The overall aim of the study was to study the relevance of educational provision in KwaZulu-Natal. There have been no vocationally orientated alternatives available in the schools of this province. The poor performance of our matriculants results in wide-spread media coverage. A further consideration in the formulation of the aims of this study was the decline in the socio-economic development of this province. It was postulated that the problems of high youth unemployment were related to the perceived irrelevance of educational provision. A basic needs approach for human development was adopted as the theoretical foundation for the study. The aims included a comparative examination of a selection of international systems of education from high and low-income economies of the world. Primary analysis was vis-a-vis a historical, legal, socio-economic, and structure of education analytical framework .. The secondary analysis was visa- vis a framework that included trends, critical issues and anticipated future developments or reforms in education. The analytical framework was applied stringently through-out the study. Consequently the data reduction process was cyclical and on-going. Data gathering process was done by means of a process of document collection supplemented by interviews with stakeholders and educators. Two questionnaires were designed for implementation at a critical stage of the study .. These two surveys focused on critical areas of relevant education in the region. Data reduction took place systematically the context of Chapters 3, 4 and 5. The emerging themes were concluded in a final summarising chapter. The findings indicated that the problems of relevance in KwaZulu-Natal were linked to a fragmented historical past. The perpetuation of irrelevance in education was however, associated with neo-ideological considerations. The study suggested that the provincial education department did not have the capacity to provide relevant education. A decline has taken place in the standards of education in the public school sector. The strength of the private sector of this province was concluded to be a factor of relevance. Further research in human resources development was critical for the future development of the province. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Comparative Education)

This study investigated the beliefs of teachers at a particular elementary campus in North Texas during its first year of implementation of a social emotional curriculum regarding teaching social emotional skills and the influence of those beliefs on their classroom practices. The study drew from the works of Dewey and Bandura in the development of a framework for teacher decision making. A case study design incorporating multiple cases within the case study utilized a mixed-methods approach for data collection and analysis. Ten teachers volunteered and participated in the quantitative data collection, and four of those ten participated in the qualitative data collection through interviews and classroom observations. Data collection methods also included a demographic survey, a questionnaire on teacher beliefs about social emotional learning, and a self-ranking scale of practices related to teaching social emotional skills. Results indicated that although all participants believed social emotional skills instruction was part of their duties as teachers, their practices in teaching social emotional skills varied. Additionally, there was a mismatch between participants’ self-identified practices and the practices that were observed during the study. Administrative support for program implementation was high, but did not necessarily translate to effective practices during the first year of implementation of a particular program. While not significant in this study, variation in teacher characteristics may be important.

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

The overall aim of the study was to study the relevance of educational provision in KwaZulu-Natal. There have been no vocationally orientated alternatives available in the schools of this province. The poor performance of our matriculants results in wide-spread media coverage. A further consideration in the formulation of the aims of this study was the decline in the socio-economic development of this province. It was postulated that the problems of high youth unemployment were related to the perceived irrelevance of educational provision. A basic needs approach for human development was adopted as the theoretical foundation for the study. The aims included a comparative examination of a selection of international systems of education from high and low-income economies of the world. Primary analysis was vis-a-vis a historical, legal, socio-economic, and structure of education analytical framework .. The secondary analysis was visa- vis a framework that included trends, critical issues and anticipated future developments or reforms in education. The analytical framework was applied stringently through-out the study. Consequently the data reduction process was cyclical and on-going. Data gathering process was done by means of a process of document collection supplemented by interviews with stakeholders and educators. Two questionnaires were designed for implementation at a critical stage of the study .. These two surveys focused on critical areas of relevant education in the region. Data reduction took place systematically the context of Chapters 3, 4 and 5. The emerging themes were concluded in a final summarising chapter. The findings indicated that the problems of relevance in KwaZulu-Natal were linked to a fragmented historical past. The perpetuation of irrelevance in education was however, associated with neo-ideological considerations. The study suggested that the provincial education department did not have the capacity to provide relevant education. A decline has taken place in the standards of education in the public school sector. The strength of the private sector of this province was concluded to be a factor of relevance. Further research in human resources development was critical for the future development of the province. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Comparative Education)

Literature and cooperative learning -- Prosocial behavior -- Three works by Leo Lionni.

Interpersonal skills, which are variously called soft skills, employability skills, people skills, and noncognitive skills, are critically important in personal, academic, and workplace settings. This descriptive case study explored how individuals from underserved communities described the use of reflective learning journals in an interpersonal skills course during their short-term training to become employed in full-time information technology roles. The 13 trainees, who were from four cohorts in three locations, participated in semi-structured interviews and took a survey that attempted to assess how the participants valued using the learning journals to develop and enhance their interpersonal skills. The training was sponsored by Workforce Opportunity Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Dr. Arthur M. Langer in 2005 following a five-year workforce development study at Columbia University. The curriculum for the interpersonal skills course is based on the Langer Workforce Maturity Arc, a development tool designed to measure workplace literacy skills. Langer’s research suggested that individuals from underserved communities were capable of doing the technical work but needed additional mentoring and training to further develop their communication skills and bolster their self-esteem. Overall, the findings from analyzing the learning journals, the interviews, and the survey indicate that most participants found reflective learning journals during the WOS job training program were useful in self-reflection, gaining new perspectives on experiences, and facilitating personal and professional development. Based on the thematic analysis of the learning journals, two themes emerged: self-awareness and relationship building. Goal setting was the most frequently mentioned interpersonal skill, followed by learning skills. Teamwork emerged as the most cited skill under relationship building.

