From human to human(e) is an exploration of ways of coming to understand what it means to be(come) human and to belong (Vanier, 2003) while living and working as an educator in a disadvantaged community. In this sense, the purpose of this dissertation is the exploration of understanding what it might mean to be a ‘Foundation Phase’ (Primary/Elementary School) educator in a context of constructed poverty and disadvantage (Swanson 2004), thereby contributing to the field of education in this area, whilst embracing a practice of freedom and fostering apertures of hope and transcendence. This reflexive, rhizomatic narrative journeying (ibid) attempts to reach out to humanity via an interdisciplinary and arts-based approach that attempts to address concerns of inequity and pedagogical in-access and evokes the spiritual, emotive and philosophical in drawing attention to the ethical irresponsibility and socio-spiritual repercussions of ignoring social disadvantage in education. It includes inherences and impressions of humaneness in education. It seeks both introspection and insight into what ‘the human condition’ might mean to a just and robust education of children. In this sense, it is a personal inquiry as reflexive narrative journeying (ibid) based on twenty seven years of teaching in a primary school in a vulnerable and economically-impoverished community in the province of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. As a writing-as-inquiry journeying, I engage with ‘critical rhizomatic narrative’ methodology (Swanson, 2004) as it resonates with the explorations of lived experiences that pertain to emotions, feelings, values and spirituality and because it enables a process of seeking what it might mean to be(come) human(e). This study is a philosophical rhizomatic narrative rendering which is an approach to(wards) understandings of personal growth and spirituality through understanding the various emergent journeys of life and the meanings that we can elicit from them to become more human and thus more humane.

This study investigates practices of early childhood development (ECD) practitioners for children from three to five years in three ECD centres situated within the municipal boundaries of Buffalo City, East London. It does so by posing the following questions: What are the practices of ECD practitioners for children from three to five years in developing learners’ oral language and physical intelligence. This study, using a qualitative approach and Qualitative methods for data collection were used, that is semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The findings reveal that for oral language development, storytelling and children sharing news seemed to be the most used practices. However, the practitioners in this study seemed to severely lack understanding of their selected practices. Practices for developing children’s physical intelligence included free play, which was unsupervised. Practitioners seemed not to have an understanding of constructive play which is very important for the development of learners’ physical intelligence. One of the factors reported to be the cause of the poor quality of their practices was the critical shortage of funding for practitioners’ professional training. Moreover, shortage of funds also contributed to poor and inappropriate infrastructure and a lack of resources and teaching aids. This study, therefore, recommends that the quality of ECD programmes could be one of the prime contributors to the quality and effectiveness of ECD provisioning.

M.Ed. / Because of the current curriculum developments, it is important that universities begin assessing their status regarding environmental education. This study will therefore aim at determining the current level of environmental awareness of third year pre-service teacher trainees at Vista University in order to make recommendations as to what an environmental education course should contain for the pre-service teacher trainees of this institution. Vista University consists of seven campuses, each accessible to the areas they serve. The different campuses are: Bloemfontein Campus outside Bloemfontein, East Rand Campus near Daveyton on the East Rand, Mamelodi Campus near Silverton in Pretoria East, Port Elizabeth Campus outside Port Elizabeth, Sebokeng Campus near Vereeniging, Soweto Campus in Soweto, and Welkom Campus outside Welkom. Vista University also provides Distance Education, the campus of which is situated in Pretoria. The university's Head Office is situated in Pretoria. This study will limit itself to two campuses within Gauteng, namely East Rand Campus, and Mamelodi Campus, AIMS OF THE STUDY As already mentioned, this survey will be conducted amongst the third year education students on each of the above-mentioned campuses. In order to assess the current status of environmental literacy at Vista University, this study will aim at the following: • to set up a questionnaire to measure the four stages of environmental literacy as set out by Roth (1992: 18 - 19); to undertake the survey amongst the third year education students of the East Rand and Mamelodi Campuses; to analyse and evaluate the data in order to determine the level of environmental awareness of the target group; to generalise the result of the sample to the population; to make suggestions as to what information needs to be included in an environmental education course for pre-service teacher trainees at Vista University

