This study is concerned with the particular role of the teacher as a leader of pupils in a class, a legislated requirement for teachers in South Africa since 1996. Literature and research have focussed attention regarding leadership in education on the principal, school governing body and school management team, and more recently distributed leadership in schools. This study, in contrast, seeks to concentrate on the leadership of teachers as they teach classes of pupils. A review of the current leadership literature applicable, in my view, to the practice of leadership in schools, provided the opportunity for the development of a theoretical framing for the study around the categories of leaders knowing, doing, being and relating. Teachers from eight Section 21 (state-aided, previously advantaged and currently well-resourced) schools in the greater Ethekweni region of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa were selected for the study. They were observed in their teaching and interviewed to interrogate their understanding and performance as leaders, and to establish how and why leadership occurred or did not occur. Sampling for the four teachers who were observed in their teaching was purposive to establish levels of understanding, and enactment of leadership amongst advantaged teachers teaching in well resourced schools. These teachers were recommended for selection for this study by their principals, as teachers who had previously – in the opinion of the principals, evidenced leadership in their teaching. Forty three other teachers were interviewed in focus groups and film stimulus focus groups to view, consider and comment on teacher leadership behaviours in selected feature films – providing a vehicle for identifying how leadership occurs in teachers’ classes and what it is that teachers understand about leadership. Insights into the reason for teachers exercising leadership in a class were gained from consideration of the character and the competence of teachers, the circumstances under which leadership occurs and the nature of ‘called’ leaders with a sense of identity. The occurrences that caused the teachers to lead without any apparent training for leadership are examined in the light of the fact that these were selected teachers from well resourced schools who had all enjoyed growing and educational advantage. Their learning about leadership had been a largely unconscious occurrence in their lives. They did not know that they knew about leadership in teaching. The study firstly provides explanation of the phenomenon of leadership occurrence and understanding by teachers, who deny training in leadership and are not even aware of policy dictating that role for teachers insight and secondly, a new understanding of the relevant nature of the leadership practised by the teachers observed, and finally presents argument on the symbiotic nature of teaching and leading. This develops the thesis of the study; when teachers teach, they lead – to teach is to lead. It is recognised that the majority of teachers in South Africa will not have enjoyed the advantaged developmental experiences of the fortunate teachers in this study. Using the insights gained from this study, development of leadership in all teachers becomes a possibility. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

No abstract provided. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

The constitution of Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) provides the basis for curriculum transformation and assessment for development in South Africa. The curriculum aims to develop the full potential of each learner as a citizen of a democratic South Africa. Formative assessment is seen as an assessment that can develop the standard of education in South Africa. Muller (2004) asserts that the C2005 policy document and assessment policy for General Education and Training make much of the need to shift from this "authoritarian" approach, to assessment which is formative, standard-based and continuous. Therefore, formative assessment is important in the process of teaching and learning. This study explores teachers' knowledge of formative assessment and how they translate it into practice within a context of Mathematics. It examines the nature of assessment techniques used by educators at the school and explore its relationship with practice. Furthermore, it aims to determine whether the educators are willing to adapt formative assessment practice to meet the changing demands of South African school education as prescribed by the New Curriculum Statement (NCS) in grade 8. Data collection and observations for the study were conducted at a high school in Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Four teachers were interviewed to determine their perception of formative assessment. Two of the four teachers were selected on basis of the interviews for further data collection. These two were observed when conducting lessons. At least two lessons for each teacher were observed. The nature of the task that the two teachers designed for formative purpose and the feedback they gave to learners were analyzed. The findings from this study suggest that teachers do not reject or resist change in practicing formative assessment, but they have not been properly assisted to replace the old practices with new ones. The teachers therefore, interpret formative assessment according to their own accumulated understanding, which differ from teacher to teacher. Thus, the study recommends that if the change in assessment practice is to be "efficient", it must be accommodated by "appropriate" professional development of teachers. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

