Using social realist theory and particularly the morphogenetic/morphostatic methodology advocated by Margaret Archer, this study offers a critical examination of the emergence of a formal academic staff development programme at a small South African university (SSAU). Archer’s morphogenetic approach enabled an investigation of the interface between culture, structure and agency (at macro, mezo and micro levels) in order to theorize about the material, ideational and agential conditions that obtained and which in turn enabled the emergence of the Postgraduate Diploma of Higher Education (PGDHE) at the SSAU. The study therefore advances concrete propositions about the cultural, structural and agential conditions for transformation which existed at a particular time in the history of higher education (and the subfield of educational development) which enabled the introduction of the PGDHE. Analysis of the data suggests that what occurred at SSAU was a disruption of the morphostatic synchrony between structure and culture brought about by new discourses and structures emanating from the broader international and national higher education context. In particular, it seems that attempts at reconciling the constraining contradictions between the discourses and structures related to quality assurance on the one hand and educational development on the other resulted in a conjunction between transformation at the levels of both the cultural system and social structure. This conjunction, along with the actions of key Institutional agents and the morphogenesis of the staff of the Educational Development Unit, created sufficiently enabling conditions in the Institution for the introduction of the PGDHE. The research adds to knowledge through insights into the contribution that the ideas, beliefs, values, ideologies and theories about higher education broadly and about educational development specifically make to enabling or constraining conditions for the professionalization of academic staff in higher education institutions. It uncovers how relevant structures at the international, national and institutional levels can shape the practice of educational development and specifically staff development. It has generated insights into how the relevant people and the positions they hold can impact on staff development practices. In summary, the research could contribute towards emancipatory knowledge which could be used by SSAU and educational development practitioners elsewhere to inform future planning and decision making in relation to educational development and more specifically staff development practices in their contexts.

Teacher education through open and distance learning (ODL) and internships is not only crucial to addressing current and future needs of learners in South Africa, and Africa as a whole, it also encapsulates the possibilities of several much-needed new perspectives on these two fields. This research is a qualitative case study drawing from the subjective views of both the mentor teachers and the student-teacher interns already immersed in the ethos and everyday workings of a functioning local private school, PS. A case study was deemed to be an appropriate research design as the researcher is based on site and was able to spend extended time investigating, exploring and observing the student-teacher interns and their mentor teachers going about their daily routine. The sample of participants chosen comprised of the student teachers already based at PS and studying through ODL together with their assigned mentor teachers. The findings of this study reveal an expansion of the student-teacher intern’s field of involvement and participation in the school and all school related activities. The mentor teachers, as the data revealed, also benefitted in various ways and most importantly were provided with an opportunity to reflect on their personal teaching practice and philosophy. The study examined factors that facilitated or impeded the development and professional growth of the student-teacher intern and these factors had a direct bearing on the relationship that existed between the student teacher and their class mentor teacher. The data was collated from the open-ended questionnaires, the informal discussions held and the daily observation of the intern programme in action. The principle recommendations resulting from this study is based on the reported range of benefits to both the student teacher and the mentor teacher. The intern programme can be recognised and valued as a relevant contribution to the South African educational system as it would seem that the student teachers coming through this system feel confident, well informed and professionally ready to take on their own class of learners. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

Thesis (Magister Technologiae (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2010 / This study traces the effects of a children’s literature intervention on first year B Ed students’ reading habits and attitudes. A review of relevant literature includes concepts of literacy, with specific reference to family literacy, adolescent literacy and critical literacy; effective literacy practices; reading, reader response and theoretical perspectives of literature, including children’s literature, and its application in the classroom; motivation and reader-identity. A variety of quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gather data over a period of eighteen months. The data captured attitudes to reading and traced changes in attitudes, habits and motivation resulting from an intervention that required students to engage in reading a range of children’s literature texts. Findings showed movement from apathy to engagement at the lowest levels of change and from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation at successive levels of change. Most significantly, the intervention caused discontinuous (permanent) change in students’ constructions of themselves as readers. Key words: critical literacy; adolescent literacy; reader response; children’s literature; extrinsic / intrinsic motivation; discontinuous change; reader identity.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education In the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011 / Becoming information literate has been an educational concern that has been spurred by the change in information technology in the last twenty years. The school has been seen as the main player in allowing the learner to achieve this state of information literacy. Nonetheless, within the teacher-training offered at pre-service level (PRESET) in South Africa, information literacy has become to be seen as something needed by the student teachers for their own studies. This study looks at how the student teachers can be brought to an understanding of the relevance and importance of information literacy and the Information Skills Process, not only as a means of attaining the educational goals and aims as expressed in prescribed curricula, but also as a teaching methodology. A look at the literature on information literacy and its applicability in schools places particular emphasis on the process as described in key models. The rationale for choosing the Big6 model of Eisenberg and Berkowitz as the vehicle for the research is explained, and the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) as well as the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) of the South African national department of education (initially the Department of Education, but later changed to the Department of Basic Education) analysed in terms of information literacy. This analysis, together with interviews of lecturers involved in the training, was followed by an action research process with six students. The results of the analysis of the documents, together with an analysis of the answers by the lecturers in the interviews of the lecturers, and an analysis of the students’ reflections on the process, enabled conclusions and recommendations to be made. In particular, they confirmed the important place that information literacy, the information literacy skills and the Information Skills Process should play in both school-based education, and the training of student teachers.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor in Education in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / This study investigated the intersection between student teachers’ perspectives of the teaching of reading and their public good commitment. It explored the activities and practices which they saw as supporting their teaching of reading and it investigated the student teachers’ professional capabilities for public good, which underpin their teaching of reading. The teacher education facets which shaped the formation of their professional capabilities were investigated. Furthermore, their societal experiences which shaped the formation of their public good commitment and values were explored. This study investigated novice professionals who were about to enter the teaching profession. The teacher, as public-good professional in South African society, who continues to struggle with the legacies of apartheid, was a key concept in this study. Student teachers were selected for this study because these legacies place teacher education at the centre stage of transformation in South Africa, particularly the ways in which student teachers navigate the complexities of inequality in their roles as reading teachers. The starting point of this study was the view that learning to read is a political issue. Learning to teach reading is a political issue which should be underpinned by public good commitment and values. A central argument of this thesis is that teacher education is well poised to form student teachers’ professional capabilities for public good which could underpin their teaching of reading towards shaping a better South African society when they enter the teaching force after their undergraduate studies. This was a small-scale study which used a mixed methods approach. Data was collected at the beginning and the end of the student teachers’ teacher education program. Qualitative data was generated from focus group interviews and from a participatory dialogue. Quantitative data was generated from a questionnaire. Ten student teachers participated in the focus group interviews and 35 student teachers participated in the participatory dialogue and questionnaire. Amartya Sen’s (1999) and Martha Nussbaum’s (2000) Human Development Capabilities approach structured this research theoretically. Walker and McLean’s (2010) Professional Capabilities Index provided the framework for discussing and reasoning about capabilities. This study revealed that the student teachers’ perspectives of their reading teaching included 13 reading teaching activities and 20 reading teaching practices which were underpinned by eight professional capabilities for public good. Three main teacher education facets were found to be influential in the formation of the student teachers’ professional capabilities for public good: Teaching Practice sessions in diverse schools, Teacher Education coursework and Other Experiences in the teacher education program. This study found that the student teachers’ lived experiences prior to their teacher education influenced their public good commitment and values. These included disconcerting experiences as learners, grim experiences in the community, activist experiences with community engagement, non-teaching career experiences and a personal desire to enable human development.

