• Refine Query
  • Source
  • Publication year
  • to
  • Language
  • 773
  • 474
  • 61
  • 27
  • 5
  • Tagged with
  • 1376
  • 1376
  • 549
  • 548
  • 391
  • 356
  • 349
  • 342
  • 329
  • 301
  • 251
  • 220
  • 180
  • 173
  • 150
  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
651

Below the surface : African learners' experiences of schooling in a predominantly Indian school in KwaZulu-Natal.

Pillay, Thanjamah. January 2004 (has links)
This research explores the experiences of African learners in a school in which they constitute the minority. The aim of the study is to investigate how African learners perceive of their day to day experiences in an ex-House of Delegates school that still has a predominantly Indian learner population. The study was conducted in a primary school situated in a small suburb south of Durban. Ten African learners from grade seven were interviewed through semi-structured interviews in this qualitative study. This was followed by a focus group discussion with the ten respondents to further investigate specific issues and to serve as a debriefing since strong emotions had surfaced. Interviews were recorded on audiotape, and non-verbal indicators were recorded in the form of written notes. Non-participant observations were also conducted on the playgrounds. The content analysis method was used to analyze the data. Themes were identified and related to the conceptual framework of the study. The analysis revealed that learners experienced various exclusionary pressures as African learners in a predominantly Indian school. Unequal power relations are perpetuated through the intersection of race, class and ability as well as through a hidden curriculum. Racism as a form of oppression was evident in the racist name-calling and racist stereotyping. There appears to be a lack of a caring pedagogy as African learners feel marginalized. The findings reveal the need for a whole-school policy on anti-racist education. In addition, educators need training to help them interrogate the cycle of socialization to which they have been exposed. The implications are specific to the context. The formulation of a whole-school policy on anti-racist education and an educator intervention program are some of the recommendations. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.
652

An exploration of teacher engagement with HIV/AIDS education : a case study.

Pillay, Rajashpree. January 2004 (has links)
The purpose of this study was to determine teacher engagement with HIV/AIDS education in primary school. Since the emergence and acknowledgement of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa, the national education department's policy has advanced HIV/AIDS education as a priority. The new curriculum has opened up opportunities for HIV/AIDS education to be inserted in the curriculum especially in the learning area Life Orientation in the primary school, which previously did not exist. There is a paucity of research documenting teachers' experiences on the implementation of the HIV/AIDS curriculum. The manner in which teachers engage with the HIV/AIDS curriculum is not known. This study focused on 9 teachers in the intermediate and senior phases in a particular primary school in KwaZulu Natal who have had experience in the implementation of the HIV/AIDS curriculum over the past four years in their school. A survey questionnaire was administered to all educators in the study. The three intermediate educators participated in face-to-face interviews as well as a focus group discussion. An interview was conducted with the member of the management team who was part of the sample. The results from the survey, interviews and focus group discussion suggest that teachers were strongly implementing the HIV/AIDS curriculum in their classrooms while experiencing some practical challenges. This study also suggests that the educators found the Department Of Education's implementation plan suppressive. All three intermediate phase teachers used creative methods to assist in the implementation of the curriculum. The respondents claimed that the workshops and meetings that they had attended were invaluable to them. They however preferred seeing the community more closely involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS, as this was not an issue confined to the school exclusively. Teachers would also liked to have had HIV/AIDS education implemented across the curriculum, as the task to empower learners in this regard was a mammoth one. The unique and challenging experiences of teachers implementing the HIV/AIDS curriculum must be documented before any theoretical positions can be articulated about the implementation of HIV/AIDS education in primary schools in South Africa. This study has contributed to research on the implementation of HIV/AIDS education in primary school by providing some insight into a group of educators' experiences. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.
653

Exploring teacher perceptions towards the developmental appraisal system.

