The field of psychological assessment in South African schools faces many challenges at present. To be able to meaningfully respond to these challenges, it was important to gain an understanding of how psychological assessment is being perceived by educators, whether as being necessary (or not), in their workplace. The study aimed to gather information and generate knowledge in order to provide some pointers about the educators’ perceived use of psychological assessment measures. Thereafter, analyse their perceptions in terms of these assessments. It was a mixed study using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The proposed sample was seventy-five (n = 75) educators from former model-c and township schools. Data was collected through the use of a self-response questionnaire (quantitative) and then used to identify themes. The identified themes were then used for discussion in focus group interviews (qualitative). Descriptive and thematic content analysis were used for the interpretation of the research data and triangulation thereof.

Music in the learning area Arts and Culture and the subject Music fight for survival in rural South Africa. Neither more experienced educators nor new generalist teachers were trained to teach the four art forms of Arts and Culture. Courses for Arts and Culture as learning area at universities are scarce and the courses that do exist mostly cater for students who already have a background in music. Other courses again only cover two or three art forms and do not follow the actual school curriculum for Arts and Culture. This then leaves the educator unprepared to deal with the realities of the learning area. Many principals and educators regard Arts and Culture as a filler subject for educators who do not have enough lessons on their timetables. The lack of knowledge amongst educators, a curriculum with no logical progression and scarcity of resources have resulted in learners who are inadequately prepared for and not interested to continue with Music as subject in grade 10 to 12 which in turn leads to fewer music students at universities and fewer music educators. This thesis aimed to pinpoint some of the challenges in Music and suggest possible solutions to start a remedial process to get Music back into schools. Educators, principals and subject advisors were consulted regarding the challenges they are experiencing in music and suggestions and possible solutions were sought from literature and experts in the field of music. The finding has been that similar challenges are experienced throughout South Africa and these challenges are amplified in rural areas. The present situation where untrained educators have to teach a specialist area like music as part of Arts and Culture can only be improved with an ongoing process of intensive workshops and mentoring programmes for in-service educators by subject advisors who are qualified in music and music experts who have an in-depth knowledge of the school curriculum. It will also be advisable for the Department of Basic Education to appoint more subject advisors and also appoint them according to their specialization area/s so that they are capable of assisting educators effectively. / Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Music / unrestricted

Published Articles / The dawn of a democratic South Africa in 1994 established a society entrenched in Human Rights milieu. As such, public schools are meant to align their policies with the rule of the law. Particularly, section 10 (1) of South African Schools Act, 84 1996 (hereafter SASA) respectfully prohibits the administration of corporal punishment directed at a learner in public schools. The subsequent section 10 (2) of SASA admonishes that any person contravening section 10 (1) of SASA is liable on conviction to a sentence which could be imposed for assault. These mentioned provisions of the school legislation are consistent with section 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) which affords every person the inherent right to dignity of the person. Against the afore-mentioned legislative provisions, teachers have resorted to the use of sarcasm as a tool to inflict punishment in the manner that it could be equated with corporal punishment. Sarcasm is a form of language that is used to cause emotional and psychological harm, belittle, ridicule and humiliate the person it directed at. Judged against the provisions of the legislation governing schools in South African public schools, sarcasm could be said to be a direct violation of fundamental rights of learners to dignity of the person. In order to explore the intonation of sarcasm as supplement for corporal punishment the research paper employed a qualitative critical emancipatory research (CER) approach. Data gathered through a purposive sample of ten secondary teachers was analysed by the use of textual oriented discourse analyses.

This research attempts to explore how African immigrant teachers in South African schools reconstructed their professional identities. In this study African immigrant teachers are those teachers who have undergone teacher professional training in an African country other than South Africa. The study was qualitative in nature and utilized narrative inquiry and the case study approach. Data-gathering techniques included a mix of semi-structured interviews, observations, focus group interviews, field notes and a researcher’s journal (multiple variable sampling of five different South African public schools- one African immigrant teacher per school; school principals and focus group interviews of learners who were students of the immigrant teachers). Data analysis made use of grounded theory and content analysis. Findings from the study were fourfold: First, African immigrant teachers in South African schools cultivated good relationships with colleagues and administrators in order to reconstruct their professional identities. Second, they developed special traits such as perseverance and resilience. Third, access to opportunities, resources and materials in their schools were useful. Fourth, immediate employment on arrival in South Africa was available. Apart from factors that promoted the reconstruction of African immigrant teachers’ professional identities, there are also factors that opposed the reconstruction of their professional identities, namely their immigration status, their employment status and the attitudes of indigenous learners towards them. The new knowledge that was generated indicated that African immigrant teachers in South African schools are considered desirable and indispensable partners by employers, colleagues, administrators and learners. This is in contrast to the general perception in the literature that immigrant teachers are mere work seekers; opportunists and desperate individuals who are not an asset to the host country. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Humanities Education / MEd / Unrestricted

