Text in Afrikaans / The being, nature and importance of organisational climate as well as the role of the educational manager in this regard is described. A study regarding cultural differences in the South African milieu was conducted. A pilot study preceded the qualitative, empirical survey for which a questionnaire was designed. Interviews with principals and staff members of different cultural groups were conducted at a primary, secondary and tertiary educational institution. The data is described, analysed and interpreted. Results indicated that a closed organisational climate prevailed at the majority of educational institutions in South Africa with multi-cultural staff. Guidelines for the appointment, training and development of educational managers are given. It is recommended that applicants for educational manager posts are to be selected according to psychometric tests. Current educational managers should be trained with reference to the creation of organisational climate. Management principles, management style, leadership and cultural sensitivity should be addressed. / Na aanleiding van 'n literatuurstudie is die wese, aard en belangrikheid van organisasieklimaat asook die rol van die onderwysbestuurder in die verband beskryf. 'n Literatuurstudie in verband met kultuurverskille in die Suid-Afrikaanse milieu is onderneem. 'n Loodsstudie is gedoen. 'n Vraelys is antwerp vir 'n kwalitatiewe, empiriese ondersoek. Onderhoude is by 'n primere, sekondere en tersiere onderwysinstansie met drie hoofde en elf personeellede van verskillende kultuurgroepe gevoer. Die data is beskryf, geanaliseer en gei"nterpreteer. Daar is gevind dat 'n geslote organisasieklimaat by die meerderheid onderwysinstansies in Suid-Afrika met multikulturele personele heers. Riglyne is verskaf vir die aanstelling, opleiding en ontwikkeling van onderwysbestuurders. Daar word aanbeveel dat aansoekers vir onderwysbestuursposte na aanleiding van psigometriese toetsing gekeur word. Huidige onderwysbestuurders meet indiensopleiding en ontwikkelingsgeleenthede ontvang ten opsigtevanorganisasieklimaatskepping metverwysingnabestuursbeginsels, bestuurstyl, leierskap en kultuursensitiwiteit om hulle toe te rus vir hulle moeilike taak. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Onderwysbestuur)

