Bibliography: pages 107-117. / The following thesis focuses on the relationship between archaeologists, museologists and the broader community, in terms of educational programmes. It consists of a case-study comprising an educational project based on theoretical ideas of People's Archaeology as influenced by theories of Freirean education. The process of the educational project is illustrated through the description of interviews and workshops. The case-study indicates that there is a gap between academic and community percpetions of the role of archaeology and museums. Results from interpretations indicate that much more research emphasising the constitution, situation and perceptions of specific communities, especially those which have previously been marginalised by broader society, is needed in order to improve the educational services which museums and archaeologists offer to the community.

This study sets out to develop a framework for the analysis of a school subject and uses as a focal study the NAC drama syllabus developed in1994. Drawing in the main on Basil Bernstein's theory of curriculum, an analysis is made of how a syllabus is constituted through recontextualizing, using the theoretical concepts of voice and identity, classification and framing, and hierarchy. The discourses that have been recontextualized in the formation of the syllabus are identified. Two sets of discourses are identified: educational policy discourses (namely the discourses of progressivism, utilitarianism and reconstruction and development) and educational drama discourses. The specialization of voice in the syllabus marks out the academic identity, and is an indicator of educational drama discourses evident in the syllabus. The specialization of identity marks out projected social identities, indicating the recruitment of educational policy discourses in the constitution of the syllabus. The field in which the syllabus is constructed is also examined, which following Bernstein is defined as the recontextualizing field. The syllabus writers, located in this field, act selectively on the educational policy and educational drama discourses in constituting the syllabus. The rules for selection in the development of the syllabus are examined, and these are related to the syllabus writers' situation within the recontextualizing field. It is argued that the syllabus writers are positioned subordinately within the field, and that this factor to a large extent regulates the operation of educational policy discourses as rules for selection in the drawing up of the syllabus .

The problem which prompted the undertaking of this study was that of increasing absenteeism amongst student nurses at one South African Nursing College. The information, obtained from individual and group interviews, was analysed to identify the perceptions developed by student nurses. Absenteeism is shown to be a behavioural response to environmental and other factors in the world of the student nurse. A theoretical model is proposed to explain three main types of absenteeism and the factors which contribute to absenteeism and attendance.

Bibliography: pages 115-119. / As the new South African national ethos is borne, education assumes the inenviable role of reconciliator and liberator amidst the programme of the redressing of past imbalances. Stakeholders everywhere are looking to the field of education for national reconstruction and nation building through the development of young minds into productive, active and creative citizens. Indeed, the responsibility that education bears is a moral one. The broad field of this dissertation identifies Literature Education as a tool for transformation within the specific context of present post-apartheid South Africa. A paradigmatic analysis of literature teaching is provided to establish a theoretical framework for teachers to critically appreciate the underpinnings of their methodological practice, within which to locate their current literature teaching trends. Making a paradigmatic shift in literature teaching implies a change in our beliefs concerning knowledge and meaning; power and authority and learning and teaching in society. The thesis posits that Literature Education must necessarily be located within a critical paradigm of teaching, so that as a critical pedagogy, it may facilitate the self and social transformation of pupils and practitioners alike. Within the critical paradigm of literature teaching, reading is reconceptualised as an interactive process between reader and text. The reader's status is elevated to meaning-maker, without whom the act of reading would be void. Adequate literary theory is advanced on Schema Theory as a model of reading analyses of a reader's or pupil's Personal-Mental Schemata. The theory of Additive Schemata is proposed as the means to effect the transformation in pupils through Schema Refreshment or Schema Alteration. The critical teacher using Additive Schemata inputs, is in a position to maximise the potential that the learner has for transformation. Transformation, however is not guaranteed as it depends on a variety of factors such as a learner's flexibility, logical reasoning and a need to be transformed. In order to validate this proposal a research project was conducted in an English Literature class, the dynamics of which are detailed in Chapter Three in their entirety. The findings reveal that Additive Schemata have a positive influence on a learner's personal-mental Schemata leading in most cases to a transformation within pupils who engaged critically with the Additive Schemata approach. The research acknowledges that a learner's point of entry is not the same as the point of departure within the Additive Schemata approach. Learners are not being introduced to a new moral order; the Additive Schemata offers learner's a new moral choice. In so doing, literature teaching, following the Additive schemata approach, embodies the central tenets of a critical pedagogy offering pupils a process that is self-liberating and socially empowering.

