Thesis (M. Tech)(Education) -- Central university of Technology, Free State, 2007 / The aim of the study is to determine the impediments to parental involvement in the governance of selected primary schools in the Bloemfontein area. It also examines the impact of the principals’ attitudes as perceived by the parents towards their involvement in the governance of the school; the means of communication between the school and parents; whether co-operation between the principal and parents affects school governance; and whether familiarity with parents’ roles as stipulated in the South African Schools Act affects their participation in school governance. The literature was consulted on the segregated education of the previously disadvantaged people under apartheid. The transition from apartheid to education under the new political dispensation, as set out in the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 also received attention. The study further addresses the issue of parents’ reluctance to participate in school governance and the views of teachers and parents on their roles in school governance. Ministerial investigation into the effectiveness of school governing bodies is presented and an international perspective on school governing bodies is also provided. A quantitative method using survey research method was employed in this study and a questionnaire was used to collect data. The aim was to elicit responses from the parents in as far as impediments to parental involvement in the governance of schools is concerned. It was revealed, however, that despite the parents’ reluctance to take part in school governance, principals’ attitudes were found to have a positive effect on parental participation in school governance. Methods of communication between the school and the parents were found to be effective, though a suggestion is made for improvement. Parents were found to be willing to co-operate with one another for the betterment of the school. Furthermore, parents were found to be familiar with the roles of members of the school governing body, irrespective of whether they are members of the school governing body or not.

Thesis (Ph.d.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2006 / The research investigates the use of the Communicative Learning Programmes in the English First Additional Language (EFAL) Senior phase classrooms in the Free State province. During the turn of the twentieth century, syllabi were tools that were designed and provided by the Department of Education to the schools. Recent changes in education in South Africa now expect educators to design these learning programmes. The Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) details steps that educators can follow in order to design the learning programmes for their learning areas. Outcomes-Based Education encompasses the eight learning areas in the Senior phase, namely Languages, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Economic and Management Sciences, Social Science, Technology, Life Orientation, and Arts and Culture. The learning area that this study focuses on is Languages. EFAL is one of the languages that form the learning area of Languages. EFAL comprises six learning outcomes that have to be interpreted by the educators and achieved by the learners by linking teaching and learning with the accompanying assessment standards. Through the use of the communicative approach and co-operative strategies during group work, this study adds to the body of knowledge communicative learning programmes that Senior phase EFAL educators can use to assist and complement their current strategies.

Thesis (M. Tech.) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2009

Quantitative Techniques is traditionally a subject with a poor pass rate at Walter Sisulu University. In search of a turnaround strategy, the purpose of this study was to determine the level of problem-solving proficiency of Quantitative Techniques students, which is suspected to influence achievement in this subject. A descriptive survey design was used in this research. Second-year ND (Marketing) students (128) took part in the study. A questionnaire and a written test were used to collect data. A profile of participants’ problem-solving was determined. Their weaknesses and strengths in problem-solving were investigated. The problem-solving proficiency of participants with regards to the biographical variables of Gender, Age, Mathematics background and whether they took Data Handling training at school or not were explored. A model, based on Polya’s four stages of problem-solving, was used to measure the students’ level of problem-solving proficiency, which was 59,16%. Findings suggest that the students achieved highest in understanding a problem (72,29%) and making a plan to solve the problem (73,77%). They are weakest at interpreting their results (29,38%). MANOVA results showed no statistical significance for the biographical variables. The univariate results suggest that age, Data Handling training at school and Gender could affect problem-solving proficiency. Since the findings of this study indicate a strong relationship between participants’ problem-solving proficiency and their actual achievement, some intervention is recommended. An intervention could be in the form of a section on problem-solving in the course, supplemental instruction or an introductory course. Course and curriculum content should be revised to address students’ proficiency in problem-solving. / Mathematical Sciences / M. A. (Statistics Education)

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree in Masters of Technology in Nursing, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / Background The current health care system in South Africa and its diverse settings of health care delivery system require a nurse who can make decisions, think critically, solve problems and work effectively in a team. Traditional nursing education teaching strategies have over the years relied on didactic and often passive approaches to learning. In pursuit of quality, academics and students must be continually engaged in a process of finding opportunities for improving the teaching and learning process. Purpose of the study The purpose of this study was to evaluate the structure and the process in case based learning at the University of Technology. Methodology This study is qualitative in nature, governed by an interpretive paradigm. This is a case study, which enabled the researcher to merge student interview data with records in order to gain insight into the activities and details of case based learning as practised at the University of Technology under study. Most importantly, the case study method was deemed appropriate for the current study, since case-based learning as a pedagogical approach (and a case) cannot be abstracted from its context for the purposes of study. Case based learning is evaluated in its context namely, the undergraduate nursing programme, using the Donabedian framework of structure, process and product. Results The study recorded that students were positive towards case based learning though some identified dynamics of working in groups as demerits of case based learning. The structures that are in place in the programme and the CBL processes are adequate and support CBL. There are however areas that need attention such as the qualification of the programme coordinator, the size of the class-rooms and the service of the computer laboratory. Conclusion The study found that apart from a few minor discrepancies, case based learning is sufficiently implemented, and experienced as invaluable by students, at the University of Technology under study.