M. Ed. / The aim of this research study was to provide teachers and managers in the field of education with strategies for beginning to use cooperative learning or improving the current use of this important instructional tool. It will help teachers and managers to understand conceptually what cooperative learning is and what makes it work. Such understanding must precede practical experience using cooperative learning day in day out in classrooms. The need for this combination of conceptual knowledge and practical experience is what makes teaching the complex activity that is and why it takes many years to master. Cooperative learning and the management thereof by headmasters and heads of departments helps raise the achievement of all students, including those who are gifted or academically handicapped. Secondly, it helps teachers build positive relationships among students, which is the heart of creating a learning community that values diversity. Thirdly, it gives students the experience they need for healthy social, psychological and cognitive development. Cooperative learning's ability to work three fronts at the same time places it above all other instructional methods with cooperative learning, and the effective management thereof teachers become engineer who structure and facilitate team learning efforts rather than workers who simply pour knowledge into pupils work stations. The major findings are recommended in the field of education. Literature review indicated among other aspects that collaborate and competence were essential for school effectiveness.

M.Ed. / In this study attention was paid to factors influencing students in their evaluation of the teaching skills of their lecturers. The problem addressed is that of the increase in student numbers and the relatively high failure rate at South African universities which accompanies it. Due to the fact that the lecturer is responsible for teaching, it follows that a solution to this problem lies partly with him/her. Universities are forced to seriously address this problem and to supply possible solutions. As a result research programs are often conducted in order to establish those factors which have an influence on a student's evaluation of a lecturer's teaching (for example Malan, 1979; Strydom & Helm, 1981; Malan,1983; Vlok & Sewell, 1985 and Marais & Van Tonder, 1986, etc.). The purpose of this project is threefold: to present an overview of literature pertaining to techniques of teaching evaluation applied locally and internationally; to identify factors which could possibly influence students' evaluation of teaching, using available literature; to determine to what extent these factors apply to male and female students of different seniority levels and in various fields of study. In the study of relevant literature specific attention was paid to those characteristics of a lecturer earmarking him/her as effective. These characteristics include both personal and teaching practice characteristics. The study also includes teaching evaluation as a facet of teaching development, addressing various techniques of evaluation and focusing upon evaluation by students ...

M.Ed. / In South Africa the new educational dispensation brought great changes to everyone concerned. The process of reform gained momentum with the implementation of a new curriculum, Curriculum 2005, in Grade one in 1998. The purpose of this investigation in the first place was to determine factors influencing the attitudes of teachers before and during the implementation of Curriculum 2005. Secondly this research was to detect teachers' attitudes regarding the new curriculum and to clarify support given by the Gauteng Department of Education during the dissemination period. The respondents were Grade one teachers in three schools, situated in three different urban communities, representative of the broader South African nation. Data was analysed by means of content analysis, conducted by the researcher and an independent analyst. Positive and negative teachers' attitudes were identified from data. In some instances respondents qualified what they said whilst in other instances they gave through their attitudes without any motivations. Curriculum development was given as one of the main reasons why respondents had negative feelings against implementation of the Curriculum 2005. Dissemination, implementation, assessment and design were mentioned by respondents as factors of curriculum development influencing them in a negative way. A variety of defence mechanisms were used to cover up the reality concerning the reasons why attitudes were negative, hence the creation of scapegoats which are given the blame if problems were identified in the implementation of the new curriculum. Unattended matters such as absence of resources, language matters and lack of support by the Gauteng Department of Education were also mentioned as reasons for negative attitudes. The same factor was given by some respondents as a reason for positive and by other respondents as a reason for negative attitudes. Curriculum presentation and the new role of teachers were two such reasons. Revised class circumstances and learning activities also influenced the attitudes of teachers positively in some instances and negatively in others. Two other very important factors which inflicted negative as well as positive attitudes on respondents were parents’ new role and the influence of circumstances in learners homes, because in some communities these circumstances do not benefit education as a whole. In the view of the findings it is clear that teachers, in spite of various negative attitudes, see the implementation of Curriculum 2005 as a possible solution for problems in the educational system in South Africa. A few provisos to realise successful implementation of Curriculum 2005, for example enough resources, less learners in classes and textbooks in vernacular, were stipulated. Respondents, without giving reasons mentioned the factor that the effective implementation of Curriculum 2005 can only be limited to Grade 1 to 4. This research supports long-term planning for Curriculum 2005 and the correct steps to be taken by the Department of Education to ensure a positive attitude from the educators involved. Further research over a longer period of time with the same objectives as in this study can be of scientific value. The implications of attitudes on support systems from the Gauteng Department of Education should also be investigated further.

