Amidst calls to incorporate inquiry meaningfully into the practice of laboratory work in secondary school chemistry and calls to investigate how teachers negotiate their professional identities under widespread reforms in education, this study sought to explore the interface of teacher professional identity and how teachers facilitate inquiry for learners during practical activities. Utilising a social constructivist lens and a qualitative case study approach, the study focused on three inquiry actions; namely, question posing, experiment procedure design and articulation of solutions through a teacher identity lens. Data capture comprised a mix of semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, observations, field notes and a research journal. Data was analysed utilising the content analysis method. Findings were fourfold. First, teachers displayed four identity positions in Inquiry-based Laboratory work, which was interwoven with their professional training, personal school experiences, beliefs and attitudes and sense of agency. Second, teachers’ professional identity influenced how they engaged learners in question posing, experiment design procedure and giving solutions as inquiry actions. Third, teachers held strong beliefs in chemistry as a two-pronged subject and utilised laboratory work to consolidate and develop learner understanding of scientific concepts and theories. And fourth the manner in which teachers facilitated inquiry in the chemistry laboratory manifested as an interface between teacher professional identity and the principles of IBLW. / Thesis (PhD--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / Unrestricted

As education reform initiatives around the world are becoming more focused on developing teacher professional development and school professional learning communities (PLCs), the role of school principal leadership in implementing reforms related to the government vision of teacher professional development and school PLC has come to be seen as important. This has also led to the establishment of leadership training programmes for school principals to assist these principals with their new role as leaders of school reform implementation. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the school principals' roles in leading teacher professional development in four public schools in similar socio-economic contexts, but with different levels of learner achievement, within the greater Cape Town area. Towards this end, the thesis relates professional development practices to the relevant policy - the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Professional Education and Development (the 'Framework'), to the Advanced Certificate of Education: School of Management and Leadership (ACE-SML) training curriculum and to the idea of a professional learning community, which is promoted by this policy and this training course. The research reported in this thesis draws on Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of field, habitus, capital, and doxa to conceptualise and describe the relationships between the various players and the ways in which these relationships affect teacher professional development practices and school PLC culture in the participating schools. Findings from this research reveal similarities and differences between the schools with regard to the roles of school senior leaders and the schools' approaches to teacher professional development practices. Ironically, government policy is taken less seriously in the three schools that achieve higher learning outcomes than in the school that achieves weaker outcomes. Instead of conforming to the policy, the approach in each of the three higher achieving schools is based on the history and values of the particular school, the preferences of the principals and whether or not the principal attended the school management and leadership training course.

This study explored Professional Teacher Technical Identity Development through the use of Mobile Technology. A sample of fifteen teachers was conveniently selected from one school in an urban setting. An action research was designed consisting of three phases. Each phase formed the basis of the next phase to identify the development of professional teacher technical identity. Data was collected using a written questionnaire, two reflective journals, an online questionnaire, focus group discussions, lesson reflections, and interviews. Each instrument was designed using the literature to identify factors that impact on the implementation of mobile technology in classrooms and teachers’ acceptance towards mobile technology. The results were interpreted using three existing models to create a framework: The Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge model, Technology Acceptance Model and Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition Model. It was found that there are six factors that affect the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of technology. These are attitude, anxiety, ability, subjective norm, facilitating conditions and voluntariness. The perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness determine the level at which technology is implemented in classrooms. The level of integration determines whether or not successful teaching in terms of the three elements of TPCK is being used. During the process whereby teachers attempt to implement technology in their classrooms, it is possible to identify changes in their professional teacher technical identity development. These changes are interpreted and a new framework for Professional Teacher Technical Identity Development is created. It is proposed that this framework can be used to explain the implementation process and behaviour of teachers during the process as their teacher identity is altered. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / PhD / Unrestricted

University writing programs increasingly serve student populations of growing diversity: more international students, first-generation students, disabled students, racial and ethnic minority students, and LGBTQ+ students, for example. Instructors thus teach in classrooms with many cultures and subcultures represented. Amid increasing demographic diversity, many writing programs seek to internationalize. In this dissertation, I investigate the current state of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) in a university writing program as a potential avenue for internationalization. Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) is a social-justice-oriented, transformative approach to education that views cultural diversity as a resource, restructuring education settings to affirm students’ identities and home cultures. I evaluate CRT among a sample of 10 instructor participants and their students, propose a CRT assessment method, and suggest implementation of CRT as a sustainable, just, and resource-efficient method for writing program internationalization. I implement a mixed-methods research design that draws on both observational and self-report measures of CRT. Results indicate that instructor capabilities for CRT fall along a developmental spectrum. This developmental spectrum provides a useful model for assessment of CRT in a writing program context, as well as a basis for developing the CRT capabilities of instructors at both individual and programmatic levels. <br>