There are evidently high incidences of bullying among learners in schools. The problem is that victims and perpetrators, as well as teachers do not understand what constitutes bullying and are unable to take appropriate action when it occurs. Because of the poor understanding of bullying, incidences remain unreported, and if they are, teachers are unable to deal with them effectively. This study aimed to examine the teacher's and learner' s understanding of bullying and its prevalence in a Durban Primary School, and how they cope with bullying incidents. It investigated the different forms that are commonly found among the boys and girls. Because victims of bullying tend to be boys more than girls and the perpetrators boys, gender socialization theories (Connell, 1996; Fitzclarence 1995) were used to analyse the ways in which the boys and girls understand and cope with bullying. Particular attention was given to the experiences of the grade 7 learners. The study utilised a descriptive survey design, in which qualitative methodologies were used to address the identified research questions. Data was collected through observations, questionnaires, unstructured interviews and conversations. The major findings confirmed that bullying is a problem at the Durban primary school. Firstly boys and girls experience different forms of bullying. Girls experience more indirect forms of bullying, whilst boys experience more direct forms. Secondly, bullying has affected some of the learners to an extent where they stay away from school. The learners are more comfortable speaking to their peers about bullying than their parents and teachers. However, the teachers seem to be largely unaware of the extent and consequences of bullying. One of the major implications of this study is that policies that specifically address bullying in the school need to be developed to curb the problem. In addition, initiatives should be taken to raise the teachers, parents and learners awareness of the phenomenon of bullying and appropriate strategies developed and implemented to curb it. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

The aim of this research was to contribute towards the evaluation of a trialled preparatory science programme called 'Into Science', by investigating to what extent there was an improvement in the participating students' understanding of scientific concepts and their command of science skills. The sample group involved in the trialling ofthe 'Into Science' course was students from three interested KwaZulu-Natal Colleges of Education. The research instruments used to determine whether there was an improvement in scientific understanding were largely two sets of pre- and post-tests. The first set was designed around concepts and skills specifically taught by the 'Into Science' course whilst the second set attempted to assess whether there had been any development ofthe recognised science process skills, using questions which had been designed by the Assessment ofPerformance Unit (APU) in the United Kingdom. In addition to these preand post-tests, a qualitative dimension in the research was also included since it was felt that the impressions ofthe sample group involved in the trialling of these materials was also important. The results from this research indicate that the 'Into Science' programme could be successfully used in South Africa, despite some minor reservations discussed in this dissertation. Findings included the following. • Although almost all the students showed an improvement between the pre- and the posttest on the questions testing 'Into Science' concepts and skills, in the post-test many were still scoring poorly on fairly simple questions. Noticeable improvements were made in areas such as the understanding and application of scientific topics such as area, volume, density, concepts and tenninology associated with basic chemistry, and the plotting and understanding of graphical representations. • Although it became apparent during the research that certain of the questions used in the 'APU' derived pre- and post-tests were problematic in various ways, answers from the students to the questions did complement some of the results obtained from the 'Into Science' pre- and post-tests. For example, responses to 'APU' derived questions also showed an improvement with respect to the interpretation of graphical representations and the plotting of graphs. In addition however, their answers also provided for some other interesting feedback such as the following. Many of the students experienced problems in answering questions where the data was presented less sequentially or the question was posed in a fonnat which they were not used to. Problems were experienced with the application of conceptual knowledge to experimental situations. • During interviews conducted at the three colleges, it was found that the majority of the students involved in the trial were most enthusiastic and positive about the 'Into Science' materials and the type of teaching and learning fonnat that they had been introduced to during the 'Into Science' course. Indeed, the students indicated their interest in pursuing further studies along similar lines, should the opportunity present itself to them at a later date. If the 'Into Science' programme is to be successfully used in South Africa, the recommendation 11 is that a variety of support structures will also need to be made available in order to ensure the success ofthe programme. These support structures include the following. • Weekly tutorial sessions. • Additional explanation inserts, exerCIses and assignments III areas of perceived difficulty. • The establishment of greater confidence with respect to experimental work through the use of frequent laboratory sessions. • Telephonic and e-mail help lines, fax facilities etc. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

