The quality of education in most historically black schools is a source of concern for many people. The high failure rate in mathematics in particular, is believed to result in part, from the inadequacy of the teacher preparation programs at many of the colleges of education in the country. Esikhawini College of Education in KwaZulu-Natal is one of the colleges which is involved in the preparation of secondary school mathematics teachers. The appropriateness of the mathematics curriculum of this College was the subject of the study. In particular, the study aimed at the following: (i) To analyse aims and philosophies underlying the prescribed mathematics curriculum of the College. (ii) To establish the teacher educators' and student teachers' perceptions of the appropriateness of the curriculum in general. (iii) To establish the teacher educators' and student teachers' perceptions of the mathematics curriculum content and processes. (iv) To establish the quality of available materials used at the College for realisation of the curriculum goals. (v) To offer proposals and recommendations for the improvement of the education of prospective secondary mathematics teachers. Data about the perceptions of the appropriateness of the mathematics curriculum was gathered through a questionnaire which was administered to one hundred and one student teachers. The issues that arose from the questionnaire study were followed up by an interview study. The interview schedule was administered to a sample of fourteen student teachers and all six mathematics teacher educators in the College. In addition, a survey of mathematics materials available at the College library and in the mathematics department was carried out to collect further data. Some of the significant findings of the, study were : • Limitations in the College mathematics curriculum in as far as the curriculum content and processes were concerned. • Inadequacy of mathematics curriculum materials that were available and used at the College. • Low attainment in mathematics at matriculation level of most of the student teachers. • Widespread dissatisfaction with the curriculum, especially that of Mathematics Didactics. The implications of the findings for the College were considered. Amongst other suggestions is the suggestion that the College introduces a preliminary STD course in which prospective student teachers' mathematics background is enriched to enable them to cope with the demands of the College curriculum.

D.Ed. / Currently, the passrate for Engineering Drawing presented at Technical Colleges is unacceptably low. This study is an extension of an earlier study done in the same studyfield, by the same writer. A need has thus arisen not only to investigate the problem areas responsible for the high drop-out rate in Engineering Drawing, but also to investigate the possibility of the early identification of the potential riskstudent in Engineering Drawing. In an attempt to address this problein further, the aim of this study therefore is to develop an appropriate measuring instrument which may be used to identify the potential riskstudent in Engineering Drawing. Five Technical Colleges on the Eastrand in the Gauteng Province - catering mainly for black students - were included in the investigation. For the research study the "Trade Aptitude Test Battery" (TRAT), compiled by the Human Sciences Research Counil, was used. The results of this study, clearly showed three-dimensional spatial perception (subtest 16 of the TRAT) as the only factor to be used when identifying the potential riskstudent in Engineering Drawing. Subtest 16 of the TRAT could then be used as an "criterion" to identify the potential riskstudent in Engineering Drawing. Lastly this study showed that to master Engineering Drawing requires a great deal of spatial ability. Lecturers presenting this subject will therefore have to take into account the recommendations of this study as set out in chapter 9 when enrolling students for Engineering Drawing. Subject specific remedial programmes should be utilized to improve the successrate in Engeneering Drawing of the identified potential riskstudent in Engineering Drawing.

M.Ed. / South Africa is faced with the challenge of reconstruction and social recovery having held its .first democratic elections in 1994. Education was central to the discursive process of racial and cultural segregation (Baxen & Soudien 1999: 131). After the 1994 elections the whole education dispensation in South Africa was bound to change dramatically. This is a logical deduction since new role players will always have a new vision, in order to spell out the new roads to be embarked upon. Jansen (1999:145) puts it as follows: "...OBE as primarily a political response to apartheid schooling rather than one which is concerned with the modalities of change at classroom level". A multitude of changes have taken place in the interim. One of the major changes was legislation that provided for the establishment of SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority). The Act was promulgated in 1996, Act 58 of 1996. The main objective of SAQA is to provide for the development and implementation of the NQF (National Qualifications Framework). The NQF brought about a new structure regarding bands of education and levels of qualifications within the said bands. (Refer to diagram 1). According to Pretorius (1998:4) the framework of the NQF makes provision for life-long learning opportunities and levels of qualifications nationally agreed upon.

M.Ed. (Multiculturalism and Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / The purpose of this study is to get parents of black pupils in the senior primary phase of state-aided (model C) schools to evaluate the curriculum. After a short period of gradually being opened to pupils ,of all races, schools which has obviously been-government schools became state-aided, or semi-private schools. This meant that school had the liberty to decide on their own admissions policy. Most English medium schools became-so called open schools, that is, they decided to admit pupils of all races. Although the target population for the curriculum had thus changed, there was no adjustment to the curriculum. Teaching carried on as it had always done, with there being no mention of any form of multicultural education; the schools became assimilatory schools. In order to determine the attitude of the parents and to gauge what could be done about this problem, this study was embarked upon. A literature study of the curriculum, multicultural education and parental involvement in their child's schooling, with particular reference to the curriculum, was conducted in order to serve as a theoretical background and to act as a yardstick against which conclusions and recommendations could be made.

