MA (Linguistics) / Department of Communication and Applied Language Sciences / See the attached abstract below

DEd (Educational Management) / Department of Educational Management / The aim of this study was to explore the effect of mentoring as a strategy for teacher professional development. The study was underpinned by Vygotsky, Piaget and Bandura socio-cultural theories. The study is anchored on the interpretivist or constructivist paradigm to enable the investigator to deconstruct the realities of the experiences of practicing teachers during the mentoring process. The qualitative research approach was adopted in the study. The population comprised all teachers at six (6) selected high schools in the Thabina Cluster schools. Purposeful sampling method was employed to select 12 teachers that participated in the study. Qualitative data was generated through face-to-face interviews, observations and document analysis. Data was analysed thematically. The study established that teachers value and acknowledge the importance of mentoring as a strategy for teacher professional development. There is also a need for mentoring to be conducted with new teachers to offer them opportunities for professional growth. The study recommendations are that the Department of Education should develop and regularly implement mentoring programmes to enhance the competency of teachers. / NRF

MA (Linguistics) / Department of Communication and Applied Language Studies / The study investigates why English is chosen as a language of learning and teaching by School Governing Bodies in selected public primary schools in Vhembe District. Historically, only English and Afrikaans were regarded as official languages that could be used as media of instruction in schools. The advent of democracy in 1994 saw nine most spoken languages in South Africa, besides English and Afrikaans, being elevated to the level of official languages. These languages included Tshivenda, Sepedi, Xitsonga, Sesotho, Seswati, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Setswana and isiNdebele, Since the South African constitution guarantees equal status to all the eleven major languages that are spoken in South Africa, one would expect to find schools choosing other languages, besides English, as a language of learning and teaching. The Language-in-Education Policy Act of 1997 stipulates that, for the first three years of schooling, learners should be taught in home language. The South African Schools Act number 84 of 1996, gives the mandate to determine the language of learning and teaching to School Governing Bodies (SGB). Amidst this freedom of choice, English remains the language of choice in public primary schools of Vhembe District. Studies have indicated that learners cannot cope with the sudden switch from home language to English, and that they end up failing or even dropping out of school. This study aimed to find out why English remains the language of choice for learning and teaching despite the fact that SGBs have the power to choose indigenous languages. The study was undertaken in the following municipalities: Collins Chabane and Makhado. A collective case study was used as a research design. Twelve respondents, from six selected schools, namely; six SGB chairpersons and six school Principals participated in the study. Respondents were purposively selected because they were the ones responsible for school governance matters. Three data collection methods were used, namely; observations, interviews and document anlysis. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that SGBs lack capacity to execute their duties as school governors, and that English remains the language of choice because of the status it has in the economic and academic world. The study also found that SGBs cannot choose African languages because they are not developed as languages of science and technology. Conclusions drawn from this study are that SGBs do not participate in the v drafting of the language policy because most members are illiterate and are not aware of the power vested in them by SASA to determine the language policy of their schools. The study also concluded that home languages are not chosen as media of instruction because there are no learning and teaching materials in those languages, and also that home languages are not used as media of instruction in secondary schools and tertiary institutions that admit learners from these primary schools. A major recommendation of the study is that indigenous languages should be developed into languages of science and technology if they are to be used as languages of teaching and learning, and that there should be a programme designed to assist grade 4 learners with the transition from using home language as medium of instruction, to using English as medium of instruction. / NRF

Thesis (M. A. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / This study explores the handling of grammatical structures by the Limpopo Province (LP) English First Additional Language (EFAL) teachers in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase. The problem is that the majority of English language learners’ language proficiency and accuracy are not at an acceptable level. This problem also brings into close scrutiny, the quality of teaching and learning that takes place in English language classrooms, and in particular, the effectiveness of teaching grammar structures in EFAL. The research design was exploratory and the approach was qualitative. A selected number of EFAL FET grammar teachers and English Language Curriculum Advisors (ELCAs) in the LP participated in the study. The study was underpinned by an integration of Behaviourism, Mentalism, Cognitive, and Universal Grammar theories. The study findings indicate some learner language interlanguage and grammar permeability, as well as inadequate handling of grammar knowledge and grammar learning assessment.

MEd (Educational Management) / Department of Educational Mamagement / See the attached abstract below

MPH / Department of Public Health / Introduction: It has been noted that stress is considered a major global health challenge. This is because it affects the well-being of service providers, especially those working in the human service sector, such as educators. The sources of stress are attributed to social factors, discipline of students, occupational pressures and workload. Studies have shown that stress is a silent killer that affects the health and productivity of educators, leading to mental, physical, emotional and behavioral illnesses. Educators in the Malamulele North East Circuit are confronted with work challenges and continue experiencing stress. Purpose: The study aimed at finding out the experienced stressors by educators in public high schools of Malamulele North East circuit, Vhembe District. Method: The study was conducted in Malamulele North East public high schools. Malamulele North East is situated in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. A qualitative approach using explorative and descriptive design was adopted for the study. A sample of twelve educators was chosen from the target population by means of convenience sampling and data was collected through a face to face individual in-depth interview. Interviews and discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed and coded into larger themes, categories and sub-categories. Results: The following themes were derived from data analysis: factors considered to be sources of stress, perceived effects of stress among high school educators, strategies that educators use to cope with stress and strategies to manage the experiences of stress for educators. The study showed that different factors at schools have a great impact on educators. All the educators were affected by stressors in their work daily and adopted some coping strategies. However, these educators required continued intervention to manage the stress. Conclusions: The findings showed that all educators were experiencing stress in their work environment and were affected personally as well as professionally. Hence, the DOE needs to design strategies for continues support in order to manage the stress.

