No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

South African schools during the era of apartheid were characterized by hierarchical and bureaucratic management structures that, for the most part, stifled the leadership potential of all those within the organization. With the onset of democracy in South Africa in 1994, there has been a radical shift in education policy and legislation which propagates making schools democratic organizations in which distributed leadership practices and collaboration is the norm. Within the distributed leadership framework, leadership is not synonymous with the work of those in formal management positions but rather the work of leadership involves multiple individuals. As such there is now a platform for the definitive engagement in the promotion of teacher leadership in South African schools. However, despite this enabling policy framework, teacher leadership practices are not embedded in the culture of many South African schools. This could be attributed to teacher leadership being its infancy stage in South Africa and the notion of teacher leadership not being valued. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

The traditional view in education leadership separates school leaders from teachers. However, traditional views has been challenged by recent research which calls for distributed forms of leadership where all teachers are viewed as having the capacity to lead and where power is distributed across the organization. Therefore, leadership must be understood as a shared process which involves working with all stakeholders in a collegial and creative way to seek out the untapped leadership potential of people and develop this potential in a supportive environment for the betterment of the school. In other words, it is within these professional learning communities that power in the school is redistributed and where teachers can operate as leaders as they strive towards a more equitable society. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

Teacher leadership is a relatively new concept in the South African educational research context. It is in line with the expectation of the Department of Education which envisage that schools be managed effectively, professionally and democratically. The issues of democracy and the empowerment of ordinary teachers with leadership skills are postulated in the South African Schools’ Act of (1996) and the Task Team Report on Education Management and Development, 1996. The purpose of the study is to explore how teacher leadership is enacted in a rural secondary school in the deep rural area of Msinga in the Umzinyathi District in KwaZulu-Natal and to find out the enhancing factors and the barriers to this enactment. The research design followed a qualitative approach. A case study methodology was adopted with the case being a school and three teacher leaders as the units of analysis. Data were collected through questionnaires, focus group interviews, school and participant observation as well as a self-reflective journaling process. The research was informed by distributed leadership theory. The findings revealed that in the case study school even though there are challenges like the lack of parental support, the school is conducive to the enactment of teacher leadership. All teacher leaders were found to be free to pursue their respective leadership initiatives. They were involved in leadership in the classroom and beyond (Grant, 2008) which involve zone 1, zone 2, zone 3 and zone 4. TL 1’s activities were centered around organizing academic and non-academic events in the school, which indicated the teacher operating in the zone of the school (z 3). TL 2’s leadership roles were found to be mainly within the classroom as well as in the zone of a teacher’s activities involving continuing to teach and improve one’s own teaching (z 1). TL 3’s main area of operation was found to be in extra-mural activities, wherein his activities were found to be involving the children in the zone of the teacher’s dealing with the children (z 2). The enactment of teacher leadership in a case study school was helped mainly by the School Management Team’s willingness to offer a space for each and every individual teacher to exhibit his / her capabilities. Moreover, there was a sufficient space for all teachers to be part of a decision-making process. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

This study was an exploration of the educators' perceptions of the management approach to change in a particular primary school and this was related to the educator attitudes towards change. Information was gathered by means of a literature and empirical study. A qualitative method was used by conducting a case study in a primary school in KwaZulu-Natal, to investigate the management of change, with reference to the implementation of the new IQMS (Integrated Quality Management System For School Based - Educators) and how this change management was perceived by educators to be impacting on their attitudes towards change. The various management theories provided a sound understanding of the different management approaches to change. Four factors that had an impact on the research were considered namely: change; educator attitudes; managing change and change implementation. The data for the case study was obtained by means of questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were administered to thirty educators and interviews were conducted with nine members at the school. Descriptive statistics were carried out to analyse the information received from the questionnaires and interviews. The findings of the study were that, there are forces (and needs) for change in the organisation, for example IQMS was externally mandated to be implemented in all schools. The literature review illustrated that there are personal factors that affect educator attitudes to implementation, however this dissertation focussed on the management of change and how the management approach affected educator attitudes towards change. In conclusion, a summary of the findings from the literature study and the findings of the case study were presented. It was found that generally change management impacted positively on educator attitudes towards change at this school. Statistical analysis showed positive relationships between management and the staff. However certain areas as suggested in the literature needs to be improved by the management of the organisation. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

Traditionally South African Schools are characterised by the hierarchical nature of their management structures. The principal is the head of the school and is accountable to the Department of Education. Post 1994 school management teams are in place in schools and membership includes the principal, deputy principal and HOD‟s who hold the formal management positions. Teachers who are not formally appointed to leadership positions are categorized as level-one teachers. Hence, this dissertation works from the premise that these teachers play an important role as leaders, albeit in an informal capacity. These teachers play an important role as leaders, albeit in an informal capacity. Teacher leadership enactment is prevalent in South African Schools, but to varying degrees. Every teacher is a potential teacher leader and therefore every school has an immense wealth of expertise in terms of teacher leadership. However, within the context of their environments, human resources are utilized to varying degrees in the different schools. The research questions which guided this study included: “How is teacher leadership enacted in an urban primary school?” and “What factors promote or hinder this enactment?” The study was designed as a case study which was conducted within the interpretive paradigm and was mainly qualitative in nature. Data were gathered by means of survey questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, a focus group interview, journal entries and observation schedules. The case study was of an urban primary school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Data were predominantly qualitative and were analysed using thematic content analysis. Findings of the study were that teacher leadership enactment occurred across all four zones, mostly in zone one (in the classroom) and zone two (working with other teachers and learners outside the classroom in curricular and extra-curricular activities). Teacher leadership enactment was very restricted in zone three (outside the classroom in whole school development). Enhancing factors included that there was shared decision-making, a collaborative learning environment and delegation of duties from an informal position. 4 The main barriers were a lack of dialogic space, an overemphasis on control by the SMT and lack of time to enact teacher leadership. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