The study examines how the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) is currently being implemented in South African schools. It focuses on the contradictory discourses found within the IQMS, i.e. accountability and professional development. I argue that these two discourses are in a problematic relationship to one another. They can therefore only be implemented simultaneously with great difficulty. Emphasis is also placed on the importance of context when implementing policy, also referred to as policy 'enactment' (Ball, Maguire & Braun 2011). It is argued that policy is interpreted and made sense of differently, depending on the context. Context matters on two levels. First, because the IQMS contains both international and national ideas. The former deals with the neoliberal and global trends encompassed within accountability, while the latter is a discourse aimed at addressing uniquely localised education issues in South Africa. Second, context matters insofar as the IQMS is implemented in different school and classroom contexts in South Africa. In an effort to understand teachers and school management team members' perceptions of accountability and professional development in the IQMS, a qualitative, multiple case study design was used. Teachers and school management team members were interviewed at two distinct schools, one former model C school and one township school in order to determine different contexts' effects on the enactment of the IQMS. By conducting qualitative case studies, the perceptions and experiences of teachers in real life settings are depicted. What emerged was criticism of the IQMS across contexts, in that it neither effectively holds teachers accountable nor professionally develops them. Although context did not influence teachers' views and perceptions of the IQMS, it did influence the extent to which they met certain IQMS requirements. Other noteworthy findings include South African teachers' acceptance of high-stakes accountability and, contrary to the literature, teachers stating that they prefer more, albeit revised, ways to evaluate their work. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Early Childhood Education / MEd / Unrestricted

After the ushering of the democratic dispensation in 1994 an increased diversity in the society and schools of South Africa resulted from the policies and legislations adopted to integrate the earlier ethnically divided educated system. This democratic dispensation did not only bring about political change, but also aimed at democratising the education system and eradicating the inequalities of the past. This is in line with the constitution of South Africa which provides all children, young people and adults with human rights and education benefits. The South African public schools' educators are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that all learners with different educational needs are taught in a regular classroom. Providing teaching to multicultural classes requires positive experiences and support of inclusive schooling. The purpose of the study is to establish the challenges of teaching inclusive education in a multicultural class in the Gauteng Province public primary schools. This study used a qualitative research approach where participants were interviewed using one-on-one semi structured interviews and probes for clarity and depth. Data was analyzed inductively so as to use the results of the analysis as basis for subsequent data collection through follow up interviews. Ten (10) post level one educators from five multicultural primary schools managing challenges of inclusive education (Foundation Phase and Intermediate Phase) were purposively sampled. Official documents like the White Paper 6 (2001) on the rights of learners with educational needs, and the South African Schools Act (1996) were analyzed to get information on how educators should go about teaching inclusive education to multicultural classes. The findings of the study will contribute to the knowledge base on the management of challenges of inclusive education in multicultural public primary schools about the support structures required and may also inform policy makers. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

