The purpose of this study was to research the role the development appraisal teams, namely the staff development team and development support group play in developing educators in schools. The objectives of this study were to understand the problems or challenges faced by schools in developing educators. Provide training for the School Management Team, Development Support Group and Staff Development Team to enable them to perform their roles of educator development. Evaluate and monitor the development appraisal system and educator development. The literature reviewed for this study examines key concepts of appraisal across the globe that would help me understand the South African educator appraisal system and critically evaluate it. This was done by firstly, looking at the following concepts in both business and education: performance management, performance related pay and staff development. Secondly, educator appraisal systems of a few countries are examined, to establish the background and purpose of educator development appraisal in those countries. Why such appraisal systems were introduced? What effect they had on educator development and school improvement? The study also looks at the challenges those countries faced in the implementation of educator developmental appraisal and how they dealt with those challenges. Thirdly, the guiding principles of the South African developmental appraisal system and the processes of the development appraisal were researched to compare with existing practises at the research sites. Furthermore the study explored the role and responsibilities of developmental appraisal teams, namely the Development Support Groups (DSG), the Staff Development Team (SDT) and the School’s Management Team (SMT), to establish how these teams’ contribute to educator development. The methodology used in this study is qualitative in nature. The study takes the form of a case study of 2 schools in the Pinetown district. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 participants from each school. The findings and recommendations of this study reveal 3 strategies that are needed to give schools the support to overcome their difficulties. Firstly, develop strategies to support the development appraisal system at schools. This can be done by developing training mechanisms at schools to train school management teams, staff development teams and development support groups to enable these teams to perform their developmental roles. Secondly, develop strategies to evaluate and monitor the development appraisal system. This can be done by empowering all school’s management teams and staff development teams to be able to monitor and moderate all evaluations taking place during a cycle and asking for documents that support or justify each assessment. Finally, develop strategies to compensate for the challenges faced by each school, based on each school’s context. This can be done by assessing each school’s context prior to assessment being conducted and factoring these contextual issues into each of that school’s educator’s scores. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This thesis explored the experiences of five principals enrolled on the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Leadership henceforth referred to as ACESL, and their reflection on the programme in relation to their professional practice. The ACESL is a professional qualification programme that is currently funded by the Department of Education through a number of service providers. The paucity of research on the influence of management development programmes on the professional practice of principals formed the background to this study. In 1996, the Department of Education set up a Task Team to explore possibilities of such management development. The purpose of the programme was to provide structured learning opportunities that promote quality education in South Africa through the development of a corps of education leaders who apply critical understanding, values, knowledge and skills to school leadership and management within the vision of democratic transformation. This purpose points to the pivotal role of education leadership and management in transforming schools in South Africa. This research attempted to address this gap in knowledge by examining the experiences and reflections of principals on the ACESL programme and it also explored the influence of this programme on their professional practice. The study focussed on the subjective experiences of principals on the ACESL programme. This being the case, this research was located in an interpretivist, qualitative paradigm. The central intention of the interpretivist paradigm is to understand the subjective world of human experience. The findings of the research suggest that the experiences of the principals on the ACESL are largely positive. Some elements of the programme did give rise to negative experiences. The principals were unanimous in articulating the positive effect of the programme on their professional practice. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of teachers with respect to the intentions of the Developmental Appraisal Policy, how the policy was implemented at school level and its influence on Teaching. How this policy came to be understood and interpreted at school level during its implementation phase is the subject of this study, focussing on a teacher-union sanctioned policy aimed at Teacher Professional Development. