Thesis (MTech (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 / In 1998 the Department of Labour launched a skills revolution in the South African workplace. The Skills Development Act of 1998 introduced the 'Learnership' model of workplace training, which has been promoted as a creative vehicle for addressing high unemployment rates and a serious skills shortage. The Act proposed a very ambitious new framework through the creation of a new institutional regime with strong links forged between learners, employers, govemment and the new intermediary training bodies, SETAs. This new institutional mechanism for delivering training was termed 'Learnerships'. This dissertation explores the perceptions of the staff of two FET colleges around the Fitting and Turning learnership in which they are involved, with a particular focus on their roles and responsibilities in managing the Fitting and Turning learnership. Their perceptions were ascertained through a structured interview process. A framework of understanding was established by examining the stakeholders' roles and responsibilities; learnership accreditation e.g., SETA training policies, physical and human resources, bUdget and finance; structured learning and assessment e.g. logbooks, continuous assessment and work relevant training, partnerships with industry and other skills programmes; the learner monitoring process e.g. administration system, quality management, learner support, recruitment and selection, throughput rate and communication; and limitations and recommendations to improve the management of learnerships.

Thesis (MTech (Education))--Peninsula Technikon, 2003 / This research study is mainly based on the third learning outcome for Technology Education which requires the learners to be able to demonstrate an understanding of interrelationships between science, technology, society and the environment. The purpose of the study is to investigate how Technology Teacher Training Programmes incorporate environmental aspects into technology education and how Technology educators facilitate learning in order to meet environmental requirements that are expressed as learning outcome 3 for Technology Education. In this study an attempt is made to encourage efforts that could lead to the development of new learning frameworks, integrated activities and learning programmes for the technology education curriculum. The study is set against the literature on integrated programmes for curriculum development in general and for environmental and technology education in particular. It also draws on literature that calls for partnerships and closer co-operation between institutions of higher learning and the world of work, on evaluation research and programme evaluation and on the role that could be played by service-learning in promoting attitudes and values that are necessary for the integration of environmental aspects into technology education. Using the naturalistic or qualitative evaluation approach and narrative data production methods in the context of teaching and learning, the lecturers in teacher education institutions and technology educators in schools were interviewed in order to find out how technology teacher education prepared technology educators for the workplace and how technology educators designed learning activities and facilitated learning in their technology classrooms. The curriculum documents for technology teacher education programmes were consulted and classroom observations also made. The research findings have indicated that technology educators find it difficult to integrate environmental education with technology education when teaching technology education and that technology teacher education programmes do not entirely prepare technology educators for the integration process that is required by the Revised National Curriculum documents of the Department of Education and Training.The study therefore calls for partnerships and collaborative efforts of higher education institutions, the Department of Education and Training and various environmental organizations in order to develop work integrated curricula that could enable technology educators to assist their learners to demonstrate an understanding of interrelationships between science, technology, society and the environment.

M.Ed. / The general aim of this research project was to investigate the components of teacher competence and how these aspects can enhance teacher effectiveness. The group aim of this research project was to investigate the teacher's leadership and how this can enhance the management of teaching competence. It was the specific aim of this research paper to: determine the contribution of a professionally inviting classroom culture towards a teacher's leadership style; obtain teacher opinion as to the extent that teachers use a professionally inviting culture as an aspect of their leadership style; and devise a possible strategy whereby a professionally inviting classroom culture can support the teacher's leadership style and enhance teacher competence. South Africa is undergoing huge changes particularly in the educational sphere. One of the most urgent problems that needs to be addressed is that of teacher competency.

M.Ed. (Eucational Media) / The training of student-teachers in media selection, integration and utilization in Venda is not done according to expectations. To investigate this problem it was necessary to identify problem areas in the theoretical and practical training of media of teachers in Venda. In order to reach possible solutions to the set problem in confirmation of the purpose of the study, a literature survey on teacher education with special reference to pre-service education and media training was undertaken. An empirical study was also conducted which included four groups of respondents, namely: Rectors of Colleges and the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University. Heads of Departments at these institutions. Lecturers at these institutions. Final year student-teachers at colleges and the university. The research as stipulated above yielded the following results: * The lecturer of student-teachers in training cannot use the available teaching media at the College/University because he himself has not been trained in the'use of available teaching media in the didactic situation. * The training programme of student-teachers is congested, which limits the time for training in and practising of the use of media in didactic situations. * The student-teacher completes his training without enough knowledge on how to use teaching media in a teaching-learning situation. * The rejection of using teaching media by lecturers and student-teachers Js il result of lack of knowledge on how to use teaching media. * There is no in-service training for lecturers and teachers to update them in teaching media. * Mainly three teaching media can be used by student teachers, lecturers and teachers, that is Chalkboard, Maps and Wall Charts. * Schools where student-teachers do teaching practice have a lack of audiovisual materials and other equipment. * The period of teaching practice is not enough to practise teaching media in the real teaching-learning situation, is, where some of the teaching media are available. * Teachers at schools cannot offer guidance to student media during practice * Student-teachers have a good theoretical knowledge but no practical knowledge of teaching media in the didactic situation.