Since it assumed power in 1994, the democratic government in South Africa had to meet the challenge of changing a fragmented, inequitable and culturally oppressive system of education into one that would promote the principles of equity, redress and social empowerment. A mechanism to meet the aims of the new South African education system, Curriculum 2005 and its outcomes-based education approach, was introduced from the beginning of 1998. The new education system was subjected to changes that were designed to address the legacy of apartheid, and to meet the ch allenges presented by twenty first century global imperatives. Curriculum 2005, as a learner-centred educational framework, embraces a continuous assessment process that requires that educators be skilled to employ integrated assessment and teaching strategies to facilitate the holistic development oflearners . The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions and practices of grade nine language educators with regard to translating outcomes-based assessment into practice. A qualitative approach, using a case study method , was employed for the investigation and interviewing was the major data collection instrument. The interview data was supplemented by document analysis. The data were coded and analyzed. The main findings suggest that the grade nine language educators have a sound understanding of the outcomes-based system of assessment but the policy language and large class sizes were found to have limited educators' abilities to meaningfully use ongoing classroom assessment for formative purpose with individual learners. Finally, recommendations made concerning assessment practices, could lead to a more effective learner-centred learning environment. / Thesis (M.Ed. ; Education) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003

Vygotsky (1978, as cited in Day, Engelhardt, Maxwell and Bolig, 1997) argued that a complete profile of intellectual competence must include both static measures of what the child already knows and dynamic measures of the child's ability to benefit from instruction. This study involves an analysis of this contention and has two specific aims: Firstly, to determine whether modified cognition would result from mediation, using three instruments of Feuerstein's Learning Potential Assessment Device in a group administration format, as demonstrated by improved performance in post-mediation testing; and secondly , to determine whether the group administration of the three instruments from the Feuerstein's Learning Potential Assessment Device will be able to detect differences in the degree of coqnltive modifiability of individuals. The statio assessment paradigm is predominant within the South African education system and is used to categorise and place learners in "appropriate" learning contexts ego special schools, special classes within mainstream and mixed ability groupings. The growing discontent with standardised tests rests mainly with the fact that they only access the manifest level of performance of learners. As such,it is contended that they do a gross injustice to those learners that are educationally-disadvantaged, marginalised and culturally different to the norm groups of the standardised assessments. The dynamic assessment paradigm is presented as an alternative to static assessment because it focuses on learning potential. It regards a learner's manifest level of performance as -a baseline and emphasises the need to mediate within what Vygotsky (1978) calls the learner's zone of proximal development to access his/her potential. The Learning Potential Assessment Device, consisting of a battery of dynamic assessment instruments, was used in the study to ascertain the effects of mediation on performance and to detect differences in the degree of coqnitive modifiability of individuals. This was done using a pretest - mediation - post-test procedure with a comparison of pretest and post-test performances. Through the process of random assignment, the population sample of thirty one grade eight subjects was divided into a control group and an experimental group. The pretest phase of three selected instruments (Numerical Progressions, the Organizer and the Organization of Dots) was administered to the group as a whole. The mediation phase was administered to the experimental group only and thereafter both the control group and the experimental group completed the post-test phase. An analysis of the results revealed that the difference in pretest and post-test mean scores for Numerical Progressions was statistically not significant. An analysis of the mean scotes of the experimental group for the Organizer revealed that the educationally-disadvantaged group benefitted from mediation to a larger extent than the educationally-advantaged group. The pretest and post-test difference in mean scores for the Organization of Dots was statistically significant. An analysis of the post-test scores of individual subjects within the experimental group revealed a significant improvement for some learners, a marginal improvement for others and reduced scores for some in comparison to their pretest scores. A number of postulations are given for the varied effectiveness of the mediation that was provided. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

The curriculum for Senior Primary students at a college of education was selected for study as it is a curriculum that seems to be more problematic than other curricula at the college. The study sought to gather a range of evidence from lecturers and students and about the issues that they identified as being of concern and about the learning milieu. The evaluation aimed to engage students and lecturers in a process of critical reflection on the assumptions and values which underpin practice at the college. The overarching research design was multiple operationalism located within a naturalistic paradigm. Interviews were used to generate critical issues from participants. Further interviews, questionnaires and documentary analysis provided thick descriptions of the critical issues. The ways in which the position of the evaluator as a member of the management team influenced the choice of methods and role as evaluator are discussed and the problem of incompatibility between the ethos of the college and the assumptions which support democratic evaluation is considered . In discussing the strengths and limitations of the Senior Primary course, the dichotomy between general and vocational education for teachers is explored and the problematic nature of a knowledge base for teachers is considered. Curricular principles of balance, relevance and cohesion are related to the college curriculum. In considering the obstacles to curriculum change at the college, institutional values of privacy, territory and hierarchy are discussed. Throughout the study an attempt is made to reveal the different perceptions of participants and the many views of reality on which these perceptions are based. The evaluation report concludes by posing key questions which highlight the essential issues which need to be addressed by the college. These are the need to achieve a shared sense of purpose about education for the Senior Primary phase, to make students more responsible partners in the teaching and learning relationship, to forge closer links with primary schools, to move away from subject-centricity and a transmission mode of teaching and to empower lecturers to bring about the changes that they feel are necessary. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 1991.