This study identified the quality of education in regard to pedagogical content knowledge, personal characteristics of lecturers, and teaching and assessment strategies practices in the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), as experienced by student teachers. The study is an interpretive study following a qualitative approach, and focuses on students' understanding of their lived experiences. This is a case study of Fourth year B.Ed. students registered at UKZN in 2011 for Foundation and Intermediate (F & I) phase. 24 students were selected and had agreed to participate in the study but 15 actually participated in interviews. Student teachers argued that most lecturers employed by UKZN are good quality lecturers. There were some lecturers who were considered poor quality lecturers. Student teachers categorized poor quality lecturers as those who do not know how to teach, those who do not have experience, and those who were always away attending conferences or on sabbatical leaves. Student teachers considered an outstanding lecturer as a fully qualified person who is always on time and available for lectures and consultations. Student teachers claim to have acquired sound pedagogical content knowledge from the university. They concur that lecturers employed various assessment strategies which challenged students' higher order thinking abilities. The study revealed that the most common lecture delivery methods employed by lecturers are lecture method and reading (where the lecturer reads course materials in class). The student teachers noted that these methods were used with minimal variation. There were some lecturers who utilized resources such as overhead projectors while a few used PowerPoint presentations and some engaged students in discussion. Most student teachers regarded teaching practice as a programme which developed their teaching skills, helped them in developing confidence to address audience, and with planning and presenting lessons. But they claim that there was poor organisation of teaching practice. In the final chapter it is argued that quality as experienced by teacher education students in the 4th year is a complex phenomenon which covers especially areas of teaching practice, lecture delivery. This excludes other areas that pivotal in judging quality of high institution of education such as curriculum balance, financial resources and admission criteria. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2012.

his thesis, based on a visual study of five educators in South Africa, primarily concerns itself with the experiences of white educators who are currently teaching as the only white educator in schools with predominantly black learners. More specifically, my study is an exploratory research effort, which examines three research objectives. These are: (1) what are the experiences of white educators teaching in schools with predominantly black learners; (2) why are their experiences constructed in such ways; and (3) what is the relationship, if any, between their experiences and their social identities — such as race, gender and class. I selected ethnography as a research tool for this study, in that it encompasses the examining of visual representations for information about people, which are visual documents produced by those under study. Photographs can become stitched into the fabric of people's lives, reflecting and representing social persons and social relationships. It is therefore hoped that the visual images that the five white participants of this study take, disclose the texture of their own experiences of teaching in schools with predominantly black learners. The study participants are all currently teaching in schools within KwaZulu Natal. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the enactment of teacher leadership within an urban primary school. My focus was to look at the factors that enhanced or hindered this enactment. The research took the form of a case study which was conducted within the qualitative research paradigm. The study took place in an urban primary school in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. The participants included three post level one educators. Data were collected by means of a multi method approach with techniques that included an observation schedule, semi- structured interviews, a focus group interview and self reflective journaling. Data were continuously analyzed throughout the research process using thematic content analysis and Grant’s (2008) model of teacher leadership. Findings from the research proved that the enactment of teacher leadership is still in its infancy at the case study school. Due to the fact that the school is still hierarchically controlled by an autocratic principal, the School Management Team (SMT) does not see the need to create the space for teachers to enact leadership. Teacher leadership is therefore restricted to the classroom and to teachers working with other teachers in curriculum and extra curriculum activities. Very little teacher leadership was evident in the area of whole school development neither in the case study school nor from the school leading into the community. Barriers to teacher leadership included the autocratic leadership style of the principal, work overload, time constraints, lack of leadership opportunities created by the SMT and a culture of favoritism by the principal. Despite these many barriers, the aspiring teacher leaders showed high motivational levels to participate in leadership roles provided that the leadership at the school created the space for teachers to become leaders. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

The value of schools as systems for encouraging positive adaptation and development has gained recognition in resilience research. As key role players in the school environment, teachers play a central role in fostering resilience among learners. Further, the context of the school environment provides understanding into the many systems in which learners are situated which encourage or hinder the development of resilience strategies. Learners in South Africa face many barriers in attempting to access education. These challenges are especially prevalent in rural areas, where poverty, unemployment and poor health add an extra burden on learners and teachers. Despite this, there are learners who are able to achieve academic success. They are in essence resilient. This study aimed to understand the perceptions of teachers of the factors which influence learner success in South Africa from a strengths perspective. A qualitative approach and purposive sampling were employed to conduct two focus groups with teachers from two rural high schools in KwaZulu-Natal. The Participlan method was used to conduct the focus groups as it allowed the groups’ control over organising main themes and ideas. Data was analysed using thematic analysis and concepts from resilience theory and the Bio-ecological Systems Theory were used to organise and understand the findings. The results indicated that the teachers have a contextual view of the factors influencing learner success and they underemphasise the role of the individual. The key role of the teacher and the school as a site for fostering resilience was also evident. Suggestions for further research include exploring the effectiveness of reactive strategies developed by the participants and encouraging the development of characteristics found in resilient schools. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.