Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study focuses on the lived experiences of primary school teachers within a culture of performativity. The French philosopher, Jean-Francois Lyotard (1984) more than anyone else gave credence to the notion of ‘performativity’ in education which he used to represent political and bureaucratic mechanisms of control. Embedded in regulatory mechanisms there are performance indicators such as ‘monitoring systems’ with associated ‘production of information’, that according to Ball (2003) engenders the ‘terrors of performativity’. To conform to the regulatory mechanisms the performativity culture in schools, pressure is increasingly placed on teachers to demonstrate their accountability to education authorities for the responsibilities delegated to them. The literature review does not only seeks to give meaning to key terms and concepts relevant to the study, but also aims to define the operational. Relevant terms included: accountability, professionalism, performance and performativity. In the discussion it is shown that there is a close underlying relationship between performativity and performance, between performativity and accountability, and between performativity and professionalism. In order to answer the main research question and to align logically to the purpose of the study, the researcher conducted a qualitative research study within the interpretative research paradigm. The study was guided by the phenomenological research approach – and more specifically by the hermeneutical-phenomenological research method of Max van Manen (1990). Two data collection methods were employed: protocol narratives (descriptions of lived experiences) and in-depth semi-structured phenomenological interviews. In this study a thematic analytical approach was followed whereby the researcher identified emerging themes from the collected data. Different steps were taken to increase the internal validity of the study and to give attention to the ethical aspects that emerged during the investigation. In this study it is evident that performativity, with its emphasis on effectiveness, efficiency and quality, is currently the most powerful and pervasive discourse in education. The description of the results shows that teachers tend to be swallowed up by the demands of performativity – so much so that teachers are overwhelmed by the ‘terrors of performativity’. Teachers’ ‘escape’ from the ‘imprisonment’ of performativity is not only associated with distorted side Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za viii effects, but there are also physiological and emotional processes that teachers are confronted with in their attempts conform to the regulatory systems. The study found that the undesirable side effects of performativity serve and a push factor for the early exit of teachers from the profession. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie fokus op die geleefde ervarings van primêre skoolonderwysers binne ‘n kultuur van performatiwiteit. Die Franse filosoof, Jean-Francois Lyotard (1984) wat meer as enigeen die betekenis van performatiwiteit in die onderwys blootgelê het, gebruik die nosie van ‘performatiwiteit’ om politieke en burokratiese meganismes van beheer voor te stel. Ingebed in die regulerende meganismes is daar prestasie-aanduiders soos onder andere ‘moniteringsisteme’ met gepaardgaande ‘produksie van inligting’, wat volgens Stephen Ball (2003) aanleiding gee tot die ‘terreurs van performatiwiteit’. Ten einde te konformeer tot die regulerende meganismes is daar binne die performatiewe klimaat in die skool toenemende druk op onderwysers om te demonstreer dat hulle toerekenbaar is aan die onderwysowerhede vir die verantwoordelikhede wat aan hulle opgedra is. In die lieratuuroorsig is nie net ‘n oorsig gegee van die betekenisse van kernterme en – konsepte wat relevant tot hierdie studie is nie, maar ook is gepoog om dit operatief te definieer. Relevante begrippe is onder andere toerekenbaarheid, professionalisme, prestasie en performatiwiteit. In die bespreking is aangetoon dat daar ‘n noue onderlinge verband tussen performatiwiteit en prestasie, tussen performatiwiteit en toerekenbaarheid, en tussen performatiwiteit en professionalisme bestaan. Om die sentrale navorsingsvraag te beantwoord en logies met die doel van die studie in te skakel, het die navorser ‘n kwalitatiewe navorsingstudie uit die interpretiwistiese navorsingsparadigma onderneem. Die fenomenologiese navorsingsbenadering – en meer spesifiek, die hermeneuties-fenomenologiese navorsingsmetode van Max van Manen (1990) het hierdie studie gerig. Daar is gebruik gemaak van twee data-insamelingsmetodes, te wete protokol skryfwerk (geleefde ervarings-beskrywings) en semi-gestruktureerde in-diepte fenomenologiese onderhoude. In hierdie studie is ‘n tematiese analitiese benadering gevolg deurdat die navorser die ontluikende temas in die ingesamelde data geïdentifiseer het. Verskillende stappe is gedoen om veral die interne geldigheid van die studie te verhoog en aandag te gee aan etiese aspekte wat tydens die ondersoek na vore gekom het. Uit hierdie studie blyk dit dat performatiwiteit, met sy klem