The educational change brought about by the South African Constitution and the Language in Education policy has resulted in many parents choosing to send their children from pre-school to an English medium school, so that their children can become proficient in the English language. As a result, many learners are learning in a language that is not their mother tongue and are therefore struggling to acquire reading and writing skills. Although there are many misconceptions regarding the learning of a language, the underlying theory on how learners learn a second language through Cummins BICS and CALP theory is explored in this research. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) on teaching English Second Language (ESL) learners in primary schools. The study further intended to determine the effectiveness of SIOP in the South African context. To facilitate the understanding of the problem statement of this study, an evaluation framework based on the Context- Input-Process-Product (CIPP) model of Stufflebeam’s model was applied. The research was carried out at one primary school who had predominantly ESL learners in the school and who had teachers trained in implementing SIOP. The main research question posed by this research is to determine the effectiveness of SIOP on teaching an ESL learner in a primary school in the South African context. The sub-questions of the research are to what extent does SIOP differ from traditional methods, how does SIOP affect teachers’ planning and instruction in the classroom; to what extent to the learners understand the content when the teachers implement SIOP and to what extent does SIOP contribute to the improvement of academic performance of ESL learners in content areas. To answer the research question, mixed methods was used to fit together the insights provided by qualitative and quantitative research into a workable solution and therefore make use of the pragmatic method as a system of philosophy. As qualitative data was collected first, followed by the analysis of the secondary data, the typology used for the research is the QUAL quan. Interviews and observations were carried out on teachers who are currently implementing SIOP using interview protocol and observation protocol and data obtained from the University of Pretoria was analysed to determine academic performance of ESL learners. Legitimation occurred at various stages of the research which included peer review and member checking, From the data collected through interviews and observations, the following themes emerged, namely (i) language focus; (ii) difference between SIOP and the traditional methods of teaching; (iii) planning and assessment; (iv) learner attitude towards SIOP and (v) Grade R influence. Although data collected from the University of Pretoria showed gains achieved, the methodology conducted in this research was not an experimental design. A paired ttest was used to determine gains made between the target school, comparison school and the whole sample. Therefore, tentative statements regarding the influence of SIOP on academic performance is thus made in this research. Although no experiment was undertaken for this research, the findings from the data show that the null hypothesis indicates that there is no significant difference between the scores of the baseline assessments and the follow-up scores. As the significant values (p-value) were less than .05, the null hypothesis can be rejected. As part of the analysis, the effect sizes were also calculated which indicates a large effect size for the total scores and reading scores while the phonics scale showed a medium effect and the mathematics scale showed a small effect size. Based on the results of the study, it was found that the programme needed some revisions to make better use of the existing opportunities. The following recommendations and suggestions are that an experiment design should be explored to ascertain actual contribution SIOP can make to an ESL class. SIOP should be implemented as a teacher development programme and possibly a module for teacher training at university level. Resources needs to be readily available for teachers to use which could contribute to the improvements of academic performance of ESL learners. Teachers should form planning teams with other teachers to share good practices and lastly adequate support is needed for the implementation of SIOP. The importance of this study is that it provides insight into and understanding of the role of implementing an intervention programme to improve academic performance of ESL learners. It also sheds light on the need for an intervention programme and the extent to which the programme can improve academic performance of ESL learners. The main contribution of this study to the body of knowledge was its insight into and understanding of a number of factors, categorised as inputs, process and outcomes, that had an effect of the implementation of the SIOP programme. The development of the conceptual framework was applied by the CIPP evaluation model, as a framework that illustrated the relationships and outcomes of the SIOP programme that had previously not been done. This study thus emphasises the importance of intensive research and proper planning of intervention programmes. The aim of this inquiry was to determine the effectiveness of a model of teaching that was developed in the USA. Throughout the research, the findings presented indicated that the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol would be a functional model to employ in South Africa’s education system and, if implemented correctly, would yield positive results. Therefore, this study was an initial step towards implementing a programme that would improve academic performance in schools, where the LoLT is different from the mother tongue. Although some valuable information was obtained, there is much scope for further research on how to evaluate the effects of SIOP on academic performance of ESL learners. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / unrestricted