Denna studie har som syfte att undersöka upplevelsen av samarbetet mellan utbildad och outbildad personal inom fritidshemmets verksamhet. Detta har gjorts utifrån Biestas (2020) teori om de tre domänerna som är kvalifikation, socialisation och subjektifiering. Teorin Teacher professional development, förkortat TPD, används också i studien. Syftet valdes på grund av våra egna upplevelser av en problematik inom det kollegiala arbetet mellan den utbildade och outbildade personalen på fritidshem. Det finns dessutom väldigt lite forskning inom detta område, trots att en stor del av fritidshemmets personal är outbildade. Enligt Skolverket (2019) var det endast 37% som hade pedagogisk högskoleexamen som arbetade i fritidshemmets verksamhet under åren 2018/19 (Skolverket, 2019). Undersökningen utgår från kvalitativ metod genom intervjuer med fyra informanter på två skolor. Två utbildade och två outbildade. Materialet kodades under transkriberingen enligt de tre domäner Biesta skrivit om. Biesta skriver om hur subjektifiering är den domän som är svårast att greppa, något även vi kunnat bekräfta med denna studie. En annan upptäckt var att den utbildade personalens intervjuer hamnade mer i domänen för kvalifikation, den outbildade hamnade i domänen för socialisation. Slutsatsen som vi kunnat dra av detta är att outbildad personal inte har möjlighet att utvecklas inom domänerna kvalifikation och subjektifiering eftersom de inte har möjlighet att vara med på planeringar och andra möten. Detta leder till att den utbildade personalen blir överbelastad med det övriga arbetet och också får svårare att utvecklas inom domänen subjektifiering.

Professional development is more than marking an attendance register at a workshop. Professional development is a reflective process of continuous self-development that should inform the very essence of any learning context. This dissertation builds on how teachers experience school-initiated type-2 teacher professional development in secondary public schools and how their experiences may contribute to the work in the field of teacher professional development and assessment. Although a number of studies have examined teachers’ comprehension of the Continuous Professional Development framework in South Africa and the quality management policies, there is a considerable lack of literature on the relationship between the professional development of teachers and school improvement. The purpose of this dissertation is to understand teachers’ experiences with the implementation of Type-2 Continuous Professional Teacher Development activities in public high schools. The data for this qualitative study were collected through semistructured interviews and policy document analysis. The coded data were analysed and emerging themes were identified. The participants of this study consisted of teachers and members of the School Management Team. However, the study found that teachers perceived that there is a gap in the focus of professional development programmes. Teachers felt that the type-2 developmental activities seemed only for the benefit and achievement of the school’s goals, and do not adequately address the developmental needs of teachers themselves. The findings of this study argue that a culture of shared responsibility and leadership in secondary schools do indeed improve the development of teachers and the successful academic achievement of learners. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

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This study explored the digital didactical designs of four senior and FET language teachers at a private school. Participants collaborated within a Community of Practice during the study that served as a Teacher Professional Development opportunity, aimed at integrating technology into their teaching. The research design involved Collaborative Action Research for data gathering purposes. The phenomenon was represented as an explorative, descriptive case study. Data collection instruments included focus-group interviews, observations and documents based on the teaching practices of the participants. The study employed a conceptual framework involving the Digital Didactical Design theoretical framework, surface and deep learning in relation to Bloom’s Taxonomy, the Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition model as well as Teachers’ ICT proficiency levels. Nine interviews, 24 observation sheets as well as lesson documents were analysed using content analysis and coding. During the study, all participants managed to present true digital didactical designs, especially during their second lessons. They gained an appreciation for and ability to integrate digital tools into their teaching practices. While the inputs of the Community of Practice were beneficial, the use of the Digital Didactical Design observation sheet was time-consuming and not user-friendly, although it contributed to teachers’ designs. The study contributed a checklist for lesson design that applied the elements of Digital Didactical Design, as well as an updated observation sheet that can be used during oral reflections on lessons to determine teachers’ digital didactical designs. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / NRF / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd (General) / Unrestricted

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