Results from recent international assessments showed that the performance of South African learners in these international benchmarking assessments remained at rock bottom of the study rankings. These results not only paint a dim picture of the ability, work ethic and attitude of learners in the South African schooling system, but it also calls into question the performance intent of educators. This study becomes very important against the background that learners being taught in South African classrooms are increasingly facing stiffer competition in the market place due to the phenomenon of globalisation. The perception of the international community pertaining to the quality of teaching and learning in South African schools is bound to impact significantly on the keenness of foreign countries to engage with South Africa on a meaningful scale. The primary objective of the study is to improve the performance intent of school-based educators in the Uitenhage Education District. More specifically, the study investigates the relationship between the performance intent of educators (the dependent variable) and motivation, commitment to profession, commitment to the leader, community engagement and professional development (the independent variables). Given the constraint of distance, the sample was limited to schools in the Uitenhage Education District, and for this reason, convenience sampling was used for purposes of this study. Three hundred and sixty questionnaires were issued, of which 316 were returned (a response rate of 88%). The empirical results revealed all the independent variables impact significantly on the performance intent of educators at public schools in the Uitenhage Education District. The research findings cannot be generalised to all schools in the province because the sampled schools compose only a relatively small portion of all schools in the Eastern Cape Province. Recommendations for future research are also provided.

In order to assess current practices in the teaching of conflict resolution, this study examined (through survey methods) the perceptions of teachers in three Oregon school districts of similar size regarding the techniques they use to teach conflict resolution skills to their students, teachers' perceptions of the frequency of the use of those techniques, and teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of those techniques. This study also compared the responses of teachers in school districts which provided teachers with staff development for the teaching of conflict resolution with the responses of those teachers from districts without that staff development. In addition, the survey examined the impact of cooperative learning on the teaching of conflict resolution. Data were reported in terms of frequency distribution, Spearman Correlation analysis, Chi Square, and Phi Correlations. The results indicate that elementary teachers use a wide variety of techniques to teach students how to get along with one another. Although they favor certain techniques, they do not use one technique to the exclusion of another. The hypothesis that demographic criteria may be linked to teachers' responses to the use of certain techniques was also rejected. Comparisons between responses of teachers from districts which supplied staff development for the teaching of conflict resolution and responses from teachers from districts which did not do so are inconclusive. Possible reasons may stem from different but, perhaps, equally enriching programs for the teaching of conflict resolution. Cooperative Learning is not primarily used as a method to teach conflict resolution. Those who use it, however, indicated that they saw increased conflict resolution skills as a by-product of that teaching method. The data gleaned in this survey would indicate that the following be considered when implementing a program for the teaching of conflict resolution: Conflict is a natural state which accompanies change and can act as a constructive force. Conflict in the classroom can provide a creative tension which helps to inspire problem-solving. Well-handled conflict can have benefits for increasing student motivation and may result in higher achievement and greater understanding of the subject. Conflict itself may prove to be an effective component of specific lessons. One apparent advantage to teaching appropriate use of conflict resolution is that if students know from their own experience that social relations need not be adversarial and that they can share power without losing influence, children may be better prepared to grow as global citizens.

Inquiry into teaching increasingly focuses on how teachers examine and subsequently inform and transform their instructional practice. While we are beginning to see reports from public school teachers who are examining their own teaching, we have very little information about self-reflection among teacher educators. The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine the influence of conducting inquiry into my instructional practice while I taught an introductory Language Arts course. The course contained two main components: a reflective teaching seminar and an on-site tutorial experience. Three questions guided this inquiry: 1) How did I, as the seminar leader, interact with the preservice teachers? 2) How did the preservice teachers interact within the seminar? 3) What personal experiences and attitudes were salient for one preservice teacher as she initiated a tutorial experience within the context of the course? To conduct this study, I used narrative inquiry as the research method because it is a viable means both for understanding an experience in which the researcher is an active participant and for capturing the complexity of schooling. Narrative inquiry is a form of empirical research in which living, telling, retelling, and reliving stories is the basis for understanding lived experience. A variety of experiential materials were gathered to document the instructional behaviors of myself and the preservice teachers. Experiential materials included transcripts of interviews, stimulated recall interviews, and the seminar sessions; field notes; course documents; tutorial session documents; and my journal. In response to my research questions, I expressed my interpretations as a series of essays. Through these essays, I conveyed my understandings about the value-ladenness of teaching, the ways in which a person’s words and actions are representations of one’s personal knowledge, and how an individual’s personal knowledge shapes and informs instructional practice. By engaging in reflective inquiry, I learned more about my roles and responsibilities as a teacher educator and the potential promise and possible pitfalls of helping others engage in the study of one’s assumptions about teaching. Furthermore, I came to understand better that engaging in reflective teaching requires a social network of support, involves modeling and practice, and that such learning is a long-term process. / Ph. D.

