A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Education at the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. / The aim of this study was to determine whether alternative conceptions about interference and diffraction do indeed exist, to identify the most important of these conceptions and to determine whether these conceptions relate to textbooks, as one of the main sources of students' knowledge. An analysis of secondary level textbooks and tertiary level non-calculus textbooks revealed that presentations of constructive and destructive interference, diffraction and other related aspects are treated inconsistently and in some cases contradictorily by different authors. The research instrument was a Physical Optics test which Physics students of the Technikon Pretoria wrote. This test revealed that alternative conceptions on elementary principles of interference and diffraction of light do exist and that they relate to textbook presentations. This study reveals that (i) the terms in phese and out of phase are not consistently used in different textbooks; (ii) the definitions of constructive and destructive interference in terms of phases cause major aiternative conceptions, (iii) the interrelation between interference and diffraction is not clarified. / AC2017

This study attempted to determine the principal's role in fostering democratic values in schools, which will enable learners to participate meaningfully in society / as well as to suggest attainable recommendations to empower school principals to form or maintain democratically run learning organizations. International and local research has shown that it is widely accepted that schools are important training grounds for democratic practices, because schooling is the largest and most important collective enterprise undertaken in modern societies. It therefore has the potential to have greater influence on values, skills and work habits than any other public institution.

This study attempted to determine the principal's role in fostering democratic values in schools, which will enable learners to participate meaningfully in society / as well as to suggest attainable recommendations to empower school principals to form or maintain democratically run learning organizations. International and local research has shown that it is widely accepted that schools are important training grounds for democratic practices, because schooling is the largest and most important collective enterprise undertaken in modern societies. It therefore has the potential to have greater influence on values, skills and work habits than any other public institution.

This thesis looks at language as the medium of all our ideas and sentiments. The thesis represents a position statement regarding the development of isiZulu as an academic language. The field of Economics is used to merely illustrate and support the points that are being made in this work. It is argued that each language is viewed as the means of expression of the cultural heritage of its people, and it remains a reflection of cultural groups who speak that particular language. It is a fact that indigenous African Languages have been, for obvious reasons, blatantly understudied during the apartheid years in South Africa (Rudwick 2004). Languages have market value and the desirability of English as the most important global language today has an effect in most Black learners in South Africa. The study examined the development of indigenous African languages, isiZulu in particular, in Zululand University where ninety percent of students and lecturers are isiZulu first language speakers, and came to a conclusion that there is an urgent need for Black South African students to learn academic subjects through their mother tongues. This would help them in thorough understanding and interpretation of analytic text presented in a foreign language such as English. The study advocates that isiZulu, which is the mother-tongue of many students at the University of Zululand, should be a language for upward mobility to these students, but as the situation stands, isiZulu becomes a neglected or marginalised language since it is not the normal medium of instruction and it is not used for effective communication in their education system.

This thesis looks at language as the medium of all our ideas and sentiments. The thesis represents a position statement regarding the development of isiZulu as an academic language. The field of Economics is used to merely illustrate and support the points that are being made in this work. It is argued that each language is viewed as the means of expression of the cultural heritage of its people, and it remains a reflection of cultural groups who speak that particular language. It is a fact that indigenous African Languages have been, for obvious reasons, blatantly understudied during the apartheid years in South Africa (Rudwick 2004). Languages have market value and the desirability of English as the most important global language today has an effect in most Black learners in South Africa. The study examined the development of indigenous African languages, isiZulu in particular, in Zululand University where ninety percent of students and lecturers are isiZulu first language speakers, and came to a conclusion that there is an urgent need for Black South African students to learn academic subjects through their mother tongues. This would help them in thorough understanding and interpretation of analytic text presented in a foreign language such as English. The study advocates that isiZulu, which is the mother-tongue of many students at the University of Zululand, should be a language for upward mobility to these students, but as the situation stands, isiZulu becomes a neglected or marginalised language since it is not the normal medium of instruction and it is not used for effective communication in their education system.

In many cases topics for research are presented to a student in capsulated, clearly defined terms, either as the result of his own experience or as a request by some institution. In other cases the topic takes shape but gradually, very often as the result of a student slowly becoming aware of a field of research through repeated observation of related factors. In some cases the aim of research is to determine whether there is a relationship between various factors; or disprove such in others the main aim may be to prove relationship in unequivocal terms. A large body of research is, however, concerned mainly with the statement of a problem or the finding of facts. The work presented in the following pages can be regarded as falling in the last-mentioned category. A vague suspicion was gradually strengthened by observation and experience until it finally crystallised to form the basis of the research. Facts and figures were gathered and analysed and some conclusions drawn, conclusions that gave rise to more questions and problems than fall within the scope of this work. It was, in fact, found that this research raised more questions than were answered by it and served mainly to underline the magnitude of the problem rather than to offer a solution.

