daagliks aan die onderrig van leerders se lewensvaardighede? • Verskil die daaglikse tydsbesteding aan die onderrig van Lewensvaardighede, Gesyferdheid en Geletterdheid betekenisvol van mekaar? • Is daar faktore wat Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding in die Grondslagfase belemmer? • Watter aanbevelings kan gemaak word om die onderrig van Lewensvaardighede in die Grondslagfase te bevorder? Ten einde bogenoemde vrae te beantwoord is 'n gekombineerde (kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe) navorsingsmetode geTmplementeer. Data is deur middel van 'n gestruktureerde vraelys by 'n steekproef van Grondslagfase-onderwysers in die Potchefstroom en Klerksdorpskooldistrikte van die Noordwes Provinsie ingesamel en die inllgting is statrsties geanaliseer: Die kwantitatiewe fase van die ondersoek is opgevolg deur 'n kwalitatiewe fase waartydens onderhoude met Grondslagfase-onderwysers gevoer is. Voortspruitend uit die kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe resultate, is die volgende gevolgtrekkings gemaak, wat in diepte in die verhandeling bespreek sal word: • Grondslagfase-onderwysers se houding teenoor Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding is oor die algemeen oorwegend positief. • Daar is 'n verband tussen sekere biografiese veranderlikes en Grondslagfaseonderwysers se houding teenoor Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding. • Die meerderheid van die Grondslagfase-onderwysers bestee tussen 25% en 35% van hulle daaglikse tyd aan die onderrig van Lewensvaardighede. • Die tyd wat 'Grondslagfase-onderwysers daagliks aan die onderrig' van Lewensvaardighede, Gesyferdheid en Geletterdheid bestee, verskil betekenisvol van mekaar. Die meeste tyd word daagliks aan die onderrig van Geletterdheid bestee, gevolg deurGesyferdheiden Lewensvaardighede. • Daar is bepaalde faktore wat die suksesvolle. aanbieding van Lewensvaardighede -in die GroRdslagfase belemmer. Op grond van die bevindinge van die ondersoek, is bepaalde aanbevelings aan die hand gedoen om die onderrig van Lewensvaardighede in die Grondslagfase te bevorder. / Life Skills, as prescribed by the Department of education, is one of three learning programmes in the Foundation Phase as reflected in the Nationa1 Curriculum Statement. Life Skills focuses on the development of values for life and has as a goal, the development of responsible and disciplined citizens for South-Africa. Against the-background of the above mentioned super ordinate outcome of Life Skills education the aim of the study was to find answers to the following research questions: • What is the attitude of Foundation Phase teachers towards the teaching of Life Skills? • Is there a connection between specific biographical variables and the Foundation Phase teacher's attitude towards Life Skills? • How much time do Foundation Phase teachers spend daily on teaching Life Skills to learners? • Is there a significant difference on the time spent daily on die teaching of Life Skills, Numeracy and Literacy? • Are there factors that hinder the teaching of Life Skills in the Foundation Phase? • What recommendations can be made to promote the teaching of Life Skills in the Foundation Phase? In order to answer the above questions, a mixed research method (quantitative and qualitative) was implemented. Data were gathered by means of a structured questionnaire from a random sample of Foundation Phase teachers in the Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp school districts of the North West Province, and the information was analysed statistically. The quantitative phase of the investigation was followed bya qualitative phase during which personal interviews with Foundation Phase teachers were conducted. Originating from the quantitative and qualitative results, the following recommendations were made that will be intensiv.ely discussed in the dissertation: • The attitude of Foundation Phase teachers towards Life Skills education are in general positive. • There is a correlation between some biographical variables and the Foundation Phase teachers' attitude towards Life Skills education. I • The majority of the Foundation Phase teachers spend between 25% and 35% of their daily time on the education of Life Skills. • The daily .input that Foundation Phase teachers spend on the teaching of Life Skills, Numeracy and Literacy differ meaningfully from each other. Most of the time is spent on the teaching of Literacy, followed by Numeracy and Life Skills. • There are specific factors that hinder the successful presentation of life Skills in the Foundation Phase. Based on the results of the investigation, specific recommendations were made to promote the teaching of Life Skills in the Foundation Phase. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

