It's almost like a dinner party and a buffet. A dinner party you get dished up stuff and you eat it and a buffet you can choose what you want out of a range of stuff. I mean think about it when you go to a dinner party- they always dish up something you don't like and you don't want to eat it anyway. It's the same if you have a lecturer in the front that just dishes out what you're going to learn, ... you have to learn it. But in terms of the curriculum negotiation process, I've got to choose what I wanted to leam. (Melissa II 27/11/01: 3) This thesis focuses on the process of negotiating the curriculum with twelve pre-service teachers registered for the Bachelor of Education (Primary) Degree during their Mathematics Education Course in their third year of study. The research is presented methodologically as an action research located within two paradigmatic positions, interpretive and critical. The research attempted to understand, interpret and critique the process of curriculum negotiation within the context of teacher education in South Africa In order to understand the negotiated curriculum process, experiences of the participants are presented through the use of their voices within the thesis. The interpretation is based on the construction and reconstruction of meaning during the enactment of the negotiated curriculum process and during the writing and reviewing of this thesis. The critique is rooted in the historical, cultural and social contexts of both the students and the author. The main contention of this thesis is that curriculum negotiation is not necessarily a suitable vehicle for developing a critical pedagogy in pre-service teacher education when all the participants form a homogenous group in this case, white middle-class women. The democratic values promoted within the context of our curriculum negotiation were fraught with dilemmas and entrenched the values of western liberalism. At most, the curriculum negotiation process and the development of a democratic learning environment, promoted a conscientisation at an individual level, namely a ' transformation of consciousness' . The democratic values promoted in our pedagogy were not sufficient in bringing about social change, a 'transformation for social action'.

South Africa is a water - scarce country and will be facing a serious water shortage by approximately 2020. The study, that aims to establish attitudes towards the use of water and to examine the role of education in ensuring responsible use of water, focuses on Moruleng village which was selected as representational of the 28 villages of Saulspoort region. The outcomes of the literature review which examined water consumption patterns in rural areas prompted the conducting of focus group interview with four categories of villagers from the Moruleng village. Personal observations supported by photographs and follow-up interviews with individuals featured in the photographs supplemented the interview data. The study evidenced that water consumption patterns in rural communities are indicative of attitudes. Villagers' attitudes towards water and its use are ambiguous. The study purposes to examine the possible options to inculcate positive attitudes towards water and its use through the recommendations contained in the study. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Environmental Education))

The growing interest and access to massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) has opened up significant new scope for educational methodologies, from standard language teaching options through to formalising the skills that a ‘player’ develops through their quests and other activities. This scope is extensive and has created numerous opportunities for innovation both within education and the world of work. This is evidenced by the increasing presence of educational establishments in the virtual world, with Second Life being the most popular for conventional educational purposes. In Second Life and many other realms participants are earning some income and in some cases enjoying a reasonable living from online activities, while developing their skills base. These MMORPGs may open opportunities for promoting language acquisition provided this is located within a suitably attractive realm; ‘players’ would then engage in activities that would contribute to their abilities to use the indigenous languages in everyday life. This article explores how such a system could be developed and the likely contribution it could make to promote a multilingual environment at school and post school levels. Further, it will identify the implications for the future of teaching and learning through the harnessing of MMORPGs.

The study is about how the development of a teaching and learning programme may lead proper waste management in Limpopo. It is a case study and ten schools were identified. The questionnaire was handed out to learners and educators who participated as respondents. From the analysis of the views expressed on the questionnaire completed by the learners and educators, they indicated that there is no waste management programmes. Literature review in this study indicated how teaching and learning programmes have been developed globally and in South Africa with reference to industries, communities and schools. The questionnaire revealed that many schools did not have waste management programmes therefore it was confirmed that the development of a teaching and learning programme could lead to proper waste management. / Further Teaching Education / M. Ed. (Environmental Education)

The application of Qur'ān and Hadith in the teaching of life skills in Muslim schools in South Africa. This study explores the application of Qur‟ān and Hadith in the teaching of life skills, as part of the Islamic Studies curriculum, at Muslim schools. The study further discusses the need to equip learners at Muslim schools with the necessary skills, values, attitudes and orientations that are conducive to greater participation in adulthood. The study is aimed at examining the potential of an Islamic perspective to meet these needs. The discussion focuses on five areas: health development, personal development, social development, physical development and orientation to the world of work. The research reveals that the Islamic Studies curriculum can be holistically integrated with life skills development, and the Qur‟ān and Hadith can make a significant contribution for the optimal implementation of this learning area. Muslim schools are urged to implement the recommendations made in this study. The sustained training of educators and the continuous development of learning support materials is needed to ensure that this learning area achieves its objectives. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Islamic Studies)

