This research project attempted to examine the relationship between parental involvement / Thesis (M.Ed) - University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2005.

Schools face a serious problem of sexual harassment inflicted on female / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2006.

The White Paper on education states that students should be employable after graduation / Thesis

This mini-dissertation reports on a case study of teachers' perceptions of the performance appraisal system used at an independent school in the greater Durban area in Kwa-Zulu Natal. As the system was implemented at a time when appraisal was only mandatory in government schools and not in / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

This is a one module report on the impact of using computers for teaching English as a second language in the foundation phase in one of the schools in KwaZulu-Natal. It aims to test computers as an intervention for teaching English as a second language. The problems which led to the study are further discussed in details as well as how the study came about. The study is largely qualitative and interpretive. It involved eight grade one teachers. All the procedures were clearly explained before the study commenced. Interviews used were followed by the participant observations. Data was cleaned, transcribed and coded. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

Education policy in South Africa seems set to follow the international trend towards inclusion of learners with special education needs. [LSEN]. Research has shown that the attitudes of educators towards mainstreaming are one of the most important factors impacting on the success of the implementation of this philosophy. Against this background, the study investigated the attitudes and views of educators regarding inclusive education. To achieve the objectives, a quantitative research approach was used. The questionnaire was administered to one hundred and twenty five primary / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

In the recent past, teachers in South African secondary schools have begun to give lessons on life skills, sexuality and HIV/AIDS. The lessons are located within the curriculum in the learning areas of Life Orientation and Life Skills. These lessons are guided by policy documents which regulate what, when and how much information the learners must have access to. Issues explicitly concerning gender are addressed in these lessons as well. Although policy documents provide clear guidelines as to how policy should be implemented, teachers are still experiencing difficulties delivering life skills, sexuality and HIV/AIDS lessons. Consequently lessons pertaining to these issues are usually minimised in favour of less sensitive topics. Many reasons have been suggested for the poor implementation of these lessons, some of which include inadequate teacher training, a lack of support structures and services, and teacher attitudes and beliefs. Although the way policy is implemented is cause for concern, this dissertation focuses on the assumptions about gender that are concealed by policy documents, which in turn, impacts on the way these documents are interpreted and implemented by teachers. The purpose of this dissertation is to analyse national and provincial South African education policy documents for the gendered assumptions they make about teachers of life skills, sexuality and HIV/AIDS education. Although policy documents are "based on principles of gender equity" (Tallis, 2000: 58), this research tries to establish whether any gender assumptions exist about teachers of life skills, sexuality and HIV/AIDS education, that limit how effectual these policy documents are at the stage of implementation. The gendered neutrality of these documents conforms to the requirements of the South African Constitution, in that they are non-discriminatory. Given the inequalities of the apartheid era, it is possible to regard the use of genderless language in policy documents as progress towards the goals of gender equity. However, not differentiating between males and females is also problematic. Unequal gender power relations that exist between males and females ensure that their experiences are not the same. There are unintended consequences that flow from the use of gender-neutral terminology in policy documents and these include that the gendered realities of teachers are not taken into account and this may well be a reason for the reluctance or inability of teachers successfully to teach lessons on sexuality and HIV/AIDS. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2005.

This study was an exploration of the educators' perceptions of the management approach to change in a particular primary school and this was related to the educator attitudes towards change. Information was gathered by means of a literature and empirical study. A qualitative method was used by conducting a case study in a primary school in KwaZulu-Natal, to investigate the management of change, with reference to the implementation of the new IQMS (Integrated Quality Management System For School Based - Educators) and how this change management was perceived by educators to be impacting on their attitudes towards change. The various management theories provided a sound understanding of the different management approaches to change. Four factors that had an impact on the research were considered namely: change; educator attitudes; managing change and change implementation. The data for the case study was obtained by means of questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were administered to thirty educators and interviews were conducted with nine members at the school. Descriptive statistics were carried out to analyse the information received from the questionnaires and interviews. The findings of the study were that, there are forces (and needs) for change in the organisation, for example IQMS was externally mandated to be implemented in all schools. The literature review illustrated that there are personal factors that affect educator attitudes to implementation, however this dissertation focussed on the management of change and how the management approach affected educator attitudes towards change. In conclusion, a summary of the findings from the literature study and the findings of the case study were presented. It was found that generally change management impacted positively on educator attitudes towards change at this school. Statistical analysis showed positive relationships between management and the staff. However certain areas as suggested in the literature needs to be improved by the management of the organisation. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

The purpose of this study was to describe the performance of the South African Grade 8 learners in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 science test, to explore the translatability of TIMSS 2003 science items into isiZulu without significant loss of meaning, and to explore the strategies used by isiZulu-speaking learners when answering questions in the TIMSS 2003 test. Thirty six isiZulu-speaking learners were tested using written test questions taken from the science test in the TIMSS 2003. The degree to which a sample of 36 learners represented their understanding of the questions in a written test compared to the level of understanding that could be elicited by an interview is presented in this study. The findings of this study are presented, interpreted and discussed using Pollitt & Ahmed's (2001) model of question answering process as well as other relevant literature. The key findings of this study are as follows : • the South African Grade 8 learners performed very poorly on TIMSS 2003 science test, • close translation of TIMSS 2003 science items into isiZulu is possible if conducted with care by expert teachers, • the language of the test had some effect on isiZulu-speaking learners' performance on TIMSS 2003 science test, • the strategies used by isiZulu-speaking learners when answering science questions included: • translating the question into isiZulu before trying to answer it, • choosing an answer containing a word/term common in the question stem and in the options, • choosing the answer containing a familiar/unfamiliar word in the options, •guessing , •looking at patterns of previous choices, •'picture memory', and •'general knowledge'. When Pollitt & Ahmed's (2001) model of question answering is applied to isiZuluspeaking learners, two 'new' phases are introduced. The findings of this study suggest that language factors are embedded within other factors, importantly, the appropriate level of cognitive proficiency to enable correct answering of science questions. The findings of this study further suggest the need for development of cognitive/academic language proficiency (CALP) in both English and isiZulu languages, or in one of them. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

This study was conducted to investigate what the perceptions of Career Guidance Counselors were toward young girls and High Status Subjects. The study was underpinned by the work done by a number of researchers in other countries. These researchers all proved that the subjects Mathematics and Physical Science were not gender biased and girls could do as well as boys. The subject packages girls chose at the end of their grade 9 year would have an impact on possible career choices they could make after the completion of grade 12. The study also seeks to explore reasons why girls were not choosing these subjects and if the Career Guidance Counselors were actively encouraging the girls to take these subjects. The study was a qualitative one using interviews based on questionnaires. The answers were carefully recorded and decoded. The Career Guidance Counselors were interviewed at their schools in the central Durban area. The schools selected were those fortunate enough to have counselors on their staff. Many schools do not have Career Guidance Counselors as they are unable to accommodate them with their limited resources. The study found that at many schools there was little if any encouragement from the Guidance Counselors to enter these subjects in grade 10. The two schools that did encourage their female learners to select these subjects found that their learners achieved very well. This study will show that urgent intervention needs to be made if our young girls are to take their rightful place in our society in a number of high status occupations. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.