The challenges of implementing the curriculum for the Life Orientation learning areas in the National Curriculum Statement have been a matter of concern for South African schools. This study sheds light on the implementation of the LO curriculum in selected high schools in the Fort Beaufort District, in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative approach and used face-to-face interviews, focus group interviews, classroom observation and document analysis to collect the data. The purpose of the study was to investigate the implementation of the Life Orientation curriculum in high schools in the Fort Beaufort District. Six high schools from the six clusters in the Fort Beaufort District were purposively selected to form the focus of the study. The participants were six principals, six LO teachers and thirty-six learners. The study revealed that lack of adequate teaching and learning materials in schools affected the implementation of the curriculum. Inadequacy of teaching and learning materials affected both the teachers and learners as they sought to make up for the shortages of teaching and learning materials by sourcing for local materials like news paper and magazine. In some of the schools, teachers made photocopies of textbooks for learners which could be time consuming and added to the teachers‘ workload. The study found that some of the teachers were frustrated because of the lack of adequate teaching and learning materials in LO. The results also revealed that the majority of the teachers had the Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE LO) qualification and/or an undergraduate qualification in Psychology, which are basic requirement for teaching LO, while the others had general teaching qualifications in other subjects. It was found that many learners were positive about LO, but it could not be proven that learners meant all their positive responses as it seemed that learners‘ responses were too good to be true. However, the results showed that learners had at least been taught and were aware of the consequences of the social problems like teenage pregnancy, drug abuse and HIV/AIDS that affect them. Some of the challenges that teachers encountered in the implementation of the Life Orientation curriculum were also highlighted in this study. These include; lack of adequate training which some of the teachers complained did not allow them to handle some topics like career choice and religious education as they should. Some of the teachers also stated that their culture and belief did not permit them to share some LO topics with their learners. There was also the challenge of learners turning against things taught in LO class. The study found that the support and monitoring put in place for LO teachers are in the form of documents such as subject guides, textbooks and sometimes funds to take learners out on outdoor activities, extra teachers to lessen the teachers‘ burdens, advice, workshops and training. There is course moderation where teachers‘ and learners‘ files are marked. In some of the schools where monitoring is carried out, it starts with the Heads of Departments (HODs) and ends with the principal. Many of the schools do not monitor the teaching of LO because of the trust the principals have in the teachers and challenge of school size. Class visits is prohibited by South African Democratic Teachers‘ Union. The subject is not being handled properly despite its importance in helping learners to be adequately guided towards positive self-concept formation, the realisation of their potential, and enabling them to protect themselves from various forms of social violence and abuse, and this in turn would make the society safer.

The purpose of this research was to investigate strategies employed by primary teachers to support the non-isiXhosa speaking learners of Mthatha Education District. This was the researcher’s observation and concern emanating from the difficulties displayed by her non-isiXhosa speaking learners, as the medium of instruction in these schools is not their mother tongue. The language of learning and teaching (LOLT) is isiXhosa in the school where the research was conducted. The school is composed of non-isiXhosa speaking and isiXhosa speaking learners. The research sought to address the following questions: 1 What strategies are employed by Mthatha district teachers to support non- isiXhosa speaking learners? 2 What challenges do Mthatha teachers face in supporting the non-isiXhosa speaking learners? 3 How do Mthatha teachers overcome the challenges they face in supporting the non-isiXhosa speaking learners? The qualitative design approach was used in this study. The study was a case study of one Mthatha primary school. Face-to-face interviews were used to collect the data from the six female teachers who teach from Grade 1 to Grade 6 and one male teacher who is the principal of the selected school, and who teaches English and Life Orientation from Grade 7 to Grade 9. The interviews were tape-recorded. The data collection process began after all the ethical consideration requirements were fulfilled and approved by the relevant stakeholders of the research. The thematic approach was adopted as data analysis of the study was guided by the responses given to the questions asked of interviewed teachers. The research showed the following results which surfaced from the data provided by the respondents: (i) Teachers employed few teaching strategies to support the non-isiXhosa speaking learners in their multilingual classroom. The interviewed teachers expressed their challenges as stemming from the large numbers of learners in their classrooms; (ii) IsiXhosa as a language of learning and teaching was a challenge for the non-isiXhosa speaking learners. (iii) Absenteeism and indiscipline by non-isiXhosa speaking learners (iv) Limited or non-involvement of parents in the education of children The data also showed that there was limited support to empower teachers to deal with multilingual classrooms. The study made the following and other recommendations based on the results: teachers should use many teaching strategies in linguistically diverse classrooms. The school management teams (SMTs) should admit learners in relation to the number of teachers available in a school. It is also recommended that schools implement the language policy as it relates to the learners in each classroom. The DoE should increase parental involvement in the education of their children and also provide professional support to teachers.

