This is a case study examining the children's perceptions and experiences on substance abuse in the Primary School. Interviews were used as a research tool. The research sample of five respondents was drawn using the purposive sampling method. The data was analyzed qualitatively on themes drawn up. The findings of the study were based on four themes: peer pressure, moral decay, bravado and solace, socio-economic factors and psychological factors Furthermore recommendations were drawn. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

This study investigated the nature and level of parental involvement in academic and non academic activities in a secondary school in a disadvantaged township in Durban. The review of literature identified aspect of parent-educator relationships which should be developed to facilitate learner's success.It also included models of parental involvement, levels of parental involvement, role of parents in their children's education as well as barriers which affect parental involvement. The school with poor academic results is, among other factors, characterised by minimal level of involving parents in their children's education. To maximise parental involvement parents and educators should substitute the attitude ·of blaming each other, by the idea of coming together in the interests of the learners. This joint effort should also improve the schools academic results. One secondary school was used as a case study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with educators, parents and learners. Other information was taken from the departmental reports, Daily News paper, information from one of the school events speech context and the supervising manager of the school. Parents from this disadvantaged community tend to perceive educators as professionals who know everything. Educators and parents are willing to be partners but they do not know how to initiate and sustain this relationship. Perceived barriers to parental involvement are illiteracy, unemployment, ignorance and transport problems.Some parents participate at the governing body level, while most parents are inactive. Improved communication between parents and school personnel seems to be essential to achieve more parental involvement. Educators need staff development to equip themselves for this task. Workshops could be used to inform parents of their rights to services and resources. Together parents and educators could develop strategies to use the school for the benefit of the entire community. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

This study aimed at investigating African students' perceptions of careers guidance in African schools. It aimed at determining the extent to which students viewed careers guidance and the effectiveness to which careers guidance programmes in schools have been able to assist them to make informed career decisions and choices. Literature reviewed revealed that careers guidance services were inadequate in schools due to the legacies of the apartheid era. As a result a lot of school leavers found themselves unable to make occupational choices. The relevance of careers guidance in relation to career development theories argues that a holistic approach to careers guidance in African schools is important because of a variety of factors (personal, situational and developmental) which influence career decisions and choices. Also, the negative views held by teachers and learners of careers guidance greatly impacts on its success. The study drew its data from a sample of University of Zululand students enrolled in the faculties of Arts, Education, Commerce and Administration, Law and Science. The research used a questionnaire with closed-ended questions to elicit the data required. The questionnaire focussed on the importance of careers guidance, effectiveness of careers guidance programmes in career decision making and choices, and the influence parents have on career decisions and choices. The study also tested the relationship between students' perceptions of careers guidance and the variables of gender, family composition, and degree registered at the university. The findings revealed that students perceived careers guidance to be important. However, careers guidance is perceived by students as having been ineffective in helping them make informed career decisions and choices. Parents were also found not to have been influential in career decisions and choices of their children. The study also revealed significant differences between males and females, single and both parent families, and the different degrees registered. Females were found to be more wanting of careers guidance than males. Students from single parent families were found to rely more on the school than the home for careers guidance as opposed to both parent students. Females found parents to have been more influential in their career decisions and choices than males who considered parents unimportant in influencing career decisions and choices. The implications of the findings were that careers guidance programmes ineffectively enhance learners' career development. As a result they are unable to make sound career decisions and choices. Learners' decisions and choices may still be influenced by gender, family and academic constructs. It is recommended that careers guidance be enforced in schools and given equal status to the other subjects . Relevant careers guidance programmes which are context specific and related to the job market are also an absolute necessity for learners. Only effective careers guidance programmes would lead to effective career decisions and choices. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

