This study critically examines the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS), a quality and performance management system that was introduced into South African schools in 2005. The policy initiatives in South African education are aimed at producing an educated and appropriately skilled workforce. Central to the idea of an ‘educated workforce’ that can compete in the global markets lies the quality of teaching and learning in a nation’s schools. This has implications for teacher performance. Teachers and schools are asked to be accountable to the community they serve, the taxpayer and to the government for the considerable sum invested in education. Therefore, there is a concern with maintaining ‘standards’ in education as well as enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. At the same time cognizance has to be taken of the fact that in South Africa, teacher professional development is a vital concern. The main notion to be examined in this study is the notion of professional development as a counterbalance to the idea of accountability as a key driver of the IQMS. Thus this study revolves around and explores the tension between the notion of accountability and evidence-based evaluation on the one hand; and the need to enhance professional development and maintain professional autonomy on the other hand. What becomes more important; the evaluation of performance to enhance teacher development and professionalism or the measurement of performance with a view to rewarding ‘good’ performance? New Public Management (NPM) was chosen as the theoretical framework for this thesis as it is obviously both an ideology and a model for many public sector organizations like schools. NPM is an ideology based on market-related principles like setting performance targets and using performance measurement and incentive structures. The IQMS is a practical manifestation of the principles and assumptions underpinning iv NPM. Critical Management Studies (CMS) which is defined as a broad approach to management studies embracing a number of epistemologies which are compatible with a social justice and people-development perspective was used to evaluate the principles and purposes of the IQMS and its NPM underpinnings. A combination of both quantitative and qualitative research paradigms was employed in order to gather data in this study. Survey questionnaires were administered to principals and educators in KwaZulu-Natal in order to elicit their views on the IQMS. Semistructured and unstructured interviews were also conducted with departmental officials and teacher union officials respectively. The data gathered was analyzed using the metatheoritical framework of ‘critical theory’ mainly because the main objective of the study was to uncover the assumptions underpinning the IQMS. The conclusions arrived at indicate that the mechanical aspects of the IQMS relating to ‘performitivity’ undermine the potential of the IQMS as a genuine professional development tool. If the IQMS is used for the latter purpose it would inevitability lead to an enhancement of the quality of teaching and learning. Neo-liberal ‘managerialist’ and post-welfarist reforms adopted by the state are not suitable presently for a developing country like South Africa. South Africa needs a teacher evaluation policy that is genuinely developmental, taking into account both the professional development needs of its educators and the socio-economic context in which schools operate. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

The focus ofthe study is on the provision ofequitable education to girls who leave school due to their pregnancy related predicaments. The study explores the challenges faced by these young women in schools. The study was conducted in an informal settlement on the outskirts of eThekwini. Through the employment ofqualitative methods, using semi structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires I was able to show that in a country which ensures access and success ofevery child to education without learners being unfairly discriminated in any way, teenage-mothers face hardships in balancing their educational needs and social responsibilities. Through a series ofinterviews the study draws attention to some ofthe challenges facing the education of female learners who have children while at school and endeavoured to uncover the ways in which schools respond to the needs ofthese teenage-mothers. The findings ofthe study outlined the challenges faced by teenage mothers in schools and the role played by the school. The study concluded with the implication and recommendations for all stakeholders involved in the education process. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

This study sought to investigate the recruitment and selection procedures of senior officials into the Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The study argued that recruitment and selection of staff in KZN Department of Education is faced with a number of problems as posts are advertised, withdrawn, delayed or cancelled. The study used interviews and document analysis as data collection instruments .Deputy Directors, Chief Education Specialists and Deputy Chief Education Specialists participated in interviews. Having investigated and correlated all the results, the researcher concluded that the problems pertaining to recruitment and selection, include: The contents of policies regarding recruitment and selection are not known by the officials. There is inconsistency between advertisement and short-listing. The interviewing committee is not properly constituted and the principles of objectivity and fairness are not adhered to. The study recommends that the Education Department must ensure that workshops on policies and legislations are organized and conducted for all officials and educators. Job evaluation must be thoroughly done. The Human Resources Department must ensure that the requirements on the advertisements are in line with the set criteria for short-listing. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