This research sought to find if a significant relationship existed between a factor of personality, authoritarianism, as measured on the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale, and perceived effectiveness of teaching as measured by ratings on the Purdue Rating Scale for Instruction.

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The overarching purpose of the study was specifically designed to examine how teacher preparation programs contributed to novice teachers' sense of self-efficacy. The significance of this study related to how well teachers were prepared, based upon their preparation program. This qualitative methods study incorporated a research design consisting of phenomenological research. Eleven thematic findings derived based upon the participants' input after several series of data analysis and reduction, using a general deductive approach. Results showed many implications of how teacher preparation programs contributed to the participants' sense of self-efficacy. Major implications for teacher preparation programs and their impact on novice teachers are discussed, such as improvement measures for preparation programs, and opportunities to increase teacher effectiveness.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the self-perceptions of effective non-native English speaking teachers (non-NESTs) of English as a Second Language (ESL) regarding their teaching behaviors. The study also sought to discover the relationship between effective non-NEST perceptions of their teaching behaviors and stereotypes for those behaviors. It further sought to define what experiences have contributed to their non-conformation if their perceptions do not fit the negative stereotypes of teaching behaviors of non-NESTs.

This dissertation is a narrative account of a self-study undertaken with the primary aim of positively influencing the morale of colleagues in my school department. It addresses an area of personal and professional concern where my values were being denied in my practice. As a Head of Department, I was worried that the low morale of my colleagues would negatively impact on the quality of teaching and learning at school, and on their own mental health. Situated within self-efficacy theory, my study reflects the values I attach to human dignity, respect, fairness, honesty perseverance and caring. These values were applied as the living standard by which I judged the quality of my leadership practice. I describe how I used an Action Research methodology as a living transformational process to reflect on my own leadership in terms of how I could influence the development of positive morale in the department. My findings offer new conceptualisations about how teachers can take action to improve the emotional climate of the school. I am claiming that the significance of my research is grounded in my ability to facilitate an improvement in the low morale of myself and my colleagues in order for us to ultimately contribute to self and school improvement.

Thesis (M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The purpose of this study was to explore the coping strategies of primary school teachers in their multi-grade classes at Glen Cowie circuit. This exploratory case study addresses the coping strategies that rural primary school teachers use in curriculum delivery. Data was generated through semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis. This study revealed various challenges teachers experience and the coping strategies that teachers employ in dealing with challenges. A qualitative research approach was adopted in the study with the intention of finding as much detail as possible using a case study. Participants in this study were teachers who teach multi-grade classes in their rural schools in the Glen Cowie circuit in Limpopo. The investigation revealed that teachers did not have the necessary skills and expertise to teach multi-grade classes. It was also revealed that teachers were not trained to teach in multi-grade classes and they had to use individual strategies to cope with the contradictory conditions they found themselves in. The investigation concluded that the teachers in those multi-grade classes were qualified and had teaching experience, but they were not prepared to teach multi-grade classes in general. It proved that teachers remained resilient by applying varied strategies such as problem solving, goal setting, extra curriculum lessons and maintaining work-life balance to ensure that teaching and learning occurs

This case study investigated how an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher's cognition has both changed and stayed constant over a period of eight years and the factors to which the teacher attributes changes or lack of changes. The study followed the teacher over the course of a 10-week period and compared videos of the participant's teaching from eight years ago to her current teaching. Interviews, observations, and stimulated recall were used to investigate development over the eight year span. It was found that the teacher did indicate several areas in which she demonstrated change: Teaching with fluidity, automaticity, and intuition; confidence; concerns; management of teaching enthusiasm and relationships with students; support and validation from colleagues; and managing the classroom for learning. She also confirmed several aspects of her teaching that have stayed relatively constant: beliefs and teaching philosophy; reflection; learning from past experiences; knowledge of lesson planning and curricular goals; and students' needs within the learning context. The teacher's development was analyzed through the lens of teacher expertise to determine to what degree the teacher's changes and lack of changes helped her develop into an expert. This study concludes that further research is needed to fully understand how teacher expertise is developed during the course of teachers' careers.