D.Ed. (Teaching Studies) / The traditional method of lesson presentation has in recent years come under scrutiny from various education quarters concerned with approaches to teaching and learning. The reason for this being the changing swing of thoughts concerning knowledge and learning, the new integrated lifelong learning approach for general and further education (NQF:1995a) and the shift of emphasis in teaching strategies. The realization has dawned on educationalists that presentation lessons should perhaps not be "the one skill to which most attention is directed during [in-service] training" (Ashman & Conway, 1993:61), but one of many skills that should receive undue attention by all lesson presenters. The aim has not been to eradicate the process of lesson presentation in its present format but rather to oscillate the emphasis due to the growing interest in the manner in which learning matter is presented (Durniny & Sohnge, 1986:98). Learning activities should be "planned in such as way that most [all] of the learners are involved in [thinking] activities at all times of the lesson and not excluded as commonly appears to be the case" (Elston, 1992:71). Unfortunately initiative, creativity and other teacher input is not a prerequisite for lesson and content presentation as is proven when examining policies brought about by education departments regarding requirements for the planning and presentation of lessons. It must however be mentioned that these are changing drastically and we, as educators in so doing have to adapt (Osborne, 1993:2). Hardy (1992:56) believes that there should always be a prototype [lesson plan] according to which all instructional activities should take place. Obviously some structure or guidelines are essential, especially pertaining to new, inexperienced teachers, but has one not been "too reliant for too long on hierarchical and sanction ridden modes of 'instructional supervision'" (Smyth, 1991:81) which includes lesson presentation...

M.Ing. / The low level of living standard of South Africa's black population is a characteristic of its history. The economic growth and development of any country rely on its factors of production. The main factor of production that can not be neglected is its labour force. The labour force of South Africa is plagued by its history, where the strategy of the past government of that era was to ensure that the black population remains uneducated. South Africa has however moved beyond its past and is looking into the future where its people can live in harmony. The majority of the population fall between the ages of 15-35 classified as youth. Unfortunately the highest unemployment rate occurs amongst the black youth of South Africa. The challenge South Africa faces is to alleviate poverty and the high rate of unemployment. The focus is to boost the work force by changing the skills profile of the people, which is currently enforced by the government through the Skills Development Act. The study undertaken indicated that to achieve a better life for all a paradigm shift in the educational system of the country must be initiated. A much needed technical skills development is required. However the long term remedy could be to ensure that the schools provide quality learners who will be able to be utilised in the work place. Another important factor of production is technology innovation, the only set-back is that there is a small community of engineers in the country and the enrolment figures for this field of study are not promising. One of the root causes of this is the low percentage of mathematics and physical science learners completing school. As a result there are a low percentage of learners moving into a technical field of study especially engineering. One of ways to unlock South Africa's economic growth is an investment in its people and engineers are the most suitable custodians. The engineer can drive technology which is one of the portals to techno-economic growth. While humanity shares one planet, it is the planet on which there are two worlds, the world of the rich and the world of the poor. Raanan Weitz, 1986. We cannot rebuild our society at the expense and standard of living of ordinary men and women. We cannot develop at the expense of social justice. We cannot compete without a floor of basic human standards. Nelson Mandela The school in many underdeveloped countries is a reflection and a fruit of the surrounding underdevelopment, from which arises its deficiency, its quantitative and qualitative poverty. But little by little, and there lies the really serious risk, the school in these underdeveloped countries risks becoming in turn a factor of underdevelopment. Joseph Kizerbo, former Minister of Education, Burkino Faso

M.Ed. / This study focuses on the problems of language and pedagogy in the teaching of English to second language learners. The aim of the study firstly, was to investigate the problems confronting teachers of English when teaching a heterogeneous classroom population which has both first language and second language learners and secondly, to investigate the problems facing Black pupils who were a minority group in the heterogeneous classroom. An extensive literature review was undertaken to examine core areas of the multicultural education and second language teaching and learning which were pertinent to the problem of this study to ascertain if the problems were peculiar to South African schools. The theory framework constructed from the review concluded with the theoretical premise that the problems confronting teachers and pupils were not peculiar to South African schools. The investigation included data collection from two sources or constituents, namely the teachers of heterogeneous classrooms in a rural independent school and their Black pupils. These data were consolidated, reduced and clustered, culminating in empirical findings which were confirmed using different methods and sources.The main emergent patterns indicated that the second language learners had not mastered reading skills, were not capable of expressing themselves in formal writing and encountered difficulty in translating from their vernacular to English. This confirmed that teachers of English in these heterogeneous classes were enountering enormous difficulty in harnessing the full potential of the second language learners.

M.Ed. (Multiculturalism and Education) / It appears that much research has been done in the past on parent education, but with the emphasis on the white community. As a result of the present movement in the RSA towards multicultural education, the need for parent education in all population and ethnic groups has been increased. This area of study has been grossly neglected up to now. Due to the problematic nature of the above-mentioned situation, this study is aimed at compiling guidelines for an education program for parents of behaviorally disturbed children in the multicultural school. An investigation into the characteristics of the behaviorally disturbed child was attempted by means of a study of literature. Existing parent education programs were also studied and evaluated. Insights derived from this study were then adapted to create a set of general and a set of specific guidelines for and education program for parents of behaviorally disturbed children in the multicultural school.

