No abstract available.

This study, based on the critical theory approach, examines the provisioning of reading and information resources to learners through the availability of school library services since the advent of South Africaâs democratic dispensation in 1994. Of particular concern is governmentâs planning on national and provincial level for the provisioning of school library services and the documents that were compiled in this regard. The provisioning of school library services, planning for it and reflecting on it, however, cannot take place without recognising international trends and developments. Therefore the study started by examining the worldwide information and communication revolution and its effect on the community and the economy, as well as its effect on access to reading and information resources and education. The underlying question is what relevance school libraries still have in a world driven by information and communication technology. It seems that people in the education and the library and information sphere are still convinced that a well functioning library could contribute to education that prepares learners for life. School libraries are especially important for the support of resource-based learning. Research reports also indicate improved academic results where teaching and learning are supported by good school library practice. As part of the background study an examination was done of the provisioning of school library services in two developed countries, namely the United States of America and Australia, and two developing countries, namely Botswana and Namibia. The latter two are especially important because South Africa is also largely a developing country. Both use different kinds of classroom collections to give learners access to reading and information resources. The USA and especially Australia, in spite of their status as developed countries, also use combined school and public libraries (often referred to as school community libraries) where it offers a practical solution. It is especially in rural, sparsely populated areas, where it can be found. The focus then moves to the South African school library situation that is examined within a changing and developing dispensation. The central framework within which education provisioning takes place, is also examined. In this regard the Constitution, policy and legislation, inter alia, were discussed. It is clear that, from South Africaâs developing context, the provisioning of access to school library services could make a contribution as many learners, because of their socio-economic circumstances, do not have easy access to reading and information resources. Furthermore it is, because of the methodology of South Africaâs outcomes-based curriculum, highly desirable that teachers and learners should have access to various information resources. However statistics indicate very little progress in the availability of school libraries since 1994. Constitutionally and in terms of legislation the state is obliged to provide education of an acceptable quality to all the school learners of the country. Notwithstanding school library services did not figure strongly in the governmentâs broad education framework, its education policy, legislation, funding and curriculum in the decade after 1994. However lately, especially since 2006, the references of the minister of education to the necessity of school libraries are increasing. It is especially in terms of reading support and the improvement of reading skills that school libraries are mentioned. In the light of the huge need of school libraries this study further examined the planning for school library provisioning that was done after the 1994 election by the provincial governments and the national government. It examined the available documentation with regard to aspects such as school library accommodation, staff, library collections, provisioning and governing structures, policy, funding, legislation, co-operation and optimal utilisation of resources. Eventually a number of recommendations were made that could improve the school library situation and learnersâ access to reading and information resources. The most important of these is, in accordance with the constitutional principle of cooperative governance, the acceptance of an integrated approach to the provisioning of school library services that includes support from public libraries and the provincial library services.

The primary aim of the research was to identify different aspects that need to be taken into account when structuring a powerful learning environment for the teaching and learning of history in the FET Band. In doing so the researcher focused on and adopted the Flemish notion of âPowerful Learning Environmentâ as espoused by amongst others De Corte and Masui (2004), and Donovan and Bransford (2005). History teaching in South African schools has faced challenges and was subject to change throughout the ages. Some of these challenges included the way in which history was taught in schools, the nature of its content and the impact that these had on peopleâs perception of history as a school subject (Kapp, 1994, Pandor, 1994, De Villiers, 1998, Van Eeden, 1999, Twala, 2003, Asmal, 2003). The researcher focused on two challenges, namely to determine history teachersâ and learnersâ perception of the teaching and learning of history as well as determining the current status of the teaching and learning of history in the FET Band of schools with the Free State province. Findings from these two aspects were used to create guidelines for the structuring of a powerful learning environment for the teaching and learning of history. The study further proposes that history teachers require a thorough understanding of Outcomes-based education in South Africa, historical developments in the teaching of history in South Africa and internationally, learning and developmental theories and knowledge about learning environments so that they can structure powerful learning environments. The research design involved a quantitative method and the data was collected by means of a five point Lickert scale questionnaire. The questionnaires included statements about perception of history teaching and also sought to determine the current status of history teaching and learning by focusing on the teaching and learning strategies employed. The sample consisted of 96 teachers and 697 learners throughout the Free State province who participated in the study. The data for the research was analyzed by means of the SPSS at the University of Free State. The research findings suggest that both learners and teachers of history have a positive attitude towards History as a school subject. With regard to the approaches that are used during history lessons, the research revealed that there was a need to improve on the following three characteristics of learning environment, namely community-centred learning environment, learner-centred learning environment and assessment-centred learning environment. History teachers therefore need to be empowered to use constructivist teaching methodologies that will not only ensure the development of appropriate historical skills and the acquisition of historical content, but will also improve interaction within the class and enhance the nature of assessment.