The National Curriculum Statement for history aims to make history accessible and enjoyable to all learners. To do this, educators have to interest and engage their charges in the classroom by using learner-centred methodologies, including drama strategies. This study aimed to determine the perceptions, opinions, and experiences of history educators in the Further Education and Training (FET) band at schools in the eThekwini region, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). To determine such perceptions, opinions, and experiences, mixed research was undertaken using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The research process began with the quantitative method using a questionnaire, and was followed by the qualitative methods using interviews and observations. However, data analysis of both strands of the research process was integrated, following the requirements of mixed research. The research revealed that while the sampled educators experienced many frustrations in their classrooms, they claimed to want to improve their methods of teaching. They alleged to believe in the power of drama strategies to engage their learners and build historical skills, but very rarely used these strategies. Because they perceived drama to imply putting on a play, they could not envision drama strategies to serve as effective teaching methodologies, and generally used traditional methods of talking and reading in their history classrooms to feed facts to learners. The system in which they worked appeared to conspire against them as it demanded prescriptive requirements while advocating creative methodologies. Thus, sampled history educators resorted to what had worked in the past, and used methodologies which no longer conformed to the present curriculum's requirements. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

Post apartheid South Africa heralded changes in society and the educational system as a whole. South African schools have in turn become sites of phenomenal changes. The recent trends towards greater decentralization and partial privatization for many schools have placed more responsibility on school managers and leaders. School managers and leaders are faced with situations in which effective and efficient school management requires new and improved skills, knowledge and attitudes to cope with a wide range of new demands and challenges. During the apartheid era educational managers were subjected to many forms of suppression, which favored the previous government. The education system was characterized as being authoritarian, non - consultative and non-participatory. Educational leadership focuses on technical and bureaucratic functions of the school, and greater emphasis was placed on vertical structures. Leadership in South Africa today calls for a different mindset. The challenge is for leaders to recreate school as learning organizations that focus on results and accountability. There exists a need for schools to move away from being fixed structures that focus on constraint and control. Real transformation will depend upon the nature and quality of internal management and how principals execute, delegate, consult and participate with all stakeholders. Self-management is accomplished by an internal distribution of power within the school and in transformational leadership. School principals need to adopt a new paradigm of leadership in which leaders are intuitive and visionary. Democratic South Africa places emphasis on transformational leadership. A transformational style of leadership is significant as this style of leadership embraces a charismatic, visionary, cultural and empowering concept of leadership. Emphasis is given to higher levels of personal commitment towards accomplishing the goal of organizational learning and the development of a school climate that is productive and conducive to learning resulting in effective schools. Principals need to align themselves with the values of the new constitution bearing in mind democracy, equality, human dignity, freedom and justice. The challenge and need for leadership are great if education is to be uplifted and transtormed. One of the main findings of the research was a discrepancy between the principal's perception of his/her style of leadership and the perception of the staff regarding the principal's style of leadership. The principal perceived his / her role as a leader as being more transformational than transactional while members of the staff saw the principal as being a transactional leader. An extremely interesting finding was consensus between School Management Teams (SMT) and educators in respect of the views expressed: 75% of the SMT and educators agree with the perception that the principal's leadership style was autocratic. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

This study focused on how an HIV positive learner experiences her formal school. The purpose of this study was to understand and document the experiences of the HIV positive learner in the environment of the school. Her experiences in responding to the total school curriculum were recorded. The participant was an HIV positive learner from a secondary school in KwaDuguza. This study is a case study using qualitative methods of data collection. With the use of observation, interviews and document analyses, I was able to gather data on the HIV positive learner's experiences in school. The participant was observed in her school environment, she was interviewed and her academic and attendance records were analyzed. The data collected revealed that remaining in school for an HIV positive learner, who does not disclose her positive status to any one in the school environment, becomes increasingly difficult. The infected learner struggles to cope with the disease, the stigma attached to it and the demands of school. The findings of this study outlines the challenge for schools to cope with the increasing numbers of infected and affected learners. The study concludes with fresh insights gleaned, implications and recommendations for all stakeholders involved in the process of education. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

