published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

M.Ed. / The core of this study is to review and analyse the management and effectiveness of induction processes for newly-appointed educators as they adjust to their entry into the teaching profession. The study employed a quantitative research method. The aim of the research study was to investigate the perceptions of educators with regard to the management of induction for newly-appointed educators. The study was prompted by the by the need to address challenges arising from a lack of a rigorous induction programme within the Ekurhuleni West District schools. These challenges are in line with the political changes that have taken place in South Africa. From the literature review it is evident that managers are having difficulties in adequately preparing and equipping newly appointed educators for the realities of the teaching profession which include, limited support for educators, unacceptable discipline among learners, overcrowded classes and poor salaries. This research indicates that it is necessary to support educators in a personal capacity in their absorption into the teaching profession. Furthermore, the literature study revealed that educators who are not properly inducted will experience adjustment difficulties at schools which may lead to frustration and loss of confidence and, in some instances, to resignation. It is thus the recommendation of this study that educators be inducted to avoid these unpleasant experiences as well as to prepare a career development path that is customised to individual needs. The researcher used structured questionnaires to gather data. The questionnaire was distributed to 20 schools in the Ekurhuleni West District to determine educators’ perceptions concerning induction. The finding was that, at present, there is no formal system to induct educators in South Africa and the majority of school management teams lack the capacity to induct educators.The recommendation was that school management teams must be trained on how to provide induction, and the workloads of school management teams need to be reduced. There is a need for further research on the induction programmes for Department of Education officials. / Dr.L.N Conley

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

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-117). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-117). Also available on the Internet.

M. Tech. Education, Tshwane University of Technology, 2010.

The study investigated the role of induction and mentoring programmes in achieving school effectiveness. The study did not address all the issues related to school effectiveness. It aimed at finding out if the two schools under study had induction and mentoring programmes, and if these programmes were effectively used, and also to ascertain if the programmes of induction and mentoring contributed to the sound relationships within the school community. In order to answer the research questions the study employed a qualitative case study approach. Literature on issues of induction and mentoring locally and internationally was examined to provide a wider context with which to view the present study. Interviews were conducted which involved a sample of seven educators, employed between the years 2002 and 2003. Observation of the staff meetings and three of the newly appointed educators teaching was also conducted. Documents supplied by the Department, such as, Towards Effective School Management Manuals, The Final Draft of Systemic Evaluation 2001 KZN, Handbook for the Code of Professional Ethics 2002 and Guides for School Management Teams, related to induction and mentoring were analysed. The findings of the study suggest that in one school, the educators felt abandoned. In the other, the educators felt at home as regards induction and mentoring. The findings also seem to suggest that the schools studied did not practice formal induction and mentoring. As far as mentoring and having mentors were concerned, educators in one school, have their H.O.Ds as mentors although it was not spelt out to them. Educators in the other school did not have mentors in the school. The study recommends that principals, especially the beginning principals, need to be given guidance in the development of programmes of induction and mentoring. Workshops would also help to develop principals in using documents supplied to schools by the Department, to ensure the effective implementation of procedures and processes to be followed in schools. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.

The aim of the research was to document as fully as possible the programmes and practices in Indian secondary schools in the Republic of South Africa for the induction of beginning teachers. Teacher education is viewed as a career-long professional continuum and induction as the transition between graduation from a pre-service teacher education institution to the onset of in-service education. Induction is viewed as an important stage in the prolonged period of professional development. The method of research was, initially, to make a study of induction programmes in England, Australia and the United States of America. The concept adopted to guide questionnaire compilation and item writing was that prospective teachers had acquired knowledge, skills, attitudes and values in anticipation of their professional performance during the pre-service period. The premise was that those acquired ideas and skills will become active only in so far as the new situation allowed, demanded and encouraged the beginning teacher. The major findings that emerge from the study are that induction activities assume varied forms and that the integration and orientation of beginning teacher into the teaching profession depend very much on the nature of the schools and the willingness and co-operation of the principal and certain members of his established staff. There is no well defined system for the orientation of beginning teachers into the profession. The underlying problem was found to be the absence of a philosophy and policy for induction by the Department of Education and Culture (House of Delegates). The study concludes with several recommendations to the Department of Education and Culture (House of Delegates) the most important being: the formulation of a policy by the Department based on a well defined philosophy for induction; implementation of programmes arising from the policy in the form of school based induction activities, external support programmes by the teachers' centres, subject advisers, tertiary institutions and the teachers' associations. The underlying conclusion of the study is that induction is a complex process but definitely not an opportunity to be missed. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 1988.

Recent years have seen a move to enhanced focus upon the induction of school leaders. Initial induction programmes for school leaders tended to focus mainly on school principals. There is new found realization of the need to broaden the focus on school principals to include Heads of Department. This study explores the induction experiences of newly-promoted HoDs. The study used a qualitative approach using the interpretive paradigm. Three new HoDs reflected on their personal experiences of being inducted into the system through semistructured, face-to-face interviews. They were selected through the use of purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The participants narrated on how they were inducted by the Department of Education (DOE) as well as their respective school management teams within the Umlazi District. The findings reveal that both the DOE and schools offered formal induction programmes to new HoDs. All the new HoDs who participated in this study claimed to experience feeling of anxiety and stress. The DoE as well as the schools with which the participants are affiliated, showed that they valued the process of introducing novice HoDs by conducting such induction programmes soon after their appointment. All the new HoDs were inducted through forum of workshops held in the Umlazi District. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.