The teaching of geometry has been neglected at the expense of other disciplines of mathematics such as algebra in most secondary schools for Africans in South Africa. The research aimed at establishing the extent to which creativity and divergent thinking enhance the internalisation of geometry concepts using the problem-based approach and on encouraging learners to be creative, divergent thinkers and problem solvers. In the research, Grade 7 learners were guided to discover the meaning of geometric concepts by themselves (self-discovery) and to see concepts in a new and meaningful way for them. This is the situation when learners think like the mathematicians do and re-invent mathematics by going through the process of arriving at the product and not merely learn the product (axioms and theorems), for example, discover properties of two- and three-dimensional shapes by themselves. Furthermore, learners were required to use metaphors and analogies, write poems, essays and posters; compose songs; construct musical instruments and use creative correlations in geometry by using geometric shapes and concepts. They tessellated and coloured polygons and pentominoes in various patterns to produce works of art. Divergent thinking in geometrical problem solving was evidenced by learners using cognitive processes such as, amongst others, conjecturing, experimenting, comparing, applying and critical thinking. The research was of a qualitative and a quantitative nature. The problem-based approach was used in teaching episodes. The following conclusions and recommendations were arrived at: * Geometric shapes in the learner's environment had not been used as a basis for earning formal geometry. * Second language learners of mathematics have a problem expressing themselves in English and should thus be given the opportunity to verbalize their perceptions in vernacular. * Learners should be made to re-invent geometry and develop their own heuristics/strategies to problem solving. * Learners should be trained to be creative by, for example, composing songs using geometric concepts and use geometric shapes to produce works of art, and * Activities of creativity and divergent thinking should be used in the teaching and learning of geometry. These activities enhance the internalisation of geometry concepts. Groupwork should be used during such activities. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

This investigation emanates from the realization that Grade 3 children at schools in disadvantaged areas perform poorly in basic mathematics computations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The aim of the research was to establish the approaches teachers use when teaching mathematics computation. The qualitative approach, together with the research techniques commonly used with it, namely observation, interviews and document analysis was deemed appropriate for the investigation. The outcomes of the investigation revealed that the multilingual Grade 3 classes made it difficult to assist all children who experienced mathematics problems because teachers could not speak all the other languages that were not the language of learning (LoLT) of the school. Another obstacle that prohibited teachers from spending adequate time with children with mathematics problems was the time teachers were expected to spend on intervention programmes from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) aimed at improving schooling in general. Teachers could not make additional time that could afford children the opportunity of individual attention. With regard to the approach used for teaching mathematics, this study established that the teachers used the whole class teaching approach which is not a recommended approach because each child learns differently. It is recommended that teachers use a variety of teaching methods in order to accommodate all children and also encourage children to use concrete objects. It is also recommended that teachers involved in the SBSTs should consist only of members qualified in the subject and once these children are identified, remediation should take place promptly by their being enrolled (children) in the proposed programme. Finally, this study could benefit foundation Phase teachers in teaching mathematics based on the proposed strategy outlined after teachers’ challenges were identified. The outcome of the study could also be of value to the DBE, especially with curriculum designers. / Early Childhood Education and Development / D. Ed. (Early Childhood Education)

This study was based on the Scientific and Technology Literacy Project study done between 1996 and 2001. It sought to determine whether Vee-diagramming could help enhance grade 10 township learners understanding of some aspects of electricity. It also sought to find out whether age and gender influenced the learners understanding of these concepts.

M.Ed. (Mathematics in Education) / This study aimed at investigating grade 8 learners‘ misconceptions and resulting errors in the learning of fractions with a view to expose the nature and origin of those errors and to make suggestions for classroom teaching. This study employed the theory of constructivism and a qualitative method to investigate the research questions. Purposive sampling was used in this study to provide a data that helped to answer the research questions of the study. Learners who were selected purposefully were able to provide rich source of data about the research problem and question. Data collection instruments which were used in the research were in the form of interviews, learners‘ classwork, homework and a test. These instruments were used to collect data so that it will assist in answering the research questions. Data analysis revealed the following errors:  Applying knowledge of like and unlike denominators to division of fractions.  Changing the division sign to multiplication without flipping the second fraction.  Finding the reciprocal of the first fraction and cross multiplied.  Cross cancelling without finding the reciprocal of the second fraction  Finding reciprocal of the second fraction and changing the division sign to subtraction This research revealed that errors emanates from misconceptions. The main reason for misconceptions was the lack of understanding of fractions‘ basic concepts, and learners‘ prior knowledge.