M. Tech. Education, Tshwane University of Technology, 2010.

This thesis examines the problem of skills shortages in the workplace by reviewing macro-policies, such as the Skills Development and Employment Equity Acts. It also looks at the impact of economic strategies in South Africa that seek to redress past injustices whilst stimulating growth. This study endeavours to provide a greater understanding of the development of skills in the South African workplace in general. It also attempts to determine whether or not skills acquired by employed workers help to sustain them when they become unemployed. Furthermore, it assesses the impact of changes in the workplace chosen for this study, whether it experienced segmentation and casualisation of the workforce and the manner in which it is affected by technological change. In conducting this study, a triangular approach has been adopted in order to collect more data on skill shortages; it adopted the qualitative and quantitative methods. In-depth interviews and semi-structured questionnaires were utilised to collect data from Durban Botanic Gardens’ Parks Department employees. The study found that previously disadvantaged workers face almost the same working conditions as during the days of apartheid. It also shows that progressive skills policies adopted by Government have not been appropriately implemented by various management structures. This study will assist the government, researchers and scholars in general in gaining a clearer understanding about skills development in South Africa. It also recommends that there is a need for the government to come up with mechanisms to ensure that all policies that are adopted are implemented effectively and monitored at all levels. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

This research study is an exploration of the self-directed professional development of teachers, teaching in public schools in an era of democracy and educational change in South Africa. Amidst an ever-changing educational system, these teachers - Mbeje, Shabeer, Carolina, Shakila and Tasneem - position themselves as self-directed teacher-learners. As self-directed teacher-learners they adopt particular learning practices which enable change within the broader discourses of public schooling. Life-story interviews were used to enter into the public and private spaces of these five teachers which offered me glimpses of how particular systems shaped their identities, and how the meanings of teacher-learner shaped their learning practices. I employed the thematic restorying approach to represent the narratives. Through collaboration with the teachers in this study, I identified critical moments in their lives which shaped their self-directed learning for change within the broader discourses of public schooling. The reconstructed narratives are located within the social, political and educational systems of apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa Positioning this study in the critical paradigm, I developed a multi-layered framework of analysis and interpretation. I offer my interpretations of the stories through three lenses: restorying the field texts - the self through story; the teacher-learner in relation to socio-cultural contexts, and practices of self-directed learning. This study shows that as teacher-learners learn for change through self-directed learning , they develop their agency as transformative intellectuals, which is necessary for the reworking of South African public schools. Self-directed learning is critical for the transformation of the teacher-learner: as their race, class and gender meanings are disrupted for new meanings of teacher- learner. In their becoming they consciously and subconsciously create a “new professional teacher-learner” for South African public schooling. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The introduction of Curriculum 2005 brought about fundamental changes to our education system. Apartheid education was replaced by a new democratic education. Although the changes in education were necessary to redress the imbalances of the past, the implementation became a mammoth task for the department of education. To meet the deadline dates for delivery of the new curriculum the department of education engaged itself in professional development activities for teachers to ensure that all teachers were familiar with the new curriculum. Due to time constraints, the cascading model under the umbrella of Managerial Professionalism became the most popular model for teacher development. The intention of the Department of Education was to see changes taking place in education that benefited the teachers in their development and this in turn will have a positive impact on the learners they teach. The purpose of this study is to explore the teacher development experiences of Visual Arts teachers through managerial professionalism teacher development processes. Through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires Visual Art teachers saw little benefit in one day one-off Professional Development Activities (PDAs). The findings showed that there was no interaction between teachers at these PDAs and that their needs were not being met. The approach in the one day one-off PDAs were more information meetings and did not meet the needs for teacher development. However they did mention that they preferred the three day and five day PDAs because there was time for PDAs to take place. They also preferred to work in a contrived collegial environment because of the scarcity of Visual Arts teachers in the province. In most of these state-driven PDAs the teacher’s voice is not heard. There is no time for teacher reflection. The duration of these state-driven PDAs only allows for information dissemination and teacher’s contexts, culture and language is not given consideration. The ‘one size fits all approach’ is being employed. Teachers want to have a greater say in how their development is being constructed. They are happy to work with the department of education on teacher development but it must be a negotiated and combined effort and not a top-down approach. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