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

M.Ed. (Education) / This study focuses on the teaching of linguistic rules and structures in rural informal Settlement Schools. The inquiry was undertaken with the aim of determining what the nature of instruction of grammar, specifically tense, is and what teachers' conceptions of the pedagogy of grammar are. The rationale for the study was that there is virtually no research on the language pedagogy knowledge of practice of unqualified teachers in community schools. Teachers in this type of setting needed to be exposed to contemporary theory of Second Language instruction with the view of improving their pedagogy. This also needed to be researched in order to contribute to the body of knowledge..The rural settlement schools where semi-qualified teachers are still found in increasing numbers, need competent teachers who can teach students to function socially as well as linguistically. For relevant teacher education curricula research is needed to inform policy. Literature review was done and field investigation was conducted to determine teachers' conceptions of grammar and tenses. Data were collected through interviews and observations. These data were consolidated and clustered across five sources of different methods. The categories of data indicated that teachers' knowledge of rules was limited. The research was concluded with suggestions pertaining to the researcher's experience of semi-qualified teachers. It was suggested that teachers should not only concentrate on grammar knowledge but also on the knowledge about pedagogy and linguistics. The involvement of INSET programmes in this respect was strongly recommended.

M.A. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. / This dissertation took as point of departure the problem definition of the report of the HSRC Working Committee on Curriculation and a great deal of attention was given to the curriculating role of the teacher at micro (classroom) level. The researcher tried to determine from available literature on this subject, what the viewpoint of other researchers were on the teacher's curriculating task at micro level. Almost without exception researchers were convinced that the teacher should play an important part as far as curriculum design, implementation and development are concerned. The researcher came to the conclusion that a lot of the reseachers are of the opinion that the word "curriculating" or "to curriculate" is part and parcel only of the meso (departmental) level, but in actual fact this term can only be relevant at the micro level. It is only the teacher who can actually "curriculate". People involved in curriculum development at the meso level can be called curriculum designers. Both teachers and curriculum designers are making use of the principles related to curriculum design, but they apply it in different ways. The second chapter was dedicated to the participants at the micro level. The two parties that play an active role at micro level are the teacher and the pupil, but there are also other people who are involved in the politics of education at micro level. Special attention was given to the teacher's role as curriculating and curriculum development agent in this regard. A proposal which flows from this dissertation is that student teachers and acting teachers must in one way or another be educated/trained to handle curriculum development as an applied skill. A training model for student teachers is also proposed, which should enable them to handle any given curriculum in a skilful way. In chapter 4 the assumptions that were made in the beginning of the study were tested against data obtained by means of an empirical survey. The data which has been obtained, confirmed the point of view that teachers feel that they have no say in matters related to the curriculum; that they are not trained properly in the handling of curricula and because of this they can not act as professionals. If the authorities were willing to adopt the recommendations proferred in this study it should lead to a more professional approach to curriculating, teaching and learning.

M.Cur. (Nursing Education) / Nursing education is a process requlrlng the cooperation of all the parties involved. The student nurse receives lectures on the theoretical aspects, at the college while the substance of the theory must be based on and interpreted in the clinical field. With the passage of time the student nurse finds expression, gains the necessary experience and thus becomes a member of the nursing profession. Internalization of the norms and values of the professional group takes place within the framework of the student nurse's behavioral patterns and self image. The student nurse enters the profession with fixed expectations regarding her participation and training. In general terms she is still regarded as young and immature and yet she is expected to assume responsibilities which few in the general public are ever required to take. The prerequisites for the successful! professional socialization and the acquisition of proficiency in the functions and tasks of nursing, are based on continuous and optimal accompaniment of the student nurse by her registered counterpart, who operates as an independent professional practitioner. Clinical accompaniment implies that the registered nurse shall be at the side of the student nurse to guide her every step of the way in order to support her in the learning process, or to refine skills she previously acquired.: A descriptive exploratory survey was undertaken by means of a questionnaire submitted to student nurses and registered nurses of hospitals affiliated with one college in the Transvaal. The aim of the study was "to establish whether, and to what extent, the training function of the ward sister is realized in practice. Analysis of the data showed the ward sister to be aware of her training function and her responsibility towards the student nurse as learner. It appears that the ward sister believes herself to be adequately involved with the basic care of patients and making a significant contribution to the training of student· nurses. However, the observations and the experience of the student nurse differ from this point of view. She is of the opinion that more can be done in the ward to help her achieve her training needs. The fact that in many cases she is primarily considered as a worker, comes as a great disappointment.

M.Ed. (Education Linguistics) / This study is an investigation of the applicability of the communicative approach to the teaching of African languages. The point of departure for this study is that the communicative approach can be implemented in order to improve students' communicative competence. Communicative competence entails grammatical, discourse, sociolinguistic, illocutionary and strategic competence. In order to determine the communicative competence, and the needs of students their essays and letters have been analysed. The study found that students' communicative competence is not so good especially in the area of discourse competence. This problem can be solved by implementing the process approach. The process approach is the most recent communicative approach which is used for teaching writing. This study shows different activities which can be practiced in order to improve communicative competence during the writing process.