op effektiwiteit, doeltreffendheid en kwaliteit, huidiglik die mees magtigste en deurdringende diskoers in die onderwys is. Uit die Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za vi beskrywing van die resultate is dit duidelik dat onderwysers neig om deur die eise van performatiwiteit verswelg te raak – soveel so dat onderwyser oorweldig word deur die ‘terreurs van performatiwiteit’. Onderwysers se ‘ontsnapping’ uit die ‘gevangenskap’ van performatiwiteit gaan nie net gepaard met bepaalde verwronge opvoedkundige newe-effekte nie, maar ook is daar die fisiologiese en emosionele prosesse wat onderwysers moet verduur in hul pogings om tot die regulerende stelsels te konformeer. In die studie is bevind dat die ongewenste newe-effekte van performatiwiteit dien as stootfaktore wat onderwysers beweeg om die onderwys vroeg te laat verlaat.

The study aimed at developing a curriculum for technology teacher education and training for technology teachers teaching Grade R-9 in South African schools. The study was motivated by the national implementation of Curriculum 2005 as well as the Revised National Curriculum Statements Grades R-9 to be implemented from 2004. The cognitive framework was illuminated by the conceptualisation of technology education and examined the philosophical foundation and theoretical context of technology education, including the historical background of technical education in relation to teacher training in South Africa. The Norms and Standards for Educators as a benchmark for teacher education and training programmes is explored. Moreover, a conceptual framework for the proposed curriculum was investigated. This involved an analysis of selected educational philosophies and their influence on curriculum development, various curriculum approaches and models, including outcomes-based education, a needs analysis and curriculum evaluation and assessment. A small-scale empirical investigation using qualitative and quantitative approaches was carried out. Questionnaires designed for educators of the Technology Learning Area and educators of technical subjects were used to gather data. The empirical investigation comprised a needs analysis of the curriculum development process. To ascertain validity and reliability of findings, instruments were subjected to a pilot study. Data were analysed by a MS Excell spreadsheet computer programme and findings presented in tables and graphs. The curriculum for technology teacher education and training, particularly curriculum content, was based on the empirical findings and the philosophical foundations discussed in the literature review. The proposed curriculum stresses the importance of partnership between schools and industry and resulted in the following outcomes: * knowledge of technology education; * applied and integrated teaching competence; * applied and integrated assessment; * recommendations for improving the school-industry relationships through partnerships programmes emphasising the design of technological projects. Finally, the following recommendations emanated: * improvement of technology teacher education and training programmes in higher education; * development of expertise in the teaching and learning of technology; * resurgence of research in the teaching and learning of the technological design process. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didatics)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An analysis of a teacher development programme known as the Cluster Project is central to this research. Study of the form, processes and outcomes of the project model draws attention to teacher professional development (TPD) as a critical strategy for improving science education in primary schools. High quality teaching at the foundational level supports children develop the appropriate level of knowledge that would allow them to take up and succeed at science at higher levels. With the object of strengthening primary science education the Primary Science Programme (PSP) implements a Cluster Project in Western Cape schools. The project model offers training workshops, classroom guidance and essential resources to support teachers develop both their knowledge and teaching competencies to teach science well. Training workshops are designed to build teachers’ understanding of critical science concepts, improve science content knowledge, and offers guidance with curriculum implementation and assessment of learning. In-classroom support and team-teaching, supported with teaching and learning materials and other resources, assists with improving teaching practice in context. This interpretive case study analyses the Cluster Project model and its processes within three theoretical frames: activity theory, complexity theory, and a research-developed qualitative framework to trace teacher professional development. Activity theory is applied to the purpose, organization and function of the Cluster Project, while complexity theory probes the meaning and implications of educational change for teachers and TPD. The qualitative framework with its five critical indicators of autonomy, knowledge, practice, and collaboration and continuing