Research project submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the Degree of Master of Educational Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2005 / Practice teaching is of paramount importance in the vocational training of student teachers. It is this immersion into the real world of school that prepares the student in making the transition from trainee to professional. The motivation for this study arose from the researcher's own experience of practice teaching as well as protracted contact with student teachers in a professional capacity. This research project attempted to explore and articulate an understanding of some of the experiences of student teachers following their final practice teaching session at a school before graduating. In order to garner a rich and nuanced perspective of these experiences, a phenomenological research methodology was utilized. Pertinent literature was reviewed in order to provide a content basis for further analysis and discussion. Five student teachers from the University of Fort Hare were interviewed. Their transcripts were individually analysed in order to extract themes. The following themes were identified: • A sense of it being mainly a positive experience • An awareness of the importance of relationships • An awareness of the cultural and contextual make-up of learners • A sense of ambivalence around sources of anxiety • A sense of ambivalence around the value of the journal • A learning experience The findings of the study revealed that all of the student teachers experienced practice teaching as being mainly a positive experience, although all the participants had experienced anxiety in some form around maintaining discipline. Practice teaching played an important part in their development as teachers by providing a context wherein they could merge theory and practice, find their own teaching and management styles as well as cope with the demands of multi-tasking that being in a classroom demands. The paramount role of the host teacher and the importance of positive relationships with all stakeholders was foregrounded - as was the importance of an awareness of the cultural and contextual make-up of learners. This study hopes to make a contribution towards the understanding of student teachers' experiences of practice teaching in South Africa. It is also hoped that through this study, further research in this field will be encouraged.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in the Department of Foundations of Education of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2000. / The aim of this investigation was to establish the role of art in aesthetic education in South Africa. From the literature study it became clear that modern societies are gradually turning into technotronic societies as electronic news networks and computers bring about radical changes, accompanied by value shifts. Technological societies can be potentially beneficial by increasing personality aspects such as self-actualisation, but can also be detrimental to mankind's development by creating social and pedagogical problems. In a modem society scientific knowledge, technology and prosperity (wealth) define power, and "a brave new world" has appeared in which a person can achieve his objectives by means of his own power and intellect, and does not need God or his fellow man. Human contact is replaced by technology (automatisation, electronic, mass media), resulting in the creation of an inhuman technological society. On the one hand technology has multiplied the casual meeting of people and cultures, whilst on the other hand it has led to increased loneliness of people and a formality in human relationships, increasing the distance between people in an extremely complex world, In this study certain aesthetic objectives experienced in art education were highlighted as well as possibilities of career opportunities, should the secondary school curriculum include art as a subject Attention was given to Design Education as the global name for all works of art, with special emphasis on art forms which can be regarded as authentically South African, These art forms include handcrafts, the manufacturing of textiles, jewellery and furniture, as well as design in printing, packaging and advertising. It was shown that Design Education in schools should be regarded not merely as an interesting career but as a subject that can contribute to the economy of the country and also be instrumental in making life more meaningful to people in general Career opportunities in the following fields were discussed in details: industry, interior decorating, ceramics, jewellery rnanufacturing, clothing, textiles, entertainment, film, video and audio taping and the fine arts. The main purpose of education should be to lead learners to optimal realisation of their unique potential. Art education will not only be instrumental in educating learners about developments in the scientific and technological fields but will also allow them to use and apply their skills to their own benefit as well as to that of others. For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self-structure questionnaire was utilised. An analysis was done of 150 questionnaires by the educators of secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal The data thus obtained was processed and interpreted by means of descriptive and inferential statistics, in conclusion, a summary and certain findings emanating from the literature study and the empirical investigation were presented. Based on these findings, the following recommendations were made; • Works of art should be accorded equal status with other subject areas of the curriculum and this should be reflected in the allocation of resources. • Principals of schools and art educators should construct policies and procedures of governing all the art subjects in schools, particularly in relation to the allocation of time and facilities. • Patterns of assessment should emphasise the principles and objectives of art education and of the nature of aesthetic experience and development. • The appropriateness and usefulness of criterion-referenced tests in arts should be fully investigated.

