This study deals with the way school principals, educators and learners manage learner behaviour inside the classrooms, as well as in the entire school for the effective and uninterrupted realisation of teaching and learning activities. A qualitative approach was used in this study. The research findings were based on observations, the analysis of documents, as well as the main and sub-categories that were formulated from the interview data gathered at the selected schools. The research confirmed what is already known on learner discipline and discipline problems. In the dissertation more attention is given to factors that contribute to misbehaviour, the impact of misbehaviour on the culture of learning and teaching, and how learner behaviour should be managed in the classrooms and in the schools in general. Furthermore, effective measures of managing learner behaviour are explained and a comprehensive school-wide model of preventing and remediating learner misbehaviour is also provided. / M. Ed. (Education Management)

It has become obvious that a worldwide awareness of the quality of children’s behaviour and therefore also of learner-behaviour exist (Lewis, 2001:307). Moreover, according to Lee and Powell (2005:83), the whole of America has turned concerned interest towards the dilemmas that are associated with the troublesome behaviour of young people at schools. The purpose of this non-experimental, descriptive survey was to react to Gossen (in Lee & Powell, 2005:85) who advocates the restructuring of school discipline to create an atmosphere that would support learners in re-adjusting their behaviour. As a result, the main aim of this study is to examine how learner discipline can be managed in Thabo Mofutsanyana District as informed by the literature study and empirical survey. This aim is conceptualised into objectives and was achieved by investigating the nature of learner discipline, investigated how learner discipline in the Thabo Mofutsanyana District was managed. A quantitative method of gathering data was used in this study. According to Leedy and Omrod (2005:950, quantitative research methods are those that seek to objectively measure the variables of interest. To qualify and quantify the effects of learner’s perception on behavioural choices, this study offers a guide to the data collection and analysis, which provides useful information that is relevant to pre-service and practicing educators. For the purpose of this research, structured questionnaire was selected as a research tool. Tuckman (2008:230) explains the fact that questionnaires are used by researchers to convert information directly given by people into data. The findings suggest that classroom management has an impact on how learners learn and how educators manage learning in a classroom situation. Findings also suggested that by means of a classroom policy, an educator can use rules and procedures to regulate all aspects of the classroom environment and all the actions and behaviour within the classroom. Also, findings confirm that the following issues are pivotal to schools when developing classroom policy: a good classroom policy must clearly reflect the objectives (long-term) and aims (short-term) for which the class is striving, the policy should also be consistent, be acceptable to the majority, facilitate decision-making about certain matters and make provision for the class rules and procedure. In conclusion, an overview of the challenges identified by this research project, as well as the aspects in need of further research, is highlighted. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Problem behaviours amongst adolescent learners continue to affect the goals of effective education. The current study sought to investigate adolescents’ perspectives of discipline problems at a secondary school in Gauteng. A mixed method research design was followed during which questionnaires, focus groups and interviews directed the empirical investigation. The findings revealed two areas for addressing and improving the discipline problems of the secondary school, namely improving extrinsic factors and improving the current discipline system. Based on the findings, it was suggested that the school encourage greater parent involvement and improve parent-teacher communication. Creating a positive school identity and developing teachers further was proposed. An improved discipline system based on a positive learning approach was recommended. This included clarifying the discipline system to all role players, standardising discipline procedures throughout the school and improving follow up procedures regarding learner discipline. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

Educational authority in a situation where schooling is democratised is explored. The bases of authority such as social order, legal authority, knowledge, moral values and societal structures are established. The role of authority in education relationships and in the realisation of the educational aim is researched in order to attempt formulating criteria for accountable authority. The basic tenets of democracy that included aspects such as involvement, consultation, communication and reflective decision making are explored. Since fundamental human rights is a critical issue and precondition for a democracy, a focus on Chapter Two of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa is related to the research. Attention is also given to the hierarchical school structure and the rights and responsibilities of those involved in this structure. Through an extensive literature study and a qualitative analysis of the responses to a questionnaire, conclusions are reached and recommendations made. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Philosophy of education)

