Background: The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework established by the South African Nursing Council (SANC) states that organisations have a responsibility to create enabling environments in which the development of nurses can take place. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the CPD of nurses at a public hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. Method: A quantitative descriptive design was followed. Convenience sampling yielded a sample of 166 nurses consisting of the registered nurse (63.2%) and enrolled nurse categories (36.8%). Data collection was done using a self-designed questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) Version 9.4 programme. Results: The findings revealed that CPD was ranked the least important area in terms of management priorities. Key barriers to development included staff shortages, lack of funding, poor resources and competing personal responsibilities. The study found that CPD had positive outcomes for nursing practice. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

The predominant trend in nursing education in Zimbabwe is the hospital-based apprenticeship model. Globally, there has been a shift from a hospital-based model to a university-based one. When a new nursing programme is introduced in Zimbabwe, the institution presenting the programme is solely responsible for developing guidelines for running it. The institution in most cases has inadequate infrastructure, human, financial and material resources, and will lack the capacity to develop the guidelines. As a nurse educator, the researcher noticed with concern that newly introduced nurse education programmes in Zimbabwe soon faced problems because they were introduced without clear guidelines. This made their implementation difficult. The purpose of the study was to develop guidelines for the Generic Nursing Programme (GNP), a four-year Bachelor of Science Honours Nursing degree. The GNP will balance clinical practice and theory in order to produce nurses who can meet diverse patients’ needs; function as leaders; advance science that benefits patients, and deliver quality, safe patient care. The researcher used Walt and Gilson’s (1994) policy analysis framework as the theoretical framework for the study. Their policy triangle framework is grounded in a political economy perspective, and considers how the four elements of content, context, actors and processes interact to shape policy-making. The study was a qualitative, explorative case study. Data was collected from forty-nine purposively selected participants by means of semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and the Delphi technique. The study found that the content of the GNP should include sciences, nursing courses, social sciences and practical component courses. The GNP should be developed in an environment with adequate resources and will hinge on the economic and political situation since that will determine available resources. The actors involved in the development should include the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare; the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe; nurse educators; nurses working in the clinical area, and curriculum committee members of the university that will offer the GNP. The guidelines should ensure good quality nursing education for nursing students, and prevent inconsistencies in and the failure of the GNP. / Health Studies / D. Lit. et Phil. (Health Studies)

This thesis aims to address why the adoption of CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) within the language classroom is so varied, and its success so unclear, despite fifty years of investment and research. The huge promise of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) driven results has created an imbalance in language teaching, where initiatives are brought about from outside the classroom, with teachers held accountable for their adoption. My reading of the literature is that lack of consideration of the teacher’s role in implementation of classroom technology has led to mismatched expectations and performance. If the nature of the teacher’s contribution is recognized, I believe that this can lead to more effective use of ICT, which I have set out to show. My study, based on a survey of 319 EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers across the international group of 31 schools in which I work, seeks to put the teacher back into the picture by examining where their enacted beliefs in social constructivist pedagogy best align with classroom use of digital technology. I coin this emerging praxis ‘microblending’, a pedagogy rooted in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory and contemporary methodology, and I seek to demonstrate its relevance in this study I test the viability of measuring teacher’s microblending readiness through application of Technology Acceptance Modelling (TAM) in an EFL setting to produce a model that explains the variation in classroom use of ICT. My model is based on a critical replication of the WST (‘Will, Skill, Tool’) model, a TAM model which has so far only been used in mainstream classroom teaching. I have updated, created and piloted new instruments within the scope of the study, which are now already in use within the institution where I carried out my investigations. Using both linear regression and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) techniques I explored how these measurements of the learning environment can explain a teacher’s application of technology. This first attempt appears to explain over 89% of the variation in classroom use of technology, which already exceeds the predictive power of several contemporary models in use in parallel fields of education. Given further work to refine and apply the model, a valuable improvement could be made in how teachers work with ICT in the language classroom for improved learning outcomes.