All people seek information for various reasons sometime during their lifetime. How this process has been researched and documented by various researchers is covered in this thesis, showing how the insights and lessons from various Information Seeking Models in the literature have informed and enriched this study. These models provide a good understanding of the study field and frameworks to explain the different elements of the information seeking process. All available Information Seeking Models, however, are developed based on the assumption that information seeking is performed by people with sight. How applicable these Information Seeking Models are for people who are blind and/or visually impaired is not addressed in the research. There are a number of different realities for a blind and visually impaired person seeking information, e.g. the accessibility of the technology to access the information, the accessibility of the information once it is located, the availability of technologies to assist the blind and visually impaired person to enable him/her to seek information, the availability of other people to assist the blind and visually impaired person during the information seeking process are just some of the challenges not addressed by existing Information Seeking Models. The purpose of this study is therefore to give an overview of existing Information Seeking Models and then to focus on the two leading researchers in the field, i.e. C. Kuhlthau and T.D. Wilson. These models of the information seeking process were contextualised and assessed in relation with the information needs model of N. Moore who researched the information needs of blind and visually impaired people. Based on the work of the three researchers a survey instrument was developed to determine the information seeking process of Grade 12 learners at five South African Schools for the Blind. Since Grade 12 learners must decide about their future, after completing school, it was decided to research how Grade 12 learners seek information to assist them to decide about tertiary studies or work options. The study included learners who had not yet started the information seeking process in this regard. A research instrument was designed to collect data to investigate the information seeking processes of the Grade 12 learners in order to assess the extent to which they correlated with the Information Seeking Models of Kuhlthau (1991) and Wilson (1999). The qualitative research method was followed in this study which was located in a constructivist paradigm. Interviews were conducted with 43 learners at the five schools for the blind representing the total population of Grade 12 learners registered at the selected schools. The literature confirms that low population sizes are customary when researching blind and visually impaired people. Face-to-face interviews were conducted at the five schools. The findings of the interviews were analysed through a framework analysis. Thereafter, a gap analysis was conducted to determine to what extent the findings correlated to or differed from the Information Seeking Models. From this analysis seven components were identified as part of the design of the Inclusive Information Seeking Model applicable to blind and visually impaired Grade 12 learners, a major outcome of the study. A broader application of the model is suggested. This Inclusive Information Seeking Model will raise awareness and assist people working in an information environment to make the necessary provisions, to ensure that the information seeking process for blind and visually impaired people is as successful as possible with available resources.