Thakur, G. January 2003 (has links)
Teacher evaluation is a management tool for all educational organizations as it is used to research information on teacher performance. Information on teacher performance is important in the decision making process regarding employment of teachers, confirmation of appointment, and identifying potential for promotion and staff development. Over the years teachers have raised serious reservations about teacher evaluation procedures in South Arica. In the apartheid days teacher evaluation was summative and contentious. It was marked by unannounced visits by inspectors to observe teachers' lessons. No feedback would be offered after they left. This system was not very well received by educators and teacher unions. Teacher lobby groups, belonging mainly to S.A.D.T.U rejected this system and demanded that it be removed. This case study is a qualitative study of the perceptions of educators in the ex Model C schools in the Queensburgh area, these schools were previously under The House of Assembly and only admitted white children. The study aims to capture to some extent the feelings, views, attitudes and perceptions of the educators towards DAS. The interviews with these educators have provided me with direct evidence of teachers' perceptions towards DAS. DAS was introduced in 1998 and it replaced an autocratic, judgmental and summative system. This system allowed the educator to identify his own developmental needs, through a democratic and formative process with the participation of education managers, peers and experts. This is a developmental approach and it is important at the planning stage to build in time for reflection and improvement in developing strategies. The overall impression gained from the study was that most educators were favorably disposed towards DAS. DAS was found to be a good system and that it would definitely have a positive impact on the professional development and growth of the teacher. However, some educators had reservations about this new system of evaluation. They felt that it was too time consuming and the system allowed for abuse. The policy gave educators the opportunity to review their work output, their strengths and weaknesses, but most of all DAS allowed for helpful and supportive advice and guidance This is a developmental approach and it is important at the planning stage to build in time for reflection and improvement in development strategies for educators to identify their own developmental needs, through a democratic and formative process, together with the participation of education managers, peers and experts. If implemented correctly DAS can make a positive impact on our present education system. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Durban-Westville, 2003.
654

Responding to learner diversity in the classroom : experiences of five teachers in a primary school in KwaZulu-Natal.

Singh, Sunitha. January 2004 (has links)
The principle of quality education for all learners is embedded in all policy documentsand legislation and this emphasis on quality education for all suggests that schools have to meet the diverse needs of all learners. However, throughout South African schooling contexts, there are many learners who face barriers to learning and participation in view of the fact that schools are unable to respond to the diversity of needs in the learner population. The issue is not how the learners adjust to the learning environment but whether the learning environment is flexible enough to accommodate the diverse needs of all learners. The responsibility of achieving the goal of a non-discriminatory education system lies heavily on the shoulders of classroom teachers. The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers at a primary school experience diversity within the classroom. The research was undertaken in a historically Indian boys' only state primary school in KwaZulu-Natal, with a learner population of almost 95% African, 4% Indian and the other 1% comprising White/Coloured learners. The focus of the study was the teachers. I sought to investigate how teachers construct and respond to diversity in their classes. Within the context of the post apartheid South Africa, the classroom has become a microcosm of the 'rainbow nation', with teachers having to deal with many differences at varying levels within the classroom. How teachers interpret and respond to differences is likely to be subjective. In light of the fact that teachers' interpretations are subjective, for the purpose of this study, symbolic interactionism was used as a theoretical framework. Qualitative research , methodology, which took the form of a case study was used. Teachers experiences were examined through semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis. Throughout the study, there emerged the "them" and "us" syndrome in teachers. The study shows that while the teachers did not treat African learners unfairly, there are numerous exclusionary practices at the school. Very little attempt is made by the teachers to change their teaching behaviours in ways that make the curriculum responsive to their learners. In fact, very little was done to change the ethos of the school, and African learners where expected to 'fit in' and become part of the existing culture of the school. There emerges from the study, a definite need to train teachers to think and work within a new frame of reference, that is, a human rights framework which constantly interrogates unequal power relations and inequalities that schools perpetuate. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.
655

Failing boys : poor achievement and the construction of masculinity of six Indian boys in a secondary school in Chatsworth, Durban.

Maduray, Manimagalay. January 2004 (has links)
This research project investigates the ways in which six Indian boys who have been officially proclaimed failures in grade 11 construct their masculinity in Meadowlands Secondary School, a predominantly Indian technical secondary school in a working class area of Chatsworth. The way in which failing Indian boys construct their masculinity is under-researched in South Africa. When boys are officially declared academic failures by the school, they often take other ways to validate their masculine identities. This study focused on the complex relationship between their academic failure and the formation of their masculinities. Drawing from semi-structured in-depth interviews with six boys who failed grade 11 in 2003 and are currently repeating grade 11 in 2004, the study shows the complex relationship between school failure, and the formation of boys' masculinities in three areas. These areas are the formal academic dimension of schooling, the informal social dimension of schooling and outside school activities. The major fmdings from the interviews indicate that boys construct their masculinity by resisting the demands placed on them in schools and engage in disruptive activities. They find alternate power and prestige in wearing brand name clothes, wearing jewellery, carrying cellular phones, having girlfriends, clubbing, taking drugs and joining gangs. They find school boring and equate academic achievement with being feminine and thus being gay and resist doing school-work. They are thus able to construct their masculinities in ways that are anti-school and anti-authority. The study concludes by suggesting that failing boys at MSS are in trouble and that schools and teachers must be more alert to why failing boys behave in the ways that they do. At MSS it is suggested that the school encourages the development of sport as a way of exposing boys to different ways of being a boy. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.
656

African boys and gangs : construction of masculinities within gang cultures in a primary school in Inanda, Durban.

