A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies at the University Of Zululand, 2016 / The inclusion of the subject, Life Orientation, in the school curriculum for a democratic education dispensation was the realisation of the recommendation of the National Education Crisis Committee or NECC (1992) in its research for a curriculum model for a post-apartheid society (CUMSA) and Educational Renewal Strategy (ERS). The NECC (1992: 79) emphasised that lifestyle education was essential for a post-apartheid curriculum in order to incorporate knowledge of and guidance on religion, economic education and physical education, to be directed at norms, values, personal convictions and attitude to life (including an emphasis on openness to and acceptance of the convictions and attitudes of others). However, studies have highlighted that Life Orientation is generally considered an appendage, an additional subject that is perceived as being of lesser importance in the school curriculum (Chisholm, 2000; Jansen, 1997; Christie, 1999). Such claims are based on the following facts: Life Orientation has the least number of periods in the school timetable; there is no formal assessment of the Life Orientation knowledge, skills, values and attitudes; learners’ performance in Life Orientation counts for less on their school-leaving certificates, than their performance in other subjects; and there is no accountability on the part of teachers with regard to learners’ performance in the subject. Therefore, results obtained in the subject do not add value in the certification process of the learner in the Further Education and Training (FET) Band. While reforms and changes have been introduced in the South African schooling curriculum for a democratic political and social dispensation, educational researchers (Chisholm, 2000; Jansen, 1997; Christie, 1999) have highlighted the challenges facing the successful implementation of the new curriculum. This study considers the mediation of the subject curriculum to be the main challenge in the successful implementation of the national curriculum statement, which provides teachers with guidelines on why, what and how classroom practice ought to be. Through the lens of the tuition of a specific subject, this study considers the competence of teachers in mediating Life Orientation in the FET Phase. This study attempted to answer the following research questions: • What paradigm informs the mediation strategies of teachers of Life Orientation? • How do teachers’ mediation strategies align content, intended outcomes and assessment for daily learning activities? • Why do teachers perceive their mediation strategies as being congruent with the attainment of the Life Orientation curriculum statement and learning outcomes? This study targeted teachers involved in the teaching of Life Orientation in the FET Phase: that is, Grades 10, 11 and 12 teachers in schools in the vicinity of the Pinetown District. A mixed method design was used to investigate teachers’ perceptions and competencies in teaching Life Orientation in the Further Education and Training band. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments were used to collect data from the participants. The researcher used open-ended questionnaires for data collection with regard to the perspectives on a mediating role for the effective teaching of Life Orientation in the FET band. The research was conducted with Grades 10, 11 and 12 Life Orientation (L.O.) teachers. There are 167 secondary schools under Pinetown District and the questionnaires were administered in 30 of the 167 secondary schools. A total of 60 teachers, that is, 2 teachers per school, teaching Grades 10, 11 and 12 were used as respondents to the questionnaires in order to answer the research question. The purpose of the survey questionnaire was to collect information regarding L.O.’s academic value, L.O. teachers’ preparedness and L.O. mediation strategies. Interviews were also used to collect qualitative data from the participants who were teachers who teach Life Orientation in the FET phase. According to McMillan and Schumacher (2010), in-depth interviews use open-response questions to obtain data on participants’ meanings regarding how individuals conceive of their world and how they explain or make sense of the important events in their lives. According to the collected data, the participants felt very strong about the importance and the academic value of the subject LO in the FET curriculum. They emphasised that the subject was invaluable in the effective teaching of the learners at this stage in order to prepare them for future careers and as future citizens. They felt a need for the subject to be recognised and to be treated with some degree of the value it deserves within the curriculum. It was mentioned by the participants that the teachers who teach the subject have to be well-prepared and trained, and also that they need to have a specialised knowledge and understanding for the effective teaching and learning of the subject to happen. Over and above they have to be passionate about the subject, and be willing to sacrifice their time and talents to develop themselves and to teach better. A variety of mediation strategies that are learner-centred were identified as the best strategies to teach the subject, in order to improve and develop learner knowledge and understanding around the subject. Strategies that keep learners fully involved in their learning and development were seen as the best strategies. Participants felt that learners learn better when they find information on their own and when they interact with others to develop knowledge and understanding. This study recommends that Life Orientation must be treated in the same manner as other subjects in the curriculum and that this needs to be shown in the allocation of time to teach the subject. It is very disturbing to learn that this subject is sacrificed a lot to benefit other priority subjects in the FET curriculum. It should always be remembered that this subject was introduced for the purpose of a holistic development of the learners. With the identified academic value of the subject, L.O., it is without doubt that the subject is indispensable within the FET curriculum.