Thesis (MTech(Environmental Health))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / Pharmaceuticals have been formulated to influence physiological systems in humans, animals, and microbes but have never been considered as potential environmental pollutants by healthcare professionals. The human body is not a barrier to chemicals, but is permeable to it. Thus after performing their in-vivo functions, pharmaceutical compound introduced into the body, exit mainly via urine and faeces. Sewage therefore contains highly complex mixtures of chemicals in various degrees of biological potency. Sewage treatment works including those in South Africa, on the other hand, are known to be inefficient in removing drugs from sewage and consequently either the unmetabolised pharmaceutical compounds or their metabolites emerge in the environment as pollutants via several trajectories. In the environment, the excreted metabolites may even undergo regeneration to the original parent molecule under bacterial influence, resulting in “trans-vivo-pharmaceutical-pol ution-cycles”. Although all incinerators are known to generate toxins such dioxins and furans from the drugs they incinerate, all the medicines disposed by the hospitals under research, were incinerated, as the preferred option of disposal. The incineration process employed was found to be environmentally unsafe. Expired and unused medicines which the general public discard as municipal solid waste become landfilled. Because many landfill sites are not appropriately engineered, the unwanted drugs landfilled therein, leach into the surrounding ground water, which is the influent source of water treatment plants. Water treatment plants, including those in South Africa, are also inefficient in eliminating pharmaceutical compounds, releasing them in sub-therapeutic concentrations into potable tap water as pollutants, the full effects of which are yet to be determined.

Quantitative Techniques is traditionally a subject with a poor pass rate at Walter Sisulu University. In search of a turnaround strategy, the purpose of this study was to determine the level of problem-solving proficiency of Quantitative Techniques students, which is suspected to influence achievement in this subject. A descriptive survey design was used in this research. Second-year ND (Marketing) students (128) took part in the study. A questionnaire and a written test were used to collect data. A profile of participants’ problem-solving was determined. Their weaknesses and strengths in problem-solving were investigated. The problem-solving proficiency of participants with regards to the biographical variables of Gender, Age, Mathematics background and whether they took Data Handling training at school or not were explored. A model, based on Polya’s four stages of problem-solving, was used to measure the students’ level of problem-solving proficiency, which was 59,16%. Findings suggest that the students achieved highest in understanding a problem (72,29%) and making a plan to solve the problem (73,77%). They are weakest at interpreting their results (29,38%). MANOVA results showed no statistical significance for the biographical variables. The univariate results suggest that age, Data Handling training at school and Gender could affect problem-solving proficiency. Since the findings of this study indicate a strong relationship between participants’ problem-solving proficiency and their actual achievement, some intervention is recommended. An intervention could be in the form of a section on problem-solving in the course, supplemental instruction or an introductory course. Course and curriculum content should be revised to address students’ proficiency in problem-solving. / Mathematical Sciences / M. A. (Statistics Education)

In der Ausstellung „Bilder machen – Fotografie als Praxis“ stellt die Deutsche Fotothek der SLUB Dresden in Kooperation mit der Universitätssammlung Kunst+Technik die Fotografie als vielgestaltige kulturelle Praxis vor. Fast alle Exponate stammen von der Deutschen Fotothek, deren Bestand mehr als drei Mio. Aufnahmen umfasst. Die Ausstellung wird von einer öffentlichen Ringvorlesung begleitet, in der weitere Gebrauchsweisen der Fotografie in den Blick genommen werden. Außerdem ist ein Katalog erschienen, in dem die Themenbereiche vertieft werden.

Queensland University of Technology has radically restructured the top-level governance systems for information technology planning and management. Additionally, QUT has integrated information technology planning and management with physical infrastructure planning and management via the Asset Management Plan. To complete the approach, QUT has instigated a top-level governance committee for IT to ensure alignment with organisational goals and strategies. This is an unusual development for IT planning and management at an Australian university and attracted attention from the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) as well as other universities in the Australian tertiary education sector and led to the research study. This research studies the redevelopment of the information technology planning and management approach. The survey research determines the level of integration of IT and university planning, and the correlation of this integration to effectiveness of IT planning. The case study documents the changes, highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the new approach and provides a model for change in IT management at other Australian universities. It is evident from current literature on information technology management and strategic planning that these developments are validated as steps toward achieving best practice in information technology planning and management. Through rigorous conduct of interviews, observations and review of documentation and through application of a survey questionnaire to a defined population, the research reviews the developments and ongoing implementation of the planning and management infrastructure. Among the outcomes from the new approach are better alignment of information technology investment with QUT goals and objectives, better benefits realisation from information technology investment, better project management of information technology development and innovation, and increased flexibility and accountability in information technology expenditure. Finally, a comparison to other information technology planning and management methods in place at Australian universities demonstrates the uniqueness of the QUT approach. The thesis reports the benefits and difficulties associated with this approach, and provides a context for future development of IT planning, management and governance at QUT.

Higher education has been challenged to respond to the inequalities of the past. This required an education system that is more responsive to the needs of underprepared students. The question that arises is whether Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) curricula create opportunities for students to adhere to the demands of the world of work and to assist students to take responsibility for their own learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of a responsive curriculum in optimising learning in higher education. An interpretative and descriptive qualitative approach was used in which semi-structured interviews and document analysis served as data collection techniques enabling the researcher to gain more depth in understanding the reality of the responsiveness of curricula used in the Department of Informatics at a Higher Education Institution in Gauteng. The study revealed that there is a dynamic but complex relationship between a responsive curriculum and optimisation of learning. Although the investigated curricula, responds to aspects of the knowledge domain, the findings seemed to indicate that there was not always a clear indication that the curricula fully respond to the needs of the students and industry. The findings further suggest that although content knowledge of the curricula plays a crucial role in the development of students, the needs of industry, society and students should also be met. Although the study’s results cannot be generalised due to the small sample, the researcher is of the opinion that more can be done to improve the state of the current curricula. Inclusive curriculum development training should be provided to all stakeholders (lecturers, students and industry). This descriptive study concludes with the suggestion of using a responsive curriculum model that would enable curriculum developers to design a responsive curriculum allowing students to experience optimal learning in higher education. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)