Poverty is the most problematic social problem facing the South African society today. Its causes have been associated with many factors such as the high rate of unemployment, HIV/AIDS, low educational backgrounds of people and others. In order to reduce poverty and other conditions of exclusion, government has introduced the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) which is concentrated on the mobilization of resources from government institutions and non-governmental organizations towards the improvement of the quality of life of the communities, especially those which were historically disadvantaged. The RDP is realized through a number of different programmes which are conducted by different government departments and nongovernmental organizations. One of these programmes is the Poverty Relief Programme (PRP) which was formulated by the Department of Social Development and implemented and evaluated by some of the provincial departments of Health and Welfare. This study is about the evaluation of the formulation, implementation and evaluation of the PRP in the Limpopo Province within the context of the RDP from a social work perspective. In order to successfully evaluate the PRP, the researcher has categorized this study into three objectives, which form this report. The first objective was to conduct an extensive literature investigation regarding poverty as a social problem, public policy and the RDP and the PRP. Poverty was identified as a social problem because it is a condition of deprivation which affects a large number of people and communities due to the previous South African apartheid dispensation. Poverty is said to affect the poor due to their cultural orientation because they are lazy to work, they fail to suppress their immediate gratification, they consume large amounts of substances, they keep large family households which have the highest incidents of domestic violence and child and wife physical and sexual abuse, they do not obtain the opportunities available to them for their development and they have high rates of divorce. The second analogous view of poverty is that it is caused by the inadequate social policies and social programmes, which are developed to assist the poor. This view explains that poverty is evident due to the reason that the social policies and social programmes are weak in eradicating it. At this level, the researcher attempted to distinguish between the concepts public policy, social policy and a social programme. The public policy is every policy which is developed by cabinet, which when closely viewed, it has types such as the social policy, economic policy, defense policy, foreign policy and the environmental policy. The RDP is a social policy which is realized through a number of social programmes, one of them being the PRP. This study conceptualized the public policy through discussions of its theoretical models, namely; the descriptive and prescriptive models regarding public policy making. The former is aimed at explaining the public policy making process whilst the latter explains the outcomes or the impacts associated with public policy making. This study suggested that public policy making is made possible when it is conducted through a specific process which has five phases, namely; the policy agenda, policy formulation, policy adoption, policy implementation and policy evaluation. The RDP has already been mentioned as a social policy, which could be realized through social programmes, one of them being the PRP. The PRP is a social programme, which has an aim of alleviating poverty within South African communities. It is effective in achieving its mission through conducting a number of projects which are as follows: food security initiatives, community development structures, development of the self-help organizations, the aged and child care, the disabled, youth who are deviant, financial planning and management and monitoring and evaluation. This study was aimed at evaluating whether the objectives of the PRP were adequately formulated, implemented and evaluated towards the eradication of poverty in the South African context. The second objective of this study was to conduct an empirical investigation with regard to the formulation, implementation and evaluation of the PRP in the Limpopo Province. The researcher utilized the exploratory research design because the evaluation of the PRP in the Limpopo Province has not been done before. The research project utilized the quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, which were combined into a mixed methodological design model. The populations for the study were a PRP framework, the key-informants who participated during the implementation of the projects and the community development officers who participated during the formulation, implementation and evaluation of the PRP. This also called for a variety of the sampling methods, namely; the judgmental sampling method, the stratified random sampling method and the simple random sampling method which were used to select the key-informants, and the systematic random sampling method which was used to select the community development officers. The research data were also collected through a variety of data collection methods, namely; content analysis was used to collect quantitative data regarding the formulation of the PRP as document; semi-structured interviews were utilized to collect both quantitative and qualitative data regarding the implementation of the PRP from the key-informants; and the self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the quantitative and qualitative data regarding the formulation, implementation and evaluation of the PRP from the community development officers. The data for this study were analysed through two methods, namely: the quantitative data were analysed manually and were expressed into tables and figures and the qualitative data were analysed through the coding process which was contributed by Creswell (1998). The empirical investigation for this study purported the following important research findings regarding the formulation, implementation and evaluation of the PRP in the Limpopo Province: (i) the content analysis revealed that the PRP has objectives which are not related to the reduction of poverty in the communities, such as the community development structures which are not an objective but rather a prerequisite for every project, youth who are deviant, the aged and child care which could be effective if developed into programmes already available in the field of gerontology and the child support grant, financial planning and management, monitoring and evaluation which is a phase of the community development project. (ii) the semi-structured interviews revealed that community development projects and community needs are being identified by the community development officers on behalf of communities and that most of the projects are inadequately funded and as such they fail to sustainably develop communities. (iii) the self-administered questionnaires revealed that most community development officers hold standard ten as their highest educational qualification which is highly available in the communities they serve, they do not have a professional background and are not registered with the professional council which is recognized in the country, the PRP was formulated centrally at