development analyses empirical evidence of TPD with respect to six teacher participants. Activity theory draws attention to the use of flexible adaptive teacher professional learning models which can accommodate frequent change to curriculum and context, and further highlights the importance of promoting collaboration and reducing contradictions in order to improve learning outcomes. Complexity theory expands understanding of teacher professional learning through its focus on the critical concepts of pedagogy, holism, learning as a nonlinear process, the unpredictability of teaching and learning, networking and connectedness, change by emergence and self-organization, changing environments, and teacher development programmes as open, complex adaptive systems. This research observed the six teacher participants were able to improve aspects of their teaching of science, thereby achieving a measure of professional development, although this was not a general observation within the Cluster Project teacher population. Research findings show that teachers’ active participation in meaningful practical science experiences promotes teacher learning, improves practical science in the classroom, and encourages the ready take-up of helpful and innovative science teaching ideas and strategies. This research recommends that practical science teaching, integrated with language and mathematics teaching, should form an essential part of education and training programmes for both pre-service and in-service primary and high school science teachers. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die analise van`n onderwyser-ontwikkelingsprogram, bekend as die Groepsondersteunings Projek, is die kern van diè navorsing. Studie van die vorm, prosesse en uitkomste van die projekmodel, vestig die aandag op onderwysers se professionele ontwikkeling as `n kritiese strategie vir die verbetering van wetenskaponderrig in primêre skole. Hoë gehalte onderwys in die grondslagfase, ondersteun die kinders se ontwikkeling op `n geskikte vlak van kennis wat hulle in staat sal stel om wetenskap verder te neem en daarvan `n sukses te maak op senior vlak. Met die doel om wetenskaponderrig te versterk in die primêre skool, implimenteer die Primêre Wetenskap Program (PSP) tans `n Groepsondersteunings Projek in die Wes-Kaapse skole. Die model voorsien opleiding deur slypskole, klaskamerleiding en noodsaaklike leerhulpmiddels om onderwysers se kennis en onderrigvaardigheid, om wetenskap as vak goed te onderrig, te ontwikkel. Opleidingsslypskole fokus daarop om onderwysers se begrip van kritiese wetenskaplike konsepte en opgradering van wetenskapinhoudskennis op te bou en ook om te help om die kurrikulum te implimenteer en kinders se leerwerk te assesseer. Klaskamer ondersteuning en span-onderrig, met die hulp van onderrig-en leerhulpmiddels, help met die verbetering van die onderwyspraktyk in konteks. Diè interpreterende gevallestudie analiseer die Groepondersteunings Projek model en die prosesse binne drie teoretiese raamwerke, die aktiwiteits-teorie, kompleksiteits-teorie en `n stel aanwysers wat ontwikkel is om bewyse van onderwysers se professionele ontwikkeling te ontleed. Die aktiwiteits-teorie is toegepas op die doel, organisering en funksie van die Projek, terwyl die kompleksiteits-teorie die betekenis en implikasies van die opvoedkundige verandering vir onderwysers en onderwysers se professionele ontwikkeling ondersoek. Die stel aanwysers met vyf kritiese fokuspunte: outonomie, kennis, praktyk, samewerking en voortdurende ontwikkeling, lei die analise van ses onderwyser-deelnemers se professionele ontwikkeling. Die aktiwiteits-teorie beklemtoon die belangrikheid van aanpasbare professionele leermodelle wat gereelde verandering aan die konteks en kurrikulum kan akkommodeer, en beklemtoon ook die belangrikheid om samewerking bevorder, teenstrydigheid te verminder en om sodoende die leeruitkomste te versterk. Die kompleksiteits-teorie verbreed die insig van onderwyser se professionele leer deur die fokus te plaas op die kritiese konsepte van pedagogiek; holisme; leer as `n nie-lineêre proses; die onvoorspelbaarheid van onderrig en leer; netwerk en aaneenskakeling; verandering deur die ontstaan en self-organisasie; veranderende omgewings en onderwyser-ontwikkelingsplanne as oop, komplekse aanpasbare stelsels. Diè navorsing het waargeneem dat die ses onderwyser-deelnemers in staat was om aspekte van hul wetenskap-onderrig te verbeter en sodoende was hulle in staat om `n mate van professionele ontwikkeling te behaal alhoewel dit nie `n algemene waarneming binne die Groepsondersteunings Projek se onderwyspopulasie was nie. Navorsingsbevindings dui aan dat onderwysers se aktiewe deelname aan betekenisvolle, praktiese wetenskapondervindings, leer kan bevorder en begrip kan bevorder van `n praktiese implimentering daarvan in die klaskamer en moedig die geredelike opname van nuttige en innoverende leer-idees en strategieë aan. Die navorsing beveel aan dat praktiese wetenskap-onderrig, integreer met tale en wiskunde, `n noodsaaklike deel moet vorm van onderwys-en opleidingsprogramme vir voor-diens en in-diens primêre en hoërskool wetenskaponderwysers.

