M. Tech. Education / Given the challenges of shortage of skills as informed by low performance in Grade 12 Mathematics, it seemed appropriate that a study on factors behind poor performance in Mathematics amongst grade 12 learners be undertaken. The study explored various factors that contribute to poor performance of learners in Mathematics in grade 12.

Historically in South Africa, the education and social systems have worked together to deny black people both competencies and opportunities for significant participation.There are over nine million people in South Africa who cannot read or write. (Hutton, 1992) South Africa is not the only country with this problem, newly liberated countries have also had to respond to the problem of illiteracy. In South Africa many progressive organizations have initiated literacy work and have recognized the need for adult basic education. Workplace literacy has become an important national issue. It is of concern to employees, employers, unions, vocational and adult educators. But what does it mean to workers on the shopfloor and how can they benefit from such programmes. In our increasingly technological society, different workplace demands are being placed on workers. Companies try to assist their workers by offering training and retraining programmes. It sounds good, a problem has been recognized and steps are being taken to fix it, but there is something missing. Little mention is being made of the needs and rights of workers themselves. The objective of this study is to identify the literacy skills of workers and the necessity for determining job literacy requirements for employment positions. Research has shown that the level of literacy in the workplace is not determined by a grade equivalent but by the literacy needs of the workplace. In trying to identify the above objective it is important to look at what is meant by workplace literacy as well as significance of workplace literacy and its importance within a social and economic context. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1992.

This study explored the way biological knowledge is transformed when it moves from its disciplinary form to a high school biology curriculum, and how this occurred in successive versions of the life sciences curriculum implemented in post-apartheid South Africa. Bernstein’s (1996, 1999) conceptualisation of biology as an hierarchical knowledge structure, the recontextualisation of knowledge, and the implications for social justice formed the theoretical framework to the study, as did Aikenhead’s (2006) distinction between traditional and humanistic approaches to science education, and Schmidt, Wang and McKnight’s (2005) concept of curriculum coherence. Firstly, I attempted to elicit core concepts and conceptual organisation in biology from the writings of the distinguished biologist Ernst Mayr, two foundational biology textbooks, and interviews with two professors of biology. Seven concepts emerged: the cell, inheritance, evolution, interaction, regulation, energy flow and diversity, which I arranged in a hierarchy according to Mayr’s “three big questions”, “what?”, “how?” and “why?”. The theory of evolution was highlighted as the key integrating principle of the discipline. Secondly, I considered biology in the school curriculum by means of a literature review and synthesis of the changing goals of a school science education. Five broad categories of objectives were derived: knowledge, skills, applications, attitudes and values , and science as a human enterprise. Aikenhead’s (2006) terminology captured the shifts in emphases of these objectives over time.Thirdly, I analysed the stated objectives and content specifications of the three most recent versions of the South African life sciences curricula – the Interim Core Syllabus (ICS), the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) and the new NCS. The NCS represented a dramatic swing away from the traditional approach of the ICS, while the new NCS reverts to a more traditional approach, though with more humanistic content than in the ICS. Both the ICS and t he NCS were found to be deficient in one of the three key conceptual areas of biology. The conceptual progression of the material is strongest in the new NCS, and weakest in the original NCS. The conclusion was drawn that, of the different curricula, the new NCS has the greatest potential to induct South African learners into the hierarchical structure of biology, and represents a positive contribution to the goal of transforming education in South Africa.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology, (Tourism Management) in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / There is a growing demand for professionally educated and trained staff in the tourism sector. However, current literature reveals a significant disparity between the tourism education provided by institutions and the skills required by the industry. A major challenge facing tourism education institutions is the identification of industry needs and requirements and the involvement of industry in curriculum design. The aim of this research is to examine the education, skills and training required of tourism employees and whether the provisions of higher education tourism courses are adequately meeting industry needs. Identifying this „gap‟ will assist in improving the development of tourism education programmes to meet the needs of industry. The research examines the relevance of the tourisms qualification from three stakeholders‟ perspectives, namely, managers from the tourism sector, tourism graduate employees, and tourism academics. Surveys, in the form of structured questionnaires, were used to obtain information from the three groups. The overall findings of the study revealed that gaps do exist in the tourism curriculum according to the perceptions of stakeholder groups that participated in this study. The recommendations are that closer collaboration is required between academics, managers from the industry when designing tourism curriculum and also to sustain the relevance of the curriculum to meet the needs of industry.

