This study records the history and activities of the South African Society of Music Teachers (SASMT) from its founding in 1922 until 2015, concentrating on the contribution it has made to music education in South Africa and the extent to which it has adapted to changing socio-political circumstances. Within the context of South African history and its education system, a study of the SASMT's Constitution, journal and other archival material was undertaken. The SASMT's reaction to changing trends in music education, including multiculturalism and the praxial philosophy, was contrasted with the activities of the South African Music Educators' Society (SAMES) and comparable overseas organisations. The mission and activities of ISME and PASMAE were used as a yardstick for determining the extent to which the SASMT fulfills the music educational needs of post-apartheid South Africa. Initially the SASMT provided a link between Europe and South Africa, focusing almost exclusively on Western Art Music. With an arguably colonial-based outlook, the organisation helped to unite music teachers by means of various projects and activities, as well as through its magazine and by forming a strong relationship with the overseas examining bodies and Unisa. Throughout its history, the SASMT has grappled with determining exactly what aspects of music education it represents, and consequently who should be admitted to membership. This became particularly pertinent in the 1980s with the formation of the South African Music Educators' Society, which highlighted the need for a more open organisation in the context of the fragmented education system of the times. The SASMT has a long, stable history, with a network of centres and institutional members, and in the late 1990s was appointed as the National Affiliate of ISME. Currently the SASMT is characterised by reduced participation in its activities and a membership that does not adequately reflect South Africa's demographics. The study concludes with recommendations as to how the SASMT might transform its vision to serve fully the needs of South African music education. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Musicology)

This study is based on a need for teacher union involvement in the management of schools to enhance effective teaching and efficient learning. The rationale behind it was to disclose the current perceptions of school managers concerning teacher union involvement in the management of schools in the Vryheid region, with a view to determining the extent to which their perceptions of teacher unions could be positively influenced to allow for proper consultative school management as well as active participation of teacher union members in the decision-making process. The study revealed that the school managers' perceptions and attitudes are central to teacher union involvement in the management of schools. If negative, no effective participatory school management can materialise. The role of the perceptions and attitudes of school managers in the realisation of the goal of participative school management is indispensable. The empirical survey and literature revealed that school managers are in a good position to address the serious shortcomings regarding the manner in which teacher unions are perceived in schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The investigation contributes to a broader understanding of the hegemonic role of teacher organisations and their relation to the dominant structures in society. It also contributes to educational theory since it extends the traditional assertion of an individual teacher who acts as an agent of capitalism and who serves to foster the interests of the State, to teachers who operate through an organisation which becomes more powerful in articulating this hegemony. The historic evidence shows that for much of the period under investigation these teacher organisations have either endorsed, or else have failed to challenge in significant ways, the use of education by the State to ramify the ideology and practice of apartheid. In addition these organisations have had no power to compel action from political and educational authorities. Decades of compliance with State policy, or unwillingness to forcefully articulate the obvious injustices of that policy, have inevitably led to a position whereby established teacher bodies became inward looking. Ultimately, these teacher bodies could not offer a fundamental critique of the apartheid education system and therefore could not empower their members to transform society as they worked within a structural-functional and liberal framework. However, the research also shows that teachers as a collective group became capable of resisting dominant ideologies, especially during the post-1984 period. Progressive teacher organisations, fuelled by the labour movement and African nationalism convicted many conservative teacher bodies to eschew ethnicity and agitate for a unified, democratic non-racial, non-sexist State with a single Ministry of Education. This period saw an escalation in the struggles of resistance by teacher organisations against a newly established Tri-cameral parliamentary system. These empowered members effectively resisted the increasing bureaucratisation and political interference in education through which the State sought to control teachers. The study offers a new way of perceiving teacher organisations as they become involved in long term struggles of transformation which incorporates the reconstruction of a post-apartheid society. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (History of Education)

The study offers a historico-educational investigation of the extent to which the Teachers' Association of South Africa (TASA) satisfied the educational aspirations of the Indian coIIDllunity in South Africa. The discussion begins with a theoretical exposition of characteristic features of teachers' associations. It considers the origin, nature and purpose of teachers' associations. A brief survey of some teachers' associations in the Republic of South Africa is also made. The development and the organisation of the Teachers' Association of South Africa (TASA) is highlighted. In this regard special emphasis is placed on the role of the Association's forerunners, and the nature and functioning of the various organisational structures within the Association. An elaborate discussion is devoted to the achievements of the Association in satisfying the educational aspirations of the Indian coIIDllunity in South Africa. The researcher also offers recoIIDllendations on the role that teachers' associations may play in the future. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)