D.Ed. / Increasingly high demands are being made on teachers. It is consequently not strange that they often find it difficult if not impossible to hold their own, professionally and personally. This leads to phenomena such as stress, burnout and resignations from the teaching profession. Although these problems are also encountered in other occupations as well, in teaching they have a unique and rippling dimension. Pupils, who are in a particularly impressionable stage in their lives, are defenceless against the "onslaughts" that may partially stem from a teacher's inability to cope successfully. Every teacher should therefore be able to uphold his inner self, with all the meanings he attaches to it - in the work context and in all life situations that have a bearing on him as a unique person. Against this background the aim of this investigation was to determine how the high demands of the teaching profession influence the professional and personal coping process of high school teachers. To achieve this aim the research was guided by seven detailed objectives. The first five were realized by building a theoretical framework for the professional and personal coping process of teachers with the help of an extended literature study. Factors and functions were identified that complicate the survival and functioning of high school teachers, and consequently set high coping demands. Arising from the nature of these coping demands, particular conditions or requirements were sought that promote or ensure the successful professional and personal coping process of teachers. In addition, certain kinds of strategies or techniques were identified from the literature that teachers can use to help them handle situations that could lead to tension, frustration or could upset them. In the above theoretical reflection of this investigation, two dimensions (facets) of high school teachers' ability to hold their own have crystallized. The first of these dimensions concerned teachers' professional and personal coping abilities in respect of demands placed on them by contextual factors and the inner dynamic quality of each teacher's own persona. The second dimension concerned teachers' use of particular coping strategies or techniques when they find themselves in situations that could be stressful, frustrating or upsetting to them. An empirical investigation was undertaken with reference to the above theoretical framework. White teachers at Afrikaans-medium and English-medium schools in Pretoria and Verwoerdburg were involved in the investigation. A structured questionnaire, in Afrikaans and English, was compiled on the basis of the above dimensions of teachers' ability to hold their own. In line with the sixth objective set for this study, this measuring instrument was used to determine to what extent high school teachers succeeded in holding their own professionally and personally. The strategy followed to analyze and interpret data consisted of four steps. In accordance with steps 1 to 3 the data were separately analyzed in respect of each dimension (facet) of teachers' ability to hold their own. In step 1 the validity and reliability of the measuring instrument was investigated in terms of each separate dimension (facet) of teachers' ability to hold their own. First and second-order factor analytical procedures and item analyses were applied in this connection, leading to the identification of three variables (scales or factors). In respect of dimension 1, one variable was of relevance, namely teachers' perceptions of their professional and personal coping ability concerning demands made on them as a result of con extual factors and the inner dynamic quality of each teacher's own persona. For dimension 2 two variables were used, namely teachers' use of predominantly problem-oriented coping strategies or techniques and their use of predominantly emotion-oriented coping strategies or techniques. The above variables were then used to conduct multivariate and single-variable analyses on the data according to steps 2 and 3 in respect of each dimension of teachers' ability to hold their own. These analyses were aimed at determining to what extent high school teachers were currently succeeding in holding their own professionally and personally. The Hotelling T2 test and the MANOVA were used to test multivariate hypotheses, while Student's t test, the ANOVA, the Scheffe test and the Chi-square test were used to test single-variable hypotheses. In step 4 of the analyses a canonical correlation analysis was conducted on the data to determine whether there was a statistically significant relation between the two respective dimensions (facets) of the teachers' ability to hold their own. The findings obtained from all these analyses will now be dealt with briefly. Concerning the first dimension of teachers' ability to hold their own, it appeared from the findings that most of the teachers in the test group had apositive perception of their professional and personal coping abilities. There were also teachers who had less positive perceptions in this regard, which indicates that they found it more difficult than others to hold their own successfully. It therefore seems that such teachers could often experience crises in their ability to cope. In addition, the use of the respective types of coping strategies (dimension 2) by the teachers in the test as a whole suggests that the above positive perceptions may not always be so realistic. Although the teachers believe they coped very successfully, it appeared from the results that their use of predominantly problem-oriented coping strategies or techniques was not particularly high, which can imply a less successful ability to hold their own. It follows from this that these types of strategies are aimed at averting emotional experiences such as tension, frustration and alarm. Although there were teachers who used these strategies to a greater extent than others, it emerged that the use by most of the teachers of predominantly emotion-oriented coping strategies was particularly high. There were also teachers who made use of the latter type of strategies to a greater extent than others, which indicates that they probably frequently experienced tension, frustration or alarm and consequently coped less successfully. This happens because predominantly emotion-oriented coping strategies are used when the above experiences have already been elicited in a person and he/she endeavours to control them. Regarding the relation between the teachers' perceptions of their professional and personal coping abilities and their use of particular types of coping strategies or techniques, the following was found: • Particularly positive perceptions of professional and personal coping abilities correlate statistically significantly with a high use of predominantly problem-oriented coping strategies or techniques. • Teachers who believe that their religious convictions and teacher training to a large extent contribute to their coping ability, nevertheless find it difficult to cope in respect of demands that stem largely from their relationship with the pupils. Such teachers consequently make use of mainly emotion-oriented strategies in their endeavours to hold their own. In addition these teachers believe that nowadays teacher training equips teachers with the skills to cope successfully in practice. Understanding for the professional and personal demands that teachers have to contend with, needs to be encouraged among parents and the public at large.

M.Ed. / This study investigates junior primary teachers' conception of problem-centred Mathematics teaching with the view to describe and also explain their conception. The rationale for the investigation is derived from the move being made in South African Mathematics teaching from traditional teaching to constructivist and problem-centred teaching. Teachers have had to change from being authoritative and focused on the product to become facilitators of the learning process. This move implies that teachers have to put aside most of what they have been doing up till now to be able to adopt constructivist ways of thinking. Problem-centred teaching is in strong contrast to these traditional teaching methods. Such a shift in paradigm could prove to be traumatic for teachers and pupild. The report of the study commences with a theory framework in which constructivism is clearly explicated. The constructivist view of knowledge, with the relationship between public knowledge and personal knowledge and the forming of personal knowledge is discussed. The focus then shifts to learning through cognitive restructuring which is facilitated by assimilation and accommodation. In the constructivist view, learning is also facilitated by social interaction and reflection. Both the processes and the relationship between social interaction and reflection are discussed. Most importantly, learning is facilitated through constructivist teaching, but successful teaching depends on teachers'conception thereof. Conception is described as one of the most important components of teachers' personal teaching theory. Teachers use their personal teaching theory to reflect on teaching and learning. The literature review is concluded with a discussion on the nature of constructivist teaching and the role of the teacher in such a teaching model. The theory framework is complemented by a chapter on the design of the research, substantiating the choice of format and methods of data collection and analyses. The data is reported in the final chapter in which examples of raw data from transcriptions and sketches are presented. Finally, the consolidated data is interpreted. - The most significant finding of this study is that junior primary teachers in this group have a negative conception of problem-centred Mathematics teaching. It appears that the most important reason for their negative conception is that they were not adequately equipped for the contructivist approach towards Mathematics teaching. This study then proposes that for teachers to be able to teach from a constructivist paradigm they need relevant constructivist training, more support from the experts, but also more support from each other. They need to change their teaching conception to a constructivist conception of teaching.