M.Ed. / Students who are being trained as teachers for the primary school must undergo subject-didactical training in mathematics. The attitude of these students towards mathematics is apparently not always positive. A survey of the literature indicates a universal concern of teacher-trainers, namely that it is precisely these future teachers who have to teach mathematics to the pupil in his formative years, who demonstrate a negative attitude towards the subject. It is imperative that those who develop a subject-didactics curriculum for mathematics at a college of education should determine in a scientifically responsible manner what the nature and extent of the students' attitude towards mathematics is. Attitude is a determining factor in each of the principles in curriculum design. An empirical investigation was conducted with first year students at the Goudstad College of Education as respondents. Their attitude towards mathematics in general and towards certain dimensions of mathematics in particular was measured by means of Visser's attitudinal scales. It was found that there is no meaningful difference in attitude towards mathematics between man and woman students, but a meaningful difference was found between students who had a matriculation qualification in mathematics and those who did not. The former group indicated a more positive attitude towards mathematics than the latter. The attitude of students who are prepared to teach mathematics as a school subject in the future is significantly more positive than that of those who are not prepared to do so. Negative attitudes towards mathematics appear particularly in relation to a person's self confidence and motivation to be involved with mathematics. The most important implication of this investigation for the design of a subject-didactics curriculum is that it should be borne in mind that certain groups of students reveal clear negative attitudes towards mathematics. The total curriculum should be directed to developing positive attitudes where necessary and to improving and strengthening existing positive attitudes.

M.Ed. (Subject Didactics) / The awareness of the necessity to protect our natural environment is increasing, which is indeed promising. Despite this encouraging fact, it is tragically evident that mere awareness is not sufficient, as our world is going from bad to worse. It is therefore imperative to try and save our world: environmental education is one of the most efficient ways being used to save our earth. 'Die Witskrif vir Omgewingsopvoeding in Suid-Afrika' was published in 1989 by the South African government stating their acceptance of Environmental Education as essential for South Africa. Thus, Environmental Education needs to be implemented successfully into the formal, educational system of government schools in South Africa. Before the succesful implementation of Environmental Education, the teacher has to be thoroughly trained and prepared for this challenging task. This research takes a look at the level of knowledge and attitudes towards the natural, biophysical environment. This study is directed at three acute environmental problems namely: population explosion, the greenhouse effect and the depletion of the ozone layer. The sample tested comprised of fifty-eight students from three Afrikaans universities in Transvaal, preparing themselves to teach Biology in the near future.

Research asserts that learner performance in South African schools is in a state of crisis. While many more learners’ post-1994 in South Africa have physical access to education, very few have epistemological access. The quality of the education learners receive is polarised along socio economic lines. This crisis has its roots in the legacy of colonialism and apartheid, and as such, there is a need to transform the education system to ensure equal opportunity for all learners, and ultimately economic growth and security for the country. One of the explanations offered for the crisis in learner performance is the poor teacher education system. However, there is a paucity of research in teacher education generally in South Africa, and specifically in relation to pre-service teachers. Furthermore, little attention has been given to how initial teacher education could contribute to the promotion of a social justice agenda with the intention of transforming the South African schooling system. This research seeks to understand how the expectations, scaffolding and assessment of preservice teachers’ teaching practices can be utilised to promote social justice during the Teaching Practice (TP) component of initial teacher education. In answering the research question, I analyse data and literature to identify a set of key valued functionings of quality praxis that preservice teachers ought to be provided the capability to realise, at the level of achieved functioning. This is a qualitative case study located in the interpretive paradigm. The case under study is: quality teaching practices of pre-service teachers. This case is bound by context (initial teacher education in South Africa) and setting (the pre-service teacher in the classroom). Two South African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) were selected through purposive sampling and their respective Teaching Practice (TP) documentation was analysed. Focus group interviews were conducted with five lecturers involved in TP at one of the HEIs. The theoretical framework of the study used to guide the analysis of the data was underpinned by a social justice perspective on quality education. Given that a social justice perspective does not have analytic tools, I view quality pre-service teachers’ teaching practices as praxis and utilise the capability approach as a mechanism for identification and description of valued functionings and capabilities that contribute to quality praxis. There are four significant findings in my research. Firstly, there is consistency with regards to the valued functionings and capabilities across the TP documentation of the two participating HEIs. In other words, the conceptions of a capable pre-service teacher are similar. Secondly, if social justice goals are to be realised, greater clarity of the valued functionings needs to be evident in the TP documentation. Thirdly, the valued functionings can be categorised into those that are foundational and those that promote a social justice agenda. Finally, in promoting a social justice agenda, there are functionings that ought to be valued by the HEIs that are seemingly not currently valued.

D.Ed. (Educational Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Media Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Subject Didactics) / Knowledge and understanding of computers and those skills essential for using a computer are legitimate goals of education. It is not questionable that computer literacy is the most important skill for any work-seeker to posses. It is thus essential for school-Ieavers to be equipped with computer skills. If school-going children are really going to benefit from the new computer technology, then there must be teachers who are comfortable with facilitating the learning of children. In order to facilitate the development of teachers in order to use computers to enhance learning, teacher-training support needs to be increasingly diversified. We need to find methods of empowering the limited number of formally and semi formally trained teaching resources with the ability to impart computer knowledge and skills to the widest population of both teachers and students. Computer usage in education within existing subjects will be characterised by the incidental nature of its application by individual teachers. Since the aim is to integrate computers in existing subjects, in the context of the revised curriculum, it has to be noted that to achieve this aim, further growth in the usage of computers in education is needed. The intention of this study is to provide guidelines designed to help teachers in schools use computers as well as to expose the need for the inclusion of teachers with exper~ise in software development teams. What has triggered the researcher to conduct this study is the fact that she has noted the following: inadequate emphasis has been placed on implementation of computers in the classroom, effective the training of teachers for the use of computers in the classroom is generally lacking, and the need for the inclusion of teachers with subject expertise in software development. The findings of this study indicate that for computers to be implemented in schools, there should be pressure on the requirements for efficiency, effectiveness and quality performance of staff to carry out the innovation. This suggests that there is need for sufficient and appropriate teacher training and provision of ongoing support to teachers.