Science and technology are constantly transforming our day-to-day living. Science education has become of vital importance to prepare learners for this everchanging world. Unfortunately, science education in South Africa is hampered by under-qualified and inexperienced teachers. Textbooks of good quality can assist teachers and learners and facilitate the development of science teachers. For this reason thorough assessment of textbooks is needed to inform the selection of good textbooks. An investigation revealed that the available textbook evaluation instruments are not suitable for the evaluation of the physical science textbooks in the South African context. An instrument is needed that focusses on science education textbooks and which prescribes the criteria, weights, evaluation procedure and rating scheme that can ensure justifiable, transparent, reliable and valid evaluation results. This study utilised elements from the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to develop such an instrument and verified the reliability and validity of the instrument’s evaluation results. Development of the Instrument for the Evaluation of Science Education Textbooks started with the formulation of criteria. Characteristics that influence the quality of textbooks were identified from literature, existing evaluation instruments and stakeholders’ concerns. In accordance with the AHP, these characteristics or criteria were divided into categories or branches to give a hierarchical structure. Subject experts verified the content validity of the hierarchy. Expert science teachers compared the importance of different criteria. The data were used to derive weights for the different criteria with the Expert Choice computer application. A rubric was formulated to act as rating-scheme and score sheet. During the textbook evaluation process the ratings were transferred to a spreadsheet that computed the scores for the quality of a textbook as a whole as well as for the different categories. The instrument was tested on small scale, adjusted and then applied on a larger scale. The results of different analysts were compared to verify the reliability of the instrument. Triangulation with the opinions of teachers who have used the textbooks confirmed the validity of the evaluation results obtained with the instrument. Future investigations on the evaluation instrument can include the use of different rating scales and limiting of criteria. / Thesis (M. Ed. (Didactics))

The aim of this study is to deal with the theoretical and philosophical aspects of Christian education and to evaluate the realisation thereof in Gazankulu schools. Concepts dealing with the study, such as education, Christian education, learning, teaching, pedagogy, religion and Christianity are firstly discussed. A brief background of the area of study is also given. Secondly a philosophical orientation is given in which an attempt is made to answer the question 'What is philosophy?'. Important aspects of a Christian philosophy is also established and philosophical categories, the nature and aims of Christian education are discussed. Christian schooling are thirdly discussed, especially Christian schooling as it ought to be. Important aspects thereof, such as major learning goals and components of the education situation are dealt with. The position and status of scripture teaching in school, as well as the position of religious education in Gazankulu are outlined. In the fourth place, an empirical study to evaluate the stand of Christian education in Gazankulu schools, are discussed. This study involved principals, parents, pupils and teachers. Finally conclusions are given and certain recommendations regarding Christian education are made. / Die doel van hierdie studie is om die teoretiese en filosofiese aspekte van Christelike onderwys te deurgrond en om die realisering van hierdie aspekte in skole in Gazankulu te evalueer. Begrippe wat met die studie te make het, soos opvoeding, Christelike onderwys, onderrig-leer, pedagogie, geloof, en Christelikheid, word bespreek. 'n Beknopte oorsig van die studiegebied word ook gegee. Daar word tweedens 'n filosofiese orientering gegee, waarin daar gepoog word om vrae soos 'Wat is filosofie?' te beantwoord. Belangrike aspekte van 'n Christelike filosofie word ook bespreek en filosofiese kategoriee, die aard van en doelstellings met Christelike onderwys, word aangespreek. Christelike onderwys, en veral Christelike onderwys soos dit behoort te wees, word derdens bespreek. Belangrike aspekte daarvan, soos die onderrigleerdoelstellings en die komponente van die opvoedingsituasie word aangeraak. Die plek en status van Bybelonderrig in Gazankulu word ook beskryf. In die vierde plek word 'n empiriese ondersoek om die stand van Christelike onderwys in Gazankulu te evalueer, bespreek. Hierdie ondersoek het hoofde, ouers, leerlinge en onderwysers betrek. Laastens word daar tot sekere gevolgtrekkings gekom, en aanbevelings gemaak ten opsigte van Christelike onderwys. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

The most widespread intervention in South Africa into the sexualities of young people is school based sexuality education. However there is a dearth of research in this area, and studies that have been conducted highlight major weaknesses with implementation. Research from Western countries indicates that the messages conveyed in sexuality education are resisted if they conflict with the desired sexual subjectivities of young people. This indicates a need for further research into desired youth sexualities, and school based sexuality education. While South African studies of young people‘s talk about sexualities have been conducted, there is a paucity of literature in this area from a discursive perspective. This study is situated within a feminist post-structuralist paradigm, utilising a performative-performance analytical approach which synthesises Butlerian theory with a narrative-discursive methodology. This approach enables an analysis of both the macro-discursive power webs within which sexualities are situated, and the micro-discursive activity through which sexual subject positions are constructed. I used this approach to analyse the talk of groups of students from a Further Education and Training College about the sexualities of High School learners and their own past sexuality education. Findings showed that that the most dominant discursive resources which were utilised to construct sexualities were societal sexual norms discourses. These foundational discourses constructed gendered sexualities of compulsory hyper-heterosex for men, and compulsory compliant girlfriendhood for women. Such gendered sexualities reinforced patriarchal and abusive gendered and sexual practices. Ways in which participants troubled the dominant gendered sexualities through the performance of alternative sexual positions were analysed, as these 'troubling' performances indicate mutable aspects of the normative gendered field. Participants drew on a discourse of disconnect when talking about their school sexuality education, and their parents‘ (lack of) communication with them about sex. This suggests that adultist attempts to construct a 'responsible' sexual subject position for young people are resisted when such a position is constructed in a non-relational manner. Collusion between the constructed gendered sexualities and the discourse of disconnect results in the un-performability of a 'responsible' sexual subject position. These findings were used to provide suggestions for enhancing school based sexuality interventions.