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.

D.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / Daily media reports alert nations worldwide of the ever escalating aggressive acts of behaviour over many decades and has subsequently aroused deep concern as progressive growth In population becomes increasingly evident. Our future lies in the hands of our youth who are exposed to a wide range of educational, family, employment, political and health challenges that depart in major ways from those of young people one or two generations ago. The educational challenge is not limited to academia solely but more Importantly focuses on the upholding and envisioning of a values-based education that stirs the conscience of a nation encouraging moral, responsible law abiding citizens. This responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of our female educators amongst others in a democratic educational system. Female educators outweigh males significantly in number in our educational system yet research reveals that some female educators are not given sufficient support, acknowledgement and recognition for their committed roles In education. Faced with overwhelming demands female educators are expected to fulfil multiple roles and yet maintain a healthy balance between work commitments and family responsibilities. Some cultures have the added expectation that women bear the prime responsibility for childcare and domestic work. As a result, notable gender differences in aggression arise primarily from contrasting gender roles which augments into the workplace. The overall purpose of the study is to develop and describe a psycho-educational programme to be used as a framework of reference to facilitate the healthy self-management of secondary school female educators' experience of their aggression. The implementation and evaluation of the programme will serve as a facilitative process through the promotion of personal growth and the mobilisation of female educators to constructively self-manage their experience of aggression. Attempts to meet this broad objective were accomplished by employing an explorative, descriptive and contextual research design. In this research study field notes were used in conjunction with eight in-depth phenomenological Interviews conducted with female educators. The findings of their experiences of aggression at their secondary school evolved around their associated emotions; the resultant measures of support and the coping strategies the female educators sought as a current means of addressing their mental health status as educators and community stakeholders. The data analysis of the findings revealed that female educators do have the potential to facilitate and mobilise the available resources in order to promote their own mental health and grow towards wholeness. The future scenarios that schools are likely to face are both challenging and daunting: can schools actively shape the future by listening to the heartbeat of its female educators or merely respond to its exigencies. The liberal awakenings and gradual movement from oppression to equality for the female In South Africa as well as Issues of aggression, political violence, single parenting and abuse on women further extrapolate the need to listen to the voices of women. An awareness of their plight as evidenced In this study will hopefully draw attention to their needs and bring offers of subsequent support to the mothers of our nation which will inadvertently Impact on our youth ... our future as a nation. A shared vision building process will thus only become a living force when each Individual truly believes s/he can shape her/his future. The ability of our educational system to compete in an Increasingly global economy depends on our ability to prepare both learners and educators for new or changing landscapes.