With the introduction of outcomes-based education (OBE) in South Africa the role of teachers and learners in the teaching and learning process had to change. Teachers had to adopt a facilitation role and learners had to focus on active learning and the mastering of outcomes. With the focus of OBE on outcomes, teachers in the teachinglearning process are continuously pressurised not only to focus on the teaching of theoretical subject matter, but also the development of higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS). Since 2006 the development of learners' HOCS in South African Schools have been emphasized in the Further Education and Training Phase (grades 10-12) through the National Curriculum Statements. Teachers in Business Studies (the new subject that replaced Business Economics as secondary school subject in 2006) have doubts in their ability to develop learners' HOCS because they doubt their own ability to demonstrate HOCS. This study indicates that the teacher training of Business Studies students should focus on the development of their HOCS, because they won't be able to develop their learners' HOCS if they can't demonstrate it themselves. The purpose of this study was to develop a teaching model for the development of education students in Business Studies' HOCS. Lecturers can use the teaching model during teacher training, to develop education students' knowledge of HOeS in Business studies, their ability to demonstrate HOCS and their critical and creative thinking skills. This study was approached from a pragmatic research paradigm. A literature study was conducted to motivate the rationale for the development of education students' HOCS, to investigate the meaning of HOCS and to determine the way in which HOCS can be learned, taught and assessed. The proposed teaching model that was developed, is based on the literature study. From the literature study a workable definition of HOCS was developed for the aim of this study. The literature study also showed that HOCS can best be learned and taught in a social constructivist learning environment, where lecturers enable students to construct their own knowledge and skills, with a combination of inductive teaching, cooperative learning and problem/activity based learning. During the empirical component of this study the teaching model for development of HOCS was applied to education students in Business Studies. Data was gathered over a period of four months by means of a mixed methods research design. This research design acted as a purposeful research framework wherein quantitative and qualitative methods were used to solve the research problem. Findings from the results of the empirical study indicated the extent to which the teaching model led to the development of the education students' HOCS, the experience of the education students and the way in which the model was executed. The contribution of this research is viewed as a clarification of the concept HOCS, the rationale for the development of HOCS and the proposed teaching model. / Thesis (PhD (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010

Environmental Education is widely considered to be indispensable for realizing behaviour which supports sustainable life. Several international declarations and South African policy documents plead for the inclusion of environmental education processes at all levels of formal education. The White Paper for Education and Training (1995) stipulates that environmental education should be presented in accordance with an interdisciplinary, integrated and active approach to learning. The aim of this study was to investigate the role a learner activity plays in the decisions learners make to live more in the interest of the sustainability of the environment. Three schools that are engaged in the project Build capacity for life were selected. The project aims at implementing an environment management system at the schools by means of which the environment forms an integral part of school management and of the curriculum. The study is performed as a qualitative case study in which data was collected by means of observation, focus group sessions and interviews. The learner involvement in the staging of an activity that dealt with energy consumption and the influence thereof on the environment was investigated. Firstly, the collected data was organised by means of matrixes and brain charts and then analysed with the help of plotting charts. The findings indicate that learners are capable of recognising the relationship between electric energy, littering and air pollution. Learners are aware of the impact they as energy consumers have on the environment and could list methods according to which they creatively save energy on the school grounds and at their homes. Their performance is testament to a responsible attitude towards the environment and to the fact that they are convinced of the value of making people aware of environmental issues. From this, it can be inferred that, should channels and structures exist at schools by means of which learners can gain access to the management of their schools, they would be able to make contributions to promoting the sustainability of the environment. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