The intention of this research was to gather and document qualitative data regarding young children's intuitive solution strategies with regard to multiplication and division word problems. In 1994, nineteen pupils from the Junior Primary Phase (i.e. Grade 1 and Grade 2), from a Durban school participated in this study, in which the instruction was generally compatible with the principles of the Problem-Centered mathematics approach proposed by Human et al (1993) and Murray et al (1992; 1993). Its basic premise is that learning is a social as well as an individual activity. The researcher's pragmatic framework has been greatly influenced by the views of Human et al (1993) and Murray et al (1992; 1993), on Socio-Constructivism and Problem-Centered mathematics. Ten problem structures, five in multiplication and five in division which were adopted from research carried out by Mulligan (1992), were presented to the pupils to solve. The children were observed while solving the problems and probing questions were asked to obtain information about their solution strategies. From an indepth analysis of the children's solution strategies conclusions on the following issues were drawn: 1. the relationship between the semantic structure of the word problems and the children's intuitive strategies, and 2. the intuitive models used by the children to solve these problems. The following major conclusions were drawn from the evidence: 1. Of the sample, 76% were able to solve the ten problem structures using a range of strategies without having received any formal instruction on these concepts and related algorithms. 2. There were few differences in the children's performance between the multiplication and division word problems, with the exception of the Factor problem type for the Grade 2 Higher Ability pupils. 3. The semantic structure of the problems had a greater impact on the children's choice of strategies than on their performance, with the exception of the Factor problems. 4. The children used a number of intuitive models. For multiplication, three models were identified, i.e. repeated addition, array, cartesian product with and without many-to-many correspondence. For division, four models were identified, i.e. sharing one-by-one, building-up (additive), building-down (subtractive), and a model for sub-dividing wholes. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Durban-Westville, 1997

There is a growing body of evidence that occupational stress is a problem for a significant number of teachers. Teacher stress has a detrimental effect not only on the physical and mental well-being of teachers, but on their efficiency and productivity in the school setting as well. This study investigated teacher stress within the interactional framework. Its main aim was to determine the nature and extent of stress patterns in a sample of 360 Indian school teachers selected from ten secondary schools in the Greater Durban area. Other closely related aims were to identify the most important task-, situation- and role-based sources of stress among these teachers, their most common reactions to excessive stress, their common modes of coping, as well as their most important sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Furthermore, this study sought to investigate the influence of demographic characteristics on the teachers' experience of stress and coping. For this purpose intra-group comparisons were made involving six subsamples of teachers male - female, married - unmarried, younger - older, less experienced - more experienced, diplomates - graduates, Level One teachers - Heads of Departments. A self-administered questionnaire and in-depth interviews were used to obtain the quantitative and qualitative data required for this study. Among the most important findings of the study are the following: 1 . Over one-half of the number of the secondary teachers surveyed (54%) perceived their job as being very stressful. 2. The four most frequent and intense sources of stress were related to the working conditions of teachers rather than to the actual task of teaching. These stressors relate to poor career development prospects and a lack of accomplishment. More specifically, these are, in rank order: (1) the system of awarding merit notches; (2) the system of promotion; (3) the system of evaluation; and (4) a relatively low salary. 3. The four most important sources of role stress are, in rank order : (1) the volume and variety of tasks that teachers are expected to perform and the adverse effect this has on the quality of work they produce because of the limited time at their disposal; (2) being compelled to perform duties that appear to them to have little value; (3) having too heavy a workload; and (4) uncertainty about how superiors evaluate their teaching. 4. At least one-third of the teachers are "at risk" of developing more serious health problems. Finally, the limitations of this study are discussed, and various recommendations are made. It is argued that stress among teachers is a complex phenomenon arising out of the interaction of a whole host of factors and circumstances. Consequently, any attempt at amelioration should be multidimensional in nature and involve a variety of disciplines. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1992.