D. Phil. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

In general, insufficient research has been done to validate the usefulness and relevance of computers in educational settings (Hitchcock, 2000; Robinson et al., 2003; Baillie et al., 2000; Housego et al., 2000; Valdez et al., 2004). Schools therefore tend to adopt educational technologies before determining whether and how the technology will be used to its full capacity, or what the human and educational impact would be on learners and teachers (Hobson et al., 1998; McCabe et al., 2003; Hugo, 2002). In South Africa the eEducation policy, scripted by the Department of Education (DOE), has been created as an implementation and integration plan for educational technologies in South African schools, where all South African learners at schools are to be functionally computer literate by the year 2013 (DOE, 2003c). However, a limited amount of research has been performed investigating the educational relevance or optimal method for Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) implementation in South African schools. The purpose of the undertaken research study is to create an understanding of teachers’ attitudes toward CAL implementation and integration, as well as to provide insight into the optimal CAL implementation and integration methods in South African schools. The research problem under study therefore is: What are teachers’ attitudes toward the implementation and integration of CAL systems in South African schools? The research study is performed within the quantitative research paradigm and can be described as both exploratory and descriptive in orientation. In the context of this research the population under study is Grade 10 Mathematics teachers that teach in the city of Port Elizabeth. Out of a total of 153 teachers who form part of the study population, 78 successfully completed survey instruments, returning a high yield of 51% of the total study population. The analysis of the total teacher sample group provides the most statistically robust analysis breakdown of the study, and therefore can be reported with a high level of confidence. However, as the study is exploratory in nature, the analysis of various subject breakdowns have been included and iii reported in the study to provide anecdotal insight across diverse variable groups. Subject breakdowns include gender, demographic groups, and age groups, levels of qualifications and level of computer use experience. The findings indicate that teachers in general feel very positive about the use of computers in schools, specifically for teaching purposes, and believe the use of computers in education is inevitable but provides value in the educational context. Though teachers demonstrate high levels of access to computers and fairly capable computer abilities, they demonstrate low levels of awareness of available computer facilities, as well as low levels of computer use. The findings therefore indicate a need for greater integration of CAL systems into the curricula and greater training opportunities. However, teachers show that they have a preference for traditional teaching methods to CAL instructional methods, demonstrating a specific preference for traditional chalk and whiteboard media. The findings suggest that teachers do not value computers for their instructional purposes, but rather for their practical educational related activities. The findings also suggest that the use of computers to teach is not a priority of education related computer use. Teachers indicate that a variety of both traditional and modern media is best suited to various educational activities. With regard to CAL instruction, teachers demonstrate a preference for a teaching scenario where teachers use computers to prepare and teach lessons, but learners only perform exercises on computers under teacher supervision. Teachers demonstrate greater aversion to teaching situations where learners learn independently off computers. Teachers therefore indicate that Drill and Practice and Testing software are the most suitable for general CAL implementation and use, in support of previous studies in South Africa. Finally, from a developmental perspective in the context of South Africa, teachers overwhelmingly indicate that the widespread implementation of CAL systems should not occur before all schools have their basic needs of water, sanitation, electricity and human resources fulfilled.

M.Ed. (Education Management) / The individual behaviour of the involved experienced teacher gives form and direction to the practice of teaching and education. The improvement of the school's effectiveness can be the consequence of the dedication and enthusiasm of involved experienced teachers. By developing highly motivated involved experienced teachers, the educational leader creates the potential for effective teaching and the improvement of school efficiency. Education leaders should regard their motivational task as a high priority. From the research material it is clear that there is a large variety of problems facing the uninvolved experienced teacher. These problems differ in degree and scope. For every separate problem area specific solutions will have to be found. In order to find sensible solutions for these problems." it is desirable to group them together in separate areas or categories. From a wide variety of problems, it is possible to isolate the following areas or categories, viz: + discontent with aspects of management + adaptation to the school environment, and + limited promotional opportunities Although not all uninvolved experienced teachers experience the same problems, there are, however, problems that are common to them all. Communication is one such problem that could bring about major change. Communication is a way of Iiving and forms an integral part of one's existence. It forms the basis of the establishment, maintenance and improvement of human relations. Due to the educational leader's managerial function, manifold opportunities arise for effective communication, which are enhanced by his qualities, such as leadership, guidance, the ability to organise, to be decisive and to exercise discipline. The school climate, human relations and the management style within a school constitute the basic requirements for a particular mode of communication. The educational leader should always endeavour to communicate effectively in order to prevent and rectify communication barriers. xii In order to allow the educational leader to formulate a sensible motivation strategy it is necessary for him to be aware of and get an overall picture of the multiplicity of existing theories of motivation. Each theory, in its own way, gives expression to the nature of human needs and motives as forces governing motivation. At the same time it is an indication of the human personality and these theories allow educational leaders to: + improve the uninvolved experience teacher's attendance, quality of work, and personal involvement + bring about the acceptance of responsibility without the use of threats, and + turn traditional practises into innovative teaching methods. It would be unrealistic to think that a perfect approach to motivation could ever be achieved. The educational leader must, of necessity, apply motivation in a specific situation, adapting the motivational strategy to suit each individual, depending on his needs in changing circumstances. A positive school climate is of particular importance if the pupils are to achieve maturity and teachers are to enjoy job satisfaction. The success of motivation as a managerial skill applied by the educational leader depends on the efficiency of the execution of his other managerial activities. This efficiency can be achieved by training during which the educational leader becomes more skilled in dealing with the key elements of the task of motivation, viz: + the importance of school climate in the development of highly motivated uninvolved experienced teachers, and + the effect of different leadership styles on the motivation of the uninvolved experienced teacher. The creation of the so-called ideal or positive school climate should form part of the educational leader's managerial strategy. In this regard the leadership style of the educational leader is of paramount importance in the creation of a positive school climate in order to encourage motivated behaviour of the uninvolved experienced teacher.

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

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