Decision making is a key function of leadership. During Apartheid rule in South Africa, decision making in schools was determined at the national level. A principal’s role was to implement those decisions. Post 1994, decision making has been decentralised and more participation and involvement of teachers, heads of department, deputy principals, principals and parents is encouraged in schools. The purpose of this study was to find out more about the role that the principal and deputy principal of a school play in decision making in a school, particularly rural schools, in this, the democratic era in which we all now live. To achieve this aim, this research was conducted in the Umzimkulu district in KwaZulu-Natal in three schools, all in deep rural areas but selected for their accessibility to the school at which I work which is also situated in a remote rural area. From each school three participants were selected i.e. the principal, deputy principal and one Post Level one educator. This study was conducted within the interpretive paradigm and was qualitative in nature. Thus, to collect data, semi-structured interviews were the primary source. However, observations of one staff meeting per school were also conducted, and document analysis of minute books from previous staff meetings was undertaken to ensure an important level of trustworthiness of the data. No attempt has been made to generalise the findings as the participants were very few, but as under-resourced schools in remote areas constitute the majority of schools in this country, I believe that the study is warranted and that the findings have relevance for more schools than those in which the research was conducted. The theoretical framework for this study is that of distributed leadership which considers the expertise of all stakeholders i.e. teachers, heads of department, deputy principals, principals, parents and learners, within a school, irrespective of the formal position or role they hold. This theory is characterised as a form of collective leadership in which all the stakeholders work together and learn from one another. This ensures participation of all the stakeholders in decision making. The key findings of the study are that: a) there is variation in the degree to which principals and deputy principals share decision making; b) that educators are given greater opportunities to make autonomous decisions in extra mural activities and mundane aspects of school life, than they are around key policy areas; c) that hierarchical structures are still noticeable in all 3 schools in the study; and d) that the three most significant barriers to distributed leadership, v at least in the schools in this study, are: (i) the traditional belief that says the principal is ‘the boss’ of the school; (ii) the lack of trust by a principal in her/his staff to make and carry out decisions responsibly; and (iii) the sense of accountability a principal holds in terms of constructing her/himself as the only one who will be cross-questioned by the departmental officials if something goes wrong in the school. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Bullying at schools is a problem that has recently gained much media exposure highlighting its increasing occurrence and violent nature. It has also gained attention in the educational field with an increasing number of pertinent studies. The link between school bullying and school violence has been drawn by educators and researchers alike. Of great importance is the positioning of school bullying in the sphere of Peace Education in the school. Despite bullying being mentioned in many relevant educational policies and documents pertaining to school governance, incidents are on the increase. The severity of bullying incidents is also worsening. This context led to the interest of addressing bullying amongst the Representative Council of Learners (RCL) at my school. As the Teacher Liaison Officer (TLO) to the RLC, I decided to initiate an Action Research project with the RCL of this school. The study explores and acts on the RLC perspectives on bullying at their school and their perspectives on suitable interventions. The methodology of action research suited an intervention goal. Learners need to be involved in processes of creating a peaceful learning environment for all. As stated by McNiff and Whitehead, “Working out ideas is the learning, working out how to live with one another is the peace process” (McNiff & Whitehead, 2002, p.13). The study is framed by Freire’s theory on pedagogy and Butler’s theory of gender. It involves several data collection methods, including questionnaires, focus group interviews, creative writing responses, posters, workshops and observations. My findings are presented as discussions based on various generative themes which emerged from the data. The findings of the study revealed that learners had difficulty formulating a comprehensive definition of bullying. Many initially felt that few incidents of bullying occurred at their school and were unaware of the full range of incidents of bullying. Boys and girls experienced bullying differently while different age groups had similar experiences of bullying. Features such as power, aggression and abuse were commonly raised in learners understanding of bullying. While a broader knowledge on bullying was generated through the action research process, many silences still emerged. Learners failed to draw the link between bullying and violence. They also did not mention any incident related to new age bullying or incidents involving the educator as a victim or as the bully. The study acknowledges that in order for bullying at this school to be reduced, a second and possibly a third cycle of the action research process is needed. The study indicates that bullying is not a simple problem that can be dealt with in a short period of time. It needs to be incorporated annually in the school programme dealing with pertinent societal dynamics which affect teaching and learning. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

This study focuses on moral values in education, in particular, their inclusion as part of the academic curricula of Durban University of Technology (DUT), Faculty of Management Sciences. The literature lends much support for moral values as being important for students and Higher Education as a whole but there is still very little focus provided with regards to having them incorporated as part of a module in the programmes of Higher Education. This study is based on the researcher’s view that the teaching of moral values should be intrinsically linked to academic programmes to produce well groomed graduates who would become morally responsible and add value to a democratic society and in particular the world of work. The research study seeks to ascertain the opinions of the students and staff of DUT concerning: - the integration of the study of moral values in academic programmes at the DUT? and - the roles staff and students could play in reinforcing the importance of moral values? This research falls within an interpretivist paradigm and takes a qualitative approach as it examines views, perceptions and feelings of the relevant role players of the Durban University of Technology. The Faculty of Management Sciences is chosen for this research study. Students from the cohorts of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year levels of the four selected departments are chosen as part of the research sample. The sample also includes three academic staff from the four selected departments as well as all Heads of Departments from the Faculty. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with management members chosen by the researcher. Arising from the findings of the study, staff and students are of the view that if moral values are absent in students they will display a negative behaviour which has an adverse impact on their working career. Many students are of the view that including moral values in the curricula of Higher Education will build students’ characters and morally equip and develop them into responsible citizens. Arising from the strong support of the various stakeholders, it is recommended that the teaching of moral values should be integrated in the curricula of Higher Education. It is also recommended that educators and management lead by example and be role models to their students. Debates, case studies and community-based learning in relation to ethical issues are some of the more popular teaching methods that are recommended. It can be concluded that there is support from various authors and major role players for the integration of moral values in the curricula of Higher Education.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2010.

