This dissertation Is an investigation of educators' perceptions and practices of the key Constitutional Values in the Bojanala West Region High Schools. South Africa is experiencing an alarming increase of crime related incidents, such as, lack of accountability, dishonesty, violence and injustice, which is an indication of a decline in morality and values. Schools have their own problems, such as, lack of discipline and respect for authority especially by learners. The great challenge for education is for schools to transfer to learners not only the ability to learn and acquire skills for an increasingly complex world. It is also to ' assist in the building of character. Surely we all want our children to become adults who are caring, tolerant, fair, and respectful. We want our children to know and uphold the principles of; Democracy, Social justice and equity, Equality, Non-racism and Non-sexism, Ubuntu, An Open society, Accountability, The rule of law, Respect and Reconciliation. This is perhaps the expectation of parents and the South African Government alike. Data were collected from several sources. Questionnaires were distributed to High School educators in the four Area Project Offices in the Bojanala West Region, and structured interviews· were conducted. The findings indicated that educators agree that emphasis on the teaching of values is a solution to violence, social problems and lack of respect in our society, they further agree that the school has an important role to play in the teaching and imparting of the constitutional values to the learners. The interview responses indicated that educators are not aware of the existence of the Constitutional . values and the educational strategies to help them infuse the values into the curriculum, most of them indicated that they rely on their own Initiatives to Impart values to learners. Furthermore, the majority of educators interviewed Indicated that any attempt to give prominence to values in education should be done through the existing curriculum framework and not become an added imposition. / (M.Ed.) North West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

This dissertation reports on a study undertaken to determine interventions that community libraries can engage in to improve HIV/AIDS awareness. Chapter One describes the background for the study by providing information portraying the background, research problem, aim and objectives -as well as the research methodology to be followed to ensure its successful completion. Chapter Two examines the social role and responsibility of the community library - with reference to HIV/AIDS awareness. International and national sources are used to establish what role the community libraries should play in providing resources for communal benefit. Chapter Three deals with HIV/AIDS awareness interventions currently engaged in by community libraries as well as proposed interventions. A list and description of intervention types is included. This list forms the foundation for the interview guide. Chapter Four describes the interview process. Chapter Five reports on the results of the interviews. Chapter Six provides an integrated summary of the findings from the literature review and those from the interviews in the Bojanala region. Chapter Seven concludes with a summary of recommendations and suggestions for possible further research. Essentially, the study consists of an examination of the social role and responsibility of the community library regarding HIV/AIDS awareness. An international and national literature review of the types of interventions that community libraries can embark upon to promote HIV/AIDS awareness amongst community members of all age groups. An investigation - by means of interviews with librarians/library workers in the Bojanala region - on what interventions are currently undertaken to promote HIV/AIDS awareness among the community of the Bojanala region. Recommendations regarding the types of interventions that community libraries in South Africa may provide to assist in enhancing HIV/AIDS awareness. The literature review identified the social role and responsibility of the community library; interventions currently engaged in by community libraries; and pointed the way for proposed HIV/AIDS awareness interventions that community libraries could embark on as part of their social responsibility role. It was clear from the national and international literature review that the community library - with its years of experience in information acquisition, organisation, dissemination and use - is a natural ally in supporting HIV/AIDS awareness. The aim of this investigation was to determine the social role and responsibility of community libraries in the promotion of HIV/AIDS awareness. The interventions that community library services could embark on to promote HIV/AIDS awareness. The researcher investigated the interventions that the Bojanala region could embark on to comply with the vision of the Department of Social Development (2002:9) ”that both the government and civil society as a whole develop well directed and purposeful programmes to tackle the HIV/AIDS pandemic.” This was done through face-to-face interviews with librarians/library workers responsible for managing community projects. Compared with the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in other regions and provinces (Northern Cape and Limpopo) with similar populations, the Bojanala region was identified as a region with a high HIV prevalence rate. The recommendations made by the researcher covered nine sections pertaining to HIV/AIDS interventions, namely: Users Policies HIV/AIDS information resources Collection Development Partnerships HIV/AIDS awareness programmes Interventions Promotion Staff training The recommendations that emerge from the research could be implemented in any community library in any given country with a high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. / Information Science / (M. Tech. (Business Administration))