The Schools Act has brought about a change in the way in which schools are managed and governed. Each public school should be governed by a governing body and the professional management of the school is vested in the principal (South African Schools Act, 1996b). The governing body of a special needs school consists of various role-players that include, among others, parents, educators, learners, and representatives of sponsoring bodies and of various organisations. Furthermore, these role-players should be knowledgeable about the legal requirements pertaining to the functions of a governing body. It is legally expected of each governing body member to know what the legal requirements of a governing body are. The governing body is expected to draft the school’s policies, such as the language policy, admission policy, religious policy, disciplinary policy and the financial policy (Schools Act, 1996). There are various types of public schools: mainstream schools [full-service schools] and special needs schools [special needs schools as resource centres] (DoE, 2005). Very little research has been conducted on the governance of special needs schools. The governance of a special needs school is more complicated than that of a mainstream school in respect to drafting the various policies. There are aspects such as limited resources to accommodate specific disabilities and the type of disability that the school caters for in terms of the admission policy that must be kept in mind. These aspects complicate the governance of special needs schools and require more thought and planning (Department of Education, 2007). This research specifically focuses on the governance of special needs schools and the aspirations that the individual governing body members of these schools have. The governing body members come from different backgrounds; they have differentqualifications and different experiences. These factors contribute to the ideas (aspirations) that they have in terms of their role as governing body members. The aspirations of the governing body members should correlate with the various school policies, due to the fact that the governing body draft these policies. The policy documents provide a clear indication of where the school is heading and of its mission. Not only should the governing body participants’ aspirations correlate with the school’s policies; they should also correlate with the legal requirements set out in the Schools Act. This research consists of two separate case studies relating to two special needs schools. Three governing body members from each school were interviewed, using semi-structured interviews. The semi-structured interviews assisted in ensuring that the participants were understood correctly and in getting clarity on certain aspects that were addressed. The various policy documents of each school were analysed to establish an idea of the school’s mission and for the purpose of triangulation. These documents include, among others, the language policy, admission policy, religious policy and the code of conduct for learners. The interview responses and the documents were compared to establish to what extent the governing body members’ aspirations correlate with the policy documents. The schools were not compared in any way; each school was regarded as an individual entity. In this study the following has been found: <ul> <li>1. Governing body members are not fully briefed or knowledgeable about their functions.</li> <li>2. Governing body members refuse to attend training sessions provided by the Head of Department on grounds that these sessions are not meaningful or convenient.</li> <li>3. Most of the schools’ policy documents, such as admission policies, language policies and religious policies have not been revised in up to nine years.</li> <li>4. Some of the participants in the research contradicted one another and the schools’ policy documents.</li> </ul> In conclusion it can be stated that the governing body members who participated in this research have served on governing bodies for many years, the shortest term of service being four years; they should be knowledgeable about their function and should have the best interest of the school at heart. This seems to be in contradiction to the findings of this research. Even though the governing body members lack sufficient knowledge and insight, they are extremely positive and have the best interest of the learner at heart. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study was initiated while the researcher was still an educator at' a secondary school in Cape' Town, South Africa. This was the period of the mid-1990s soon after the first democratically elected government assumed power in -South Africa: During this period of transition, large-scale reforms were expected on', the, education- front. Educational management and specifically school management were an integral part of these reforms. In terms of school management the idea of parents taking. on a greater .role was receiving wide support. School governing bodies (SGBs) comprising various constituencies and with greater powers were supposed to be the instrument spearheading change in school management. .This study traverses three levels of policy development: national, provincial and local (that is, school). It seeks to understand how school governance policy is developed and implemented using the principle of contestation to guide the analysis. The following questions guided the research: What were the contestations which led to the development of school governance policy at national level? How was provincial school governance policy developed from national policy and what were the areas of contention between the two? • What were the contestations resulting from implementation of school governance policy at the school level? At all three levels the discussion of the contestations was limited to the powers and functions of SGBs. By shedding more light on the above questions, it was hoped that the nature of policy contestation would become clearer. This in turn could enhance the study of policy This study was primarily qualitative in orientation with the principal means of data-gathering being: documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews and observation. Documents produced at the national and provincial levels (Acts, Bills, Reports, White Papers and so forth) as well as submissions made by various organizations from different sectors in society were carefully analysed using specific criteria. Other documents analysed included circulars from the provincial education department, documents discussed Within the school governing body selected for the study, and articles from newspaper publications. Interviews were conducted with key informants at national, provincial and school levels. At the school level, observation of five governing body meetings were undertaken analysis and development. This study revealed that the key issues in SGB functioning that formed the focus for contestation were: the charging of school fees; the':·employment of additional staff; admission-; language-; religious observance policy;". and relative powers of the MEe/HOD/SGBs. One of the greatest immediate challenges facing the majority of school governing bodies in South Africa is the lack of capacity in terms of material, financial and human resources. This study provides recommendations about how to address some of these challenges, and also identifies some important areas for future research.

Language proficiency in the language of learning and teaching (LOLT) is essential for academic success. In South Africa and elsewhere, many secondary school learners lack the required academic proficiency in English, the language of learning and teaching. The English language proficiency of Xitsonga speaking Grade 7 learners was evaluated in order to suggest ways in which these learners could be helped to maximise academic success. The author investigated theories of first and second language acquisition by means of a literature study and presented an overview of language policy in South African schooling before and after 1994. A sample of Grade 7 Xitsonga speaking learners was selected from three secondary schools in the Tshwane metropolitan area, Gauteng Province. Language proficiency levels were determined by means of the Human Sciences Research Council's Standardised English Reading and Writing Proficiency Tests. These tests were also translated into Xitsonga and administered to the learners. The tests were administered a month apart in each of the schools. The tests revealed that: * there is a significant correlation between the learner's performance in the reading and writing performance test for both languages * the learners' reading and oral skills in both languages correlate * irrespective of the level of language proficiency, most learners performed poorly in their reading skills, such as, recognising inferences related to tone, punctuation, different types of discourse as well as the prevailing atmosphere. The greatest weaknesses were in learners': * failure to understand instructions, which meant that their responses to task demands were inadequate * inappropriate use of tone register and spelling errors * incorrect use of punctuation and verb tenses. The analysis of the learner's performance in both English and Xitsonga showed that these learners were generally not capable of handling the requirements of the Grade 7 curriculum. It was recommended that the learners be guided to make optimal use of existing facilities, such as, libraries. This could enhance the learners' language development. Using learners' L1 as a medium of instruction for cognitively demanding texts and intensive in-service and pre-service training for language teachers are also recommended. / Educational Foundations / D.Ed. (Comparative Education)