M. Ed. (Educational Management) / The aim of this research study was to examine educator attitudes in the implementation of Curriculum 2005 at Katlehong Secondary Schools. The research study indicate that educators are faced with challenges in their endeavors to implement curriculum 2005. Research findings revealed that inadequate training of educators has a negative impact in the implementation of Curriculum 2005. Overcrowding in the classroom creates difficulties in the delivery of Curriculum. There is a need for well coordinated in-service training for educators.

M.Ed. (ICT in Education) / Information and Communication Technology has made its way into almost all fields of human interactions. The leading field, where ICT is most commonly practiced, is that of business and industry. In contrast, Mostert and Nthetha (2008) assert that the in the field of education, ICT is used minimally and mainly for administrative purposes. At present, the use of ICT is not common in the mathematics classroom and can be attributed to initial teacher training programmes that did not include the integration of ICTs into the curriculum until more recently. Pre-service student teachers, who have been exposed to ICT modules in preparation for using it in their practice, thus stand a better chance to utilise ICT resources because of their previous exposure. This dissertation aims to identify current pre-service mathematics student teachers acceptance of ICT`s in their classroom. The focus will be on mathematics teaching and learning as this is one of the subjects in which learners perform below expectation in the South African context. The positive contribution of ICT in the mathematics classroom firstly relies on the individual teacher’s belief in the effectiveness of ICT and secondly on the teacher’s competence to utilise ICT tools and services. An imbalance in the equation will ultimately influence a teacher’s perception on ICT integration for pedagogy. Teachers, who have ICT competency skills but do not believe in its effectiveness, are bound to reject its integration in as much as teachers who believe in ICT but lack competency in using ICT resources. Therefore, teachers need to have a positive attitude and the technical knowhow on how to successfully integrate ICT in their teaching and learning of mathematics. This is the theoretical framework that underpins ICT integration in education ...

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

South Africa has experienced three significant curriculum reforms since 1994. The first of these replaced the ‘apartheid’ curriculum with C2005 based largely on Outcomes Based Education. In the second stage C2005 gave way to the National Curriculum Statements, a simplified version of C2005. Finally, the NCS was replaced with CAPS. This research study investigates the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of teachers implementing these curriculum changes. It focuses in particular on Foundation Phase in 2012, the year in which CAPS was implemented in that phase. It took the form of an interpretive case study, using qualitative data generating and analysis techniques. Principals and selected teachers of two primary schools in Grahamstown – an ex-Model C school and a performing ‘township’ school - were the respondents of the study. Data were generated chiefly through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, supplemented by document analysis and observation. The findings revealed that the teachers in this study are frustrated and angry about the frequency of curriculum change in South Africa. Respondents are particularly critical of OBE and the NCS. While they welcome the need for a departure from ‘apartheid’ curricula, they feel the pedagogical underpinning of the NCS – with its emphasis on learner-centredness – disempowered them as teachers. Hence, they welcomed CAPS which seems to return to content – rather than skills and attitudes – and re-instates the teacher as the chief giver of knowledge and manager of learning.

The introduction of outcomes based education, what in South Africa is called Curriculum 2005, in 1998 ushered in a new era in South African education. Curriculum 2005 will take some years to filter through the whole schooling system, yet a revision has already had to be instituted and a New Curriculum Statement is envisaged to be introduced to schools starting in 2004. This study has examined the experiences of teachers with regard to the purpose, scope and practices of professional support within the changing educational setting of South Africa. In doing so the study also examined the actual experiences of teachers with regard to educational change and professional support, particularly in relation to outcomes based education. The study also indicated the measures that can be taken in order to improve the provision of professional support for teachers. The study used a qualitative method of research. It used a non¬positivist interpretative/constructivist approach. To obtain information, the study used open ended interviews with five teachers from Thohoyandou District, Limpopo Province. The teachers, three males and two females, all teach grade 7 classes. Purposeful sampling was used to select those teachers who I regarded as having the necessary and relevant knowledge, understandings, and experiences for this research and were willing to share their experiences. The data analysis used here is based on the ideas of grounded theory, which argues for detailed grounding of theory in the systematic and intensive analysis of empirical data in a microscopic detailed fashion. The report discusses issues such as politics and educational change, the context of change, teacher collaboration, commitment and accountability. Other issues discussed included advocacy for the changes, the timing of workshops for outcomes based education and training for teachers, in school support by principals and heads of department and site visits by curriculum advisors to provide support for teachers as they grapple with the changes. The research indicates that teachers within the same context can have different conceptions or multiple mental constructions about educational change and professional support which may contradict each other, or be in conflict with each other. This research therefore calls for a more personal interactive mode of professional support provision, involving a juxtaposition of conflicting and contradicting ideas, in which efforts are made to obtain the multiple perspectives that teachers have. This will lead to a reconsideration of ideas, methods and positions as the provision of professional support progresses, thus allowing for complementarities to be discovered. / Thesis (D Phil (Comparative Education))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Foundation Phase (FP) teachers’ reluctance to teach science might stem from their weak science backgrounds that has resulted in their limited science content knowledge and their congruent science misconceptions and low self-efficacy with respect to science (Boyer, 2010; Luera, Moyer, & Everett, 2005). This study was guided by the following research question: What lessons, if any, can be learnt from a representative sample of FP teachers from six rural schools in the Libode Mega District with respect to the implementation of the Natural Sciences aspect of a new curriculum? The sample comprised 18 black, female, isiXhosa speaking teachers that represented six schools in the Libode Mega District (Libode, Ntlaza and Lusikisiki). A mixed-methods approach was used to collect qualitative and descriptive quantitative data using two structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews in the form of focus groups.