The smallholder livestock farmer in South Africa is in a difficult position, not only grappling with a changing global environment, but at the local front, without access to domestic markets. This is due to very limited knowledge of buyer requirements emanating from lack of marketing information. This limits adequate access to livestock markets by smallholder farmers in South Africa and more specifically in the Moretele area of the North West Province, resulting in limited growth and less disposable income. Some of the problems facing the smallholder livestock farmer are a lack of understanding of buyer requirements regarding livestock product characteristics, industry price determination processes, alternative marketing channels and how to promote livestock. Empowerment and equitable access to markets by these farmers can only be realised when knowledge is disseminated and training and capacity building is enhanced. It is especially an understanding of what the market requires, how price determination occurs and how marketing channels and promotional tools are used in the livestock industry that is lacking. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

This dissertation reports on a study undertaken to determine interventions that community libraries can engage in to improve HIV/AIDS awareness. Chapter One describes the background for the study by providing information portraying the background, research problem, aim and objectives -as well as the research methodology to be followed to ensure its successful completion. Chapter Two examines the social role and responsibility of the community library - with reference to HIV/AIDS awareness. International and national sources are used to establish what role the community libraries should play in providing resources for communal benefit. Chapter Three deals with HIV/AIDS awareness interventions currently engaged in by community libraries as well as proposed interventions. A list and description of intervention types is included. This list forms the foundation for the interview guide. Chapter Four describes the interview process. Chapter Five reports on the results of the interviews. Chapter Six provides an integrated summary of the findings from the literature review and those from the interviews in the Bojanala region. Chapter Seven concludes with a summary of recommendations and suggestions for possible further research. Essentially, the study consists of an examination of the social role and responsibility of the community library regarding HIV/AIDS awareness. An international and national literature review of the types of interventions that community libraries can embark upon to promote HIV/AIDS awareness amongst community members of all age groups. An investigation - by means of interviews with librarians/library workers in the Bojanala region - on what interventions are currently undertaken to promote HIV/AIDS awareness among the community of the Bojanala region. Recommendations regarding the types of interventions that community libraries in South Africa may provide to assist in enhancing HIV/AIDS awareness. The literature review identified the social role and responsibility of the community library; interventions currently engaged in by community libraries; and pointed the way for proposed HIV/AIDS awareness interventions that community libraries could embark on as part of their social responsibility role. It was clear from the national and international literature review that the community library - with its years of experience in information acquisition, organisation, dissemination and use - is a natural ally in supporting HIV/AIDS awareness. The aim of this investigation was to determine the social role and responsibility of community libraries in the promotion of HIV/AIDS awareness. The interventions that community library services could embark on to promote HIV/AIDS awareness. The researcher investigated the interventions that the Bojanala region could embark on to comply with the vision of the Department of Social Development (2002:9) ”that both the government and civil society as a whole develop well directed and purposeful programmes to tackle the HIV/AIDS pandemic.” This was done through face-to-face interviews with librarians/library workers responsible for managing community projects. Compared with the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in other regions and provinces (Northern Cape and Limpopo) with similar populations, the Bojanala region was identified as a region with a high HIV prevalence rate. The recommendations made by the researcher covered nine sections pertaining to HIV/AIDS interventions, namely: Users Policies HIV/AIDS information resources Collection Development Partnerships HIV/AIDS awareness programmes Interventions Promotion Staff training The recommendations that emerge from the research could be implemented in any community library in any given country with a high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. / Information Science / (M. Tech. (Business Administration))

Like other countries globally, South Africa has embraced inclusive education as a reform that supports and welcomes diversity among all learners. Inclusive education is a process of addressing the diverse learning needs of all learners by reducing barriers to and within the learning environment, as well as to increase their full participation in the learning process. In every classroom, there are learners who present with a diversity of personal characteristics and experiences attributable to physical, personal health or wellbeing, intellectual, psychological, religious, cultural, socio-economic or life experiences that may impact on their access to and participation in learning. It is important to respect the learners’ diversity in order to respond to the unique strengths and needs of every individual learner. The problem is that the pathological-deficit model seems to play a dominant role in teaching and learning, whereby learners who experience barriers to learning and development are not given opportunity to participate fully in learning. The purpose of this study is to enhance productive pedagogies to shift from pathological-deficit model which approaches learners based upon the perceptions of their weaknesses rather than their strengths and views those learners’ differences as deficits. The theoretical framework of critical pedagogy and social constructivism provided an extensive platform from which to engage with the study. A mixed methods study was conducted in two phases. Both phases were conducted at the Bojanala district in the North West Province. Phase one comprised a qualitative approach where focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with SBSTs and principals. Phase two comprised the quantitative approach where all teachers at the selected schools completed a questionnaire. A sequential mixed methods sampling was used with a multilevel purposive sample for choosing the schools. In both phases data were gathered from mainstream, full-service and special