Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Background: School children are mostly affected by diarrhoeal and respiratory infections and these are related to lack of proper hand washing. For children to be able to practice proper hand washing, they must have the knowledge and necessary resources to practice hand washing. The study’s purpose was therefore to establish the knowledge and practice of hand washing among primary school children. Purpose: The study’s aim was to assess the knowledge and practices of hand washing among primary school children in Kweneng Central Sub-District. Methods: A quantitative approach using a self-administered structured questionnaire to collect data regarding knowledge and practices on hand washing among primary school children was used. An observation checklist was also used to assess the practice of hand washing among primary school children. A stratified random sampling method was used to come up with a sample size of 330. SPSS 24.0 version was used to analyse the data. Results: The study revealed that the majority of primary school children had knowledge on hand washing but lacked proper hand washing practices. The results also showed that hand washing knowledge and practice among primary school children had no association with their age and gender. However, there was association between washing hands after going to the toilet and gender as well as the availability of bucket/basin to wash hands and gender. Conclusion: Children spend much of their day time at school; therefore schools are the right institutions to impart hand washing information and emphasise the importance of hand washing to the children. The availability of facilities such as clean water and soap are paramount to the facilitation of hand washing among primary school children and as such should be adequately provided in schools. Keywords: Hand washing, knowledge, practice, children, primary school.

The master's dissertation aims to examine the amount of attention given to phrasemes within the selected textbooks intended for the second stage of primary schools. Subsequently, it introduces its own worksheet dedicated to such problematics.

Thesis (M.A. ( Research Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2014 / The study investigated the academic performance of orphaned primary school learners between the ages of eight and ten in Mankweng circuit. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative component of the study included the sampling of 200 learners from ten schools in Mankweng circuit. One hundred learners formed the experimental group (orphans) whilst another hundred were placed in the comparison group (non-orphans). Availability and quota sampling was used for sampling the experimental group and simple random sampling was used to sample the comparison group. Four learning areas chosen for the study include Sepedi, Numeracy, English and Lifeskills. In all learning areas, it was found that the comparison group fell within level 2 (50-69) area whilst the experimental group fell within level 1 (0-49) area suggesting that the comparison group is performing better than the experimental group. The qualitative component of the study involved sampling ten educators from ten sampled primary schools in Mankweng Circuit, i.e. one educator per school. The main theme that emerged from these transcripts was the educators’ view that orphaned children tend to perform poorly at school when compared to non-orphaned children. Furthermore, the educators were of the view that orphaned children are more likely to show poor grades, lack of concentration and inability to write schoolwork when compared to non-orphans. The educators were also of the view that orphaned children were more likely to display behavioural and emotional problems when compared to non-orphans. Educators also suggested that guardians of orphaned learners are not coping well, and as such, are unable to adequately attend to the needs of these children. In conclusion, interventions at school, government as well as community levels are suggested. A suggestion is also made regarding the support that should be provided for grandparents (guardians) who tend to be drained as a result of having to look after orphaned children.

Thesis ( M.A. (English Studies) --University of Limpopo, 2014 / Research shows that successful readers make use of prior knowledge. This is supported by schemata theory (Herczog & Porter, 2012; Xigo-hui, Jun & Wei-hua, 2007; Zhang 1993). In this study, the researcher intended to increase the schema of the selected sample and test the theorem. Two groups were selected as samples comprising an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group had the advantage of being exposed to a topic over a month and on the day of the test the two groups were combined and the results from the test were analysed. The outcomes showed that the experimental group out-performed the control group proving that prior knowledge increases chances of comprehension. In the initial test both groups had performed poorly. Many learners in the experimental group would have performed better if they could comprehend the English language. The students who used their schema on the experimental group did better than those who did not. / the National Research Foundation