Studies have shown that world heritage sites are regarded as environmental education (EE) resources. However, environmental activities are not integrated with the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) because the heritage educator and guides are not trained in EE, the heritage educator do not liaise with the Department of Education (DoE) especially the curriculum implementation unit and World Heritage Youth Forum. The purpose of this study is to establish the role that world heritage sites can play to provide adequate access to appropriate EE resources since this is a problem that hampers successful implementation of EE. The study gathered data through observation, document analysis, interviews and questionnaire. The data analysis was based on an inductive process that builds concepts. The study recommends training of heritage educator and guide in EE, heritage educator to liaise with Department of Education especially the curriculum implementation unit and the World Heritage Youth Forum to ensure effective implementation of environmental activities at the site. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Environmental Education)

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / This thesis is a conceptual exploration of the concept "critical thinking" and is chiefly aimed at everyone involved in education in the new South Africa. The investigation is contextualised by critically examining certain motives for such an investigation and by assessing the importance of encouraging people to think critically. The focus is first on the relationship between the concepts "critical thinking", "thinking" and "rationality". Then follows a thorough analysis of the concept "critical thinking". Preconditions for the use of the concept are identified. The last part of the thesis deals with the relationship between critical thinking, learning and critical thinking can level. teaching, and a discussion on how be improved and promoted at school / Hierdie verhandeling is ·'n konseptuele verkenning van die begrip "kritiese denke" en is veral gerig aan almal wat by die opvoeding in die nuwe Suid- Afrika betrokke is. Die verkenning word gekontekstualiseer deur sekere motiewe vir so 'n ondersoek krities te bespreek en die belangrikheid daarvan om mense aan te moedig om krities te dink te bepaal. Daar word vervolgens eers gekonsentreer op die verhouding tussen die begrippe "kritiese denke", "denke" en "rasionaliteit". Daarna volg n grondige bespreking van die beg rip "kritiese denke". Voorwaardes vir die gebruik van die begrip word nagegaan. Die laaste gedeelte van die verhandeling handel oar die verhouding tussen kritiese denke, leer en onderrig en daar word beredeneer hoe kritiese denke op skoolvlak verbeter en bevorder kan word. / Philosophy, Practical and Ststematic Theology / M.A. (Wysbegeerte)

Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Orthpedagogics)

The scale of people being infected by HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus /Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) has meant that the family and the community have had to become involved in caring for the sick (Van Dyk, 2005). This has inevitably led to the emergence of informal caregivers in the form of family members caring for their relatives (Kipp, Nkosi, Laing & Jhangri, 2006). The research investigated the social learning of women caregivers looking after people living with HIV/AIDS, with emphasis on caregiving practices related to how they use traditional foods and medicinal plants. The research was undertaken in Grahamstown at the Raphael Centre and in Hamburg at Keiskkamma Health Centre and Art Project, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Data was collected using interviews, focus group discussions and diaries written by participants. The data was analyzed in two phases: the first phase involved reading the interview transcripts and collating the responses into analytical memos that were captured into broad categories, while the second phase made use of the community of practice analytical framework to further analyze the data to get better understanding of the social learning processes. This study reveals that participating in a community of practice like Raphael Centre and Keiskamma Health Centre enables caregivers to learn about caregiving. It also reveals that within these communities of practice there are varied learning processes that take place, such as observational and collaborative learning. The research also revealed that caregivers learn from the communities from which they come, for example caregivers learn about traditional food and medicinal plants which they use from their family members, friends, other caregivers as well as non governmental organizations. The research found that caregivers are influenced in their learning and practices by a number of factors which include their own experiences, ambivalent messages from different stakeholders concerned with fighting HIV/AIDS and exposure to new information. The research recommends that diverse learning processes in a community of practice and outside a community of practice should be encouraged and strengthened. It also recommends that HIV/AIDS caregiving options should be strengthened by drawing on experience and knowledge of caregivers. Caregivers should be encouraged to be selfsustaining to improve their caregiving practices. Stakeholders in the field of HIV/AIDS should be alert to and address ambivalence on use of medicinal plants. Existing programmes that enable women to learn about new information on HIV/AIDS should be strengthened.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment/partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Education: in the Faculty of Education at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Supervisor: Professor Fred Lubben Mowbray, 2012 / Practical work in Science is considered to be an important component of science education. However, teachers in poor schools in the rural areas generally find it difficult to conduct practical work. An outreach project ‘Science for Rural Communities’ was launched to address this problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature and coherence of the project and its influence on science teachers’ content knowledge, skills and classroom practice. The research is situated within a qualitative interpretive paradigm and has adopted an evaluative research design, underpinned by grounded theory as a method of analysis. The use of an evaluative framework normally used for curriculum innovation was adapted for the exploration of impact of the teachers’ professional development project. Teachers reported that they benefitted from participation in the project in various ways, such as increased conceptual understanding of science knowledge, improved practical skills and enhanced confidence. However, there were some inconsistencies identified in terms of project intentions and project outcomes. The suitability of the evaluation framework for teacher professional development programmes is discussed

