Submitted in full compliance with the requirements for a Master’s degree in Technology: Dental Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / Post-apartheid restructuring of the South African Higher Education system has brought about significant changes. Institutions of Higher Learning have implemented minor and major changes in their objectives, delivery of knowledge, functions, accreditations and overall outcomes (Du Pre 2006, Reddy 2006, Department of Education 1997). One of the more significant transitions within South Africa’s Higher Education landscape has been the conversion of technikons into universities of technology (UoTs) (Powell & McKenna 2006). This thesis investigates the discourses of academics within a university of technology, exploring their responses to and constructions of institutional shifts. The study has an ontological focus in that it is interested in the ‘being’ of Dental Technology academics. It is interested in the discursive constructions not only of themselves as academics, but also of their work in this changed institutional context. By conducting interviews with the Dental Technology academics lecturing in universities of technology in South Africa, it was the intention to explore these academics’ discourses on institutional shifts. Adopting discourse analysis as the primary method of data analysis enabled the exploration of how academics constructed the notion of academic identity, how they discursively constructed students and knowledge, as well as other core issues related to their work. / M

M.Ed. / Traditionally schools for learning disabled pupils taught the language arts within a behaviouristic model where language was broken down into its component parts and sub-skills, which were then taught in a stepwise, sequential manner from the most simplistic towards the whole complex language. In the 1980's there was a grassroots, teacher-initiated movement away from this reductionist orientation towards the teaching of language in a meaningful, integrated manner. A variety of teaching methods developed which were consistent with this new whole language approach. The whole language approach became an inherent part of teachers, encompassing all aspects of a classroom and thus it was referred to as the whole language philosophy. This research focused on the process of a teacher changing from the behaviouristic approach towards the whole language philosophy. Although the research focused on one teacher, it had broader implications for the process of whole language implementation in all schools for learning disabled children. This process of a teacher changing towards the whole language philosophy was explored within the theoretical framework of a model described by Watson. The model presented three dimensions of philosophy formation. The dimensions were practice, theory, and beliefs which were inter-related and constantly evolving as the teacher's philosophy formed. The methodological format used to achieve the research aim was a qualitative single case study. The qualitative design allowed for the process of teacher change to unfold without constraints. It accommodated the explorative, flexible nature of the research and allowed for rich, interpretative descriptions of the process. The research was limited to a single case since the scope of the research allowed for only one teacher to be purposefully selected and educated. The researcher introduced the teacher to the whole language approach by providing suitable reading material, by building a trusting relationship with her, and consulting with her on the practical implementation in her classroom. Simultaneously with the researcher facilitating the change process in the teacher, the researcher collected data from various sources - interviews, documents and journal field notes. Data analysis was done using the content analysis procedure of open coding where manageable units of data were subjected to pre-determined criteria in order to code them into themes. The themes were then clustered into regularly occurring patterns for consolidation and interpretations were then made which led to the research conclusions. The findings of the study supported Watson's three dimensional model. Whole language philosophy formation began with the implementation of borrowed practices, which resulted in successful experiences and prompted the activation of a quest for the underlying theory. Theory activation led to the examination of previously held beliefs which altered with time towards the whole language philosophy. Added to this model, this study indicated that a teacher's whole language philosophy formation is a dynamic process. The process was facilitated by an agent of change and contextualised within the educational system where it required a supportive environment in order to develop. These findings suggested that the agent of change be added to Watson's model as the fourth dimension and that the entire process be contextualised within the educational system.

M.Ed.

M.A. / South Africa's new political dispensation has brought language issues to the fore. The focus of this study is language attitudes and languages usage both within and outside the school environment, in the greater Johannesburg area. In order to achieve the task a 'triangulation approach' was adopted. This approach embraced theoretical principles, indepth interviews with ten leading figures in education in Gauteng and interviews with primary pupils', parents' and teachers' using appropriate questionnaires. The objectives of the study were threefold, firstly to provide a linguistic description of pupils, parents and teachers choice of languages in different situations. Secondly, to describe and explain the ambivalent, polyvalent language attitudes of some of the respondents. Lastly, to make recommendations for language teaching from the data. The findings of the study highlighted the need for the development of suitable bilingual programmes in schools and underscored the educational difficulties experienced by English second language students.