This thesis explores the perceptions of technology and technology education held by six primary school teachers in Papua New Guinea, and their views of the materials developed to use as a support for teaching technology and the impacts on their perceptions and their teaching practices of technology. Based on the interpretivist paradigm, a case study approach and qualitative data collection methods were used to explore the teachers' views of technology and technology education and how the support materials influenced these perceptions and practices. One to one, semistructured interviews with the teachers, and an analysis of their planning documents were used to collect data. As part of the curriculum reforms, technology education was introduced as a new subject into primary education in PNG in 1994. However, no formal professional development was provided for helping the primary teachers implement technology education. Instead, curriculum materials were developed and distributed to teachers in 2005 as a support for their technology teaching. This thesis supports the idea that teachers need support to help them learn. It is also argues that teachers' beliefs about subject areas, teaching, their students, and curriculum materials influence how they interact with these support materials. The findings show that the support materials were very useful in enhancing the teachers' knowledge of technology and effective teaching of technology. There were changes to teachers' perceptions of technology and technological practices when they began to use the support materials. Changes included the views of technology as more than modern artefacts to include traditional technology, that technology was more than just practical. It also has a knowledge base. However, not all aspects of technology as advocated in the support materials have been taken up by these teachers. Problem-solving and design aspects have received marginal attention. Other factors were at play including subject subcultures, subject backgrounds, past hands-on experiences and ownership of personal technological artefacts. To be even more effective technology teachers, it is advocated that teacher professional development is required for Papua New Guinean primary teachers to implement the technology successfully.

This study was conducted in response to the policies for the integration of children with behaviour disorders in Victorian and New South Wales Primary Schools. These two states were selected for this study for three reasons. Firstly, the two states have adopted and are implementing integration policies which are, in many areas, contrasting. Secondly, compared to other Australian states, Victoria and New South Wales have the most children enrolled in their respective school systems and, hence the largest number of children whose schooling is influenced by these policy decisions. Thirdly, the integration policies of both states group children with behaviour disorders under the generic term 'children with disabilities.' The findings of the present study suggest a number of areas that future implementors of integration policies need to consider. Firstly, mandatory special education courses need to be implemented by all teacher training institutions. Secondly, to effectively integrate children with behaviour disorders into the regular classroom an individual, collaboratively designed program needs to be utilized. Collaboration between special setting teachers and regular class teachers would appear to be crucial in program design. Thirdly, teachers stress emerged as an issue which policy designers need to address urgently. Fourthly, resources and support, including the availability of in-service courses on children with behaviour disorders, need to be increased and made available to regular classroom teachers. Finally a range of alternate educational programs/opportunities, not just a choice between regular and special settings, needs to be developed for children with behavoiur disorders. The study is important to the field of special education and in particular to children with behaviour disorders in three ways. Firstly, data were gathered using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This approach would appear to be the most appropriate method for gathering data on integration as it allows for many of the child's ecosystems to be investigated and for the child's numerous and important interactions to be examined. Secondly, the study highlighted the importance of investigating the individual needs of children with behaviour disorder when considering integration, Finally, the study allowed for a number of variables, important for practitioners when integrating children with behaviour disorders, to be identified and examined. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Doctor of Education / With the heightened profile of language learning in a global community, language education is exploring a new model of intercultural language learning. The goal of intercultural language learning is to produce language users equipped with explicit skills in understanding connections and differences between their own culture and the culture of the target language. The research literature suggests that language learners’ resulting intercultural competence will encompass a range of characteristics. There have been few empirical studies, however, to provide illustration of intercultural competence, in order to assist teachers’ understanding of desired outcomes and student development. This case study investigates the characteristics of intercultural competence in young language learners in one Australian primary school. The learners have been engaged in an immersion language program for up to eight years, in one of three languages: French, German or Japanese. The study also investigates the behaviours and understandings in their language teachers which may facilitate the development of learners’ intercultural competence. It explores in summary what may be the nature of intercultural competence in the case study language learners. The study is relevant to research of both intercultural language learning and of immersion language classrooms. Using a case study design, the study incorporates qualitative data in the form of student focus group interviews, teacher interviews, and classroom observations. Data were collected at the case study school, in Sydney, Australia, over a school semester, and involved 49 Year 6 students and four teachers. Results of the study suggest a number of indicators of the case study students’ development in intercultural competence – that is, through understanding of language culture and identity. The student is and sees him or herself as a purposeful interactive communicator. The student understands the target language itself to be the vehicle of the target culture, and often displays metalinguistic curiosity and skills. Some students are able to critically reflect on their (multiple) linguistic and cultural memberships, and to negotiate their identity as a non-native language user. The study found that teachers provide a model of interculturality to their students. The teachers’ interculturality is enacted in their relationships and pedagogical choices, in their design of experiential learning tasks, and their facilitation of linguistic and cultural connections for their students. The study also found that the nature of the immersion language classroom itself facilitates intercultural competence in students. The study provides a case study illustration of intercultural competence in language learners which is relevant to research in intercultural language learning, immersion pedagogy and the emerging related pedagogy of content-based language learning.