This study explores the memories of adolescent sexual experiences of female Basotho science teachers in order to understand the influence of such experiences on their approach and handling of sexuality, HIV and AIDS education. My argument is that Basotho teachers arc facing a challenge of integrating sexuality, HIV and AIDS education into their teaching largely because of their lived sexuality experiences, which have been shaped institutionally and through societal expectations. An eclectic theoretical approach, with emphasis on feminism and involving Dewey's philosophies of experience informed the study. A qualitative research design was used. Data was produced through one-on-one semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and memory work with three participants. I was a participant-researcher and hence contributed my experiences to the study. Field notes and journal entries were used to supplement the data. The storied lives of the women teachers have been shared in their own words including the researcher's autobiography. The findings show that the adolescent sexual experiences of the women teachers have shaped their teacher selves within sexuality, HIV and AIDS classrooms. Some of their experiences have been educative while others have been mis -educative, and thus have led to some of the teachers not being able to handle sexuality education at all, while others only handle it partially. Several stumbling blocks have been identified that impede the effective facilitation of sexuality education in Lesotho classrooms. These include religion, traditional practices, lack of training and societal constructions of what is and is not permissible in schools. Challenging and disturbing these stumbling blocks and breaking the silence around sexuality issues among Basotho societies could be helpful in ensuring that 8asotho teachers gain the skill s necessary for them to facilitate the teaching of sexuality, HIV and AIDS education. Thus, Basotho children would be given the knowledge necessary for them to make informed decisions regarding their sexual behaviour. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

It has been well documented (Education and Training White Paper I,II and III) that one of the key challenges facing South African post apartheid education is the need to transform the educational sector that was systematically destroyed by many years of apartheid education. Whilst dealing with the process of transformation, South African education is also expected to deal with many other pressures that beset, at present, educational landscapes world wide. These pressures relate directly to the increased demand for access to higher education with a corresponding reduction in government funding for tertiary education. The massification of higher education has placed great pressure on traditional face to face higher education institutions to provide access to larger numbers of students. Student profiles have also changed considerably in post apartheid South Africa. In the past apartheid policies restricted access to the majority of students consequently there are many adult students who are now beginning to enroll at tertiary institutions to upgrade their expertise and qualifications. South African tertiary institutions see it as their imperative to find innovative ways to make their places of learning more flexible and accommodate students wanting life long learning. Based on the above challenges facing the South African educational landscape, this study investigated the popularity of distance and virtual education as a viable alternate system of learning amongst higher education students in South Africa. The study found that distance education is a very popular choice amongst students who are above 35 years of age. Another finding, was that distance education is popular amongst students pursuing a qualification (diplomas, honours, masters and doctoral degrees) in a variety of professions such as, Computers, Nursing Science, Public Administration, Business Administration, Police Services, Teacher Education, Human Resource Management and Financial Management. While revealing that distance education is a popular choice amongst tertiary students, the study also found that distance education institutions (UNISA and SACOL) provide a very low level of learner support to students. The majority of the students indicate that they are very unhappy about the quality and type of study materials that they receive. They also point out that the format of the study materials is always in the form of correspondence based print materials. These materials are too theoretical, confusing and difficult to understand. In terms of staff support, students felt that staff were not sympathetic to their problems and were always unavailable for consultation. The study also found that the type of feedback students received from staff was not in depth and constructive. In this regard, however, both SACOL and UNISA staff indicate that they do not have adequate time to provide learner support as they have very large classes to contend with, in some instances over 400 students per class. The study reveals that students are unhappy with the fact that their institutions persist with print materials as their primary mode of education delivery. Students overwhelmingly show a preference for multi mediated technologies in their course delivery. On line (Internet) based teaching and learning is high on their priority. It was surprising to find that the majority of students were computer literate. Students indicate that they were self taught in computers as they gained access to it at their place of work. This highlights the point that the work place, is now demanding a new type of worker, namely the knowledge worker. It is for this reason that higher education institutions ought to begin to invest in technology enhanced teaching and learning. In the literature review (chapter two), the study provides a number of advantages of harnessing online education. Perhaps, the most significant advantage of employing computer technology in distance education is that of cost reduction with a commensurate increase in productivity. The literature review also highlights various other potential benefits (personalised education, time and place independence, increased access, etc) to be gained from using online distance education learning systems such as the Internet and Web based applications, etc. In conclusion, the study provides a number of recommendations on how distance education provision could be enhanced in South Africa. Specific recommendations are offered to distance education institutions on strategies that could be employed to increase the quality of learner support and the advantages of employing technology enhanced delivery modes. Recommendations are also offered to the Department of Education (DoE) in terms of revising its policy as outlined in the National Plan on Higher Education (NPHE) with specific reference to distance education provision in South Africa. / Thesis (D.Ed.) - University of Durban-Westville, 2001

