This study explores assessor approaches and values in Design programmes at / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

The Problem: The problem investigated is the preparation of science teachers at institutions for the education of Indians in Natal. In this study a brief comparison of the preparation of science teachers is also made with some institutions in Great Britain and parts of the United States of America. Motivation: In 1968 the writer participated in a Summer Institute in Pennsylvania in the United States. It was there that he was exposed to modern science curriculum projects and new trends in the teaching of science. Being a lecturer in science at a college of education, he was motivated to examine current trends in science education and more particularly the preparation of science teachers amongst Indians. Methods and materials used in the investigation: The following methods were used: 1. For background information books, journals, periodicals, reports etc. were consulted. 2. To examine the position of science teaching at high schools and to find out some of the problems with which science teachers are confronted, questionnaires were used. Questionnaires were also administered to first year students at a college of education in order to get some idea of the teaching of science and its problems from the students' point of view. 3. Visits were made to various institutions in Britain and America to examine science education programmes. 4. Personal interviews were held with the lecturing staff at institutions overseas and at the Springfield College of Education and University of Durban Westville. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1975.

Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2007.

The coming into being of a democratic South Africa in 1994 has resulted in many changes in the education system. Many changes in the education system have taken place in the area of curriculum and management of schools. These have reversed all changes that had been implemented since the introduction of Bantu Education in 1953. Among the new changes is the introduction of the Further Education Training curriculum. A qualitative research was undertaken whose purpose was to develop a better understanding of the SMT in relation to their roles in facilitating the introduction of FET curriculum in schools. This study was undertaken among 3 secondary schools in Pinetown District. Purposive sampling procedures were used to select schools. Factors used for selection were schools geographical contexts such as urban, township and rural settlement. Three schools participated. The following stakeholders were identified and participated in each school; principals, deputy-principals, Heads of Department and post level one educators. There were three participants from each school. A rich qualitative data was produced through semi-structured interviews. The SMT interviewed members believe that no stakeholder within schools participated in the interviews ready for the FET curriculum implementation. SMTs do not understand it; thus they have not built capacity among educators; SMTs do not attend the FET workshops but SMTs send educators and educators who attend do not provide feed back to SMTs; SMTs do not hold workshops within schools; educators know more about the FET curriculum than SMTs, yet they are supposed to monitor its implementation; the cascade model used by the Department of Education is ineffective. The Department needs to monitor the implementation of training provided at these workshops. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

In this study I undertook to investigate educator professional development and support in three rural and two semi-rural schools in the KwaMashu Circuit. The rationale for the study took into consideration the demands for continuous educator professional development in order to enable the educators to face and overcome current challenges in education. In addition, schools located in rural and semi-rural areas are largely under-resourced, thus necessitating excellent human resource input from the educators. This therefore calls for effective and extensive professional development and support in such disadvantaged areas. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2008.

The South African Language in Education Policy (LiEP) of 1997 and the Department of Education National Curriculum Statement (2002) require that learners‘ mother tongue is maintained and developed and used as a language of learning and teaching (LOLT) for the first three years of the Foundation Phase. English is recommended as the (LOLT) from Grade 4 upwards. This sudden change presents enormous language challenges especially in Grade 4 as teachers and their learners negotiate transition from isiZulu as first language (L1) to English as LOLT. This study investigates language challenges that Grade 4 learners and their teachers encounter in three South African mainstream schools as they negotiate transition from isiZulu to English as Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) and the implication of these challenges on language policy development. The study adopted a qualitative-interpretative methodology. Six Grade 4 teachers were purposively selected from three mainstream schools in KwaZulu-Natal for interviews three of which were observed and interviewed after the classroom observations. Data was generated through pre-observation interviews, video-recorded lesson observations, and post-observation interviews. The data collected was analysed and interpreted using an open coding in order to answer the study‘s critical questions. The findings revealed that serious language challenges occur whilst teaching Grade 4 learners in English as a FAL due to learners‘ limited knowledge of grammar and vocabulary in the LOLT. The study also revealed limited understanding ability, (s)low articulation, poor performance and participation, and psychological distress emanating from learners‘ social problems as part of the challenges. The study further showed that teachers frequently switched to the mother tongue to ensure sufficient meaningful communication in their classrooms. Additionally, the study revealed teachers‘ exclusion in policy formulation and development process and lack of adequate training which exacerbates teachers‘ ignorance of the policy contents leading to the teachers‘ indiscriminate use of code-switching. These worsen learners‘ language difficulties, thus under-develop the learners, and create unequal opportunities for effective learning by all learners through English as LOLT. They widen the gap and hinder education when teachers are not able to negotiate the transition from the foundation phase to Grade 4. Teachers were convinced that the study by EFAL learners of English in the Foundation Phase would go a long way in alleviating the language and learning challenges encountered by learners in Grade 4 and thus improve the quality of communication and interaction that needs to take place in the classroom between the learners and their teachers as they negotiate transition to English as LOLT. The study recommends a review of language policy that will integrate quality in the learning of English in the Foundation Phase, in addition to learning the mother tongue throughout high school education. It also recommends an increased participation of teachers in policy-making processes and intensification of teacher professional development in language teaching in relation to the language in education policy. / Thesis (M.Ed)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