Thesis (M.ED.) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / Language prejudice is of two types: positive and negative. Negative prejudice is image effacing. It is characterized by negative evaluation of one’s own language or speech patterns and a preference for someone else’s. An example of this kind of self- -denigration is the case of David Christiaan, the Nama Chief in Namibia, who, in response to the Dutch missionaries’ attempt to open schools that would conduct their teaching using Nama as a medium of instruction, is reported to have shouted, “Only Dutch, Dutch only! I despise myself and I want to hide in the bush when I am talking my Hottentot language” (Vedder, 1981: 275 as quoted in Ohly, 1992:65. In Ambrose, et al (eds.) undated: 15).

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T14:48:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Elisa Moreira Bonafe.pdf: 1111029 bytes, checksum: 539d7c3363c0f35ab884151039c94637 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-11 / This study aims to identify the strategies used in teacher training in schools that make teachers improve their classroom practices with students. From interviews with four pedagogical coordinators of public schools from São Paulo city, it was possible to observe the diversity of challenges that are reflected in the planning and the implementing of continuous learning of teachers. It was also identified that there is a lack of clarity for coordinators about the potential actions they can perform with teachers at school and how these actions can be performed, especially regarding to the conduction of the actions of training and their strategies. Using as reference the studies of Imbernón, it was produced some reflections in favor of training in the work context due to the fact that it considers the real situations that arise in the school routine. Placco, Almeida and Souza collaborated with studies and contributions to the routine of the pedagogical coordinators, the needs and the possibilities of change in their formative function. At the end, it is presented a proposal for pedagogical coordinators that suggest the theoretical study in the continuing training of teachers and, moreover, it is suggested practical experience that can also motivate change in professional performance of the pedagogical coordinators themselves. It is expected that, with continuous teacher training, the pedagogical coordinators professionalize their activities in the schools concerning the learning and the observation of teachers and consequently, they can propose consistent and efficient solutions for the school difficulties and develop actions to encourage change in the pedagogical practices of teachers / O presente estudo objetiva identificar as estratégias utilizadas na formação de professores em contexto escolar, que mobilizam os docentes a melhorarem suas práticas pedagógicas com os alunos. A partir de entrevistas com quatro coordenadoras pedagógicas de escola pública da Cidade de São Paulo, foi possível observar a diversidade de desafios que se refletem no planejamento e na execução da formação continuada de docentes. Foi também identificado que falta clareza aos coordenadores sobre as ações com potencial formativo na escola e como realizá-las, principalmente no que diz respeito à condução das ações de formação e às estratégias formativas. Utilizando como base os escritos de Imbernón, foram produzidas algumas reflexões na defesa da formação em contexto de trabalho, por considerar as situações reais que se colocam na rotina escolar. Placco, Almeida e Souza colaboraram com estudos e contribuições sobre a rotina dos coordenadores pedagógicos (CPs), as necessidades e as possibilidades de mudança para atender à função formadora. Ao final é apresentada uma proposta de formação para coordenadores pedagógicos com o objetivo de favorecer o aprofundamento teórico nas questões de formação continuada de professores e, conjuntamente, proporcionar experiências práticas que possam significar mudança na atuação profissional dos próprios CPs. Espera-se que, a partir da formação continuada, os CPs profissionalizem sua atuação nas escolas no que diz respeito à formação e acompanhamento docente e, consequentemente, elaborem propostas coerentes com a realidade escolar e desenvolvam ações que favoreçam a mudança nas práticas pedagógicas dos professores