In die Grondslagfase is Lewensvaardighede een van drie leerprogramme wat deur die Departement van Onderwys voorgeskryf en verder in die Nasionale Kurrikulumverklaring uiteengesit word. Lewensvaardighede fokus op die ontwikkellng van lewenswaardes en stel die ontwikkeling van verantwoordelike en gedissiplineerde landsburgers. van Suid-Afrika ten doe!. Teen die agtergrond van die bogenoemde oorkoepelende uitkoms van Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding, was die doel van die studie om antwoorde op die volgende navorsingsvrae te ViFld: • Wat is Grondslagfase-onderwysers se houding teenoor Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding? • Is daar 'n verband. tussen sekere biografiese veranderlikes en Grondslagfaseonderwysers se houding teenoor Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding? • Hoeveel tyd bestee Grondslagfase-onderwysers daagliks aan die onderrig van leerders se lewensvaardighede? • Verskil die daaglikse tydsbesteding aan die onderrig van Lewensvaardighede, Gesyferdheid en Geletterdheid betekenisvol van mekaar? • Is daar faktore wat Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding in die Grondslagfase belemmer? • Watter aanbevelings kan gemaak word om die onderrig van Lewensvaardighede in die Grondslagfase te bevorder? Ten einde bogenoemde vrae te beantwoord is 'n gekombineerde (kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe) navorsingsmetode geTmplementeer. Data is deur middel van 'n gestruktureerde vraelys by 'n steekproef van Grondslagfase-onderwysers in die Potchefstroom en Klerksdorpskooldistrikte van die Noordwes Provinsie ingesamel en die inllgting is statrsties geanaliseer: Die kwantitatiewe fase van die ondersoek is opgevolg deur 'n kwalitatiewe fase waartydens onderhoude met Grondslagfase-onderwysers gevoer is. Voortspruitend uit die kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe resultate, is die volgende gevolgtrekkings gemaak, wat in diepte in die verhandeling bespreek sal word: • Grondslagfase-onderwysers se houding teenoor Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding is oor die algemeen oorwegend positief. • Daar is 'n verband tussen sekere biografiese veranderlikes en Grondslagfaseonderwysers se houding teenoor Lewensvaardigheidsopvoeding. • Die meerderheid van die Grondslagfase-onderwysers bestee tussen 25% en 35% van hulle daaglikse tyd aan die onderrig van Lewensvaardighede. • Die tyd wat 'Grondslagfase-onderwysers daagliks aan die onderrig' van Lewensvaardighede, Gesyferdheid en Geletterdheid bestee, verskil betekenisvol van mekaar. Die meeste tyd word daagliks aan die onderrig van Geletterdheid bestee, gevolg deurGesyferdheiden Lewensvaardighede. • Daar is bepaalde faktore wat die suksesvolle. aanbieding van Lewensvaardighede -in die GroRdslagfase belemmer. Op grond van die bevindinge van die ondersoek, is bepaalde aanbevelings aan die hand gedoen om die onderrig van Lewensvaardighede in die Grondslagfase te bevorder. / Life Skills, as prescribed by the Department of education, is one of three learning programmes in the Foundation Phase as reflected in the Nationa1 Curriculum Statement. Life Skills focuses on the development of values for life and has as a goal, the development of responsible and disciplined citizens for South-Africa. Against the-background of the above mentioned super ordinate outcome of Life Skills education the aim of the study was to find answers to the following research questions: • What is the attitude of Foundation Phase teachers towards the teaching of Life Skills? • Is there a connection between specific biographical variables and the Foundation Phase teacher's attitude towards Life Skills? • How much time do Foundation Phase teachers spend daily on teaching Life Skills to learners? • Is there a significant difference on the time spent daily on die teaching of Life Skills, Numeracy and Literacy? • Are there factors that hinder the teaching of Life Skills in the Foundation Phase? • What recommendations can be made to promote the teaching of Life Skills in the Foundation Phase? In order to answer the above questions, a mixed research method (quantitative and qualitative) was implemented. Data were gathered by means of a structured questionnaire from a random sample of Foundation Phase teachers in the Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp school districts of the North West Province, and the information was analysed statistically. The quantitative phase of the investigation was followed bya qualitative phase during which personal interviews with Foundation Phase teachers were conducted. Originating from the quantitative and qualitative results, the following recommendations were made that will be intensiv.ely discussed in the dissertation: • The attitude of Foundation Phase teachers towards Life Skills education are in general positive. • There is a correlation between some biographical variables and the Foundation Phase teachers' attitude towards Life Skills education. I • The majority of the Foundation Phase teachers spend between 25% and 35% of their daily time on the education of Life Skills. • The daily .input that Foundation Phase teachers spend on the teaching of Life Skills, Numeracy and Literacy differ meaningfully from each other. Most of the time is spent on the teaching of Literacy, followed by Numeracy and Life Skills. • There are specific factors that hinder the successful presentation of life Skills in the Foundation Phase. Based on the results of the investigation, specific recommendations were made to promote the teaching of Life Skills in the Foundation Phase. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