The aim of the research was to document as fully as possible the programmes and practices in Indian secondary schools in the Republic of South Africa for the induction of beginning teachers. Teacher education is viewed as a career-long professional continuum and induction as the transition between graduation from a pre-service teacher education institution to the onset of in-service education. Induction is viewed as an important stage in the prolonged period of professional development. The method of research was, initially, to make a study of induction programmes in England, Australia and the United States of America. The concept adopted to guide questionnaire compilation and item writing was that prospective teachers had acquired knowledge, skills, attitudes and values in anticipation of their professional performance during the pre-service period. The premise was that those acquired ideas and skills will become active only in so far as the new situation allowed, demanded and encouraged the beginning teacher. The major findings that emerge from the study are that induction activities assume varied forms and that the integration and orientation of beginning teacher into the teaching profession depend very much on the nature of the schools and the willingness and co-operation of the principal and certain members of his established staff. There is no well defined system for the orientation of beginning teachers into the profession. The underlying problem was found to be the absence of a philosophy and policy for induction by the Department of Education and Culture (House of Delegates). The study concludes with several recommendations to the Department of Education and Culture (House of Delegates) the most important being: the formulation of a policy by the Department based on a well defined philosophy for induction; implementation of programmes arising from the policy in the form of school based induction activities, external support programmes by the teachers' centres, subject advisers, tertiary institutions and the teachers' associations. The underlying conclusion of the study is that induction is a complex process but definitely not an opportunity to be missed. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 1988.

The aim of this study was to explore the concept of pedagogical content knowledge, or PCK, and its use in the practice of teaching. Teacher knowledge is a significant factor in determining learner gains in all school subjects. However, little is known about the role of the different types of knowledge that teachers are supposed to possess in particular in a developing world context. PCK was introduced by Lee Shulman in 1986 and has since been the subject of much research in teacher education. Pedagogical content knowledge is thought to be a highly specialised form of teacher knowledge that intertwines subject matter (content) knowledge and general pedagogic knowledge. In this study, I examined the levels of PCK of 39 mathematics teachers; I tried to determine how they used PCK in their teaching of mathematics; what determined their PCK; and to what extent PCK influenced the mathematical achievement of their learners. The methodology that I used was lesson observation of 42 video-recorded grade 6 mathematics lessons from various schools in the greater Umgungundlovu district of Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. These schools were selected through random stratified sampling to participate in a larger regional achievement study, designed to investigate the factors which influence learning in schools. I was part of a research team that analysed the videos of the mathematics lessons, with the intention of getting the ‘big picture’ of mathematics teaching and learning in South Africa. Using the data from my observations, I developed a PCK instrument and attempted to measure the teachers’ PCK. I then tried to link these PCK scores to other variables in my study, which included a teacher’s test and learner tests. I tested the consistency of my instrument and the teachers’ PCK scores appeared fairly consistent across lessons, but that more research is needed to interrogate that. My initial findings suggested that all teachers possess PCK in some form, though their observed PCK levels were limited. The opportunity to develop proficiency, the use of examples and some engagement with learners’ prior knowledge though mostly in the form of checking homework were the areas most prevalent. The focus was mostly on procedural aspects. Only a minority of the teachers used representations, showed more than one method, displayed longitudinal coherence or engaged in more substantial ways with learner thinking (misconceptions and errors). Crucially, it emerged that a sound teachers’ knowledge of mathematical content was necessary for a high PCK rating, but there was no significant relationship between teachers’ PCK and learner gains in mathematics. It is likely that there are other factors which have a greater impact on learners’ learning than effective teachers, factors such as the socio-economic backgrounds of the learners. Given the random sampling of the schools in the study, and various attempts to ensure consistency in my coding and analysis, I hoped that these results would be valid for the greater KwaZulu-Natal area. However, because I used mainly the video analysis of lessons, and only a part of the teachers’ test, to determine the teachers’ PCK, it is possible that I may not have been able to get the full picture of the teachers’ PCK as I would have if I had also interviewed them.

Chapter 1 will cover the general background on training outside and inside Eskom. It will scrutinise the existing training programme taking into account the factors that inform this training. An assessment will also be made of the training strategy that the CED is already using. Chapter 2 will present an in-depth literature review that will serve as a guide in scrutinising training and development of the organisation and the staff. The literature in question covers coaching, mentoring, staff development, communication as a factor of training, induction, orientation, skills sharing, training evaluation, training objectives, job rotation, and skills knowledge. This literature will allow me to compare training in Eskom with that which is suggested from the literature review. This will be done in order to recommend solutions for training strategy problems in the CED. Studies touching on training have been undertaken in the past and this dissertation will also make use of them as references. Chapter 3 describes the research methodology used and the method of data collection. The three groups of staff that have been used to obtain data in the CED Camden Power Station, namely, discipline engineering managers, senior engineers and graduates in training, are also discussed. Chapter 4 presents the data analysis. All the data obtained from questionnaires and literature is analysed here. The analysis makes use of pie charts to analyse the data obtained from the respondents. Chapter 5 covers recommendations and conclusions. Recommendations are made based on responses to the research questionnaires. Research questionnaires that were used to obtain data are in the appendices. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