Lehrerinnen und Lehrer in der beruflichen Bildung müssen die Erfordernisse der modernen und sich ständig verändernden Produktions- und Dienstleistungsstrukturen und deren Auswirkungen auf die berufliche Bildung kennen. Die Umsetzung des Bologna-Prozesses in Deutschland gab den Anstoß, den Prozess der Modularisierung und den Übergang zu Bachelor-/ Masterstrukturen in der Lehramtsausbildung für das höhere Lehramt an berufsbildenden Schulen im Hinblick auf den sogenannten „doppelten Praxisbezug“ (berufspraktische und schulpraktische Studien) in der ersten Phase der Lehrerbildung (Studium an Universitäten bzw. Hochschulen) und in der zweiten Phase der Lehrerbildung (Vorbereitungsdienst bzw. Referendariat) zu analysieren und mögliche Folgerungen bzw. Konsequenzen für die dritte Phase (Fort- und Weiterbildung) aufzuzeigen. Dazu wurden auf der Grundlage des „Didaktischen Grundverhältnisses“ (Hortsch, 1994) Praxisbereiche definiert, die dann den drei Komponenten beruflicher Handlungskompetenz eines Berufspädagogen (Hortsch, 1997) zugeordnet worden sind. Mittels Inhalts- und Dokumentenanalyse wurden einerseits die schulpraktischen und berufspraktischen Anteile in den auf Bachelor-/ Masterstrukturen umgestellten Lehramtsstudiengängen für das höhere Lehramt an berufsbildenden Schulen und der jeweilige Vorbereitungsdienst und andererseits Angebote im Rahmen von Lehrerfort- bzw. Weiterbildung, die der Ausprägung der produktionsorientierten Komponente der beruflichen Handlungskompetenz dienen, ermittelt. Eine schriftliche Befragung von Lehrerinnen und Lehrern an Beruflichen Schulzentren im Freistaat Sachsen wurde mit dem Ziel durchgeführt, den Grad der Ausprägung der drei Komponenten der beruflichen Handlungskompetenz sowie das Fort- und Weiterbildungsverhalten zu untersuchen. Eine zweite schriftliche Befragung bei Partnern der beruflichen Bildung ermittelte deren Bereitschaft zur Kooperation im Rahmen von Lehrerfort- und Weiterbildung.

The advent of democracy in South Africa necessitated a radical transformation in education. It was recognised from the outset that the revision of History education was an activity that had to be accorded special consideration if the renaissance of education in South African public schools was to become a reality. Yet, precisely at a time when the nurturing of historical consciousness, especially among the youth, is so urgent an undertaking, the subject History is increasingly being judged as lacking in utilitarian purpose, and is deemed irrelevant and meaningless. A strong need is thus felt among History educationists to strengthen History studies because of its importance not only in itself but also because a knowledge of the past is crucial to an understanding of the present. In a South African educational context this thesis attempts to make a contribution to this worthwhile endeavour. It investigates the nature, functions, changing modes and historical role of historical consciousness in the writing and teaching of History in South Africa; proposes a heightened interest in adopting an outcomes-based approach to the teaching of history; and advocates an historical consciousness approach to the teaching of History to learners in the Further Education and Training phase (schools), within the framework of the above-mentioned Outcomes-based Education system. It recommends, among others, the training and retraining of teachers in the historical consciousness approach; the adoption of a fresh methodology; and the revamping and strengthening of the content and scope of the present curriculum to accommodate the new historical consciousness approach. The thesis concludes with a set of recommendations which could serve as a basis for the nurturing of historical consciousness in the South African History classroom. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Didactics)

The advent of democracy in South Africa necessitated a radical transformation in education. It was recognised from the outset that the revision of History education was an activity that had to be accorded special consideration if the renaissance of education in South African public schools was to become a reality. Yet, precisely at a time when the nurturing of historical consciousness, especially among the youth, is so urgent an undertaking, the subject History is increasingly being judged as lacking in utilitarian purpose, and is deemed irrelevant and meaningless. A strong need is thus felt among History educationists to strengthen History studies because of its importance not only in itself but also because a knowledge of the past is crucial to an understanding of the present. In a South African educational context this thesis attempts to make a contribution to this worthwhile endeavour. It investigates the nature, functions, changing modes and historical role of historical consciousness in the writing and teaching of History in South Africa; proposes a heightened interest in adopting an outcomes-based approach to the teaching of history; and advocates an historical consciousness approach to the teaching of History to learners in the Further Education and Training phase (schools), within the framework of the above-mentioned Outcomes-based Education system. It recommends, among others, the training and retraining of teachers in the historical consciousness approach; the adoption of a fresh methodology; and the revamping and strengthening of the content and scope of the present curriculum to accommodate the new historical consciousness approach. The thesis concludes with a set of recommendations which could serve as a basis for the nurturing of historical consciousness in the South African History classroom. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Didactics)