This study sought to investigate the effects of continuous curriculum policy changes on the professional lives of foundation phase teachers in post-apartheid South Africa. Since the inception of Curriculum 2005 (C2005) in 1994, there have been several policy initiatives aimed at the Foundation Phase. These include: The Revised National Curriculum Statement (2002) , followed by the Foundations for Learning Campaign and the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in 2012. This study aims to understand the process and experience of change from a teachers‟ perspective, as teachers‟ participation in education policy formulation has been limited or non-existent. The study sought to answer three critical questions: Why have there been continuous curriculum policy changes in post-apartheid South Africa? What are the implications of continuous curriculum policy changes for foundation phase teachers? What are the effects of these changes on the professional lives of foundation phase teachers? The literature review sought to explore the motivation for continuous curriculum changes and the implications that these changes have for foundation phase teachers. The literature review indicates that policy changes derive largely from two contending imperatives, namely pedagogical enhancement and/or political symbolism. The qualitative data generated for the analysis is underpinned by the interpretive paradigm using data collected through structured interviews. Foundation phase teachers from three primary schools were selected to participate in the study. The questions have also been explored using relevant theoretical explanations that derive from empirical data. This study has been framed within four theoretical frameworks, namely: Foucault‟s (1991) theory of governmentality, Jansen‟s (2002) theory of political symbolism, Carnal‟s (1993) theory of change, and Hargreaves (1994) theory of professionalism and intensification. The analysis reveals that continuous policy changes lead to intensification of teacher workloads and poor uptake and implementation of new/revised policies. As the trajectory of curriculum policy change reveals, teachers who have hardly been able to internalise pre-existing policies are required to engage with new policies. The data reveals that frequent policy changes have resulted in uncertainty and confusion among teachers, and contrary to the policy rhetoric, do not improve the performance of learners, as is evident from South Africa‟s poor performance in international literacy and numeracy tests. Nor does it assist with teacher development. The haste usually associated with the policy process results in the use of the much maligned “cascade” model of teacher development. Policy bureaucrats, who have inadequate understandings of policy, superficially cascade these understandings to teachers through quick-fix workshops. The study contends that the state of policy-flux is counterproductive and can be attributed to the phenomenon of governmentality. This is an attempt by the ruling party (which governs policy development almost exclusively) to be seen to be making substantive changes, but these changes remain at the level of policy rhetoric and policy symbolism. The report concludes with the assertion that for policy to have substantive force, there needs to be more productive policy dialogue among practising teachers and policy makers. It is still possible to infuse a sense of legitimacy in the policy process, if teachers are positioned at the centre of the endeavour rather than at the margins. / Theses (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The study aimed at developing a curriculum for technology teacher education and training for technology teachers teaching Grade R-9 in South African schools. The study was motivated by the national implementation of Curriculum 2005 as well as the Revised National Curriculum Statements Grades R-9 to be implemented from 2004. The cognitive framework was illuminated by the conceptualisation of technology education and examined the philosophical foundation and theoretical context of technology education, including the historical background of technical education in relation to teacher training in South Africa. The Norms and Standards for Educators as a benchmark for teacher education and training programmes is explored. Moreover, a conceptual framework for the proposed curriculum was investigated. This involved an analysis of selected educational philosophies and their influence on curriculum development, various curriculum approaches and models, including outcomes-based education, a needs analysis and curriculum evaluation and assessment. A small-scale empirical investigation using qualitative and quantitative approaches was carried out. Questionnaires designed for educators of the Technology Learning Area and educators of technical subjects were used to