The purpose of the study was to find out about provision of guidance and counselling in the schools in the Transkei sub-region of the Eastern Cape. Guidance and counselling services are crucial to the success of lifelong learning policies, providing assistance and advice to learners so that they make better informed and future educational and career choices suitable for them. Through guidance and counseling services, students develop a clear understanding of self, their attitudes, abilities, interests, ambitions, resources and limitations from career counselling. They are also guided into various entrepreneurial activities, training, advancement and other benefits for sustainable self-reliance and self-worth. Students are able to achieve and live fulfilled lives and contribute meaningfully to the development of their country in all spheres of life once they receive appropriate guidance and counselling services. Guidance and counseling services look at the holistic development of the learner by taking into account the psycho-social, intellectual, emotional and physical development aspects of the learner within the context of the learner’s environment. The provision of guidance and counselling programmes and services is the shared responsibility of all school staff. A team approach should be employed, wherein all staff members have specified roles to play. School counsellors play a key role in planning and implementing programmes and service. Guidance and counselling programmes and services are systematically planned to meet the needs of all learners and are infused into the daily activities of schools. Using a quantitative research design, the research sample included Department of Education (DoE) Officials and teachers in seven districts in the Transkei sub-region of the Eastern Cape. Questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics in were used to analyse the provision of guidance and counselling in the schools in the Transkei sub-region of the Eastern Cape. The results revealed that guidance and counselling is necessary in schools and that it should be provided in all schools in the districts. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)

Juvenile delinquency amongst school-going adolescents is a growing concern in South Africa. Initiatives by policy-makers, educationists and school authorities, amongst others, have not yielded the desired changes in learner behaviour. This dissertation focuses on adolescent delinquency amongst learners in Gauteng secondary schools, with the precise aim of making recommendations to address the problem. An extensive literature review was conducted. An interpretive-constructivist paradigm with a mainly qualitative design was followed. A questionnaire and focus group interviews were administered to teachers. The findings confirmed the researcher’s view that juvenile delinquency in schools is escalating and warrants attention and intervention from all stakeholders. The main conclusion drawn from this research was that current policies and interventions on learner behaviour had no impact because policy-makers lacked the necessary will to ensure that interventions were implemented, reviewed and monitored. This study argues for a multi-pronged approach to address the problem. The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) should review its policies and approach to the problem, and support teachers to ensure that teaching and learning remain the main priority of schooling. Future research could explore the role of social ills in the South African context on the development of learners’ antisocial behaviour. / Educational Foundations / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This is an in-depth investigation of human rights in education as reflected in school discipline in the Northern Province. In this research, three different schools were selected as the settings for my study. This selection of the setting was influenced by the diversity of the schools such as: -the community school, -the township school and the urban school. The three schools are not the representative of the schools in the Northern Province, but they illustrate or reveal if there were patterns in terms of the data collected. The methods used for collecting data are the following: Observation, Interview and Documents. A period of time was spent at the three settings for the purpose of observing the real school environment, interviewing the research participants (principal, educators, learners/LRC and the parentcomponent of the SGB) and to consult documents especially policies of the school. The departmental policies were also consulted. The results of the study indicate that most stakeholders (especially in rural and township schools) are not yet conversant with human rights in education. Educators and parents regard some human rights provisions in education as erosion of their 'status' in education. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie is 'n diepgaande ondersoek van menseregte in die onderwys soos dit in dissipline in the Noordelike Provinisie se skole weerspieel word. In hierdie navorsing is drie skole gekies om as die milieu vir die studie te dien. Die keuse van hierdie skole is ingelig deur die verskille wat tussen hulle bestaan soos die gemeenskap skool, die woonbuurt skool en die stedelike skool. Die drie skole is nie noodwendig verteenwoordigend vandie skole in die Noordelike Provinsie nie, maar hulle illustreer of bewys indien daar 'n model bestaan in gevolge van die data wat versamel is. Die volgende metodes is toegepas om data in te samel: waarneming, onderhoud en die bestudering van dokumente. Om die egte skool milieu waar te neem, is sekere tyd by elkeen gespandeer. Onderhoude is met die deelnemers in die navorsing gevoer, t.w., skoolhoofde, onderwysers, leerlinge, leerlingverteenwoordigers en die ouers wat deel van die skoolraad is. Dokumente soos die skoolbeleid en relevante departementele beleidsdokumente is ook bestudeer. Die resultate van die navorsing dui aan dat die meeste belanghebbendes (veral die platteland - en woorbuurtskole) is nog nie bekend met mense regte in die onderwysers nie. Onderwysers en ouers beskou sekere mense regte voorsienings in the onderwys as wegvreting van hul 'status'.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Bibliography / Internationally, contemporary youth struggle to make sense or meaning of their lives. That is so because they live in a world where they daily witness unsolvable problems of struggling economies, poverty, HIV, and religious and national conflict, and where they are generally treated with ambivalence and a threat to the existing social order. Youth also struggle because within the public imagination they exist on the fringe of society. Giroux (2012: 2) argues that youth are given few spaces where “they can recognise themselves outside of the needs, values, and desires preferred by the marketplace” and are mostly subjected to punitive and zero tolerance approaches when they behave in unacceptable ways. In South Africa presently, it is generally claimed that “discipline problems” amongst youth have become the most endemic problem in South African schools, with policy makers and educators daily complaining about the disciplinary problems within schools that affect how learners engage with learning. Equally, discipline as punitive coercion has been shown to be an unsuccessful educational method in dealing with youth (Porteus & Vally 1999). With the above schooling challenge in mind, this qualitative study explored the views of thirteen young learners at Avondale High School in the Western Cape on school discipline. Via semi-structured interviews, the youth were asked about their understandings of the rules, disciplinary structures, forms of authority and order at the school, how they interpreted the role of discipline, and how they thought this would influence the futures awaiting them. The goal of the study was to provide a multi-dimensional view of what youth regarded as discipline at one school, and to explore whether different learners adopted different meanings of ‘discipline’ according to the context of their individual lives. I show in the study - utilising the views of Emile Durkheim, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu - that school discipline needs to be thought of as more than punishment or structures of ordering per se if it is to play a productive role in the functioning of schools. Along with Yang (2009: 49) I suggest that only when schools recognise that discipline has multiple meanings and (limited) roles within their daily functioning, will the emancipatory and transformative possibilities of school discipline be unlocked. For that to happen, the voices and views of youth in schools have to be taken account of, and meaningful relationships developed between learners, educators, and school management.

