Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Education, 1999. / The rationale for this study was to match the remedial needs of children with appropriate programmes. The aims were (1) To test the usefulness of screening instruments modelled on subtestr of the Naglieri-Das Cognitive Assessment System in identifying South African children with specific learning disabilities. (2) To study the effects of the PASS Remedial Programme (PREP) in addressing the needs of children with deficits in successive processing. (3) To study the effects of a programme based on Whole Language (WL) principles when used with children with reading problems due to extrinsic factors. Screening instruments were used to identify seven children with a successive processing deficit for the PREP experimental treatment group. Seven children who showed a general delay in beginning reading skills were selected for the WL experimental group. A PREP control group and a WL control group were also identified. Both treatment groups received twenty-four intervention sessions. When the PREP and WL experimental groups were compared, there were significant differences in gains in successive processing for the PREP group but gains in word reading skills were statistically the same for the two groups. This was an indication that the remedial programmes were suited to the needs of the children in the groups. General implications for specialised education programmes in South Africa and future directions for research on remediation are also presented.

This thesis is a narrative account of how I have transformed my learning and teaching strategies for Grade 9 learners, generating my own living theory of teaching within a social context with the aim of enabling my learners to construct their own knowledge. My value-embedded practice is reflected in the values I attach to equality, inclusivity, social justice and basic human rights. These embodied values are also a reflection of my commitment to my Christian values which encompass my entire existence and have become the living standards by which I judge the quality of my research. My classroom-based action research methodology is a living transformational process which heralds a change for a more just practice and the inclusion and recognition of the individual. My findings about my learners’ and my own learning offer new conceptualisations about the capacity of my learners to learn in their own unique ways and according to their own potential. I am claiming that the significance of my research is grounded in my ability to demonstrate how I can unleash the untapped potential of learners failing to attain the desired outcomes. I show them how to learn confidently and successfully within a social context using prior knowledge, scaffolding and motivation as teaching and learning tools. This has potential inspiration for new forms of practice and theory in aiming to improve learners’ potential. A significant feature of my account is how my Christian values have been translated into my critical epistemological standards of judgement, and the development of a living theory of practice that enables me to account for educational influences in my learners’ and my own learning.

Literature indicates that there is a national outcry about learners who read below the required levels and that poor matriculation results are, in part, due to the low levels of learners’ reading skills. The focus of this study is reading difficulties experienced by learners in the Foundation Phase in inclusive schools in Makapanstad. The researcher used a qualitative method for the study. The case study research design was adopted for the study. Three schools in Makapanstad were sampled for the study. Empirical investigation was conducted through literature study, observations, interviews and document analysis. There is a worldwide concern with regard to learners’ low reading levels. The study explores the extensive models, methods and theories on reading, the strategies that could be used to teach reading in the Foundation Phase to alleviate or improve reading difficulties experienced by learners, as well as the findings and recommendations towards minimising the reading difficulties in primary schools. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Literature indicates that there is a national outcry about learners who read below the required levels and that poor matriculation results are, in part, due to the low levels of learners’ reading skills. The focus of this study is reading difficulties experienced by learners in the Foundation Phase in inclusive schools in Makapanstad. The researcher used a qualitative method for the study. The case study research design was adopted for the study. Three schools in Makapanstad were sampled for the study. Empirical investigation was conducted through literature study, observations, interviews and document analysis. There is a worldwide concern with regard to learners’ low reading levels. The study explores the extensive models, methods and theories on reading, the strategies that could be used to teach reading in the Foundation Phase to alleviate or improve reading difficulties experienced by learners, as well as the findings and recommendations towards minimising the reading difficulties in primary schools. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

In South Africa, the issue of learners reading below their grade level is of great concern. In order to overcome this problem, the Department of Education made it possible that learners be taught to read early in Grade 1. However, despite the learners being taught to learn to read at an early stage, numerous studies have revealed that most of the learners, including those in Grade 3, are still experiencing reading problems. The purpose of this study is to explore how Grade 3 teachers support learners who experience reading problems in Full-service schools. Full-service schools are mainstream schools that were transformed to attend to the underlying inclusive principles and to provide quality education to all learners. In this study, a qualitative approach was used to collect data at the Tshwane North District in the Gauteng Province. The interview questions were piloted with one of the Grade 3 class teachers from a neighbouring full-service school. Then after the pilot study, eleven Grade 3 class teachers and six Learner Support Teachers from three identified full-service schools were interviewed and observed in their classroom while supporting learners experiencing reading problems. The documents that they used were also analysed. To analyse the empirical data an inductive approach and the method for analysing data suggested by Creswell (2000) was followed. The findings revealed that teachers who participated in this study followed a more prescriptive approach of supporting learners who were experiencing reading problems. Furthermore, the findings revealed they used different reading strategies and reading methods even though there were some challenges that hampered the implementation of the support. The issue of differentiating and adapting the reading support to suit the diverse reading needs of learners arose from the study. This was due to the fact that most of the teachers were not trained to adapt the reading support based on the reading needs of the learners. Based on the findings, recommendations were made, and guidelines to draw up an effective reading support based on an integrated approach for Grade 3 learners who experience reading problems in full-service schools was developed. The guidelines combined two theories that underpinned the study, namely, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. The researcher concluded that learners’ improvement in terms of their reading abilities relies on how teachers provided support to them. Hence it is important for teachers to be equipped with sufficient skills and knowledge to provide individualised reading support to learners experiencing reading problems. / Inclusive Education / Ph. D. (Inclusive Education)

The main aim of this study was to assess teachers’ awareness levels of dyslexia, their perceptions of their ability to identify and manage dyslexia, and their perceptions of the adequacy of their pre-service and in-service training in dyslexia. The sample comprised teachers at 16 mainstream high schools in the Western Cape. A Likert type scale questionnaire was used to collect data that were analysed by means of a sign test of difference and a Kruskal-Wallis test of variance. The results indicated that teachers had adequate knowledge of dyslexia, believed they are able to identify and manage dyslexia, and believed that they received little or no pre-service and in-service training in dyslexia. The main conclusion that can be drawn is that teachers need on-going adequate pre-service and in-service training in the field of dyslexia. / Department of Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

The main aim of this study was to assess teachers’ awareness levels of dyslexia, their perceptions of their ability to identify and manage dyslexia, and their perceptions of the adequacy of their pre-service and in-service training in dyslexia. The sample comprised teachers at 16 mainstream high schools in the Western Cape. A Likert type scale questionnaire was used to collect data that were analysed by means of a sign test of difference and a Kruskal-Wallis test of variance. The results indicated that teachers had adequate knowledge of dyslexia, believed they are able to identify and manage dyslexia, and believed that they received little or no pre-service and in-service training in dyslexia. The main conclusion that can be drawn is that teachers need on-going adequate pre-service and in-service training in the field of dyslexia. / Department of Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)