This study attempts to explore, through a qualitative approach, teachers' attitudes towards curriculum change in general and OBE in particular as a curriculum innovation. Teachers' perceptions, understandings of and readiness to implement OBE are assessed. The research attempted to explore their problems and fears concerning their role in this process of curriculum change. Curriculum change as a process and outcomes-based education as a new innovation is explored in relation to the peculiarities or two schools in particular and the South African context in general. The argument centres around the past curriculum and the post (1994) curriculum in relation to outcomes based education and briefly considers what lies ahead for the future curriculum. The practicality of implementation in the present, in schools, like and similar to those in this study and the views of several scholars, especially those of Fullan (1982), Bishop (1986) and Jansen (1997) on the process of curriculum change is examined. The impact of politics on educational transformations in general and in the South African context in particular is debated. The role of curriculum change in such a milieu and the impact it has on the teacher as implementor is examined through the views of the participants in this case study. Socio-economic criteria also influences what happens within schools, and this study shows that poverty hampers the process of curriculum change. A case study approach was used so that, an in-depth study of the schools could be done. The study focused on how the teachers in two schools in Reservoir Hills are engaged in the actual implementation of OBE including the question of what in-service training they received and how effective and relevant it has been thus far. This study served as an enlightening exercise for myself. A discussion of the participants views and my own observations and recommendations are presented. The constraints I encountered and the limitations of such a study are also outlined. I hope that this study adds to the pool of research data that is rapidly developing, in this particular area of study in our context, and inspires others to further the research. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.

The Vocational Training landscape in South Africa changed in 2000 when the 153 Technical Colleges merged to form 50 macro Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges with new vocational programmes. In an endeavour to assist prospective students in making an appropriate choice of programme, placement tests prior to registration were implemented. The Competency and Placement (CAP) test was developed to identify gaps in the students’ knowledge of the grade 9 curriculum in order to identify high risk students prior to registration. This study aims to discover whether results of the CAP test of students at Boland Further Education and Training (FET) College correlate with their final year-end results in numeracy and literacy, and to what extent the test could be used to predict students’ future achievement. Data from 710 students were used to determine the correlations between their CAP scores and their year-end examination results. A Pearson product-moment coefficient (r) was calculated to indicate the extent of correlation for different groups. The coefficients of determination (r²), a coefficient used in the prediction of future outcomes, were also calculated. It was found that there were correlations of different strengths for different groups, but the coefficients of determination did not indicate that the CAP test could be used to predict the outcomes of the final year-end examinations. Therefore it can be concluded that the CAP test is not a valid instrument to predict academic success and should be used only to identify grade 9 mathematics and English skills gaps, according to the purpose of its design. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

The primary intention of this study is to develop a profile of the kind of educator that is needed for effective music education in the Intermediate Phase. Obviously, the primary framework necessary for such a study is the national curriculum with its Outcomes Based Education (OBE) underpinnings. From these outcomes, the principal criteria for determining the necessary qualities ofsuch a teacher may be derived. While the logic of this is straightforward, the process of translating outcomes into specific competencies is not Each outcome, be it one of the overarching and highly general Critical Outcomes or one ofthe more specific outcomes for the learning area, has to be 'unpacked' so that what it demands ofthe teacher may be comprehensively revealed and articulated. An attempt to profile a music educator in this context logically begins with these general competencies. They provide the basic template for developing profiles of educators in any and allleaming areas and sub-fields. Inferring specific teaching qualities and competencies in a specific learning area involves being informed by a broad and critical knowledge of pedagogical developments in the specific learning area that are consistent with OBE precepts. OBE, in various ways and to varying degrees, informs recent curricular developments in many countries and account must be taken of the more salient of these, in developing a profile for an Intermediate Phase music educator in South Africa. Thus, a crucial and important task for this study is to synthesize from current readings and dialogues, criteria according to which the intended profile can be credibly developed. / Thesis (M.Mus.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