Maphanga, Innocent Dumisani. January 2004 (has links)
This thesis explores the ways in which a group of boys who belong to gangs enact their masculinity. The focus is on African boys' construction of their masculinities within gang cultures at a primary school in Inanda, Durban. The school is an exclusively African co-educational school and predominantly African teaching staff. Data collection involved qualitative methods that primarily include observation and unstructured interviews. These research tools were used to investigate the interrelatedness between violence, gangs, and masculinities. This study demonstrates that young boys in gangs enact violent masculinities which are bound up with issues of race/ethnicity, gender, class, and context in the making of young gang cultures. The performance of violent gang masculinity produced the exaggerated quality of masculine protest, in which violence is employed as a compensation for perceived weakness. This study reveals that gang of boys are enacting masculinity that is oppositional to school's authority by contravening school rules and regulations in multiple ways. This research has indicated that modes of masculinities are shaped, constrained or enabled by gang cultures. Gang boys acted out their protest masculinity in multiple ways. They are anti-school authority, anti-social and undisciplined. The study also demonstrates that there are many socio-economic and political factors that impact negatively on the school such as unemployment, poverty, and violent gang crime. The social, economic and political contexts are therefore crucially important in understanding a multiplicity of masculine identities amongst gang boys at the school under study. Schooling is an important arena where masculinities are enacted in various forms including violent (gang) masculinities. The overall conclusion stemming from the research project is that attempts to reduce violent gang masculinities in the school need to include a gender strategy that tackles gender inequality. In South Africa this could form part of the Life Skills curriculum. Much greater attention needs to be given, in the life skills curriculum and through the ethos of the school as a whole, to promote gender equality and in particular models of masculine identity not predicated on force and violence. / Thesis (M.Ed.) -University of Natal, Durban, 2004.
657

A study to investigate the effectiveness of the implementation of Curriculum 2005 in Grade 8-9 in Chesterville Secondary School.

Mtheku, Maypher Priscilla. January 2004 (has links)
This study focuses on the effectiveness of the implementation of Curriculum 2005 in Grade 8 and Grade 9 in a Secondary School in Durban and it also investigates if educators have moved away from traditional ways of teaching as required by Curriculum 2005. Teachers' knowledge of the new curriculum, reactions and attitudes play a major role in any curriculum change. To make this study possible, the modules that introduced the concept of curriculum innovation are Theorizing Curriculum, Curriculum Design and Development as well as Managing Curriculum Change. These modules preceded this study. The methods of data collection were Interviews, Questionnaires and Observation (informal). The data collected suggests that educators are still experiencing problems with regard to the implementation of Curriculum 2005. Seemingly the cascading model had some discrepancies smce most educators who attended the workshops seem to be unclear of what they have to do in the classroom. It is also evident that most educators that were trained to implement Curriculum 2005 are not teaching Grade 8 and Grade 9 for various reasons like the policy of Redeployment and Rationalization. Senior Phase Learning Areas are regarded as filler subjects which means that, the Senior Phase Learning Areas are not given the same status as the Learning Areas in Further Education and Training Phase. The school will rather allocate educators at Grade 10 to 12 first before considering the Senior Phase. The attendance of Outcomes-Based Education workshops are not considered when allocating teaching loads. There is also no structure from the school or Department of Education that ensure that those educators that are trained remain in the Senior Phase so as to master the outcomes-based approach. So every year a new teacher is exposed or introduced to new ways of teaching without being trained. On the basis of the findings, there is no effective implementation of Curriculum 2005 and most teachers are still using traditional ways. The Department of Education has a great task to ensure that there is development and support of educators that are still battling with the implementation process. It is also the responsibility of the Department of Education to ensure that all children in South Africa receive quality education and narrows the gap between previously advantage and previously disadvantage communities. But all depends on the teachers' skills and knowledge of the new curriculum, structures to support the implementation process and the support from the Department of Education. Without teachers' understanding and the necessary support structure, the intended outcomes will not be achieved. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.
658

'It's about normal teachers like me' : a case study of three teacher leaders in an urban primary school.