This research explores the availability and potential educational uses of different forms of poetry that can be read using a postcolonial approach. The focus is on contemporary France and Spain, two contexts where people with different cultural heritages coexist and need to negotiate cultural imbalances inherited from colonial and neo-colonial domination. This research highlights poetry’s overlooked suitability to engage young people in the expression of cultural difference in a progressively globalized world where cultivating cross-cultural understanding and tolerance needs to be at the top of our agendas. For this reason, the dissertation includes an analysis of poems (currently available for young people) aiming to foreground the possibilities of a postcolonial reading. I also studied similarities and divergences between the French and Spanish scenarios based on evidence gathered during a survey of the Spanish and French fields of poetry for young people and from interviews with informed agents. The survey of the field consists of the exploration of textbooks and anthologies but also the examination of poetry circulating through on-line channels. The interviews were undertaken with selected French and Spanish representatives of people currently involved in the production and dissemination of poetry for young people. I observed that the number of poems showing connections to a postcolonial legacy was scant in the French school material and even more in the Spanish books that I examined. I also confirmed that little attention was given to oral ways to deliver poetry especially showing little regard for the oral literary practices and traditions of non-European French and Spanish speaking communities. The Spanish lack of attention to these traditions is more salient. This contrasts with observations about non-school contexts. Spanish and French young people can nowadays easily engage with varied cultural traditions in poetry which circulate in poetry events and social media. Interviewees confirmed these observations but also raised issues about Spanish and French poetry education that need to be dealt with so as to improve school attention to mixed cultural heritages in poetry. The main contribution to knowledge of this thesis consists in identifying the underused and unexplored educational potential of French and Spanish poetry currently available for young people that can be fruitfully approached using postcolonial lenses. The evaluation of the information gathered in this research reveals that dominant French and Spanish approaches to poetry and limited poetry repertoires hinder the visibility of some contemporary forms of poetry and restrain the effectiveness of some poetry already present in mainstream poetry corpora. However, the comparison of scenarios shows that France offers more accessible and relevant ‘places of enunciation ’ than Spain does for poets to address young people. For instance, comparing contexts, French young people have easier access and more support than Spanish youth to engage with poets’ expressions of being culturally displaced.

The purpose of this study was to investigate ICT literacy in adult education and training within a public adult learning centre. A literature study was conducted to identify a theoretical framework for a comparative study of different national ICT policies. A qualitative research design was used to conduct an empirical investigation through the use of data collection instruments such as focus group interviews, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and non-participant observation. Data analysis was conducted, during which various themes emerged, which led to the findings and conclusions regarding the study. Recommendations were made with regard to improving the ICT literacy level in adult education and training. Limitations of the study were described and recommendations for future research were made. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions/views of student nurses, nurse educators and unit supervisors on accompaniment of student nurses in clinical settings of the Northern Province of the RSA A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional survey was used in this study to describe the perceptions/views of student nurses, nurse educators and unit supervisors on apcompaniment of student nurses in clinical settings. Data was collected during February and March 200 I when student nurses, nurse educators and unit supervisors in the Northern Province completed questionnaires. The study revealed positive and negative perceptions regarding accompaniment of student nurses in clinical settings, including that: • accompaniment in the clinical settings enhanced student nurses' clinical learning experiences • the presence of nurse educators in the clinical settings improved student nurses' accompaniment • facilitators played an important role in the accompaniment of student nurses • accompaniment enhances correlation of theory and practice / Health Studies / MA (Advanced Nursing Sciences)