the Department of Social Development and is being implemented and evaluated by some of the provincial departments of Health and Welfare and that the funding for the community development projects is insufficient. The third objective of the study was to make conclusions and recommendations based on the research findings with regard to the effective formulation, implementation and evaluation of the PRP in the Limpopo Province. It has been concluded in this study that the poor implementation and evaluation of the PRP in the Limpopo Province is due to the absence of a specific framework, and the researcher recommended that such a document must be developed. Poor implementation and evaluation of the PRP in the Limpopo Province is due to the centralization of the programme and therefore the researcher recommends that the department of Social Development must be decentralized to the provinces. The researcher concluded that the grassroots are denied an opportunity to actively participate in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of the PRP, and he therefore recommended that the grassroots must be involved in the identification of their community needs and projects, their planning, implementation and evaluation. Another limitation of the PRP was mentioned as poor funding of the community development projects, and the researcher maintained that if the projects are adequately funded, they will sustainably develop communities. The researcher is of the opinion that community development practitioners must hold high educational qualifications which are not available in the communities they serve and that immediately such practitioners interact with the communities, they must be required to be registered with a recognized professional council. / Thesis (DPhil (Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Social Work and Criminology / Unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Health professionals worldwide are currently inadequately trained to address the health issues of communities, particularly in developing countries where there are major health disparities. This study argues for an alternative and more appropriate education, one which would better prepare future health professionals to address these needs. The study draws attention to how the University of the Western Cape (UWC) responded to preparing its health professional graduates to better meet the needs of South African society. The thesis explores the rationale for a shift in health professions education to one which supports service-learning, locating the study within the broader developments in higher education within South Africa. The specific aim of this thesis was to evaluate a community-based interdisciplinary health promotion course offered to the undergraduate health sciences students from the faculties of Community and Health Sciences and Dentistry at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). It focused on evaluating the perceived effectiveness and the impact on the stakeholders of the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion course, with the aim of developing an appropriate framework to guide the teaching of health promotion at higher education institutions in South Africa. Ten primary schools in three disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape were used as the health promotion settings for the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion course. The study design was a programme evaluation that used the explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. An evaluation matrix was developed, consisting of three core concepts (curriculum, community-based learning, and university-school collaboration) against which the course was evaluated. Indicators and criteria were developed for each core concept. Questionnaires were distributed to all the stakeholders, that is, the university students, the lecturers, the supervisors and the school educators, involved in the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion Course during 2006. Focus group discussions with the stakeholders were also conducted at the UWC campus and in the Delft community. There was a good response from all the stakeholders who participated in the study (students (72.4%), lecturers (85%), supervisors (100%) and school educators (71.5%)). A main finding of the study was that the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion course was relevant and up-to-date with developments in the field of health promotion. Course topics were dealt with in sufficient depth and the assignments were clear, specific and related to the course outcomes. The interdisciplinary teaching and learning approach allowed the university students to learn and develop a better understanding of the roles and contributions that the various professions played in health promotion in a community. The course was perceived as having been of value to all the stakeholders and having a positive impact on the schools. The findings revealed that the health promotion projects implemented in the schools helped the university students to learn how to plan, implement and evaluate a project in a community setting. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the schools offered an ideal placement for university students to learn about health promotion and its application. In addressing a concern about the course not making any meaningful long-term impact on the schools and the surrounding communities, the study showed that it is important to revisit the current teaching and learning approach of the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion course. It revealed that service-learning as an alternative to the field education approach would facilitate a closer relationship between theoretical and practical knowledge, where the practical application was translated into a service that met the needs of a community. The study further revealed that the collaboration model between the university and the school also needed to be reconceptualized, to include all the stakeholders as well as their needs in relation to health promotion in the schools. It was recommended that the Health Promoting School framework should be seen as the overarching framework for the sustainability of school-based health promotion. In conclusion, this study showed that the recognition and establishment of university community partnerships and reliance upon them in the educational process, would provide many new opportunities for relevant and meaningful health professional education and training. These efforts would contribute to improving the quality of higher education delivered to students, thereby ensuring their competency to better meet the needs of the communities they will serve.