Jasson, Alphonso Eric Ordwall. January 2010 (has links)
Traditionally South African Schools are characterised by the hierarchical nature of their management structures. The principal is the head of the school and is accountable to the Department of Education. Post 1994 school management teams are in place in schools and membership includes the principal, deputy principal and HOD‟s who hold the formal management positions. Teachers who are not formally appointed to leadership positions are categorized as level-one teachers. Hence, this dissertation works from the premise that these teachers play an important role as leaders, albeit in an informal capacity. These teachers play an important role as leaders, albeit in an informal capacity. Teacher leadership enactment is prevalent in South African Schools, but to varying degrees. Every teacher is a potential teacher leader and therefore every school has an immense wealth of expertise in terms of teacher leadership. However, within the context of their environments, human resources are utilized to varying degrees in the different schools. The research questions which guided this study included: “How is teacher leadership enacted in an urban primary school?” and “What factors promote or hinder this enactment?” The study was designed as a case study which was conducted within the interpretive paradigm and was mainly qualitative in nature. Data were gathered by means of survey questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, a focus group interview, journal entries and observation schedules. The case study was of an urban primary school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Data were predominantly qualitative and were analysed using thematic content analysis. Findings of the study were that teacher leadership enactment occurred across all four zones, mostly in zone one (in the classroom) and zone two (working with other teachers and learners outside the classroom in curricular and extra-curricular activities). Teacher leadership enactment was very restricted in zone three (outside the classroom in whole school development). Enhancing factors included that there was shared decision-making, a collaborative learning environment and delegation of duties from an informal position. 4 The main barriers were a lack of dialogic space, an overemphasis on control by the SMT and lack of time to enact teacher leadership. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.
659

Exploring the national HIV/AIDS and lifeskills intervention programme and policy implementation in a primary school in south Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

Nazim, R.B. Syed. January 2008 (has links)
HIV/AIDS has probably become the most dreadful of all diseases, as no other disease has managed to threaten civilization as HIV/AIDS. It is capable of destroying large sections of humanity (Schoub, 1999). South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world, while KwaZulu-Natal is the worst affected province in this country (Kaufmann, 2004). There is a high incidence of HIV infection that is reported in younger people between the ages of 15 to 29 years, which suggests that many were infected in their teens. These statistics underline the central position that young people play in South Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic. Mandela (2005)2 states that in confronting the severe threat of HIV/AIDS, fellow South Africans have to jointly take responsibility to save this nation. The experiences in other countries have taught us that HIV infection can be prevented by investing in information and lifeskills development for the youth. This study focuses on the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS policy and HIV/AIDS and Lifeskills intervention programme at a public primary school in the South Durban region in KwaZulu-Natal. It examines: • The perceptions of the Life Orientation (LO) educators towards the HIV/AIDS policy and intervention programme. • The impact that the intervention programme has had on learner awareness and knowledge of the epidemic. The population consisted of 5 Life Orientation educators and 30 grade 7 learners. Information and data was gathered by qualitative methods viz: the use of semi-structured and focus group interviews. Some of the findings that emerged from the study suggest that: • The National HIV/AIDS policy and intervention programme is being implemented at the school. • The LO educators have a good knowledge and understanding of the contents of the National HIV/AIDS policy. However, training is lacking in the teaching of HIV/AIDS education. • The learners have a fairly sound knowledge about how the virus is transmitted and how it can be prevented. • Learners also have a positive attitude towards those with HIV/AIDS with regards to acceptance, providing assistance, showing them love, and respect and by being supportive. An important challenge faced by the school is to ensure that learners continue to receive salient information and knowledge about the epidemic and that educator's get the necessary training especially with counselling of learners who are infected and affected by the virus. This will help to enhance the quality of the teaching of HIV/AIDS and Life Skills education during the Life Orientation learning area. 2.President Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected Black president of South Africa, cited in the Foreword, in Abdool Karim and Abdool Karim (2005). / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.
660

The family literacy practices of ten adult participants at the Tembaletu Adult Basic Education Centre in rural KwaZulu-Natal : a case study.

Sokhulu, Thembinkosi M. January 2005 (has links)
This study examined the family literacy practices of ten adult participants who attend the Tembaletu Adult Basic Education (ABE) Centre in rural KwaZulu- Natal. The aim was to explore the influence of the ABE programme on these practices? The concept of family literacy in this rural context was interrogated. This is a qualitative case study, and the data collection techniques included individual interview, focus group interviews, observation, and document analysis. Findings revealed that women engaged in varied literacy practices in their homes. Story telling was more common than reading to children. The participants in the study for the first time are able to engage with their children in school related literacy activities. The extent to which the participants and their children supported each other in their literacy development was dependent on the levels of literacy. The Adult Basic Education programme had a direct impact on the literacy practices in the families of the participants. The benefits reported by the participants included personal empowerment, enhanced self-image, and the acquisition of literacy life skills that are crucial to the health and well being of their families. The study highlights tensions between the content of adult programmes and family literacy practices valued by the participants. Other key issues that emerged in the study are: the link between family literacy and culture; gender and family literacy; family literacy in the context of HIV/Aids. The findings in this study valuable perspectives on emerging family literacy in a rural context - an area of study that is in its infancy in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Page generated in 0.0983 seconds