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies characterise the data collection strategy. A survey questionnaire was administered to 181 teachers in the Verulam Circuit in KwaZulu-Natal. Indepth semi-structured interviews were conducted using a stratified random sample of 15 teachers in proportion to the three variables namely, gender, age and race. The study's findings reveal the following: 1) The implementation of the policy was largely executed in a technical administrative fashion which provide semblances of being well understood and accepted as a new form of appraisal replacing the former "judgemental approach" to Teacher Appraisal. 2) In the actual practical operation of the proposed teacher professional appraisal procedures, teachers at the institutional level were seen to be using the Developmental Appraisal Policy in not so different a fashion as the former judgemental model, which promoted nepotism and a superficial attention to deep teacher professional changes. An important question needs to be borne in mind: Does a union-driven policy lead to deeper changes in Teacher Professional Development in a democratic ethos? 3) Most of the teachers claimed that sharing of resources and assessment techniques had positively influenced their Teaching- Practice. However, these activities had been in practice long before the introduction of the Appraisal policy. There were also conflicting views whether the Developmental Appraisal Policy or Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) Policy had caused an influence on Teaching Practice. There was very little to no evidence to suggest that the appraisal policy had influenced the teachers' Teaching Practice. 4) The study revealed that the different genders, ages and races interpreted the impact of the Developmental Appraisal Policy in relation to their unique expectations of their school context, their lived! executed experiences of teaching and their stages of development as professionals. A "one-size- fits-all" Developmental Appraisal Policy is thus discouraged. The results suggest three broad implications for school-based Teacher Professional Development viz.: • changes needed at the policy landscape (at the Department level), • changes needed at the school landscape (at institutional level), • and changes needed at an individual level. Firstly, the Department of Education as the employer tries to regulate the school from the "outside". Changes at this level include for example, the need for Department officials to rethink the way they perceive and communicate with the broader constituency of teachers. The gap between the Department as "bureaucrats" and teachers need to be narrowed. Both Department officials and teachers need to realise that they are "partners" towards improving the quality of teaching and learning. Secondly, the thesis argues that there are many changes necessary at an institutional level to engage with Teacher Professional Development. For example, school personnel such as teachers and managers need to design a flexible school timetable to accommodate time for teachers to engage with Teacher Development. Thirdly, personal factors such as love for children, passion and dedication towards the profession emerged as important factors in engaging with Teacher Professional Development. Thus, the thesis argues that Teacher Professional Development entails developing also the "inner qualities" of the teacher. Teacher Professional Development cannot be confined to faithful compliance to delivery of state-designed curricula. Finally, the thesis argues that we need to integrate harmoniously the changes at these three levels i.e. the Departmental, institutional and individual levels so that effective Teacher Development can take place. This study contributes to understanding more qualitatively and quantitatively the Teacher Development landscape of post-apartheid educational transformation from the perspective of teachers within their institutions engaging with policies targeting their professional growth. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Durban-Westville, 2003.

Schools within South Africa are not performing as they should be due to a variety of issues within the school system. It is for this reason that there has been an increased interest in the field of school improvement. This research study is an articulation of a case for school improvement. In the Rorke‟s Drift / Isandlwana area of KwaZulu-Natal the David Rattray Foundation (DRF) implements school improvement projects at partner schools within the area with an aim to bring about school improvement. This qualitative study entailed the researcher conducting semi-structured interviews, a document analysis, non-participant observation with the use of a checklist, a preference analysis, and Participatory Action Research (PAR) to formulate a case study of the David Rattray Foundation (DRF). There were three main themes that emerged from the data of this research, namely (a) school improvement, (b) partnerships and (c) wider system issues. Within this study the researcher identified a shift from a charismatic approach to school improvement to one that is more systematic and business like on the part of the foundation. An interesting approach to whole school improvement is articulated by the manner in which the foundation operates. With the complexity of the school system, the researcher has identified that the DRF uses business principles to counter the problems that arise with the implementation of school improvement interventions, thus within this study the researcher presents a business model of school improvement. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Transformation in education over the decades has failed to keep abreast of the rapidly advancing technological environment of modern society. This implies that curricula, learning paradigms and tools employed by educational institutions are not in sync with the technologically oriented lifestyle of modern society. Learners are therefore unable to apply and assimilate their daily life experiences into the learning process. This disparity warrants radical transformation in education, so as to furnish the appropriate education system where learners are able to construct their knowledge on the basis of pre-existing ideas and experiences. However, any transformation in the e~ucation approach should essentially be complemented by the adoption of appropriate learning environments and paradigms that can capitalize on learners' life experiences as well as elicit the appropriate learning behaviour and attitudes for effective and life-long learning. Much of the literature reviewed affirms the efficacy of virtual learning environments as mediums that can facilitate effective learner-centred electronic-learning suitable for modern society. They are asserted as liberators of learning in respect of instructivist ideals, information access and the confines of the physical classroom. This is confirmed by findings of this research, which are generally in favour of the virtual learning environment's ability to enhance the learning experiences of learners but remained inconclusive on their learning outcomes. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Conceptualising teacher learning in terms of participation in a teacher learning community is a relatively new phenomenon in South Africa. This study explores the usefulness of applying a social practice theory of learning to a community of novice Economic and Management Sciences teacher learners involved in the Teaching Economics and Management Sciences (TEMS) teacher development project. It examines the influence of contextual constraints, teachers' biographies and professional career trajectories on teachers' ability to participate in a learning community. By drawing on Wenger's theory of learning in a community of practice and Wenger et al's stages of community development framework, it also illuminates and theorises the potential that a community of practice framework has for teacher development. Wenger's framework offered important insights that informed and shaped the development of the TEMS programme. It also provided a useful tool for analysing teacher learning as constituting four components, namely, meaning, practice, identity and community. The complex relationship that exists between these different components of learning is examined. The study offers a critique of the feasibility and appropriateness of using Wenger's framework for analysing a teacher learning community. Methodologically, the tenets of symbolic interactionist ethnography were employed in the collection of data for this study. An exposition of the complexity and challenge of adopting the dual role of researcher as observer and participant is presented. An analysis is also provided of the methodological challenge of gaining access and acceptance in a South African education research context. The study examines how the essential tension in teacher professional development, namely, that of curriculum development and deepening subject matter knowledge is managed in a teacher learning community of novice Economic and Management Sciences teachers. It reveals the potential that a learning community framework has for teacher learning through different levels of participation, and points to the importance of the input of an outside expert, particularly during the early stages of development of a community of teacher learners who lack subject content knowledge. It argues that teacher learning communities present a fruitful and viable alternative to the current 'deficit' models of teacher development that typify the present South African teacher development scenario, as teacher learning communities suggest a conceptual reorientation of the discourse on teacher development. / Theses (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

The study searches for staff development programs associated with good academic performance in the Lesotho Primary School Leaving Examination. The study was conducted mainly to: • examine the type of programs available in schools to support staff development. The research was conducted by means of questionnaires (Appendix 2) handed out to principals and teachers in four primary schools in the Mafeteng district in Lesotho. The results of the study indicate that there were inadequate staff development programs in schools and that the programs were not well administered. The main recommendations of the study were: • Considering the nature and scope of this study there is need to broaden the scope of further research to include not only few schools in Mafeteng district but also all schools in Lesotho. • Research should not be conducted in primary schools only; but in post primary schools as well where staff development programs may just be as important as they are in the primary schools. More research needs to be carried out in order to investigate the quality of the programs that presently exist in schools, because according to the study it seems the very few that exist do not have much impact on the academic performance in the schools studied. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 2002.