M.Ed. (Curriculum Science) / The demands for the renewal of education in South Africa and the poor performance of black learners in the Standerd 10 final examination in Home Economics gave rise to the empirical study on the needs of black learners. These needs were used as a co-determinant for the design of a future subject curriculum. A literature study was conducted on curriculum designs and design models which resulted in a recommended design model. The qualitative research paradigm was used for the empirical study. Data were collected through interviews supplemented by document-analysis. The research focused on the needs of the learners concerning: The relevance of the subject, i.e to what extent the subject is related to the learners' everyday life experiences and interest. The subject content as it could be applied in the daily lives of learners as well as the future world of work. Teaching methods, which include methods that contribute towards maximum learning and which accomodate learners' differences. Evaluation as an integral part of the implementation of the curriculum. Identified learner needs were taken into consideration in compiling guidelines on the different elements of a future curriculum design for Home Economics where both the learners' needs and the requirements of the subject will be accomodated.

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / The future economic development of South Africa largely depends on the training of a career-skilled corps of workers. The current conventional educational system cannot provide in the demand for a career-skilled corps of workers on a large scale. Distance education in its different variations is gaining ground in increasing measure and can be regarded as a possible solution for the educational problem. Because of the distance between the lecturer and the student intensive attention needs to be given to the study material - especially the arrangement of the learning content to make the learning experience more effective. The design of a modular training program is a possible method to ensure effective self-study material. Modular training is aimed at accompa- nying the student meaningfully through objective-directed learning content. The Technical College of South Africa (Technisa) is one of South.Africa's distance education institutions. Currently a movement is taking place in the direction of a type of modular training which is known as the Technisa Modular Training (TMT) programme. One of the career-orientated subjects offered is Technical Drawing. In order to offer the training of Technical Drawing more effectively the subject contents are ordered according to the Technisa Modular Training programme. In this study a literature study has been done to define the concept distance education; to list the advantages and disadvantages; to scrutinise the total modular system as teaching strategy; to determine the components of a subject curriculum and adjust it according to the Technisa Modular Training programme.

Principals were struggling with the interpretation of their roles in the implementation of the NCS in South African schools, parlty due to the huge change and complexity of the NCS. It was found that principals did not understand their roles in the implementation of the NCS, and as a result did not develop staff, were not familiar with the roles of educators as specified by policy and shifted the burden of developing educators to the Department of Education. A qualitative research approach was employed. A reputational case sampling was conducted on three secondary school principals in the KZN Vryheid District. A semi structured interview and a semi-structured questionaire were employed on these three principals to gather data. Theme analysis was used to determine how principals interpreted their roles in the implementation of the NCS. I found that principals did not have enough understanding of their roles in the implementation of the NCS. However, principals complained that the Department of Education was more concerned about expanding access to education than quality of education. They also lamented that teachers had a low self- esteem with the profession. I found that principals required detailed workshops on their roles in the implementation of the NCS, ongoing curriculum leadership training, and required LTSM resources and equipped laboratories.

The purpose of the study was to investigate teacher receptivity of a new curriculum, in particular, the new integrated curriculum of South Africa. As the New Revised national curriculum Statement is starting to be operational this year, Curriculum 2005 was used as a model of an integrated curriculum in this study. The study focused on the following sub-problems: the meaning of an integrated curriculum; teacher receptivity of an integrated curriculum; and the extent to which teachers are receptive of the new integrated foundation phase curriculum. The review of relevant literature provided a conceptual framework for the study. Six dimensions of a curriculum that were regarded as critical in classroom practice for practicing teachers were identified and used to describe an integrated curriculum. These were: platform, learning outcomes, content, instructional materials, teaching and learning strategies and assessment. The conceptual framework for teacher receptivity was also identified by means of review of relevant literature. Teacher receptivity was conceptualised as comprising of attitudes and behavioral intentions. The empirical part of the study was undertaken to determine the attitudes of teachers towards an integrated foundation phase curriculum and the extent to which foundation phase teachers were receptive of the new curriculum. The sample for the empirical part of the study included 63 foundation phase teachers randomly selected from 21 schools in Herschel District. The schools were randomly selected from 3 zones which had been randomly selected from 7 zones that make up Hershel Educational District in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Empirical data on teachers’ attitudes towards an integrated curriculum indicated that the majority of teachers were viewed the curriculum in an extremely positive light/somewhat positive light. There were responses which indicated that some teachers regarded the curriculum as complicated, restrictive, and idealistic. This situation is highlighted in their responses to the semantic differential on the attitude objects of the curriculum. Data on teacher receptivity indicated positive responses but vi there were some area of concern such as, for example, support from the district manager, school and the community. Data indicated that teachers were not so positive abut learning outcomes and assessment as a basis of teaching an integrated curriculum. Based on the empirical part of the study, conclusions and recommendations were made.