The majority of South African public schools are not performing well and this is particularly true of the schools in the Eastern Cape Province. Many factors including teacher union strikes contributed to this situation. Teachers’ unions went on strike without considering the rights of learners. The aim of this research was to determine the extent to which teachers’ unionized strikes influence the quality of teaching and learning at selected high schools of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province and to determine ways in which the teacher unions can also protect the rights of learners to achieve quality education in these selected high schools. The research consists of a study of relevant literature, followed by a qualitative research design. The sample group consisted of Grade 12 teachers, deputy principals and site stewards from four high schools in the Port Elizabeth District. The researcher trusts that her understanding as presented in the research findings and recommendations will benefit not only herself but will empower all the teacher unions’ members and learners coping with the stress of teaching and learning at times of strikes.

The HIV and AIDS pandemic in South Africa has increased the number of orphans and vulnerable children in the school system. Given the prominent role that teachers can play in ensuring that these children receive a quality education so as to maximise their life opportunities, it is important for teachers to be empowered and equipped to enable them to deal with issues surrounding orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) at schools. This study focuses on how teachers are experiencing the impact of HIV and AIDS in schools as a result of having OVC in their classes. The Department of Education has developed training courses to help teachers cope with the impact of HIV and AIDS, but the effectiveness of these programmes has not yet been evaluated. This study aims to establish how teachers who have attended these programmes feel about the assistance rendered to them to deal with OVC related issues. In order to meet this aim, a qualitative enquiry was conducted among a sample of selected teachers from the Eastern Cape. The findings suggest that, while the training has helped to improve the knowledge and attitudes of the teachers, it has not equipped them with the necessary skills to overcome barriers to implement the training programmes at school level. The findings also suggest that there is a need for ongoing support from the Department of Education and the trainers it contracts to ensure that learning from the training is implemented in the schools. Based on the research findings, the study concludes with recommendations that will help teachers to better cope with OVC related issues at school.

The aim of this research project then was to investigate a particular dimension related to the implementation of the Life Orientation learning area within a particular rural primary school in the Kwa-Zulu Natal region. Since the teacher has been identified as a key role player in the successful or unsuccessful implementation of a new curriculum, the primary focus was on the teacher per se. Fullan’s emphasis (1991:117) on teachers’ thoughts (what they think) and actions (what they do), raises two subsequent questions, namely What do teachers at this particular school do with regard to the implementation of the (new) Life Orientation learning area? and What do these teachers think about the implementation of the (new) Life Orientation learning area? In this study, I focused on the second question, namely What do teachers think about the implementation of the (new) Life Orientation learning area? Within the context of this study, it is assumed that the teachers’ thoughts also include their opinions, viewpoints, attitudes and beliefs about the implementation of the Life Orientation curriculum. The term ‘perspective’ has thus been used as encompassing term and the main research question defined as What are teachers’ perceptives about the implementation of the (new) Life Orientation learning area?.

The media and the Government have voiced their feelings against micro-lenders, which they refer to as “abomashonisa”. The cry has been that they enslave the poor making their lives unbearable. The fact of the matter is that it is not only the poor who find themselves slaves to the micro-lenders. The educated with better paying jobs than the poor, including teachers are also micro-lending clients. This prompted the researcher to investigate the financial management competencies of teachers. Although teachers are better paid than the poor, the manner in which they conduct their financial affairs will determine whether they live like the poor or not. Even for the poor, poor financial management skills is one of the important factors that cause them to be enslaved by micro-lenders. To meet the dissertation’s aims a literature study focusing on the origin and the development of micro-lending in South Africa and the financial management acumen of teachers in South Africa, was conducted. An empirical study was then undertaken to investigate the financial management competencies of teachers in Port Elizabeth. Based on the information obtained from the literature study and the results from the empirical survey, various recommendations and conclusions were made.