This case study examines the pedagogy of early reading in a South African Basic Education Centre. Existing literature shows that illiteracy among adults in South Africa is a great concern. The acquisition of reading competence in adults is under - researched in South Africa and previous research has tended to focus on literacy/reading in relation to health issues or the acquisition of reading in children. This study attempts to contribute to understanding poor reading conditions in adult classes by providing a description of beliefs and practices of three Adult Basic Education and Training teachers of reading. The study captures the beliefs and practices of the teachers of reading in ABET Level 1- 4 with respect to the teaching of reading in Zulu and English. Data is examined using constructivism and dialogic space as theoretical frameworks. Data was gathered from teacher interviews and classroom observations. The findings of this paper include that these teachers lack pedagogical knowledge to inform their practice and are often influenced by their own experience of being taught to read. The dominant instructional practice was a focus on pronunciation while reading aloud as opposed to text comprehension. Recommendations are made regarding the support that could be offered to the teachers of reading in this centre. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Gender is a social construction. Society presents us with acceptable models of masculinity and femininity, and these teach us how to be masculine or feminine in a sense. We learn how to be as women and men through some sort of social conditioning, although we have some agency to resist such normative constructions. This study sets to explore how boys and girls responded to dominant constructions of gender in a rural primary schooling context. The idea was to explore ways in which boys and girls colluded with and/or challenged constructions that "boxed‟ them into particular versions and constructions of feminity and masculinity. A qualitative case study located within the critical paradigm was used. Poststructural feminist theory was used as a lens to understand how participants responded to the dominant constructions of gender. Participatory methods of generating data were used to address the key research questions, namely, transect walks, mapping, non-participant observations, and document analysis. The existence of alternative discourses in the voices of participants helped us to understand how boys and girls constructed, negotiated and performed gender in the context of the research study. Findings revealed that participants' views represented processes of constructing, reconstructing and negotiating their gendered social identities. This was not a static process. It was a confluence of fluid processes of pushing boundaries and challenging stereotypes and coded messages characterising dominant definitions and expectations of femininity and masculinity. However, on the other hand, it was a mixture of interrelated acts of submitting and colluding with dominant constructions of femininity and masculinity. In essence, with regards to participants' responses to dominant gender constructions, there existed a criss-crossing of competing discourses some of which had more powerful influences on participants, making the act of challenging dominant gender discourses a complex affair to construe. / Thesis (M.Ed)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

This study examines the use of participatory methodology with primary school children in mapping HIV/AIDS as a barrier to learning in KwaZulu-Natal. The study draws on a larger National Research Funded (NRF) Project1 undertaken in the Richmond area of KwaZulu-Natal. Data was produced through semi-structured interviews of six researchers involved in the NRF project; through document analysis of the data sets involving the learners and facilitators, the NRF project report and the related journal articles based on the project; and through field observation conducted by me. The findings of the study suggest that in research on HIV/AIDS it is essential to seek participatory ways of enabling children’s voices on the pandemic as it unfolds in their context. High researcher reflexivity is necessary in order to become sensitive and responsive to the challenges of including children’s voices in vulnerable circumstances. Findings also suggest the importance of viewing ethics as situated practice. The study ends with implications for research methodology courses, researcher training and evidence from children for policy on HIV/AIDS. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.

Since 2009 the textbook has emerged as a key educational resource in South African classrooms. This has been a direct response to rapid curriculum change, and real and perceived inadequacies in teacher content and pedagogic knowledge. Of significance though is that there is limited understanding of the nature of content selections that textbook authors invoke and the subtext thereof. The purpose of this study therefore is to understand how gender is represented in Business Studies textbooks available to teachers and pupils in the Further Education and Training (FET) band in South African classrooms. This qualitative study is located in the critical paradigm and engaged the tenets of Critical Discourse Analysis as the key analytical frame. A purposive sample of two contemporary Business Studies textbooks was selected to investigate the phenomenon of gender representation. Findings reveal that stereotypes of women and men are reinforced in the selected textbooks under study. Women were shown more frequently in home settings than were men. Men were shown in a wider variety of occupational roles than women. Textbooks portrayed men in a wide range of highly-paid, high-status occupations such as managing directors, doctors, lawyers etc. In both texts more males have been represented in leadership positions in government, economic and corporate institutions. The textbooks further represented women as being disabled and destitute. Males were portrayed as confident and educated in the usage of technology while women were portrayed as illiterate. Additionally men were portrayed as assertive and forthright business individuals, while women were also portrayed as emotional and as more reliant on, or needing, the advice of men to deal with business-related issues. Finally, the portrayal of firstness presented the male pronoun first in sentences and conversation as opposed to the female pronoun. The findings indicate that representations in the textbooks are gender-biased and gender-insensitive. Of concern is that these representations may be transmitted to school learners. A critical approach to the selection and use of textbooks is thus necessary. Much work needs to be done by key role players in the educational sectors to ensure that gender inclusivity becomes a feature of South African Business Studies textbooks. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.