The main purpose of this research is to establish whether ICT models as implemented in distance education do help to render desirable results (increment in throughput, meeting clientele expectations, and reduction in learner drop-outs). If it is not the case, what could be done to overcome the established hindrance? The researcher employed programme evaluation (PE) which integrates both the positivistic and phenomenological aspects of research. The samples were drawn from the population group through probability and non-probability techniques. Different research strategies within PE such as discovery, inspection and auditing were at first employed to gauge the physical presence of what is being achieved by Unisa through use of myUnisa & DVC; followed by the use of the surveys (personal interviews, administered questionnaires, focus group interviews). The ultimate outcomes of the said research activities are audiovisual recordings, statistically analysed transcripts and questionnaire data. The researcher employed the following key questions in grappling with issues in this area; their findings are also given: i. Does the application of ICTs facilitate and enhance flexible learning at Unisa? With reference to flexible delivery as it relates to aspect of teaching and learning in Engineering, it has been established that minimal use is made of ICTs. Are the technologies correctly applied for teaching and learning? Based on the evidence of research findings it has been established that technology application is mainly used for administrative support rather than for teaching and learning. iii. Do the instructional design and technological applications meet the needs of their users? As matters stand, the study suggests that users' expectations through rating their perceptions and attitudes (academics, tutors, instructional designers, multimedia developers and learners), are far from being met (as all the critical parts of the models are not yet in place regarding the Engineering and other departments). According to the main finding, while there is some evidence of efforts aimed at proper implementation, underutilisation of the ICTs appears to be the main problem, as established at Unisa and elsewhere. The research is concluded through a number of recommendations based on the established findings. / Educational Studies / (D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies))

<p>The research reported here is a meta-evaluative case study of project evaluation in the context of Official Development Cooperation (ODC) in the education sector in Tanzania, where the particular focus is on capturing the relative values attached to evaluation by various stakeholder groups.</p><p>Perspectives from the constructivist paradigm are adopted, implying relativist ontology, subjectivist epistemology, and naturalistic interpretive methodology. Based on these perspectives, a review is provided of development theories and evaluation theories, including the actor-oriented approach to development, participatory monitoring & evaluation, utilization-focused evaluation, and responsive-constructivist evaluation. An exploratory qualitative case study strategy is taken, combining several complementary methods e.g. in-depth interviews, questionnaires, document analysis, and observations.</p><p>Evaluation is considered as an applied social research, implying a managerial and political purpose. It is a reflective interactive process, where the relevance, effectiveness and impact of an intervention in pursuit of certain objectives are assessed, adding value in order to construct knowledge for the enhancement of decision-making. In order to facilitate understanding of the cases under study, their structural contexts are investigated: 1) ODC evaluation systems and strategies (international/ macro context); and 2) ODC in the education sector in Tanzania (national/meso context). Each case (at local/micro level) is located within these contexts and analyzed applying a meta-evaluative framework.</p><p>Integrating the perspectives of the stakeholders, the study demonstrates the strengths of, and constraints on, each case, factors which are to some extent determined by their respective time-frames. A number of significant discrepancies between theory and practice in ODC evaluation are reported. Findings indicate the significance of constructing consensus values that are based on a synthesis of multiple stakeholders’ values and perspectives complementing each others. The study also find that evaluation ought to be used as a powerful tool in which the values, needs and aspirations of various stakeholder groups can be reflected, especially those of local communities, who are now too often powerless in ODC projects in the education sector.</p>

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