Text in Afrikaans / Die konsepdokument van die National Curriculum Statement (2003) van die Onderwysdepartement in Suid-Afrika staan 'n inklusiewe benadering voor met verwysing na gehalte-onderwys vir alle leerders, en maak sodoende voorsiening vir die diversiteit van leerders. Die National Curriculum Statement stel dit (vir die eerste keer in Suid-Afrika) onomwonde dat die nuwe Nasionale Kurrikulum voorsiening sal maak vir alle leerders met struikelblokke tot leer (StL) in teenstelling met hulle uitsluiting in die verlede van gewone onderwys of hoofstroming by verstek. Beperkte navorsing het aan die lig gebring dat onderwysers opleiding benodig om die verskeidenheid struikelblokke te hanteer wat leerders moontlik kan he. Die navorser het die weg gebaan vir die opleiding van onderwysers en leerders om StL te akkommodeerdeurditas deel van die leerondersteuningsmateriaal in te sluit. Die vertrekpunt van die opleidingsprogram is dat elke mens in 'n sekere mate struikelblokke het om te oorkom en dat die opvoedkundige gemeenskap elkeen van daardie gemeenskap kan insluit en versorg. / The draft document of the National Curriculum Statement (2003) of the Department of Education in South Africa promotes an inclusive approach regarding the quality education of all learners, thus including provision for diversities of learners. The National Curriculum Statement states explicitly (for the first time in South Africa) that the new National Curriculum will provide for all learners with barriers to learning (BtL) as opposed to their previous exclusion from ordinary education or mainstreaming by default. Limited research - has shown that teachers need training to deal with the variety of barriers that learners may exhibit. The researcher pioneered the concept of including the training of teachers and learners to accommodate BtL as part of the learning support material. The training programme's point of departure is the view that, to some extent, every person has certain barriers to overcome, and that the educational community can include and care for each and every member of that community. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Inclusive Education)

This study investigates the possibilities of incorporating African languages in skills development and training in South Africa as part of functional multilingualism. This investigation is done in relation to the Skills Development Act (Act No.97 of 1998) promulgated by the South African government, through parliament in order to address skills shortage among workers in South Africa the majority of whom are black whose education and training needs can be more effectively addressed through mother-tongue instruction than through English or Afrikaans. A literature review of global trends in skills-development initiatives and strategies indicates that the use of indigenous languages in skills development ensures success in skills transference and also enhances language development and language promotion. Empirical research was done in the mining and minerals industry at Beatrix Gold Mine, Free State. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

The purpose of the study was to investigate the educators’ perceptions on the role of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) in teacher professional development. The study also investigated the Union’s perceived challenges in contributing to teacher professionalism in South Africa, their perceived professional priorities and perceived expectations of teachers. The research genre used for this study was the interpretivism or constructivism paradigm. The qualitative methodology was used and case study employed as the research design of the study. The findings of this study were that SADTU were perceived as militant activists. Their activities were perceived as often very disruptive to education and their role appeared to be more politically focused than educational. They promoted and protected teacher labour rights and interests. However, they had no programme, nor the expertise nor the resources to respond to teachers’ professional development needs. The perceptions about them were that they had minimal or negligible contribution to teacher professional development. SADTU conducted training, but with nothing of value to teacher professional development. The unethical, unconstitutional and professionally non-developmental cadre deployment of SADTU leadership compromised the Union. Another finding was the important role of appropriate continuous professional development programmes in the improvement of the teachers’ own professional development, in the improvement of classroom practices and eventual enhanced learner performance. Inclusive to professional development are educationally good skills and values to colleagues, learners and parents both at school and out of school. Recommendations for SADTU were the: development of a clear programme on Teacher Professional Development; mobilisation of SADTU members towards restoring and enhancing the dignity of the teaching profession; engaging politically in curriculum policymaking to form inclusive professional associations; ending cadre deployment for senior management posts by SADTU leadership; establish development centres for critical maths and science, computers skills and other subjects and resuscitation of teacher colleges.