This study aimed to describe the stressors perceived by a group of Health Science lecturers in a School in a South African University, and to describe the coping strategies these lecturers used. The sample consisted of thirty, full-time lecturers in the three Disciplines that constituted the School. Three focus groups, one in each of the Disciplines, were held to gather the research material. The study reveaied that change in Tertiary Education and organisational issues such as the image of the institution, lecturing to a diverse student group, curriculum transformation and leadership issues were perceived as enduring stressors. An increased workload, brought about through the training of future health professionals, trying to stay abreast both professionally and as an academic and the nature of their academic appointments were further identified as potential stressors. Role conflicts in terms of juggling home and work responsibililies and role ambiguity with respect to being both a teacher and researcher were presented as additional stressors, as were certain day-to-day occurrences. Lastly, the lecturers identified a number of personal issues that were perceived as stressors. The study failed to highlight meaningful differences in the three Disciplines within the School, which is in keeping with other published research. The study also showed that the lecturers in each of the Disciplines had access to, and knowledge of, a wide range of coping mechanisms, both problem-based and emotion-focused. The lecturers in the three Disciplines used very similar coping strategies, and once again meaningful differences were not reported. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the assessment practices in Grade 4 Mathematics classrooms. The study sought to determine whether teachers understood what is required by the Department of Education (DoE) assessment policy, and whether they practice what is required by the policy. If they were not practicing what is required (as purported by Ramsuran (1999), it also needed to be determined why this was the case. The study also sought to expose the gap between the policy and practice. Three teachers from different schools were sources of data: one teacher from a school in a deeply rural area, another from a semi-rural area and the last from a semi-urban area. Data were collected using semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Teachers were visited in their schools and each interview took one hour. The data collected revealed that teachers are still not clear about assessment. This was also found by Ramsuran (1999), who stated that teachers were still not clear about how to implement continuous assessment. According to the DoE, continuous assessment is the chief method of assessing learners. The study also revealed that teachers were still using traditional forms of assessment - tests and examinations - and not other forms of assessment as stipulated by the policy. Challenges faced by the teachers when doing assessment were also prominent. An interesting challenge was that most learners came from broken families, and there was no one to help them with schoolwork at home; this resulted in learners not doing their assignments and projects, which delayed the completion of assessment. The study recommends that all teachers should be in possession of the policy, and that workshops should be organised by the DoE to help teachers with assessment. Lastly, proper assessment structures should be set up in each and every school. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2011.

Burnout is considered the final step in the progression of unsuccessful attempts at coping with a number of stressful conditions. The present study aimed to explore the perceived effectiveness of training of educational psychologists at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg to manage and cope with stress and burnout. The study also explored the perceived effectiveness of training to cope with demands of the profession, and the choice of coping mechanisms in stress management. The sample consisted of 8 educational psychologists who had completed their degrees at the University of Natal, Pietermartizburg. The sample comprised five males and three females. The study was qualitative in nature and the data was analyzed employing Kruger's phenomenological approach. A semi-structured interview was conducted consisting of four questions. The data received was thereafter analyzed by the phenomenological steps stipulated by Kruger (1988). Categorization of the data revealed the following themes: (a) incongruencies in practice and training; (b) perceived influence of professional training on the choice of coping skills and stress management techniques; (c) stress management techniques and elements that psychologists thought should be included in the training programme; (d) contributory factors of stress and burnout in psychologists, and society's perception of psychologists. A gap was perceived between the training received and practice. The respondents felt that there was a lack of focus on issues pertaining to educational psychology. The meta-issue that arose was that the professional training received was incongruent with work demands. With regard to the choice of coping skills, the training received was perceived as being unhelpful, but aided in the refinement of existing coping skills. The findings of the study are discussed, limitations of the study considered, and suggestions for further research offered. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.