The study traced the experiences of learning the clinical aspects of a problem-based learning (PBL) medical curriculum and the participants’ construction of a relationship with the subsequent clinical environments. In light of international and local medical and technological changes, the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine (NRMSM) changed its traditional curriculum to a PBL curriculum in 2001. The participants were the first cohort to experience a PBL pedagogy and graduated in 2005, subsequently undertaking two years of compulsory internship and one year of community service within the South African health care system. It was in the context of these changes and the present state of health care that such a study sought to determine how a PBL pedagogy was experienced within the clinical environments of South Africa. Phenomenography was used as a methodology to describe and interpret the ‘qualitatively different ways’ in which the participants’ experienced the phenomenon. Purposive sampling reflecting the institution’s admission policy regarding race and gender demographics was applied. In-depth interviews were conducted at the end of the community service experience. Variation in the experiences was represented through logically related and hierarchical categories of description resulting in the formulation of an outcome space. The outcome space identified three categories of description: ‘The guinea pig identity’ which found that the participants felt at the mercy of a curriculum experiment and felt discriminated against by the hospital consultants who had negative views of PBL. The category of ‘knowledge construction’ saw the participants exploring issues of difference between the knowledge and practices expected by the two different kinds of curricula. The category of ‘professional identity’ indicated an emerging sense of competence across a range of clinical situations. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) was used to augment the phenomenographic analysis and to explore the ways in which the social structure of the clinical contexts related to the discourse patterns emerging in the phenomenographic categories in the form of power relations and ideological effects. CDA was used as an additional lens to develop theory and acquire deeper knowledge about why the participants constructed a relationship with the phenomenon and the subsequent clinical environments in the way that they did. The thesis concludes with a proposal for an empirical model that illuminates resolutions from the major findings in the study regarding medical knowledge construction in a PBL curriculum. The model consists of a Y axis depicting the vertical spine of basic sciences knowledge construction, a X axis depicting the horizontal nature of professional identity construction and a spiral that indicates the simultaneous movement of clinical knowledge construction along each axis. It is hoped that this model will serve as a future curriculum innovation that will result in the production of professional medical practitioners that are required for today’s South African communities. This study, however, revealed that despite the hegemonic practices and the theoretical inadequacies that were reported by the participants they finally felt like professional medical practitioners during their community service experience. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

"It was clearly the Government (by a great section of the electorate) that brought politics into the theatre, and we, the producers, the actors, the theatre-goers must pay the price for it." Alan Paton. This thesis attempts to analyse the way South African Theatre is developing against a background of social transition within a political framework which has enforced a policy of separate development based on racial distinction and ethnicity. Signs of political reform are beginning to show - not only as a result of pressure from within and without - but also because economic interdependency between the groups is breaking down barriers as the third world sector of the population aspires to the attractions of the first world urban sector. Polemical issues in the performing arts, which have risen out of the prevailing socio-economic climate, range from global attempts at cultural isolation of South Africa to such pragmatic matters as absorbing into actor-training programmes the various sectors of the community with their particular ethnic and linguistic identities preserved in an apartheid system. The research takes into account the history of the South African people and the various modes of theatre which have evolved as a result of natural and, later, imposed segregation of the various cultural groups. It examines, too, the dominant cuItural trends imported from Europe which have formed an infra-structure for South African theatre from training programmes to theatre managements, as well as criteria for critical assessment of theatre as a codified form of dramatic performance. It analyses the politically sensitive but vital issue of arts funding where most sponsorship emanates from public sources. It looks at actor-training programmes in terms of cultural service to the community and the diverse needs of the performance industry and takes into account the changing focus in some tertiary drama departments in an effort to adapt to transitional social conditions. It also takes cognisance of the prevailing mood of social consciousness amongst those artists who sense the need to move towards a theatre which expresses the collective experience of the South African situation. Whether this is possible in a country as culturally diverse as South Africa and whether the socio-political climate and reform measures which the government has adopted are conducive to the growth of a genre of theatre uniquely South African in its synthesis of endogenous and exogenous traditions - a theatre that will have cross-cultural appeal - is one of the major thrusts of this research. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1988.