Middlewood, D. et al. (1998) state that "Development cannot be forced because it is the teacher who develops (active) and not the teacher who is developed (passive)". Active teacher participation in professional development programmes will result in greater school improvement and teacher empowerment. The study is based on the parameter that if the teachers have no real input in the planning stage of the development programmes, such development programmes are likely to be ineffective. This study seeks to investigate whether these school-based professional development activities help teachers to teach effectively or make the school efficient. The study aims to investigate the perceptions of teachers and the role of the school managers regarding the value and usefulness of school-based teacher professional development programmes in school X. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used and data was collected through semi-structured interviews with members of the school management and questionnaires with educators. The investigation was limited to the data obtained from all the questionnaires and interviews that were responded to by the entire academic staff of school X. The findings are based on data collected only from the interviews and questionnaires. The findings of the study showed diverse views towards the current form of school-based professional development programmes. There were however all encompassing parameters that can be summed up basically as follows: Both educators and school management regard school-based professional development as important aspects of teaching to improve educator performance. Development programmes should become an integral part of schooling and an official policy should be established in this regard. Development programmes have to be a continuous process and should be related to the subject taught be relevant and practical. Subject knowledge and teaching methods should be improved for effective teaching and learning to take place. Professional development programmes should be evaluated to determine whether meaningful outcomes have been achieved or not, and continuous feedback should be given to educators. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

After decades of democracy, South Africa (SA) is still a country that is characterised by huge inequalities and socio-economic challenges which are intense in most rural areas. As microcosms of a larger context, rural schools tend to bear the brunt of numerous challenges as they have to cope with poor infrastructure, scarce resources and under-qualified teachers. In spite of the many challenges rural schools experience, the country has adopted an accountability systems approach that uses examination results in measuring school performance, thereby ignoring the contextual factors that rural schools face. This study sought to explore and understand the notion underperformance in a secondary school in the rural Ilembe District in KwaZulu-Natal from the perspectives of learners, parents and teachers. Guided by the propositions derived from theories of underperformance and of rurality, the study was located within an interpretive paradigm and utilised the qualitative approach to research. An ethnographic design involving observations, interviews and document analysis was utilised as it was important to capture the experiences, interpretations and meanings that participants gave to school underperformance in their particular contexts. The findings suggest that there is a disjuncture between educational policy, schooling and contextual factors afflicting particularly rural schools. In essence, participants’ perspectives on school underperformance were influenced by a number of contextual factors; however, existing national education policy tends to ignore not only what happens within the rural school, but also the context in which the school is located (i.e., its rurality). The factors that informed the perspectives of the participants can be categorised into: 1) factors within the school such as the school context or location (rurality), learning prospects, the values and standards that rural people attribute to schooling, and curriculum relevance; 2) perspectives on the relationship among the rural household, the community and the school; and 3) perspectives on the role and value of schooling in a rural setting. The study therefore argues that approaches used to measure performance or underperformance must take into consideration the context/place in which such schools are located. Moreover, educational policy and decision making should place rural inhabitants at the forefront of educational planning. In order to address school underperformance in rural areas, the study advocates an improved theoretical lens in the form of a place sensitive approach which will engender understanding of this phenomenon. Such an approach would put context/place at the centre of educational analyses and allow for conciliation between policy, schooling and contextual factors. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

The purpose of this study was to explore how teacher learning happened informally at the workplace. Another aim was to describe the ways in which informal learning contributes to teacher development. The study also endeavoured to establish if the school supported or hindered informal learning. The method of case study was used to understand how both novice and experienced teachers learn informally in a secondary school. The study examined five teachers’ informal learning experiences in the school by drawing on accounts of the individual teachers’ perceptions and reflections documented in journals, photographs and interviews. The journal entries were used to write narratives which outlined how teachers learnt informally in the workplace. Teachers were asked to take photographs of the places in which they learnt informally. The interviews awarded teachers the opportunity to talk about the photographs they chose to capture. The study found that teachers engage in various forms of informal learning opportunities at school. These opportunities were both planned and unplanned. The research indicated that informal learning is situated. Some of the learning opportunities included being part of a learning community, learning by interacting with colleagues in informal chats and attending meetings. In these instances it was found that teachers learnt with and from others, which is socially. This illustrates collaborative learning in the school. Teachers also engaged in individual learning. It was discovered that the school must provide opportunities for teachers to engage in informal learning. The study considered the various opportunities that existed in the school for teachers to develop and found that such opportunities contributed towards extending teacher knowledge and development. The study found that teachers in the study were willing to take the initiative to seek the learning they thought they required. The study recommends that informal learning be recognised as an authentic form of teacher learning and development in schools. Further, schools must become sites of learning for teachers by creating, encouraging and sustaining learning opportunities. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.