Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public Sector Monitoring and Evaluation) to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand March 2016 / Performance information is regarded as the most important aspect to monitor progress or performance in the South African government. This study examines the usefulness of performance information in the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. [Abbreviated abstract. Open document to view full version] / MT 2018

No coherent theory about the practice of South African intermediate phase school textbook evaluation has been forthcoming since the advent of a new South African school curriculum in 1998. This deficiency has had an adverse effect on the quality of intermediate phase school textbooks, as well as on the capacity to assess their value. This research project, therefore, had two aims. The first was to articulate a theory about the practice of textbook evaluation. The second was to develop a procedure for evaluating South African intermediate phase school textbooks in terms of the theory. The research method was underpinned by the interpretive research paradigm in terms of which relevant data were analysed and interpreted. The data emanated from a literature review, an analysis of the national Department of Education’s Revised National Curriculum Statement and its draft policy for the evaluation of learning support material, and two surveys. The first survey comprised a sample of intermediate phase teachers and the second a sample of intermediate phase textbook authors. Sufficient evidence was found to conclude that the capabilities of the authoring team, the authors’ rationale and their observance of the process of learning and instruction, the accessibility of the textbook, the availability of teacher support, meeting the requirements of the Revised National Curriculum Statement, and certain key notions about textbook evaluation play a role in articulating a theory about textbook evaluation in order to guide the process of determining the effectiveness of South African intermediate phase school textbooks. Based on the above-mentioned theory, this study proposes a procedure to assist teachers and textbook evaluators to assess the worth of South African intermediate phase school textbooks in a brief, systematic, thorough, rigorous, and practical manner.

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / The purpose of this research is to set a structure for the practical training of N-course apprentices. This research focuses on the practical training of apprentices in the telecommunications field. However it has become clear that this structure can be applied to other fields of practical training for apprentices as well. It is important for all training officials who deal with practical training in the technical field to keep pace with the latest development in competency-based training in the technological world. Modular practical training focuses on the ability of the apprentice to master specific skills as required in his field of training. The training program comprises a set of instruction modules with set objectives which can be obtained only if followed by carrying out specific actions. The important characteristic of modular training is that the apprentice is expected to master all the modules set for his particular field of occupation at his own pace according to his individual talents and abilities. The individual trainee is held responsible for succesfully mastering all practical objectives set to him. These modules are arranged progressively and progress is measured with definite performance criteria. A practical module is a complete instructional unit. It comprises aims, objectives, a pre-test, contents with resource material and a final criterium test.

M.Ed. (Education) / South-Africa is on the verge of a new lifestyle, a new way of thinking and doing. The task thrust upon the teacher of today for preparing the adults of the future, is therefore a very important one. But the present teachers are not going to be there for ever, new teachers are entering the educational system all the time. The preparation of these new teachers is the focus of this study. Students qualifying as teachers need to undergo a programme of preparation to be professionally acceptable. The course of this study is both theoretical and practical. The student must have a fundamental knowledge of children, as well as the subject . matter that they must make fundamental for the children. If they know the child, and they know the subject matter, they should also be capable of conveying this knowledge successful]y to the child. This is a complex action that cannot be done only with knowledge from a book or books, but must be practised during the preparation of the students, otherwise no help can be given to the student. This is where practice teaching plays a very important role. The importance of practice teaching cannot be underestimated. The preparation of teachers may not be only theoretical or only practical, but an integration of the two aspects. With the theoretical foundation, the students set Qut for practice teaching. At the schools they interact with other teachers and with children, and prepare lessons to present to their supervisors. This is where different points of view occur over what really happened during the lesson, how the ,practice lesson should have been presented and how the student should have been evaluated on his performance. Lots of students do not think that these practice les80ns are worth while and the whole idea of practice teaching is lost. To counteract this negative feeling from students, research was done to determine which problems students experience during practice teaching. Some procedures have been identified as problems, and some procedures not. The feelings of the students were noted and the handling of practice teaching by all parties was investigated. To ensure that practice teaching has a profound impact on students, a form to evaluate the students was designed. This form aims to set aside some subjective measures that may result in negative attitudes by students. The evaluation forms of some universities and colleges have been evaluated to find a way of trying to motivate students through the process of evaluation during practice teaching.

M.A.(Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Research in partial fulfilment of the degree: M.COM (by course work) University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg / Andrew Chakane 2018