<p>There have been calls both from the government and private sector for Higher Education institutions to introduce programmes that produce employable graduates whilst at the same time contributing to the growing economy of the country by addressing the skills shortage. Transformation and intervention committees have since been introduced to follow the extent to which the challenges are being addressed (DOE, 1996 / 1997 / Luescher and Symes, 2003 / Forbes, 2007). Amongst the list of issues that needed urgent address were the skills shortage and underperformance of students particularly university entering students (Daniels, 2007 / De Klerk, 2006 / Cooper, 2001). Research particularly in the South African context, has revealed that contributing to the underperformance of university entering students and shortage of skills are: the legacy of apartheid (forcing certain racial groups to focus on selected areas such as teaching and nursing), the schooling system (resulting in university entering students to struggle), the home language and academic language. Barrell (1998), places stress on language as a contributing factor towards the performance of students. Although not much research has been done on skills shortage, most of the areas with skills shortage require Mathematics, either on a minimum or comprehensive scale. Students who have a strong Mathematics background have proved to perform better compared to students who have a limited or no Mathematics background at all in Grade 12 (Hahn, 1988 / Conners, McCown &amp / Roskos-Ewoldsen, 1998 / Nolan, 2002).The department of Statistics offers an Introductory Statistics (IS) course at first year level. Resources available to enhance student learning include: a problem-solving component with web-based tutorials and students attending lectures three hours per week. The course material and all the necessary information regarding the course including teach yourself problems, useful web-sites and links students can make use of, are all stored under the Knowledge- Environment for Web-based learning (KEWL). Despite all the available information, the students were not performing well and they were not interested in the course. The department regards statistical numeracy as a life skill. The desire of the department is to break down the fear of Statistics and to bring about a perspective change in students&rsquo / mindsets. The study was part of a contribution to ensuring that the department has the best first year students in Statistics in the Western Cape achieving a success rate comparable to the national norm.</p>

The research reported here is a meta-evaluative case study of project evaluation in the context of Official Development Cooperation (ODC) in the education sector in Tanzania, where the particular focus is on capturing the relative values attached to evaluation by various stakeholder groups. Perspectives from the constructivist paradigm are adopted, implying relativist ontology, subjectivist epistemology, and naturalistic interpretive methodology. Based on these perspectives, a review is provided of development theories and evaluation theories, including the actor-oriented approach to development, participatory monitoring &amp; evaluation, utilization-focused evaluation, and responsive-constructivist evaluation. An exploratory qualitative case study strategy is taken, combining several complementary methods e.g. in-depth interviews, questionnaires, document analysis, and observations. Evaluation is considered as an applied social research, implying a managerial and political purpose. It is a reflective interactive process, where the relevance, effectiveness and impact of an intervention in pursuit of certain objectives are assessed, adding value in order to construct knowledge for the enhancement of decision-making. In order to facilitate understanding of the cases under study, their structural contexts are investigated: 1) ODC evaluation systems and strategies (international/ macro context); and 2) ODC in the education sector in Tanzania (national/meso context). Each case (at local/micro level) is located within these contexts and analyzed applying a meta-evaluative framework. Integrating the perspectives of the stakeholders, the study demonstrates the strengths of, and constraints on, each case, factors which are to some extent determined by their respective time-frames. A number of significant discrepancies between theory and practice in ODC evaluation are reported. Findings indicate the significance of constructing consensus values that are based on a synthesis of multiple stakeholders’ values and perspectives complementing each others. The study also find that evaluation ought to be used as a powerful tool in which the values, needs and aspirations of various stakeholder groups can be reflected, especially those of local communities, who are now too often powerless in ODC projects in the education sector.