This study focused on improving the learners behaviour through classroom management and the implementation of human rights awareness as an intervention strategy. The purpose of the research was to prevent learners from misbehaving through the implementation of different teaching strategies. Learners transgression will not stop completely and a second objective was to use the implementation of human rights awareness as an intervention strategy if the learners behaviour become unacceptable. The strategies the educators has to instigate were primarily considered to be those associated with classroom management.

Text in Afrikaans, with abstracts in Afrikaans, English and Xhosa / Dissipline in skole en leerders se uitslae het sedert 1994 baie verswak. Aanranding op opvoeders haal daagliks die nuus wat 'n swak beeld van die stand van onderwys in Suid-Afrika die wêreld instuur. Hierdie studie het die rol wat die skoolbestuurspanne kan doen om 'n effektiewe dissiplinebeleid in plek kan stel ten einde die gedrag van die leerders te verbeter, ondersoek. Die studie het bevind dat die skole dissiplinebeleide aangekoop het wat deur 'n eksterne maatskappy saamgestel is. Die opvoeders, ouers en leerders het geen aandeel in hierdie beleid nie en daarom neem hulle nie eienaarskap daarvan nie. Dit het ook aan die lig gekom dat die opvoeders verskillende metodes, sommige selfs onwettig, gebruik om leerders te straf. Hulle fokus op straf in plaas daarvan om die gedrag van die leerders te herstel. Die studie doen aanbevelings oor wat die skoolbestuurspan kan doen en gee riglyne vir die opstel van 'n effektiewe dissiplinebeleid. / The systemic test results shows that since 1994, discipline in schools and amongst learners has drastically deteriorated. Assaults on educators on a daily basis reach the news, which leaves a bad image to the world on the state of education in South Africa. This study investigates the role that school management teams can play to put an effective discipline policy in place to improve the behaviour of learners. The study found that schools have acquired policies on school discipline that were developed by an external company. Educators, learners and parents were not involved in the development thereof and for this reason they do not take ownership of it. It has come to light that educators use different methods, sometimes even unethical and illegal, to discipline learners. They focus on discipline (punitive) instead of trying to correct the behaviour of the learner (remedial). The study gives recommendations on what school management teams can do with guidelines on how to develop an effective discipline policy. / Iziphumo zibonisa ukuba ukususela ngo-1994 ukuqeqeshwa ezikolweni kwaye abafundi baye bahlaselwa kakhulu. Ukuhlaselwa kootitshala kwimihla ngemihla kufikelela kwiindaba ezishiya umfanekiso ombi kwihlabathi kwimfundo eMzantsi Afrika.Olu pho nonongo luphanda iqela lokulawula isikolo lingalidlala ukubeka umgaqo-nkqubo osebenzayo wokuphucula ukuziphatha kwabafundi. Olu pho nonongo luye lwabonisa ukuba izikolo zifumene imigaqo-nkqubo yokuqeqeshwa kwesikolo eyenziwe yinkampani yangaphandle. Ootitshala, abafundi nabazali abazange bathathe inxaxheba ekuphuhlisweni kwayo ngenxa yeso sizathu abakhange bawuthathe ubunini bayo. Kwaye kwacaca ukuba ootitshala basebenzisa iindlela ezihlukeneyo, ngamanye amaxesha nangona zingekho mthethweni, ekuqeqeshweni labafundi. Zijolise ekuqeqesheni (isigwebo) endaweni yokuzama ukulungisa ukuziphatha komfundi (ukulungiswa).Uphononongo unikeza iingcomo malunga naziphi iikomiti zolawulo lwesikolo ezinokukwenza nezikhokelo malunga nokuphuhlisa umgaqo-nkqubo osebenzayo. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)