D.Ed. (Education Management) / The literature on teacher traInIng shows that an effective balance between the academic, professional and practical components of a teacher training programme is essential. The literature on teacher traInIng shows that an effective balance between the academic, professional and practical components of a teacher training programme is essential. Despite the general acceptance of this fact, there are still widespread misgivings about the absence of the desired balance between the various components. Although. this reference regards the total training programme of teachers, the same can also be said about the more specific training aimed at the creating of properly constituted didactical situations. The problem of ineffective integration between the theoretical and practical components in the training of teachers in constituting didactical situations is regarded as the central problem of this study. In order to probe this problem several sub-problems had to be resolved, namely: the problem regarding the need for a justifiable practice theory (didactical performance theory) that will provide integrated theoretical and practical guidelines for establishing school based practice (supplying a basis for practice oriented training); the problem regarding the choice of a properly founded point of departure that would give access to a practice-oriented theory (didactical performance theory); the problem involving reliable guidelines for a training programme and, specifically, an integrated theoretical and practical programme for students in order to constitute purposeful secondary didactic situations. Emanating from Despite the general acceptance of this fact, there are still widespread misgivings about the absence of the desired balance between the various components. Although. this reference regards the total training programme of teachers, the same can also be said about the more specific training aimed at the creating of properly constituted didactical situations. The problem of ineffective integration between the theoretical and practical components in the training of teachers in constituting didactical situations is regarded as the central problem of this study. In order to probe this problem several sub-problems had to be resolved, namely: the problem regarding the need for a justifiable practice theory (didactical performance theory) that will provide integrated theoretical and practical guidelines for establishing school based practice (supplying a basis for practiceoriented training); the problem regarding the choice of a properly founded point of departure that would give access to a practice-oriented theory (didactical performance theory); the problem involving reliable guidelines for a training programme and, specifically, an integrated theoretical and practical programme for students in order to constitute purposeful secondary didactic situations.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits School of Governance, 2017 / Since 1994, the new democratically elected government has embarked on a series of massive initiatives, policies and programmes to improve municipal service delivery performance. Municipalities are, however, still incapable of fulfilling their designated service delivery mandate. The preliminary study of this research discovered that the current municipal monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems, although they are legislated to serve as an early warning system (EWS), do not have essential components of an EWS and, as a result, cannot alert key players and stakeholders of developing problematic trends in municipal service delivery processes. The research examined the extent to which the current M&E system of the City of Johannesburg contains the components of an EWS. The purpose is to design and propose a model of M&E system that can serve as an EWS and enable municipalities to receive advance information about potential problems, and then to implement the necessary corrective interventions. Using a qualitative and a casestudy methodology, data were collected through observation, interviews, focus-group discussions (FGDs) and documentary study. Root cause, thematic analysis and data categorisation were used to analyse data. The findings indicate that early warning signals exist and are noticed by some officials and staff, but no mechanism or budget exists to enable them to use the knowledge (i.e., no EWS exists). An important original finding this study makes is that one of the root causes of municipal problems is the state of alienation municipal workers and managers across race and class experience, which results in silo mentality of workers, departments and sectors, and fragmentation throughout planning, functionalities, information and knowledge, as the effects of alienation on municipal performance have not been in the local government discourse. Conceptually, it argues that the M&E concept and framework need to be re-designed to encompass and build-in the concept of EWS, and, in turn, proposes a model of proactive M&E (pM&E), i.e., an M&E system integrated with EWS components, and therefore serves as an EWS. Moreover, it also suggests that concept and approach of the Weak Signals Theory (WST) is applicable in an M&E framework, but would be hard to use in “municipal” M&E systems, for three reasons: capacity constraint, political, and the multi-sectorial nature of the municipal system. ■ ii KEY WORDS Local government, Municipal service delivery processes, Municipal service delivery challenges, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), pM&E (proactive M&E), eM&E (M&E system integrated with EWS components and therefore serves as an EWS), Early Warning System (EWS), Weak Signal Theory, Alienation, Alienation in local government context / GR2018

M.A. (Social Work) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Com. (Economics) / Tourism is generally regarded as the world's largest and fastest growing industry. As such it is a major employer and earner of foreign exchange and in many countries constitutes a significant component of the national economy. Although tourism can play an important role in promoting economic growth and development, its potential is determined by factors such as the existence of unique tourist attractions, the presence of natural resources, general economic conditions and political stability. The primary goal of this study has been to determine to what extent co-operation agreements between Southern African countries can contribute to the promotion of tourism to the region. The main approach of the study was to carry out a literature survey of the activities, . programmes and objectives of the institutions and organisations responsible for the promotion of tourism inSouthern Africa. For the purposes of this study, the Southern African region is regarded as consisting of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The study also considers the tourism potential of the area in terms of physical; economic and infrastructural criteria. The study has found that the Southern African region has outstanding tourism potential, based on its physical features. Each country in the region offers a variety of unique and divergent tourist attractions which can be regarded as complementary to each other. As a result the tourism potential of the region can contribute to continued economic development and growth. The study has however, found that a number of factors are limiting the optimal development of the tourism industry. These include: a lack of close co-operation between states, inadequate safety and security, insufficient economic growth and development and an infrastructure which does not support the optimal development of tourism in the region. The study recommends that all countries in the region should engage more closely with each other to develop marketing programmes aimed at exploiting the unique features of the region. To optimise the role of the tourism industry, it is recommended that both the public and private sectors, together with the community, should share the responsibility for its development. Tourism is essentially a community activity and all residents and organisations should be involved in its development promotion. In the light of the inadequate transport infrastructure which exists to promote tourism it is recommended that regional links be upgraded to allow member countries to connect with the comprehensive transport network in South Africa. This will contribute to regional co-operation and, since transport reaches across national boundaries, promote the optimal application of transport services within a much wider area. The study clearly indicates that, in the light of the newclimate of co-operation inthe Southern African region since the early 1990's, the role of South Africa within the context of co-operation agreements be clarified. The entire region can take advantage of South Africa's technical know-how and comprehensive transport infrastructure by maintaining closer relationships with South Africa. It is however, necessary to ensure that co-operation agreements incorporate the necessary safeguards to ensure that South Africa does not dominate its partners.