This study explores pre-service student teachers’ experiences of lecturers’ approaches to dealing with diversity in university classrooms. It includes student insights into the strategies that lecturers employ as they manage the complexities of diversity in university classrooms. The research is located in the realm of diversity education and diversity pedagogy and is contextualized against the backdrop of the historical and socio-political climate in South Africa. The challenging consequences of the desegregation of educational institutions in a post-apartheid South Africa has resulted in the advent of diverse and heterogeneous student populations which both challenge and de-marginalise educational practices bringing into focus the need for a humanizing and culturally relevant pedagogy. This, to counter the hegemonic dangers of perpetuating the status quo by further entrenching deep-seated racism disguised as integration. Using qualitative data generated by pre-service student teachers, the results suggest that lecturers fail to embrace diversity to its fullest. The findings illuminate the disparity between policy and practice in a forward-thinking faculty and lecturers’ lack of pedagogical knowledge and skills, which inhibit them from embodying the principles of diversity education. The lecturers’ approaches to dealing with diversity in practice indicate that they are stuck in the quagmire of assimilationist, colour-blind, contributionist and business-as-usual strategies which militate against culturally responsive pedagogy thereby marginalizing learners.

M.Ed. (Multiculturalism and Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.A. (Applied Linguistics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / The Department of Basic Education initiated continuing professional development (CPD) for quality professional development aimed at supporting and revitalising teaching. Also, to encourage teachers to engage continually in life-long career development leading to improvement of learner achievement. Current research studies indicate that there is lack of knowledge and skills among teachers to internalise goals for professional growth and expand capacity to create the desired performance. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the following question: What are teachers’ experiences of continuing professional development in a secondary school in Tembisa, in order to improve their teaching practices and school effectiveness? The study employed organisational behaviour in education and experiential learning as a theoretical framework. A qualitative research approach was applied and an instrumental case study employed as a strategy to focus on a group of six teachers and four School Management Team (SMT) members. Data was collected through three focus group interview sessions with secondary school teachers and an interview with the SMT as a group. A thematic data analysis was applied. Four main themes emerged as a result of the thematic analysis and interpretation, and revealed teachers’ understanding of CPD, the experiences with CPD as teachers engaged in CPD programmes such as content-subject-based training workshops and the CAPS training programme, improvement of teaching practice, and the SMT creating opportunities for teacher learning and development. A thematic analysis of the interview data with the SMT as a group revealed two themes which were: understanding CPD, and SMT views on creating opportunities for teacher learning and development. Continuing professional development (CPD) in education is reflected as an ongoing experiential learning process by which teachers participate in learning through continual attendance of content-subject-based training programmes, curriculum training workshops, and through registering for those certificates and degree programmes offered by universities. Teacher learning takes place in a cyclical process that consists of experiencing, reflecting, thinking and acting on experiences through the application of acquired knowledge, improved skills and changed attitudes. The findings of the study revealed that teachers experienced CPD as an ongoing process in which learning took place through attendance of content-subject-based training and CAPS training workshops in which collaborative learning played an important role. Even though teachers indicated that their teaching practice was improved, they highlighted the challenges experienced regarding CPD programmes. These challenges included the limited time allocated for CAPS training and content/subject training meetings held after working hours. It was clear that the allocated times for teacher training workshops were not realistic for adequately empowering teachers with knowledge and teaching skills for effective teaching practice in real classroom settings. Teachers took ownership and leadership in their CPD by going an extra mile to seek assistance from professionals with specialised knowledge in Mathematics and commercial subjects, and they collaborated with colleagues from other schools to learn different approaches to teaching. CPD enhances teachers’ ability to set their goals for teaching and it broadens their knowledge and teaching skills, giving them the opportunity to reflect continually on their professional growth and experiment in teaching practice.

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