In an age of substantial educational reform, the teaching and learning of 'thinking-skills' are considered to be an integral component of a child's education. Further, they are considered an important factor in developing skills which may contribute to increased learning outcomes for all learners. Current reform agenda nominate a range of 'thinking-skills' and processes that inform essential lifelong learnings and that are supported by characteristics that all learners should exhibit. At the heart of such prescription is a vision of a future in which 'process' rather than 'knowledge' will be the focus. A fundamental paradigm shift is pressing, and so too, the revised role of the teacher. Teacher practices that assist students to search for their own understandings rather than follow other people's logic are paramount and essential to the successful implementation of educational change. This case study presents one teacher's approach to the provision of 'thinking-skills' instruction in a primary school classroom for year-six children. The three objectives of the project were first, to trial a different pedagogical approach, second, to influence and change the 'thinking' habits of youngsters, and third, to encourage students to employ 'good thinking' in order to maximize learning outcomes. The model for implementation was underpinned by philosophical approaches gleaned from the literature, which were caring, humane, stimulating and creative. An eclectic mix of insights and strategies were employed to target full immersion of students and teacher into a 'Thinking-Skills Classroom'. Data were gathered from two groups of student participants who represented two discrete learning contexts. One context was that of the Trial Classroom, where the 'immersion' process sought to create a 'culture of thinking', in which 'thinking' was the focus of all teaching, learning, and operating activity. The context of the Control Classroom, was one in which 'thinking' was not the focus of all instruction and learning, but rather, was taught in an incidental and less formal manner. The aim of this study was to determine whether significant educational outcomes would become apparent in the Trial Classroom, that is in a context where children were immersed in, and learned to use, a range of strategies aimed at progressing them as independent, confident and 'accomplished thinkers'. The teaching experiment that was 'The Thinking-Skills Classroom', proved successful. The research has revealed effective 'transfer' after instruction for students in the Trial Classroom. Learners effectively applied new 'thinking understandings' into everyday thinking situations, in addressing real-life problem solving, and in producing evidence of new ways of operating. Across all strata of academic ability students from the Trial Classroom increased their thinking prowess. A category was established for 'excellent thinkers', where students demonstrated acquisition of a different set of skills from those normally associated with 'good thinking'. Students developed increased self-confidence, risk-taking initiatives and independence across the board as a result of increased thinking ability. A study of this kind may be helpful to other teacher/researchers who are considering instructional and curriculum change in light of wider paradigmatic change in education. Although this particular study would be difficult to replicate, this researcher's story can be usefully interpreted to allow insights and generalizations from the case-study to be made. These may serve as a catalyst for other innovative school-based pedagogies to emerge, and for new learning approaches to be considered and trialled, in order to prepare students for life and learning in the Twenty-First Century.