M.Cur. (Professional Nursing) / The purpose of this study is to describe the guidelines for creating a cultural sensitive learning context. In present- day South Africa the learning accompanist is faced with the challenge to create a didactic situation which accommodates the cultural diversity of students. In the dynamic interactive relationship between the learning accompanist and the student, the student has the right to be treated with respect and human dignity. This right can only be respected if the learning accompaniment takes place from a cultural- sensitive perspective. The paradigmatic perspective that guides this research is described by means of metatheoretlcal, theoretical and methodological assumptions. The Nursing Theory for the Whole Person was used as meta- theoretical assumption. the theoretical assumptions were set from the Nursing Theory for the Whole Person. the U Model vir begeleide selfstudie .. (Klopper 1994) and Chrisman's (1991) .. Cultural Sensitive Nursing Care u. The methodological assumptions of the study are based on Botes" research model (1992) implying a functional approach to practice of science. The experience of the learning accompanists and students in a multicultural learning context was explored and supported by literature. From this data statements were generated indiVidually for phase I and phase II of the research. Eight statements were generated from each phase. In chapter four the conceptual framework is described from concepts of phases I and II and relevant national and international literature. With the description of the conceptual framework main concepts and related concepts were determined analytically. A total of nineteen statements were generated from the main and related concepts. A total of thirty five statements were generated from phases I and II and the conceptual framework. The guidelines for creating a cultural- sensitive didactic situation were inferred by means of deductive and inductive reasoning from these statements. The guidelines focus on the actions a learning accompanist should carry out within a multicultural didactic situation in order to carry create a cultural- sensitive didactic situation. The unique contribution of this research arises from the description of a multicultural didactic situation of nursing within the constructivist learning perspective.

M.A. (Social Work) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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

M.A. (Public Management and Governance) / The Preamble of the South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act 84 of 1996) states that it is the goal of the South African government to provide all learners with a high quality education. However, despite this goal, academics, scholars and social commentators concur that the public education system in South Africa is in crisis. Nevertheless, there is agreement that there has been an improvement in the numbers of learners enrolled at schools and the pass rates in public education, but not in the quality of education. In support of this statement, commentators refer to international surveys that show that the majority of learners are underachieving in key learning areas such as reading, mathematics and science. Many of the commentators ascribe the situation to the underperformance of educators. Research conducted by Van der Berg et al. (2011) suggests that a possible solution to the problem would be to help educators to improve their teaching outputs and outcomes in the classroom. This, in turn, implies that a tool such as a laptop loaded with the relevant and appropriate software and the additional required technology would assist educators in improving their teaching outputs and outcomes. Ms N Pandor, the former Minister of Education, announced the Teacher Laptop Initiative (TLI) in 2009. In his response to the State of the Nation’s address in June 2009 President Zuma endorsed this initiative and stated that the objective of the TLI is to provide every educator with both a laptop and access to the Internet and that the initiative should be seen as an incentive to help educators to improve the quality of education in schools. However, evidence shows that educators have not received the subsidies to procure the laptops as promised by government. The study sets out to investigate the implementation of the TLI and, thus, the aim of the research was to conduct a formative evaluation of the implementation of the TLI. The research was conducted within a qualitative research paradigm and the data were collected using both the TLI policy document and the findings resulting from the purposive, face-to-face interviews that were conducted with key stakeholders. This data were analysed through the application of the content analysis method.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / This investigation is part of a group project that was conducted by a research team of the Department of Educational Sciences of the Rand Afrikaans University. The focus of this study is classroom teaching duties and educator commitment. Teaching is only successful if it leads to effective learning. In order to be successful in their teaching teachers need skills, knowledge and techniques that can be used simultaneously so that they can achieve predetermined aims and objectives. There can be no doubt that teaching is a complex task, and in order to accomplish this demanding task successfully, teacher's need to focus on different aspects in the learning teaching situation, like classroom management, classroom discipline, preparation of their lessons and the others. The research was based on assumption that for prospective and serving teachers to teach effectively and be committed to the teaching profession. In order to understand this problem in its total context, a study of the literature on classroom teaching duties and educator commitment was done.