Fundamental pedagogics was the only education theory that was taught to the vast majority of student teachers during the apartheid era. This exclusivity was consciously created and maintained in the context of Christian National Education. The proponents of fundamental pedagogics attempted to legitimise their theory by invoking the work of the Dutch educator, M.J. Langeveld. At first glance, there is indeed a remarkable resemblance between Langeveld's pedagogy and fundamental pedagogics. This thesis investigates why similar-sounding statements of the two pedagogies turn out to mean something quite different in their distinctive contexts. Previously, critics have analysed fundamental pedagogics as if it were a South African invention. Its Dutch origins, diffusion and reinterpretation were lost in these analyses. This study emphasises and investigates the Dutch roots of fundamental pedagogics and traces its historical journey from Holland to South Africa. This journey, set between 1881 and 1963, is presented in two historical narratives, both constructed around unique data sources. This thesis presents fundamental pedagogics as an adaptation, arguably a distortion, of Dutch education theory, mediated largely by politically conservative and racist forces. The largely indiscriminate adoption of the rhetoric of Dutch social thought showed a disrespect for the complexity of the relationship between pedagogical theories and their site of production. Langeveld's education theory was developed in the context of post Second World War Holland on a modernist and social democracy ticket. Fundamental pedagogics emerged in apartheid South Africa in an ethnic-nationalist and racist environment. These divergent meanings clearly expose pedagogy as a political as well as an educational project. This study concludes that the attempt to legitimise fundamental pedagogics by invoking its Dutch roots failed. Some of the central claims and assumptions of the original theory were abandoned to accommodate apartheid conditions. / Thesis (Ph.D. Education) - University of Durban-Westville, 1998.

This study focused on the attitudes of educators in a special needs school towards the implementation of inclusive education since educators attitudes' are essential in the success of the implementation of inclusive education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of educators in one specific school towards the implementation of inclusive education and to further explore selected factors that have influenced these attitudes. Education in South Africa is in the process of major transformation, and the successful implementation of this policy may be threatened if educators in special needs schools have a negative attitude towards the policy, as the role of the special needs educator will change to a more collaborative one to support and empower colleagues. In South Africa learners with disabilities are placed in special schools depending on their level of disability. This study indicated that approximately 97% of educators, in this study, indicated that all educators are not qualified to educate learners with special needs. A combination of the medical, social and psychological models were used to underpin the research. Inclusive education is moving away from the medical model to a human right - social model. A survey research was used that consisted of a questionnaire that was specifically designed for this study. The data was analysed, qualitatively and quantitatively. The result of this study indicated that educators in this school have predominantly negative attitudes towards the implementation of inclusive education, although a lot of positive feelings did emerge. This study recommends that inclusive education be implemented in consultation with educators who are directly involved in the process. The findings of this study may be used with some caution, since the research is only covering the attitudes of educators of one special needs school and therefore a general relation of attitudes cannot be made. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2004.