This interpretive case study examines Grahamstown East Xhosa women's narratives on the nutritional value of traditional foods. It reviews reflexive learning interactions apparent in the co-engaged narratives of food preparation practices. The research design incorporates methods of reflective co-engagement through which a small team of women were approached as 'co-researchers' in order to work together on shared, local knowledge capital and nutrition concerns. It draws on findings generated using a combination of semi-structured interviews, cooking demonstrations, videography, photographs and field observations as methods of data collection. Data were member-checked and reviewed in a rural context before the emerging evidence was analyzed using Bassey's (1999) analytical statements. Contextual factors influencing the study are high poverty, unemployment and HIV/AIDS prevalence where nutrition levels have been found to be low. The women making up the study have spent the majority of their lives in the peri-urban area of Grahamstown and in some cases, are more than one generation removed from rural living and its associated knowledge. The accompanying shift to modernization was found to influence the interplay between their narratives and practice. Indigenous Knowledge is often characterized by being situated in practice with the knowledge-holders often not 'knowing that they know.' This study concludes that it is not possible to assume that knowledge can always be consciously expressed, especially when that knowledge is embedded in practice. Related to this, co-engagement and diversity among the group gave rise to greater disequilibrium as well as making the knowledge more explicit and hence, available for reflection. The study suggests that through the process of co-engagement and deliberation around indigenous ways of knowing, agency and cultural identity appears to be enabled and strengthened.

This case study examines the introduction of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) in the Consumer Studies curriculum of Further Education and Training (FET). The research is centred on the use of enquiry methodologies involving learners observing parent demonstrations of the making of ‘amarewu’ and other activities centred on the propositional knowledge dealing with fermentation in the Consumer Studies curriculum. The research involved a review of curriculum documents, participant observation of a demonstration of local food practices related to ‘amarewu’ and learner research activities and interviews to review the developing learning interactions. The learning activities were focused on the learners’ researching the cultural and nutritional value of ‘amarewu’ and included an audit of food consumed in the community. What transpired from this study was that working with IK in the curriculum is possible. The inclusion of IK is not only possible but desirable and has exciting possibilities for relevance in contemporary education. The active involvement in parent demonstration engaged the learners in IK in their mother tongue, therefore indigenous knowledge has relevance. The curriculum concepts also enhanced the engagement by giving rise to more relevant knowledge and a respect for cultural matters. Intergenerational capital and subject concepts also enabled learners to engage with local nutritional problems and to come up with practical solutions. This study demonstrates how IK intergenerational capital in combination in combination with curriculum concepts (subject knowledge capital) can enhance relevance and the learners’ real engagement with local health and nutritional problems. Not only did the learners have culturally valued knowledge, but also knowledge that has a practical grasp of the problem and that they could use to engage relevant issues. These two views of knowledge join in learning and can be used to address health issues. I therefore recommend connection of cultural knowledge and conceptual knowledge to strengthen the revitalisation of cultural heritage, thus equalising it to the modern patterns of life and enhancing meaningful curriculum orientation.

This study captures the process and methods used in selecting and organising content for an ontology. In the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) field ontology refers to a way of organising and storing information and facilitating interaction between the system and its users. Ontologies are being used more frequently to provide services that deal with complex information. In this study, I record my experience of developing content for an HIV and AIDS ontology for Rhodes University students. Using several different methods, I started the process of selecting and organising HIV and AIDS information, free of scientific jargon and prescriptive language, and consisting only of relevant information. I used data derived from interviews with six HIV and AIDS experts to develop questions for a survey that was open to all Rhodes University students. The 689 people who responded to the survey indicated that they needed more information on testing, treatment and living with HIV. Responses also showed that students had a lot of information on HIV prevention and transmission. Four focus group discussions revealed that students were tired of repetitions of the „same‟ information on HIV and AIDS and wanted to know more about life after contracting HIV. Using this data, I propose some guidelines to populate HIV and AIDS ontology. Ontologies can be customized for particular groups of users, for example according to gender, race, year of study etc. Another advantage of the ontology is that it can be expanded or contracted depending on the scope of one‟s intervention.