This study is focused on how technology is employed as educational support media in distance education. The aim is to establish the availability and accessibility of interac¬tive television for both guidance teachers and students in rural, remote and previously disadvantaged communities. Interactive television could be used to support the primary modes of education, namely, contact education on campus or at remote sites, paper-¬based distance education and Web-based distance education for in-service education and training of guidance teachers. The TELETUKS schools project is cursorily pre¬sented as an example of a technology-enhanced delivery system to facilitate interactive television learning. The ITV has the potential to be cost-effective, saving on travelling costs and reaching for increased numbers of upgrading guidance teachers per unit time. A comprehensive interactive television model for in-service training of the guidance teacher in the Northern Province is presented. / Thesis (PhD (Educational Guidance and Counselling))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Bibliography: pages 146-160. / This study examines haw teachers at two former white Model C schools construct educational changes rhetorically. The discourse analytic approach of Wetherell and Potter (1992) is employed to interpret interview texts in which teachers talk about desegregation, school governance and finance. Specific constructions of 'race ', culture and language and their function as signifiers of sameness, difference and otherness are critically discussed. Two interpretative repertoires are identified. Good Educational Practice contains the concepts of standards, values and naturalness. It is demonstrated how these are used as argumentative strategies to contain and restrict changes taking place at the schools. Managerialism draws on financial and business principles such as entrepreneurship and efficiency to propose a particular view of how educational change should be managed. Connections are made between the effects of these discursive constructions and social practices at the school.

Includes bibliography. / This study examines the role of time in the working lives of teachers in the Western Cape in the years 1989 and 1990. The study is based upon interviews with twelve teachers, all of whom were currently teaching or who had been teaching in the recent past. The interviews explored the attitudes and practices of the teachers regarding their timetables, free periods, extra-murals, marking practices and lesson preparation, meetings, homework practices, tests and examinations, and professionalism, in so far as these were affected by considerations of time. The study argues that conflict in schools is produced by the struggle for autonomy, particularly in the classroom practice of teachers, and that this struggle takes the form of competition for control of time. In particular, the study suggests that there are rankings of power and priorities in schools and that these can be better understood by examining the relationships between time, conflict and autonomy.

Adissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fufillment or partial fufilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Education (Research Methodology) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University of Zululand, 2006. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of educators' attitudes towards teenage pregnancy in Secondary Schools of the Lower Tugela Circuit of KwaZuIu-Natal. Subjects were educators (N=97) from twenty secondary schools. These educators were of different ages; races: religious affiliation, educational levels teaching experience and gender. The study, further, investigated the relationship (if any) that exist between their attitudes towards teenage pregnancy and various educators' characteristics such as age, gender, race, religious affiliation, educational level and their teaching experience. The study was conducted in response to the KZN Circular Number 116 of 2000 which seem to give more rights to pregnant learners . The findings indicated that educators have positive attitudes and are sympathetic towards pregnant teenagers, but displayed reservations about the level of skills they have with regard to helping teenagers in the times of emergency (like delivery) in the classroom. The study formulated some recommendations that the researcher hope (believe) will strengthen the relationship between educators and pregnant teenagers in schools.