<p>There have been calls both from the government and private sector for Higher Education institutions to introduce programmes that produce employable graduates whilst at the same time contributing to the growing economy of the country by addressing the skills shortage. Transformation and intervention committees have since been introduced to follow the extent to which the challenges are being addressed (DOE, 1996 / 1997 / Luescher and Symes, 2003 / Forbes, 2007). Amongst the list of issues that needed urgent address were the skills shortage and underperformance of students particularly university entering students (Daniels, 2007 / De Klerk, 2006 / Cooper, 2001). Research particularly in the South African context, has revealed that contributing to the underperformance of university entering students and shortage of skills are: the legacy of apartheid (forcing certain racial groups to focus on selected areas such as teaching and nursing), the schooling system (resulting in university entering students to struggle), the home language and academic language. Barrell (1998), places stress on language as a contributing factor towards the performance of students. Although not much research has been done on skills shortage, most of the areas with skills shortage require Mathematics, either on a minimum or comprehensive scale. Students who have a strong Mathematics background have proved to perform better compared to students who have a limited or no Mathematics background at all in Grade 12 (Hahn, 1988 / Conners, McCown &amp / Roskos-Ewoldsen, 1998 / Nolan, 2002).The department of Statistics offers an Introductory Statistics (IS) course at first year level. Resources available to enhance student learning include: a problem-solving component with web-based tutorials and students attending lectures three hours per week. The course material and all the necessary information regarding the course including teach yourself problems, useful web-sites and links students can make use of, are all stored under the Knowledge- Environment for Web-based learning (KEWL). Despite all the available information, the students were not performing well and they were not interested in the course. The department regards statistical numeracy as a life skill. The desire of the department is to break down the fear of Statistics and to bring about a perspective change in students&rsquo / mindsets. The study was part of a contribution to ensuring that the department has the best first year students in Statistics in the Western Cape achieving a success rate comparable to the national norm.</p>

This study evaluates a teacher development course on the use of English as the language of learning and teaching (LoLT). The course was developed and implemented in a sample of Intermediate Phase classrooms in four rural primary schools of the Free State Province. The course was a language intervention programme in an integrated district development project funded by the Flemish Government. The project was implemented from 2002 to 2004. The course was developed and implemented by Sacred Heart College Research and Development Unit in collaboration with the School of Languages of the North-West University. The course aimed at developing teachers' knowledge and skills in using learners' basic interpersonal communication skills in their home languages and in English to develop their English cognitive academic proficiency. It practically demonstrates communicative language teaching, co-operative learning and reflective practice. The evaluation of the English as LoLT Course explored the multiple perspectives of its evaluation audience; the interrelatedness of the course content and the learning milieu; planning, learner participation and assessment in Outcomes-based education (OBE), teaching practice, and the conceptual development and transfer of English in everyday communication and as the LoLT. The findings and recommendations of the study highlight the need to develop teachers' own English language usage and their participation in professional working groups to develop their knowledge and skills as facilitators, reflective practitioners, and curriculum developers. In addition, the study evaluates the Context Adaptive Model (Lynch, 1996; 2003) selected to guide the evaluation of the English as LoLT Course at a meta-evaluation level. The validation of the language programme evaluation model is mainly related to the epistemological claims of utilitarian pragmatism and interpretivism in programme evaluation research. The ability of the model to facilitate valid findings according to these epistemological claims in the evaluation of the English as LoLT Course is evaluated. Core criteria of flexibility, appropriateness, clarity of description and clarity of logic were identified and used to evaluate the language programme evaluation model. The findings and recommendations of the study attempt to offer a response to the need for quality assured language learning programmes in teacher development, especially for programmes in the use of English as a LoLT in the multilingual and multicultural rural context of South Africa. / Thesis (Ph.D. (English))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.