The study sought to investigate the nature of learning that occurs in two different approaches (integrated and non-integrated) to an artist-in-residency program. The program was conducted in middle phase schooling, and adopted the principles of authentic learning. Two year five classes and their teachers participated in the study. The residency provided learning experiences that connected to the curriculum unit theme for one year five class (integrated), but not for the other year five class (non-integrated). These experiences were designed to relate to the learner's lived experiences and promote higher-order thinking processes. The study sought to explore the potential for visual arts residencies to foster more 'authentic' modes of learning. The study examined children's ability to transfer knowledge, gained through the visual and verbal analysis of images, by manipulating and integrating diverse information and ideas. Grounded Theory was deemed to be an appropriate research methodology for this study as it involves gathering data in field settings and applying inductive methods to analyze this data. Diverse data collection strategies were implemented including: teacher stories, interviews, student reflection, researcher observations and student artworks. LeximancerTM software was selected as an instrument for analyzing data. This software was considered appropriate as it fosters a descriptive and interpretive approach to analysis. The findings of the study indicated that children who participated in the integrated artist-in-school's curriculum program demonstrated more evidence of higher-order thinking processes than children who participated in the non-integrated program. The participants undertaking the integrated approach were able to establish relatively complex relationships between the central residency concepts, demonstrating an ability to use visual and verbal codes of communication to articulate their ideas, knowledge and experiences. A further important finding identified positive student behavioural outcomes, where the integrated residency approach appeared to connect group members as small supportive learning communities. The study also identified a transition in the teacher's perspectives on teaching and learning after participating in the integrated approach. This research project has significance both nationally and internationally by investigating current practices in artist-in-schools programs that both enhance and hinder educational outcomes. The study has significance to the broader educational community in terms of its focus on the role of visual arts specialist adjuncts in maximising learning outcomes. The findings of this study could provide insight into the interrelationship between visual arts and other curriculum areas to heighten student learning outcomes. The findings of the study illustrate how particular approaches to visual art in education can enhance children's learning and development. These insights can assist artists undertaking residencies in schools, and the teachers involved, to provide richer learning experiences. The findings provide ifirther evidence to support an approach that involves close collaboration between resident artists and educators. It is recommended that the residency learning experiences are connected to the children's lived experiences and that there is social support from teachers, parents and peers. It is also argued that for a residency to be considered 'authentic', the approach requires a number of essential and valuable attributes. These essential and valuable attributes have two tiers of application which coalesce to contribute to the efficacy of a school art residency.

As a result of two years working with the pre-service primary teachers in a College in Fiji I became aware of the difficulty many of the students were having understanding the primary school mathematics they would be required to teach. During that time I had attempted to help them overcome the difficulties by using different teaching approaches and activities but was far from satisfied with my efforts. Hence I decided to make a concerted effort to help the students by planning, implementing and partially evaluating a mathematics education unit, known as the Teaching Program for the first semester of their course. This work formed the basis of my study. For the Teaching Program I chose a constructivist teaching approach with number sense as the underlying theme. To examine the aspects of the Program I used my observations and those of the students especially ones reported in their mathematics journals. To evaluate the effectiveness of the Teaching Program I collected and analysed quantitative data from traditional testing of the class of forty students as well as data from case studies of six of the pre-service teachers in the class. To determine what features of the Teaching Program were linked to positive changes my main source of data was the case studies, especially entries from their journal writings. The findings suggested that a significant development of the cognitive aspects of the students’ number sense did occur during the time of the Teaching Program but not as much as was hoped for. As a result of the analysis of the data I came to a greater realisation of the importance of the non-cognitive aspects of number sense and the necessity for a greater consideration of them in the development of a Program. I also realise now that a major development that did occur was in my understanding of the knowledge and learning of mathematics. My ideas of a teaching paradigm of social constructivism had not guided me sufficiently to incorporate activities and procedures to develop the non-cognitive aspects. I suggest that a paradigm which extends the theory of social constructivism to give greater consideration of these aspects of learning in general, and hence numeracy and number sense in particular, was needed. As a result of this study, my introduction to the theory of enactivism appears to be giving me some direction in this search at this stage.