Thesis (MEdPsych) Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Completing formal education with a specific learning disability presents many challenges to the individuals concerned. For learners in special education, negative perceptions of learning disabilities and/or inaccurate and unrealistic perceptions, could result in poor outcomes in adult life, as well as feelings of frustration, helplessness and hopelessness during their transition from school to post-school environments. Such individuals need to form accurate perceptions of their own learning disabilities to ensure that they can and will advocate for themselves and will be willing and able to seek out the appropriate support needed to experience success in all spheres of life. The aim of this study was to conduct an in-depth exploration of the subjective perceptions of adolescents in special education regarding their own learning disabilities since accessing this knowledge is an important first step toward developing and providing positive and empowering interventions and support for learners in special education. The researcher aligned herself with the constructivist/interpretive paradigm and the research methodology used can be described as a basic qualitative research design. Seven participants from one special school were selected through purposive sampling. The researcher used individual semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews as well as personal documents in the form of learners' personal files to obtain data. The process of analysis employed can be described as thematic content analysis. The findings of this study suggest that adolescents are aware of the individual challenges posed by completing school with a learning disability, although this was experienced in a less debilitating sense as a result of the supportive special school context. They were aware of some of the coping strategies that needed to be implemented in order to cope with their current academic workload, but were not always aware that these would need to be extended to life after school. Generally, they were also not aware that they would need to advocate for themselves and seek out support in post-school settings. The perceptions formed of their learning disabilities were influenced by early experiences of their first awareness of their struggles with learning, their experiences of assessment and placement in a special school, the perceptions others had of their learning disabilities, as well as their experiences as learners in a special school. The most important recommendation based on the findings of this study is that learners in the special school environment need to be provided with more explicit counselling regarding the specific nature of their learning disabilities. They need to be made aware of support strategies and resources that they would be able to use in post-school environments, as well as the process of obtaining access to such resources. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Voltooiing van formele onderwys met 'n spesifieke leergestremdheid bied baie uitdagings aan die betrokke individue. Negatiewe persepsies van leergestremdhede en/of onakkurate en onrealisties persepsies kan vir leerders met spesiale onderwysbehoeftes swak uitkomste in die volwasse lewe tot gevolg hê, asook gevoelens van frustrasie, hulpeloosheid en hopeloosheid tydens hul oorgang van skool na naskoolse kontekste. Sulke individue moet 'n akkurate persepsie van hul eie leergestremdhede vorm om te verseker dat hulle gewillig self voorspraak sal maak (self-advocate) en in staat sal wees om toepaslike ondersteuning wat nodig is om sukses in alle sfere van die lewe te ervaar, uit te soek. Die doel van hierdie studie was om 'n in-diepte ondersoek van die subjektiewe persepsies van adolessente in spesiale onderwys met betrekking tot hul eie leergestremdhede te voer, aangesien toegang tot hierdie kennis 'n belangrike eerste stap in die rigting van die ontwikkeling en voorsiening van positiewe en bemagtigende ingrypings en ondersteuning vir leerders in spesiale onderwys is. Die navorser het haarself belyn met die konstruktivistiese/interpretatiewe paradigma en die navorsingsmetodologie wat gebruik is kan beskryf word as 'n basiese kwalitatiewe navorsingsontwerp. Sewe deelnemers van 'n spesiale skool is gekies deur middel van doelgerigte steekproeftrekking. Die navorser het individuele semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude en fokusgroep onderhoude gebruik, sowel as persoonlike dokumente (in die vorm van die leerders se persoonlike lêers) om data te verkry. Die proses van analise wat toegepas word kan beskryf word as tematiese inhoud-analise. Die bevindinge van hierdie studie dui daarop dat adolessente bewus is van die individuele uitdagings wat aan hul gestel word deur die voltooiing van skool met 'n leergestremdheid. Tog was dit in 'n minder aftakelende sin ervaar as gevolg van die ondersteunende spesiale skool konteks waarin hul hulself bevind. Oor die algemeen was hulle nie bewus daarvan dat hulle self voorspraak (self-advocacy) sal moet maak vir ondersteuning in naskoolse kontekste nie. Die persepsies wat van hul leergestremdhede gevorm word is beïnvloed deur vroeë ervarings van hul eerste bewustheid van hul stryd om te leer, hul ervarings van die asseseringsproses en plasing in 'n spesiale skool, die persepsies wat ander van hul leergestremdhede het, sowel as hul ervarings as leerders in 'n spesiale skool. Die belangrikste aanbeveling gebaseer op die bevindinge van hierdie studie is dat die leerders in die omgewing van die spesiale skool voorsien moet word van meer eksplisiete voorligting ten opsigte van die spesifieke aard van hul leergestremdhede. Hulle moet bewus gemaak word van strategieë en hulpbronne wat hul moontlik kan gebruik in die naskoolse omgewings, asook die proses van die verkryging van toegang tot sodanige hulpbronne.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education