This thesis is a participatory research study that was conducted amongst twenty-two, 15 to 20-year-old youth with disabilities in the Umgungundlovu district of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The aim of the thesis was to investigate how Zulu-speaking youth with physical and sensory impairments bring into discourse issues surrounding love, relationships, sex and HIV & AIDS in the construction of their sexual identities. As part of this process, three youth with disabilities were trained as co-researchers. In this context, a further aim of this thesis was to make evident what youth with disabilities learn through undertaking sexuality research. Using a post-structural framework, with particular emphasis on queer theory, a key argument of this thesis is that power emerges through the networks of relations in the study. This thesis also troubles the linear discourse of empowerment and the relationships between adults and young people in sexuality and HIV & AIDS research. The thesis adopted a qualitative methodology and used a participatory research design. Data was collected through the use of focus group discussions, individual interviews and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques such as drawings and timelines. The co-researchers were responsible for carrying out the focus group discussions and individual interviews with other disabled youth, as well as being involved in some aspects of the data analysis of this thesis. Data were analysed using a multi-levelled process that combined both content analysis and discourse analysis. The findings make evident that youth with disabilities are sexual beings who continually re-construct their sexual identities in the context of the discourses available to them. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that, in constructing their sexual identities, youth with disabilities do so within the intersectionality of complementary and contentious discourses of gender, culture, modernity, ableism and adultism. In relation to the co-researchers, it was found that being part of the study provided a dialogical space allowing them to develop new self-positions, which they were able to apply to their personal lives outside the research arena. The thesis recommends the training of youth with disabilities as peer educators in sexuality and HIV & AIDS pedagogy. It also strongly argues for the need to review current teacher education curriculum in South Africa in order to take cognisance of the sexuality of youth with disabilities and their vulnerability to HIV & AIDS. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

This thesis aimed at evaluating Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) policy in public schools in the Empangeni Region. Although South Africa is now a free and democratic country with a new system of education, some inequalities still exist among public schools which make it very difficult for them to implement OBE policy in the same way. It is therefore necessary to evaluate how educators view OBE policy. This research aimed at finding out (a) the policy measures that apply to OBE as a policy, (b) the extent to which normative factors apply in the implementation of education policy, (c) factors that hinder or promote effective implementation of OBE policy in public schools and (d) the model that can be recommended for the effective implementation of OBE policy. For purposes of orientation of the study it had to be located within its background which motivated it. The field of education in South Africa has always experienced problems especially with its policies. Some of these problems motivated the researcher to undertake this study and because of their significance they had to be stated in this research. The statement of the problem provided a foundation within which the aims of the study were explained. The significance of any research cannot be overemphasized. However, this one becomes even more significant because it comes up at a crucial period in South African education. This is a period when policies that were implemented in the country after 1994 should be evaluated. It is true that not all problems that relate to education policy can be solved at once. This therefore necessitated that delimitation of the study be clearly stated. There is virtually no study without its limitations, especially if it has to be done in public schools. These limitations were stated. For the purposes of clarity the terms that were constantly used in the study were defined and explained. The demarcation of the study provided a clear picture of the outline of chapters. The study had to be contextualized within the existing theoretical and conceptual perspectives that apply to public policy, policy-making process and OBE policy. Theory had to be drawn from different sources to find out whether OBE policy does adhere to the expectations of public policy in general. The policy-making process is one area that plays a very important role in the success of the implementation process. This necessitated that OBE policy be evaluated in terms of whether it followed necessary policy processes before and during its implementation. It also became necessary to present critical viewpoints on OBE policy as understood by its critics. This criticism culminated in the Revised National Curriculum Statement which was also discussed in great details in this study. This study had to outline the research methods and techniques used. The nature of the study necessitated the use of only questionnaires and interview schedule to elicit information from educators. It is true that there is no single research instrument without its limitations. It is for this reason that information obtained through the questionnaire had to be validated through the interview schedule. The researcher presented, analyzed and discussed research findings at the same time. The nature of the study enabled the use of tables and frequency distribution to present data. Because there was a lot of information to analyze, it sufficed to use descriptive statistical analysis. Discussion of data entailed interpretation and integration of data based on its presentation and analysis. In drawing conclusions the researcher realized that the present South African education system still has problems. To obviate these problems recommendations were made to the government, the education department in KZN and schools. This research culminated into a model of implementation which is the researcher's own creation intended to help all stakeholders have a clear direction in the implementation of OBE policy. The researcher did not only experience challenges inherent in the research process but also professional development. This learning experience is discussed as reflections on learning. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2002.