This study analyzed representations of Nature of Science (NOS) and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in three South Africa Grade 9 Natural Science textbooks. The textbooks were purposefully selected from a possibility of ten textbooks available on the public market and used in science classrooms in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The aim of the analysis was to determine the extent to which both NOS and IKS were represented and to ascertain whether the representations were: naïve or informed; and implicit or explicit. The content analysis of the textbooks was based on adaptations of analytical frameworks developed by Akerson, Abd-El-Khalick and Lederman (2000) for NOS and Ninnes (2000) for IKS, respectively. For NOS the analysis focused on seven tenets, which are; science is empirical, the difference between observation and inference, functions and relations between theories and laws, the role of creativity and imagination in science, the tentativeness of scientific knowledge, the social and cultural embeddedness of the scientific process, and subjectivity of science. The analysis for IKS representations focused on four pillars of IKS which are; indigenous legends and myths, indigenous technology, indigenous knowledge of the natural world, and indigenous social life. It was found that, for the NOS, in all the three textbooks, only the empirical nature of science and observation and inference are represented to a considerable extent and mainly in a naïve and implicit manner. The other investigated tenets are either minimally represented or not represented at all. Representations of IKS in the three textbooks were also found to be very minimal and mainly naïve and implicit. It is concluded the selected science textbooks do not respond well to the NCS mandate of integrating NOS and IKS into mainstream science education. Recommendations for improving integration of NOS and IKS into the school science curriculum are suggested for textbooks authors, curriculum developers and science educators. Key words nature of science, indigenous knowledge systems, textbooks, natural science, naive, informed, implicit, explicit, positivism, constructivism

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in partial fulfilment of the award of Master of Science (MSc.) in Science Education May, 2016 / There have been indications of inadequate content knowledge of South African physical science teachers and poor pedagogical content knowledge in making the concepts accessible to students. With this, the pre-service teachers are considered a part of the science education foremost links to schools and young science learners. Empirically, it has been reported that this unique teacher knowledge could be developed particularly in pre-service teachers in a planning context and that the new technique of developing pre-service teachers’ PCK within a topic helps in their good mastery of teaching concepts and thus making them specialists in topics. The Topic Specific PCK (TSPCK) construct focuses on the transformation of the understanding of content of a particular topic. This study investigated the extent to which focus on kinematics improves pre-service teachers’ PCK in the topic and possible transferability of the learnt pedagogical competence to a new physics topic – electric circuits. Guiding this study were two research questions: What is the impact of the intervention on the quality of pre-service teachers’ Topic Specific PCK in Kinematics? To what extent is the preservice teachers’ learnt pedagogical transformation competence transferrable to their planning of a new topic in physics topic – Electric circuits? This study used mixed methods to investigate TSPCK in pre-service teachers. It was located in the methodology class of Twenty-three (23) 4th year physical science majors. The study included an intervention where the theoretical framework for TSPCK was used to introduce the construct in Kinematics. The intervention explains each of the five components of Topic Specific PCK using the knowledge concepts of Kinematics. Data were collected using three instruments: an instrument measuring content knowledge in kinematics; an instrument measuring the quality of Topic Specific PCK in kinematics administered as a set of pre/post intervention tests; and an instrument measuring transferability of learnt competence in planning for teaching a new topic electricity. The pre-service teachers’ written responses to the TSPCK kinematics tool were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Both methods of analysis revealed that the pre-service teachers improved in their quality of TSPCK in kinematics following the intervention. It was also found out that the pre-service teachers’ improvement in the quality of TSPCK in kinematics was as result of rigorous engagement with the TSPCK components at varying degrees. Similarly, on the topic of transfer, electricity which was not discussed during the intervention, TSPCK tool in electric circuits was administered to the pre-service teachers and few records of their actual classroom teaching were analyzed. This was done to examine possible transferability of learnt pedagogical transformation competence to the new physics topic of electricity. The findings revealed that the pre-service teachers had ‘developing level’ of TSPCK in the topic of transfer similar to the finding in the topic of kinematics. The study demonstrated that focus on a single topic in a methodology course will enable transfer to another topic provided the teachers have the pre-requisite content knowledge. The findings of this study would contribute to the training of the Physical science student teachers and specifically improve their planning of other physics topics to enhance effective teaching and learning process.