With the introduction of outcomes-based education (OBE) in South Africa the role of teachers and learners in the teaching and learning process had to change. Teachers had to adopt a facilitation role and learners had to focus on active learning and the mastering of outcomes. With the focus of OBE on outcomes, teachers in the teachinglearning process are continuously pressurised not only to focus on the teaching of theoretical subject matter, but also the development of higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS). Since 2006 the development of learners' HOCS in South African Schools have been emphasized in the Further Education and Training Phase (grades 10-12) through the National Curriculum Statements. Teachers in Business Studies (the new subject that replaced Business Economics as secondary school subject in 2006) have doubts in their ability to develop learners' HOCS because they doubt their own ability to demonstrate HOCS. This study indicates that the teacher training of Business Studies students should focus on the development of their HOCS, because they won't be able to develop their learners' HOCS if they can't demonstrate it themselves. The purpose of this study was to develop a teaching model for the development of education students in Business Studies' HOCS. Lecturers can use the teaching model during teacher training, to develop education students' knowledge of HOeS in Business studies, their ability to demonstrate HOCS and their critical and creative thinking skills. This study was approached from a pragmatic research paradigm. A literature study was conducted to motivate the rationale for the development of education students' HOCS, to investigate the meaning of HOCS and to determine the way in which HOCS can be learned, taught and assessed. The proposed teaching model that was developed, is based on the literature study. From the literature study a workable definition of HOCS was developed for the aim of this study. The literature study also showed that HOCS can best be learned and taught in a social constructivist learning environment, where lecturers enable students to construct their own knowledge and skills, with a combination of inductive teaching, cooperative learning and problem/activity based learning. During the empirical component of this study the teaching model for development of HOCS was applied to education students in Business Studies. Data was gathered over a period of four months by means of a mixed methods research design. This research design acted as a purposeful research framework wherein quantitative and qualitative methods were used to solve the research problem. Findings from the results of the empirical study indicated the extent to which the teaching model led to the development of the education students' HOCS, the experience of the education students and the way in which the model was executed. The contribution of this research is viewed as a clarification of the concept HOCS, the rationale for the development of HOCS and the proposed teaching model. / Thesis (PhD (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010

Magister Educationis - MEd / This mini thesis analyses and describes the implementation of the National Curriculum in the Foundation Phase of the primary school. On the 24th of May 1997 South Africa launched a new curriculum, Curriculum 2005 (C2005). The underlying philosophy of C2005 is Outcomes Based Education (OBE). Since the adoption of OBE and the introduction of C2005 many changes have been introduced in our schools with a new curriculum that had to be implemented hastily, which was reviewed and again introduced as the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS).Teachers had little say in any of these changes and this has resulted in frustration and in many cases a lack of ability to cope with the implementation of the new curriculum.I argue that teachers do not have a common understanding of the Assessment Standards and that they still need support with linking the theory of curriculum policy to their practices and with a sound application of Integration and Progression. This research is an enquiry into the process of curriculum implementation in particular in the Foundation Phase which was tasked to be the first to adopt the changes. Change was not sustained and I highlight some of the challenges that teachers still face.A significant part of the research is the participatory action research process which is a deliberate, solution-oriented investigation into the implementation of the RNCS in the Foundation Phase to inform and change my understanding of the actual support teachers need.The study is characterized by a cycle of problem identification, planning, systemic data collection, reflection, analysis and action. With the research I am striving to understand teachers’ practices in order to improve my work as Education Specialist that supports and develops teachers in primary schools.