Thesis (MTech (Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008. / The Peninsula Technikon and Cape Technikon merged at the beginning of 2005 and became the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). The University consists of six faculties, namely the faculty of: Applied Sciences, Business Studies, Education, Engineering, Health and Wellness Sciences, and Informatics and Design. The high failure rate in the undergraduate nursing course in the faculty of Health and Wellness Science at CPUT, mooted this research due to the devastating impact student failure has on society as a whole. The academic selection criteria and its impact on throughput rates in particular as it pertains to undergraduate nurses enrolled for the 4 year B.Tech qualification, will become the subject of research scrutiny. Descriptive research will be conducted in this dissertation, which will take place in the social world, will be theoretical in nature using both phenomenological and positivistic research paradigms. Case study research will serve as the research method

Thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education in the Faculty of Education at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Supervisor: Professor Rajendra Chetty Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Janet Condy November 2013 / In South Africa, the quality of teachers working in our current education system has been put under a looking glass by the Department of Education (DoE) (2006) since the systemic results, indicating national literacy and numeracy levels in primary schools, were issued. These results place South African literacy and numeracy skills far below those of many countries in the rest of Africa. This has been viewed by the South African school sector as one of the symptoms of the breakdown in the culture of learning in the education system in our country. As a result, the South African school system has been characterised as a ‘high- cost, high-participation, low-quality system’ Taylor (2008). Taylor (2008) concludes from his research that the challenges which undermine effective teaching and learning in South African schools include the quality of teacher knowledge and teaching practices. The relationship between teacher quality and teacher productivity is key to the development of a high-quality educational system. It is argued that teacher quality impacts greatly on student achievement, which, in turn, impacts on the development and transformation of that society. Rowe (2003) and Morrow’s (2007) key findings in their research on educational success indicate that ‘what matters most’ is the quality teacher. The historical and social change in South Africa has pioneered transformation with regard to curriculum change and has redefined the aims of teacher education in this country. Over the last few years we have been faced with a myriad of changes in policy frameworks that are supposed to guide change within the educational system, as well as within teacher education (Guskey, 2002:381-391). This study, therefore, aims to interrogate the missing links between teacher education institutions and pre-service teachers’ experience, while incorporating school and learner needs. Since quality is the critical factor, there is an urgent need to re-conceptualise how we can prepare a generation of teachers equipped to meet the demands of the 21st-century student. The key objective in this study, therefore, is the interrogation of the following components in the initial teacher-training programmes in South Africa: • Professional development and knowledge of teachers. • Delivery of that knowledge from a pedagogical perspective. • Quality of current teacher-training programmes. This research project is geared towards understanding the challenges that face final-year teacher-training students as they prepare themselves to enter the ‘real world of teaching’. The study cross-examines the quality of learning and teaching in higher education institutions, the pedagogy applied and the degree of its success. In order to examine the initial teacher-training programmes there was a need to interrogate: • students’ perceptions of the quality of their training; • lecturers’ responses to the quality of training provided; and • pre-service teachers’ notions of the quality of the ‘product’ they experience in the field during practice teaching and in their experience with newly qualified teachers. The search for an alternative pedagogy, which aims to promote the transformation and reconstruction of education in South Africa, has placed this research project within a conceptual framework of critical pedagogy, which holds the view that learning is self-generated and not just accessible. The theoretical underpinnings were derived from the works of Paulo Freire and Henry Giroux. This project is situated within an interpretivist paradigm and is qualitative in nature. A sample of four faculties of education, nationally, has been used in the project. Semi-structured interviews and focus-group interviews were used to collect data from all the fourth-year BEd students and their lecturers at each of the four universities, as well as from in-service teachers who host students during practice teaching sessions. The interview questions were concerned with the delivery of the teacher-training programmes and whether the needs of students were being met with regard to their training. Students commented on the development of the following areas: delivery of knowledge, acquisition of adequate teaching skills, and their readiness to enter the teaching field. The findings of this research indicate that students, lecturers and in-service teachers believe that many components within the current teacher-training programme need to be transformed. This could be attributed to, amongst others, the inadequate pedagogical practices used in knowledge delivery, lack of actual classroom experience, and the ineffective organisation and supervision of teaching practice which results in students feeling ill-equipped to enter the teaching arena. These impact the quality of teachers who are exiting the current system. Suggestions to improve the organisation of teacher experience, the on-going professional development of teacher educators, and mentorship ofteachers,as well as the development of recruitment and selection criteria for students wishing to enter teacher education are made.