Assessment of clinical learning as a process for determining competence in practice is one of the underpinning principles of establishing and measuring student progress III nurse education. Literature reviewed for this study revealed that assessment of clinical learning in nursing education has been a problem for many years in the profession and it still is even today. This study was therefore aimed at investigating the current methods of assessing clinical learning used in nursing education institutions specifically as these relate to the South African Qualification Authority {SAQA)'s call for applied competence. The study was an exploratory descriptive survey. Data were collected through the use of questionnaires. Questionnaires were mailed to those institutions that were not easily accessible owing to their geographic location and questionnaires were delivered by the researcher to the geographically accessible institutions. All nurse educators employed in five nursing colleges, two university nursing departments and one technikon in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) were asked to participate in the study. The total number of nurse educators in the above-mentioned institutions was 195. The return rate of completed questionnaires was 56%. The results of this study revealed that the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and continuous clinical assessments were the two methods currently most commonly used in nursing education for assessing clinical learning, The results also revealed that triangulation of assessment methods of clinical learning was prevalent in nursing education institutions, with the OSCE and continuous clinical assessments being the most favoured combined strategies in assessing clinical learning. Very few participants mentioned the non-traditional clinical assessment methods (such as the triple jump and portfolio assessments) as strategies of assessing clinical learning that were used in their institutions. This study also revealed that continuous clinical assessment as a method of assessing clinical competence allowed nurse educators to assess applied competence and was generally believed to provide a more valid, reliable and realistic form of assessment. Continuous clinical assessments were also favoured for their authenticity because they were undertaken in a real clinical setting. Within the era of outcomes-based education, the focus in assessment moves from judgmental assessment methods to developmental assessments with extra emphasis on authentic and integrated assessment methods. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The focus and purpose of the study is to investigate how Life Orientation lecturers construct learning outcomes using teaching/learning resources for their lessons at a Further Education and Training (FET) College in KwaZulu Natal. After 1994, in the new South Africa, outcomes-based education became the National policy for teaching and learning, with the National Curriculum Vocational (NCV) Programme implemented in the Further FET sector in 2007. The study allows for clarity of misconceptions and misunderstandings that still exist amongst those lecturers who teach Life Orientation around the concept ‘learning outcomes’ in view of OBE and in relation to aims and objectives. The researcher has observed over the past five years as a senior lecturer of Life Orientation that lecturers use the outcomes as prescribed in the Department subject assessment guidelines in their lesson plans without giving much thought around how these outcomes are going to be observed and measured in their lessons. Further observations revealed that when Life Orientation lecturers are engaged in the construction of the learning outcomes for their lessons they fail to evaluate the learning outcomes against the different levels of taxonomies of learning so as to ensure that the learning outcomes are observable and measurable at the end of a lesson. The research is situated in an interpretivist paradigm with its emphasis on construction of learning outcomes. Since this study requires gaining an in-depth knowledge and greater understanding of outcomes it will be conducted within the qualitative framework (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003). Therefore the study will ensure that the relevant data is generated around learning outcomes within the theoretical framework of Bloom’s taxonomy of thinking behaviors using the activity theory to explain the data. The purposive selection method was used whereby the participants for the study included four lecturers who teach Life Orientation at a FET college in KwaZulu Natal. Triangulation of three instruments namely reflection questions, interviews and document analysis was used for data generation. The study found that Life Orientation lecturers construction of learning outcomes are a regurgitation of the subject assessment guidelines with no further evidence of their lesson outcomes. As a result students are being deemed ‘competent’ in Life Orientation but are ‘incompetent’ in many areas after having progressed from the previous NCV level. In view of this it can be suggested that lecturers should organize themselves into Life Orientation teams where they can brainstorm suggestions, ideas and practical measures for their lesson plans by covering all the learning outcomes so as to ensure that their students are able to achieve these learning outcomes. / M. Ed. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

This research explores the potential for engaging teachers in school-based environmental education curriculum development processes by using camera. The research, through its epistemological and ontological position, is closely linked to educational orientations associated with aspects of outcomes-based educational transformation in South Africa. A participatory approach that recognises teachers as co-researchers, each bringing to the inquiry her or his questions and constructions of meaning, was adopted. Participatory inquiry was initiated by setting up cluster meetings that allowed for teacher inputs through open dialogic processes. Fundamental to the inquiry is the notion that context shapes curriculum and curriculum development processes. It was from this orientation that a group of 13 teachers, using cameras to create visual narratives, explored their own diverse and complex contexts. These narratives (or stories) form the basis for further inquiry and development of sophistication with respect to the concept of environment. The research process is critically and reflexively documented as a series of field and research texts constructed from a variety of data sources gathered over the period of one year. The work is presented as a process of engaging critically with environmental education curriculum development and an opportunity to raise questions, rather than seek answers in this regard.