Most adolescents place pressure on their parents. The pressure varies, so there must be factors that contribute to the variance. An important objective of the investigation was to determine such factors from the parent’s side and from the adolescent’s side. It was also important to determine the most important factors in family functioning, and in the wider social context that affect the placement of pressure on parents by adolescents. A sample of 177 high school adolescents and their parents was used. Variables such as age, gender, family structure, working circumstances of parents, birth order position of adolescents, peer pressure, the parent-adolescent relationship, self-concept and personality were included in the study. The results indicate that the pressure that parents experience is associated with parental variables rather than adolescent variables. Parental self-concept, personality, and the parent-adolescent relationship (from the parent’s side) explained almost 63% of the variance in the pressure that parents experience. The conclusion can be made that it is not adolescents who deliberately plan to place their parents under pressure, but rather parents who make themselves vulnerable to such a situation. Any remedy or guidance programme will have to focus primarily on the parent, and the success of such a programme will depend on the way in which it supports the self-concept of the parent. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Aim: The aim of the study is to explore the perceptions of the nurses’ CPD and its contribution to quality patient care in the Gauteng province of the Republic of South Africa. Significance of the study: The significance of the study is to highlight the importance of CPD as one of the contributing factors to the quality of patient care through on-going competence. The researcher hopes the recommendations from the study may serve as a motivation to health institutions that are not actively involved in continuing professional development. Method and data analysis: Quantitative descriptive explorative design was used to achieve the objectives of the study. The study involved registered professional nurses (n =105) and enrolled nurses (n=56) employed in a state health institution. Data was collected by means of a structured questionnaire.A total of 200 questionnaire were distributed and 162 completed questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 162/200=81%. Statistical analysis was conducted using the SAS software version 9.3.The internal and external validity was enhanced by selecting a large homogenous sample. Ethical issues: An information leaflet indicating the key elements of the study such as the research title, the purpose of the study, voluntary participation and when to withdraw from the study was distributed to all the participants. Results: The study found that nurses participate in CPD activities to maintain their professional competence, thereby contributing to quality patient care. The findings are consistent with the findings from other studies / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Text in English / The question the researcher set out to answer during this research study was: "What is the Educational Focus of a Nursing College, when viewed within Bevis and Watson's Humanistic·Educative-Caring Curriculum Paradigm versus a Stimulus-Response Curriculum Paradigm?" To answer this question, an exploratory, descriptive and contextual study was undertaken. The population consisted of tutors employed at a College of Nursing. From this population a purposive sample was drawn. Data was collected by means of formal, semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. It was found that during the first year of students' education and training, the Educational Focus of the College was on training but during the second year, the focus changed to the transitional phase. The transitional phase is situated between training and education. During the third and fourth year, the focus was also in transition, but the way students learn was at the training phase. / Health Studies / M.A. (Advanced Nursing Sciences)

Although South African teachers have ample opportunities for professional development (PD), weak results of learners show that these opportunities have had a limited effect on the development of the Mathematics teachers’ instructional skills. The improvement of the teaching of Mathematics is regarded as a solution to learners’ poor performance, because teachers play a key role in the improvement of pupils’ learning. In the light of this, a Mathematics PD programme implemented in a province of South Africa was evaluated and served as a case study. The aim of this evaluation was to probe the quality of the programme since it had been suggested that improving the quality of teaching can be achieved by offering effective PD programmes. Thus, the evaluation was done in an attempt to establish the academic value of the intervention. The investigated programme – which was implemented in a rural and under-resourced setting – focused on FET Mathematics teachers and used mentoring and workshops as its key intervention implementers. Five teachers were involved in this programme. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, lesson observations, mentoring and workshop reports, the results of learners, and pre- and post-test results of the participants. The evaluation of the PD programme revealed the following: that the workshops addressed the participants’ content knowledge gap to a limited degree; that mentoring was able to assist with the individual classroom-related needs of the participants, and that the community of practice formed in the workshops helped the participants to develop by means of working together on lesson preparation, micro-teaching, and content knowledge exercises. Other findings revealed that the duration of the workshops were adequate, however their intensity was insufficient to effectively address the participants’ needs, and that the workshops were carefully planned, given that the same topics were repeated. The mentor teachers and other facilitators encountered challenges relating to the long intervals between the mentoring sessions, the limited post-lesson-observation discussion time, the significant distances between the involved schools and the heavy teaching load of the participants. Nevertheless, recommendations on improving the effectiveness of future PD programmes included careful selection of the dosage of interventions, site-based mentoring, to incentivise participants of PD programmes, alleviating the teaching load of overburdened participants and the creation of conducive environments in rural areas for the formation of communities of practice. / Mathematics Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (Mathematics Education))