gather data. The empirical investigation comprised a needs analysis of the curriculum development process. To ascertain validity and reliability of findings, instruments were subjected to a pilot study. Data were analysed by a MS Excell spreadsheet computer programme and findings presented in tables and graphs. The curriculum for technology teacher education and training, particularly curriculum content, was based on the empirical findings and the philosophical foundations discussed in the literature review. The proposed curriculum stresses the importance of partnership between schools and industry and resulted in the following outcomes: * knowledge of technology education; * applied and integrated teaching competence; * applied and integrated assessment; * recommendations for improving the school-industry relationships through partnerships programmes emphasising the design of technological projects. Finally, the following recommendations emanated: * improvement of technology teacher education and training programmes in higher education; * development of expertise in the teaching and learning of technology; * resurgence of research in the teaching and learning of the technological design process. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didatics)

This research seeks to understand what it means to be a teacher and the experiences that shape what teachers do in the context of a primary school. In asking the question, What’s a teacher anyway? I produced data of teachers’ daily practices and social realities within their lived experiences. Located within an interpretive paradigm, I documented various identities and meanings of teachers which helped me to understand how teachers negotiate the multiple forces within the setting of a primary school. The research looked at teachers in their social context, since teachers do not work in isolation but are subject to particular social influences. Using the participatory approach, I produced data of the lives of two experienced teachers who work in a primary school in the eThekweni region of KwaZulu-Natal. The participatory methodology was most appropriate to gather the necessary data, as it allowed for the teachers’ voices to be heard. Against the social, institutional, contextual and programmatic contexts, data were sourced by means of career life-history interviews and photovoice. Through narrative analysis, the teachers’ stories were reconstructed and represented as identity categories through which they were able to construct their professional selves and their professional work. The findings that were generated from the two experienced primary school teachers were analysed and represented under the key themes of professional self and professional work. The findings offer an understanding of how practising teachers manage their work and themselves against all the changes and challenges of the South African educational landscape specifically in the schooling situation. Through the reconstructed stories by the teachers, the study makes visible how teacher identity shapes teachers and their work in the school. The data reveals that teachers have multiple identities of who they are and how they respond from their position as teachers, which clash with what is expected of them in the school. The findings show that teachers are unhappy with the curriculum and political shifts, as these are imposed on them in an arbitrary manner. The study contributes to a nuanced understanding of the relationship between teacher identity and teacher work. The study revolves around the teacher who tries to build an interesting relationship between the identities of “mother”, “teacher” and “caregiver”. Being a teacher, innovative ways are created to manage the administrative work and the curriculum work. The iii second teacher, an Indian male, as a person and an activist, growing up in a poor community, negotiates between the forces to make sense of what it means to be a teacher in the present shift, given the diversity of pupils and the various issues that accompany it. The teachers are working in a social reality and have to manage a range of challenges, difficulties and struggles. They find creative ways to negotiate the multiple roles and responsibilities and make sense of what it means to be a teacher. Due to excessive administrative and curricular demands being made on them, teachers are found to be experiencing tension and undue stress in their work while negotiating the multiple forces that surround them in the context of the school. To answer my research question, What’s a teacher anyway, I considered how they moved beyond their conventional roles and responsibilities as teachers, and how they endeavoured to make meaning and sense of themselves as successful teachers within the four dimensions of Samuel’s (2008) framework. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2010.