A Research Project submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MSc (Sci. Ed). March 2016 / This research project was a case study that investigated how two experienced science teachers, who were undertaking self-studies to improve the use of practical work in their classrooms as part of their BSc Hons research projects, actually developed their strategies for effective use of practical work. This study explored the effectiveness of practical work by analysing 6 ‘typical’ science lessons i.e. introduction, practical session and consolidation lessons in two schools around Gauteng in South African. The research design took a form of classroom observations through audio and video recordings and also interview and questionnaires schedules with the two participant teachers. Abraham and Millar (2008) argued that many science teachers do not implement practical work effectively when teaching in their classrooms and most learners fail to relate what they do in practical work to other aspects of their learning. This research project hoped to find an answer to main research question: How effective are the two participating teachers’ strategies of using practical work to promote conceptual and procedural understanding? The data analysis used a model of effectiveness on the work done by Millar, Marechal and Tiberghien (1999) and Tiberghien (2000). The two teachers focus in these observed lessons was to promote and develop conceptual and procedural understanding. This study found that practical work in some cases was effective in getting the learners to do what was intended for them to do with objects and materials e.g. apparatus, but the was less evidence of the effectiveness of practical work in getting the learners to use the intended scientific ideas from the data they collected and also little evidence of them showing the understanding of what they were intended to understand e.g. cognitive challenge of linking the observables to ideas. The study revealed that learners get more procedural understanding and less conceptual understanding in a given practical activity. The study also revealed that teachers faced a lot of challenges when implementing the use of practical work in their classroom e.g. time constraints, minimum availability of resource, less CAPS training etc. and these challenges often hinders the use of practical work as part of the learning and teaching of science. This study further recommended that the department of education do more to support the teachers in their implementations of certain teaching strategies e.g. practical work and that the use of practical work be considered at the fore-front of learning and teaching of science. / TG2016

This study focuses on the methods of teaching history to grade 12 adult learners at a major rural adult education centre (run by the Sisters of Mercy of the Roman Catholic Church), called D.W .T. Nthate Adult Education Centre, in the Winterveld. The grade 12 history class consists of adult learners of different ages, abilities, maturities and levels of knowledge. This research explored the possibility of making history teaching in a complex situation more interesting and more participatory. The case-study method of investigation was used to explore history teaching methods using the perspective of both the learners and the tutors. Learners wrote and spoke about the teaching methods they liked and with which they could identify and expressed their dissatisfaction with some of the other teaching methods used; tutors described their favourite teaching methods and how they employed them in the classroom situation. Some teaching methods were observed. This information and the insights obtained from these techniques of gathering data were related to the literature studied in the literature survey. This information presented a great challenge in making teaching of history more interesting and more participatory. Literature was reviewed in terms of the themes that relate to the topic of this research, namely: the historical context of adult education In South Africa; the place and importance of history in educatiu-:; princlplss of teaching adults; approaches and methods of teaching history; particip. to y methods of teaching adult learners, and an overview of curriculum change in South Africa (Curriculum 2005). The literature provided insight into the methods or teaching history in this specific situation. The literature was reviewed in order to uavelop minimum guidelines consisting of important elements In teaching hi?to: .' b grade 12 adult learners in the specific context of the study. A qualitative, fesoarch design was used to gather information. The history tutor and the vlce-pritid^ai from the chosen centre; the methodologist from the University of the No.<i; W est, and three tutors from two other adult education centres were interview in '"lie interviews were very useful In identifying the causes of the problem and in helping to produce history teaching minimum guidelines. Two observations were carried out to gather information about what happens during the history teaching-learning process. The observations were effective because it was easy to identify contradictions between the information gathered through this method and the other methods of gathering data. A structured, open-ended questionnaire was given to twenty-two (22) grade 12 adult learners to obtain their views on the current methods of teaching history to adult learners. The responses to the questionnaire were veiy useful because they gave the learners an opportunity to air their views. A class discussion was conducted to discuss issues not appearing on the questionnaire and to discuss problems that they, as adult learners, were encountering. The research results have been presented in the form of tables. Summaries of the participants' responses follow each table to give meaning to the summarised information contained in the tables. The discussion of the results is presented in narrative form. In the discussion, the researcher interprets the participants’ words and actions. From the researcher's observations, it is dangerous to say that the problem lies solely with the teaching methods the tutor at the adult education centre is using, or with the learners' ages, abilities, maturities, and levels of knowledge. Perhaos the problem stems from the tutor’s lack of content knowledge; the lack o'- .yiequate teaching and learning aids; the lack of exposure to a wide range of teaching r.^ -iods; the medium of instruction; the lack of involvement of adult learners in planrnox-: --id designing learning programmes and activities, and the personalities of the learners and tutor. However, the information gathered from the participants and literature showed that it is possible to making the teaching of history more participatory and wore interesting within the context of this study. From these findings the researcher developed suggested minimum guidelines for teaching history to grade 12 adult learners whicn are based on this specific situation of a rural adult education centre with inadequate re s o u n d and lack of exposure to a wide range of teaching methods.