schools’ SBST, principals and all teachers selected by purposive and probability sampling respectively. The findings from the qualitative phase revealed that some schools are fully resourced to address diversity and respond to diverse learning needs of all learners. It is further revealed that inclusive practices are effectively implemented at those schools. It was also revealed that some schools were under-resourced to address barriers to learning and to respond to learners’ diverse needs. The SBST from the mentioned schools were not functional because they were not trained on their roles and responsibilities as support structures at their respective schools. Furthermore, several factors were identified as challenges in implementing inclusive practices and responding to diverse learning needs, and these are: limited teaching and learning time, overcrowding, lack of support from the District-based Support Team (DBST), insufficient knowledge and skills on addressing diversity and barriers to learning, lack of parental involvement and inadequate learner progression policy. The questionnaire findings indicated that some teachers did not have knowledge and skills on inclusive practices, did not attend inclusive education workshops and that there is a need for an extensive continuous professional teacher development programme for such teachers. Based on the findings of the empirical inquiry, recommendations are made to enhance productive pedagogies, improve inclusive practice and a call is made for extensive continuous professional teacher development where teachers can talk and share ideas about different approaches and strategies on how they can adjust their pedagogies, respond to diverse learning needs of all learners and get learners involved in learning. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

The smallholder livestock farmer in South Africa is in a difficult position, not only grappling with a changing global environment, but at the local front, without access to domestic markets. This is due to very limited knowledge of buyer requirements emanating from lack of marketing information. This limits adequate access to livestock markets by smallholder farmers in South Africa and more specifically in the Moretele area of the North West Province, resulting in limited growth and less disposable income. Some of the problems facing the smallholder livestock farmer are a lack of understanding of buyer requirements regarding livestock product characteristics, industry price determination processes, alternative marketing channels and how to promote livestock. Empowerment and equitable access to markets by these farmers can only be realised when knowledge is disseminated and training and capacity building is enhanced. It is especially an understanding of what the market requires, how price determination occurs and how marketing channels and promotional tools are used in the livestock industry that is lacking. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Student non-attendance is a main challenge in TVET Colleges, especially in teaching and learning and the academic functioning of students. Various studies on student absenteeism and absenteeism in schools were reviewed in the literature. However, not much has been written about the challenges in TVET colleges. The focus of this research is on the three TVET College campuses in the Bojanala District in the North West Province. The qualitative method was used. Semi-structured interviews and non-participative observation were employed to gather information and the views of the participants about student absenteeism. The researcher selected the participants purposefully, as they have experienced the problem of absenteeism. Students and lecturers were selected as participants in the study. Lecturers acknowledged that the poor background of students was a contributing factor to poor attendance. The study concludes with recommendations on how to reduce the challenge of student non-attendance. The lack of transport money is a socioeconomic factor that contributes to student absenteeism in TVET colleges. It is recommended that NSFAS pays the transport money directly to the service provider. When students apply for a NSFAS bursary, they should provide proof of the transport that they use to help the bursary office in terms of transport arrangements. It is further recommended that all campuses should have student accommodation, and that bursary money should be paid directly to the accommodation services. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The world today is continuously influenced by ever-changing technological developments introducing new knowledge and applications into society’s culture, and social, political, and educational environments (Angeli & Valanides, 2009:154). Consequently, the educational environment as a branch of human knowledge needs to be redesigned in order to keep pace with current technological developments. Technological integration in education is inevitable and teachers are faced with the challenge of being competent ICT users. Internationally, there is growing consensus that the integration of ICT in education increases 21st-century learners’ skills (Blignaut, Hinostroza, Els & Brun 2010:89). Technology offers learners a better understanding of concepts with the use of visual interactions that enable them to store it in their long-term memories. For most teachers this is an obstacle, because the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) was not included as part of their teacher training programmes (Tropakci, n.d.:1; Afshari, Bakar, Luan, Samah & Fooi, 2009:89). By obvious implication, 21st-century learners require teachers who are knowledgeable and possess technological skills so that they can facilitate technology-integrated lessons. This study investigated secondary-school teachers’ Information Communication Technology competencies in classroom practices within Bojanala District, North West Province, South Africa in order to suggest a strategy that could assist teachers in effectively integrating ICTs in teaching and learning. As a former Computer Application Technology (CAT) teacher, I was prompted to conduct this study by my involvement, experiences and observations of using ICT in teaching and learning. The picture of teachers’ ICT competencies in the Bojanala District where the fieldwork was conducted indicates that of the 134 secondary schools in the district only 25 have integrated ICTs into their teaching and learning. Furthermore, some secondary schools