The South African education is undergoing transformation. The introduction of Curriculum 2005 and Outcome Based Education (OBE) are important aspects of this transformation process. The implementation of the new curriculum however, has not been smooth. A lack of adequately qualified and trained teachers and effective learning support materials have been identified as some of the major problems facing the implementation of OBE at school level. Even though the colleges of education in the country were not brought on board in the planning and implementation levels of the new curriculum, they could have played an important role in training of educators and developing learning materials for the successful take off of the new curriculum. In the first research project I look into the preparedness of the Mathematics Department of a college of education in the Eastern Cape towards the implementation of Outcome Based Education. The first part of the research project consists of a literature review on Curriculum 2005, Outcome Based Education and the expectations of teachers in the new curriculum and the research methodologies used. The findings revealed that the department, as a whole, was not adequately prepared for the implementation of outcome-based education even though there were some indications that the department effected some modifications in its curriculum and practice teaching. As an OBE facilitator and a college lecturer, I developed some learning materials in Linear Programming. These activity-oriented materials were based on constructivist principles and were used by my first year Secondary Teachers Diploma students. In the second research project, I reflect on the results of using these learning materials by my students. In the first chapter of the project, the context and background of the research and the reasons for selecting Linear Programming as the topic for preparing the learning material are described. This is followed by a brief overview of constructivism together with a brief explanation of the reasons for considering the material to be constructivist. The research paradigm followed in the project, the research techniques employed in evaluating the learning material and the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluation techniques are given in the next chapter. In the following chapter, the findings from the various data gathering methods and the results of the implementation of the material are described. The concluding chapter presents a critical reflection on the whole process involved in the material development. The post 1994 government in South Africa seems to attach much importance to mathematics, science and technology education. The majority of the population who were previously denied access to these subjects is given more opportunities to learn them. The international Mathematics Union declared 2000 as the World Mathematical Year. One of the aims of the activities organized as part of the celebrations was improving the public image of mathematics to realize the vision of "Mathematics For All". The South African government shows keen interest to improve mathematics education in the country in an attempt to realize the vision of Mathematics For All. Even though the accessibility rate to mathematics has increased, the success rate has not yet increased as anticipated. In this context I, as a post-graduate student in Mathematics Education, thought of /reviewing the concept of Mathematics For All in the South African context. In the third research project, which is a literature review, initially an attempt is made to unpack the concept of Mathematics for ALL. In analyzing the concept, answers are sought for questions like: What is mathematics and why should it be taught? It is followed by a brief review of some goals of mathematics education. Then the current situation of mathematics education in South Africa and the efforts to improve it are also looked at. This is followed by an analysis pf the reasons for the general unpopularity of mathematics. In the concluding part some suggestions for improving mathematics education in the country are given.

The present study commences with an exposition of the problem statement with reference to the influence that school principals' perceptions have on outcomes based education and the implementation there off. A study of the relevant literature in connection to outcomes based education as well as "tutor leadership" is conducted. This literature study will show the change that outcomes based education has on the role and tasks of educators and principals. The qualitative research method as well as a detailed background of the study will be described. An analysis of data accumulated during focus group interviews and semi-structured interviews lead to the compilation of definitive categories and sub-categories in the research. Finally a specific conclusion is reached regarding the influence that school principals' perceptions have on outcomes based education and certain recommendations are made for further research. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Education Management)

This study focuses on the concept of Active Learning (AL) and the related concept Active Leamer Participation (ALP) as it features in the Literacy Learning Programme of the Foundation Phase of Curriculum 2005. The aim of the action research project, conducted at four schools in the Durban district of K waZulu- Natal, was to find a model of AL in order to provide guidance on teaching for ALP. The study involved the researcher working collaboratively with five Foundation Phase educators over a period of four months. Results of the study indicated that teaching in the sequential stages of classbuilding and teambuilding, whole class discussion, group work and individual work increases learners' active participation and ownership in terms of the learning experience. These stages form the model of active learning. Due to the spirit of camaraderie and partnership that developed in each stage, the research team is inclined to call it "The Tirisano Model of Active Learning". / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)