The role of science education is to pass on knowledge and understanding of science and its practices to learners. Learners' perceptions of science should therefore reflect those of the scientific community. The purpose of this study was to establish if learners in one South African school shared nature of science views common to the scientific community. Two key questions framed this study: What are learners' perceptions of the nature of science? and What are learners' perceptions of science within the context of their daily lives? Quantitative data was collected using a cartoon-style questionnaire to address the first research question. Qualitative data was collected from a photographic activity in which learners were asked to take photographs of science within the context of their daily lives and offer explanations of why the photographic images were representations of science. This qualitative data was used to address the second research question and map out more fully the complexity of learners' perceptions of the nature of science. The findings of this study point towards a blur between learners' perceptions of science and their perceptions of technology and provide evidence that learners' perceptions of the nature of science are inadequate. However, this study also provides evidence to suggest learners do share some nature of science views with the scientific community. The findings of this study also lend support to the argument that the learning of science should involve an explicit initiation into the culture of science. This study is a grassroots account of some attempts to include the nature of science construct within learning programs. It is simply a snapshot of what happened in one South African secondary school at the cusp of curriculum change, a collection of learners' perceptions of science captured on film and an insight into some learners' perceptions of the nature of science. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

This study explores the concepts of adversity, the facets of adversity and the nature of adversity and how teachers cope under these adversarial conditions. Adversity is a phenomenon that is challenging to grasp yet it affects people daily. In this study, “those people” are the teachers whom I have engaged with. Adversity comes in different forms and under different circumstances and is very much a part of every persons life. These forms include physical structures, emotional inter-relationships and social interaction with teachers, learners and the community. Adversity in the context of this study means to have a great measure of misfortune, hardships, difficulty, danger, harsh conditions and hard times as these have negative connotations to it. The participants in this study share, impart, reveal and disclose both their personal experiences at home, with their families and professional experiences at school with the main stakeholders being the learners. The professional experience of adversity includes teacher intensification, for example, more administrative work, large class sizes, teaching second and third language learners, lack of promotion opportunities, educators with HIV/ AIDS, lack of educational resources such as computers and overhead projectors, changing curriculum, multicultural educational challenges, more meetings during school time and school fund raising. Educators salaries and their qualifications were another issue that needed to be addressed. Teachers reflect on their efforts to pursue tertiary studies, the cost they have incurred and the sacrifices they have made to achieve their diplomas and degrees. With this in mind teachers find that the remuneration they receive for the sacrifices they have made certainly do not match the efforts of their endeavors. Years of studying and the intellectual capacity needed to acquire a teaching diploma and degree remain unrewarded. Teachers continue to compare the salaries of employees in the private sector to those of the public sector. Teaching therefore, seems to more of a service than that of a ‘job’. The financial rewards for teachers continue to allude them. The state does not provide sufficient incentives for teachers to remain in the profession. Therefore, many teachers look for ‘greener pastures’ .Teachers find employment outside the teaching profession in the private sector or even x emigrate to cities like London to seek better financial rewards. Teachers acknowledge that to teach, one requires passion and dedication and zeal for it. This study concentrates on how teachers cope, manage, handle and deal with such conditions in the school setting. These conditions include high volumes of administration, learner apathy, miscommunication with senior management and the employer, handling difficult learners and parents and coping with limited resources. This study reveals how teachers survive these difficult conditions. It further explores the reasons and factors that motivate these teachers to continue teaching. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2011.