MGS / Institute for Gender and Youth Studies / Institutions of higher learning are still masculine-orientated; this creates a barrier for women in terms of career advancement. To this effect women are under-represented in top academic positions. The study employed qualitative research methods to explore factors that contribute to the under-representation of women in senior positions at the University of Venda. A combination of purposive and convenience sampling was used to select twenty five female academics (25). Data was collected through primary and secondary data, semi-structured interviews were used to elicit and illuminate women’s voices on issues that affect them and a thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data. The research findings demonstrate that the University’s environment continues to be masculine-oriented within most of employment categories as well as in academia where women struggle to thrive. Women face multiple challenges in ascending the academic ladder which results in the under-representation of women in management and academic levels. These challenges included: the stringent criteria for promotion which do not seem to accommodate women, especially mothers, lack of female role-models, mentors and networks. The second major barrier is the teaching work-load which poses difficulties for women, preparations for teaching took long hours leaving them with no time for family, research, publication, as well as to further their studies, which are necessary requirements for promotion. The third major barrier women are faced with is the challenge of balancing multiple roles - as students, workers and mothers. Balancing these multiple roles makes it difficult for women to meet the highly stringent promotion criteria in the University

MEd / Department of Curriculum Studies / See the attached abstract below

MEd (Curriculum Studies) / Department of Curriculum Studies / The study investigated the implementation of Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) at the Foundation Phase. The implementation of CAPS was problematic in South African schools. If challenges experienced by teachers, such as inadequate resources, insufficient support, financial constraints and lack of proper training are not addressed, they would have far-reaching consequences for the type of skilled learners the system seeks to produce. The study was informed by an antipositivist worldview. The study adopted a qualitative case study research design. The population was the Foundation Phase teachers and School Management teams in Koloti Circuit. Purposive sampling was used to select participants. The sample consisted of 24 Foundation Phase teachers, 8 Heads of Departments and 8 School Principals. Qualitative data was generated through individual and focus group interviews and was analysed thematically. The study revealed that teachers understood CAPS. The curriculum was implemented fully in the schools. The study also established that even though teachers were committed to implementing the curriculum, there were challenges in the system like; inadequate teacher training, multi-grade teaching, monitoring and support for teachers, skilled school management teams and provisioning of human and material resources. The study recommends quality continuous teacher development, merging of small schools to eliminate multi-grade teaching, commitment to learner teacher ratio of 1:35 and providing schools with sufficient and relevant human, physical and material resources to enhance the implementation of the curriculum. / NRF

MPM / O. R. Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies / The study is based on challenges facing schools as a result of experienced educators exiting the education system. Retaining effective experienced teachers is a particular challenge. Statistics shows that from year 2015 to date (2018), 111 educators have exited the education system at Soutpansberg East circuit. There are number of factors that cause teachers to exit the education system, amongst others are, old age, sickness, failure to cope with new changes, career dissatisfaction, low salaries, lack of discipline amongst learners, overcrowded classrooms. As a result of these, schools suffer from lack of experienced educators; the Department of Education, communities and learners pay a price. Department of Education hence must find ways to keep their highly-skilled and experienced educators. The researcher used a mixed method approach, that is, both qualitative and quantitative research method to carry out the study. The population of the study was obtained using non - probability sampling and data was gathered from the defined population. Two data collection instruments were used, namely, interviews and questionnaires while analyses were through thematic analysis and using the statistical package for social analysis. Data collected through questionnaires was analyzed using statistical analysis while the interviews data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Ethical considerations were observed when conducting the study. The researcher found that the following are the key challenges faced by schools at Soutpansberg East regarding educators exiting the system earlier. Experienced educators are difficult to replace and the process of replacing an educator takes too long. Process of teaching and learning is compromised. Scarce skills for specific subjects are difficult to replace. New educators are not able to deal with disciplinary problems in the classrooms and the school at large. The schools are always experiencing problems of allocation of work and time tabling . The following factors were found to be the causes that induce teachers to abandon their calling. Educators are not getting enough salaries and benefits in relation to their work. The introduction of qualified conditional pass in schools is causing v frustration. Some educators are exiting because they are concerned about their safety at schools. Some educators are failing to maintain discipline since the removal of corporal punishment. Most of them are in debts. The researcher proposed the following recommendation to lessen experienced educators from exiting the education system. Pay teachers accordingly so that the experienced educators can be encouraged to stay in the profession. Measures to deal with disciplinary problems in the classrooms and the school at large should be put in place. Learners should be given counseling regarding the new system of conditional pass, its advantages and disadvantages to lessen the frustration it causes to educators .Security at school should be strengthened as it is clear from the findings that some educators are exiting the system early because they are concerned about their safety at schools Educators should be given education regarding their finances as soon as they get employed. Wellness education should be prompted to assist the educators who are in debts. Educators who are in debts can be given access to their pension funds to pay off their debts as long as the process is monitored. / NRF