in the district have computer laboratories that are not being utilised. This indicates that the participating teachers were not competent ICT users, with no strategy that could be implemented to assist them in effectively integrating ICTs in their classroom practices. Despite the introduction of the South African policy on e-Education in the education system, little has been done in terms of its implementation. According to this policy, every learner in the General Education Training (GET) and Further Education Training bands (FET) should have been technologically savvy by 2013 (DoE, 2004:17). The research question guiding this study was: What are secondary school teachers’ ICT competency skills in classroom practices? The study was grounded in the interpretive epistemological paradigm. I employed a qualitative research method and the research design comprised collective or multiple case studies. Four secondary schools were selected on the basis of their proximity to my residence. Eight secondary-school teachers were invited to participate in this study. These teachers were purposively sampled on the basis of their expertise in the use of ICTs in teaching and learning. The data collection strategies were semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation and document analysis. Data analysis was done according to the four key steps of the data analysis process suggested by Anderson (209:156,157), while the procedure of analysing data which was adapted from Creswell (2007:214). Ethical consideration was maintained by not disclosing participants’ personal information. To ensure trustworthiness in this study, four issues were established, namely credibility, transferability, dependability and transferability. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The world today is continuously influenced by ever-changing technological developments introducing new knowledge and applications into society’s culture, and social, political, and educational environments (Angeli & Valanides, 2009:154). Consequently, the educational environment as a branch of human knowledge needs to be redesigned in order to keep pace with current technological developments. Technological integration in education is inevitable and teachers are faced with the challenge of being competent ICT users. Internationally, there is growing consensus that the integration of ICT in education increases 21st-century learners’ skills (Blignaut, Hinostroza, Els & Brun 2010:89). Technology offers learners a better understanding of concepts with the use of visual interactions that enable them to store it in their long-term memories. For most teachers this is an obstacle, because the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) was not included as part of their teacher training programmes (Tropakci, n.d.:1; Afshari, Bakar, Luan, Samah & Fooi, 2009:89). By obvious implication, 21st-century learners require teachers who are knowledgeable and possess technological skills so that they can facilitate technology-integrated lessons. This study investigated secondary-school teachers’ Information Communication Technology competencies in classroom practices within Bojanala District, North West Province, South Africa in order to suggest a strategy that could assist teachers in effectively integrating ICTs in teaching and learning. As a former Computer Application Technology (CAT) teacher, I was prompted to conduct this study by my involvement, experiences and observations of using ICT in teaching and learning. The picture of teachers’ ICT competencies in the Bojanala District where the fieldwork was conducted indicates that of the 134 secondary schools in the district only 25 have integrated ICTs into their teaching and learning. Furthermore, some secondary schools in the district have computer laboratories that are not being utilised. This indicates that the participating teachers were not competent ICT users, with no strategy that could be implemented to assist them in effectively integrating ICTs in their classroom practices. Despite the introduction of the South African policy on e-Education in the education system, little has been done in terms of its implementation. According to this policy, every learner in the General Education Training (GET) and Further Education Training bands (FET) should have been technologically savvy by 2013 (DoE, 2004:17). The research question guiding this study was: What are secondary school teachers’ ICT competency skills in classroom practices? The study was grounded in the interpretive epistemological paradigm. I employed a qualitative research method and the research design comprised collective or multiple case studies. Four secondary schools were selected on the basis of their proximity to my residence. Eight secondary-school teachers were invited to participate in this study. These teachers were purposively sampled on the basis of their expertise in the use of ICTs in teaching and learning. The data collection strategies were semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation and document analysis. Data analysis was done according to the four key steps of the data analysis process suggested by Anderson (209:156,157), while the procedure of analysing data which was adapted from Creswell (2007:214). Ethical consideration was maintained by not disclosing participants’ personal information. To ensure trustworthiness in this study, four issues were established, namely credibility, transferability, dependability and transferability. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

This study investigated learners’ and educators’ perceptions of cell-phone use in the learning of Physical Sciences. The theory underpinning the study was the adoption model based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of technology acceptance (TAM). A mixed-method approach was applied. The instruments used to collect data were questionnaires, focus groups and interview schedules. The strategies used to analyse data were thematic analysis, cluster analysis and factor analysis. Data were coded and organized into descriptive themes, and differences between variables were noted. A mixed-gender sample of science learners aged 15 to 22 years and educators participated in the study. Both the qualitative and the quantitative data revealed that the learners and the educators had predominantly positive perceptions of the use of cell phones in the learning of Physical Sciences. / Science and Technology Education / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)