The purpose of the study was to investigate teacher receptivity of a new curriculum, in particular, the new integrated curriculum of South Africa. As the New Revised national curriculum Statement is starting to be operational this year, Curriculum 2005 was used as a model of an integrated curriculum in this study. The study focused on the following sub-problems: the meaning of an integrated curriculum; teacher receptivity of an integrated curriculum; and the extent to which teachers are receptive of the new integrated foundation phase curriculum. The review of relevant literature provided a conceptual framework for the study. Six dimensions of a curriculum that were regarded as critical in classroom practice for practicing teachers were identified and used to describe an integrated curriculum. These were: platform, learning outcomes, content, instructional materials, teaching and learning strategies and assessment. The conceptual framework for teacher receptivity was also identified by means of review of relevant literature. Teacher receptivity was conceptualised as comprising of attitudes and behavioral intentions. The empirical part of the study was undertaken to determine the attitudes of teachers towards an integrated foundation phase curriculum and the extent to which foundation phase teachers were receptive of the new curriculum. The sample for the empirical part of the study included 63 foundation phase teachers randomly selected from 21 schools in Herschel District. The schools were randomly selected from 3 zones which had been randomly selected from 7 zones that make up Hershel Educational District in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Empirical data on teachers’ attitudes towards an integrated curriculum indicated that the majority of teachers were viewed the curriculum in an extremely positive light/somewhat positive light. There were responses which indicated that some teachers regarded the curriculum as complicated, restrictive, and idealistic. This situation is highlighted in their responses to the semantic differential on the attitude objects of the curriculum. Data on teacher receptivity indicated positive responses but vi there were some area of concern such as, for example, support from the district manager, school and the community. Data indicated that teachers were not so positive abut learning outcomes and assessment as a basis of teaching an integrated curriculum. Based on the empirical part of the study, conclusions and recommendations were made.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Psychology of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2007. / The aim of this investigation was to establish the challenges facing educators in the implementation of inclusive education. From the literature study it emerges that inclusive education constitutes a challenge to the education system in South Africa, in particular to mainstream educators. Successful implementation of inclusive education requires educators to have a positive attitude, be flexible and critical, creative and innovative in their approach to teaching and learning. Educators are expected to have the necessary knowledge, skills, competencies and support to accommodate a wide range of diversity among learners in an inclusive classroom. They must be able to select appropriate teaching strategies to achieve specific outcomes. Effective inclusion will only stay a dream if educators do not have the necessary training, support systems and appropriate resources. For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self-structured questionnaire, to be completed by educators from primary schools, was utilised. The data obtained from the completed questionnaires were analysed and commented on by means of descriptive statistics. In conclusion a summary was presented on the findings of the literature review and empirical investigation and the following are some of the recommendations that were made: > Opportunities for in-service training regarding inclusive education must be made available to mainstream educators. > The Department of Education must provide adequate support to educators concerning all aspects of inclusive education.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Technology: Language Practice, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / The literacy levels in South African schools are alarmingly low. Educators are challenged in diverse classrooms with multicultural and multilingual learners as they are faced with the problems that these learners are experiencing in literacy. Educators therefore need to be able to adapt their teaching strategies to suit the needs of their learners to address learners’ different learning needs and styles. This study investigated the use of adapted teaching strategies used by grade 3 educators in literacy in selected schools in northern KwaZulu-Natal. A mixed methods research design was used which included the use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to gather data. The findings which were linked to the literature review revealed that educators lacked adequate knowledge and skills to adapt their teaching strategies as they have not been adequately trained to teach literacy within multilingual contexts. Although some educators were using adapted teaching strategies they were not using them effectively in their multilingual classrooms while some educators did not have a wellstructured intervention programme at school to deal with learners who were experiencing problems with literacy. Inexperienced educators also had problems identifying learning styles and adapting their teaching strategies. This study found that teachers require continual professional development to enable them to effectively adapt their teaching strategies to suit individual learning needs and styles.

D. Tech. Education / The study explores the experiences of 23 primary school teachers who participated in a nine-month professional development that focused on assessment for learning. The study addresses questions about teachers knowledge of assessment for learning and their capacity to learn and implement the techniques; to describe teachers beliefs and practices of assessment for learning before their participation in the teacher professional development programme, discover how reflective practices can influence teachers to enhance knowledge of assessment for learning, and to explore the depth of teachers learning after their participation in the teacher professional development programme.