South Africaâs performance record in the international arena together with reports of national quality assurance bodies released in recent years have highlighted the alarmingly poor results in the educational accomplishments specifically amongst learners in the further education and training school sector. An analysis of school learning achievements compared to national and international benchmarks has indicated that an improvement in the quality of learning output remains one of the biggest challenges facing the South African educational system. Finding means to improve the performance of learners as well as the quality of the education learners receive is a major priority for all stakeholders. Despite vigorous attempts of the national department (DoE) to develop initiatives and programs aimed at improving learner achievements, minimal progress has been achieved. Umalusi, the quality assurance body for Further Education and Training (FET), intends to address this problem as one of its top priorities. Existing literature indicate that strengthening the assessment practices currently employed could result in improved teaching, learning and assessment whilst simultaneously enhancing quality assurance in schools. There is a marked variation in performance of schools throughout the country. An attempt was therefore made to identify constraints leading to the different performance levels of schools. Schools for the research were selected from different categories: good, average and low performing schools based on the performance of their 2009 grade 12 results. The goal this study pursued was to provide a theoretical underpinning of assessment at school level from a quality assurance perspective. Information assimilated from contemporary literature, was utilised to develop a questionnaire with the aim to investigate teachersâ awareness of quality assurance measures that should be implemented during assessment practices in schools. Additionally, it aimed to determine whether teachers assess learners in totality and also to investigate the extent of quality assurance measures being employed. A qualitative study was also conducted to strengthen the quantitative findings. Results indicated that various constraints impeding the implementation and application of quality assurance were present and that these constraints affected the performances of the learner. This was made evident in the data analysis where teachers of the different school groupings were compared in respect of their awareness and understanding of assessment and quality assurance measures. Findings of what were considered good assessment practices in the study were compared with those in the existing literature review which enabled the researchers to make recommendations pertaining to the improvement of assessment practices and enhancement of quality assurance.

There is a crisis in mathematics teaching and learning in South Africa. Both national and international tests have shown that South African learners do not have the mathematical knowledge and skills that are expected of them at a certain age. Research has proven that the effective use of formative assessment can assist to improve learnersâ performance in mathematics. However, for this to happen a very specific teaching-learning environment should prevail in mathematics classrooms. The aim of this study is twofold: Firstly, it investigated whether mathematics teachers at certain schools used formative assessment to improve learnersâ performance in their mathematics classrooms and to establish the extent of their use of formative assessment for this purpose. Secondly, the study considered whether these teachers created suitable teaching-learning environments in which effective formative assessment could take place in their classrooms. Both national and international sources were used in the literature study to investigate formative assessment in the outcomes-based paradigm. The researcher concluded that formative assessment is best described in terms of seven attributes. These attributes and how they should be applied in mathematics classrooms to improve teaching and learning were investigated. Furthermore, the researcher investigated the nature of teaching-learning environments that would support the effective use of formative assessment in mathematics classrooms. A combined research design, that included both qualitative and quantitative research methods, was used to investigate how formative assessment was being applied in certain grade 8 and 9 mathematics classrooms as well as the nature of the existing teaching-learning environments. Both the teachers and the learners at the participating schools took part in the study. The teachersâ classes were observed, whereafter interviews were conducted and the documents of both the teachers and the learners were analysed. Other data were collected using questionnaires answered by all learners taught by the teachers who participated in the research study. It was concluded that the participating teachers did not use formative assessment effectively to improve teaching and learning of mathematics. The teachersâ knowledge of formative assessment and their planning for its implementation were questioned. Teaching-learning environments did not satisfy the conditions needed to support effective formative assessment in mathematics classrooms. The importance of effective training for teachers was recommended. Nonetheless, training can only succeed if it is followed by in-school support of teachers. The role of the mathematics learning facilitator (subject advisor) and/or senior mathematics teachers can be extended by using section B of the learnersâ questionnaire as a diagnostic instrument to identify teachersâ shortcomings regarding formative assessment as well as to establish suitable teaching-learning environments. The learners of the specific teacher (who is being supported in the use of formative assessment) will complete this questionnaire. Classroom observations and interviews conducted with the mathematics teacher will be used to find possible reasons for the identified shortcomings. This should be followed by support to the teacher in order to eliminate problem areas. However, support should not occur in a single session only, but should rather be a continuous process where the teacher and learning facilitator/senior teacher work together to ensure a high standard of teaching mathematics to learners.

South Africaâs participation in international achievement studies in recent years has served as a useful benchmark for learner performance in mathematics. The analysis of learning achievement against national and international benchmarks indicates that an improvement in the quality of learning output remains one of the biggest challenges facing the South African education system. Finding ways to improve learner performance in mathematics should thus be a critical priority for all stakeholders. The extant literature proposes that strengthening the practice of using assessment for formative purposes results in significant learning gains. The value of positive and constructive feedback to learners during the process of assessment is advocated by a number of studies, yet few studies focus on investigating the use of feedback strategies in a mathematics classroom context, or reflect on the contextual realities that may impact on the provision of feedback to learners. In this research a case study was conducted in the classrooms of two primary school mathematics teachers in order to explore evidence of feedback strategies used in their classrooms and the factors that may have an impact on their ability to provide constructive feedback to learners. The study also examined the contextual realities at classroom level that may impede on the use of constructive feedback to enhance learning. The teachers were observed in their classrooms and follow-up interviews were conducted. Samples of the teachersâ documents and the learnersâ work were used to evaluate the teachersâ feedback strategies and provide practical suggestions. The qualitative data was used to explicate findings from the literature review and enabled the study to provide recommendations pertaining to the provision of feedback to learners.

This study elicited data from chemistry teachers in Manitoba via a qualitative narrative inquiry study to reveal teachers’ perceptions of their evolving professional identities and teaching practices following the introduction of the latest chemistry curricula and participation in long-term professional development. This study also aimed to identify any tensions these teachers have experienced associated with their beliefs about teaching and learning and their current teaching practices as a result of the recent change in curricula and professional development. Teaching life stories constructed from the interview data revealed that these teachers have indeed experienced tensions regarding their beliefs and teaching practices, and that this has caused them to reflect more on their practice and strive to improve their practice. Though these teachers feel that they are starting to shift their beliefs and teaching practice to better support student understanding in chemistry, they still feel they have a long way to go.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between addition and subtraction as inverse operations, to determine how drill in addition facts will affect knowledge of subtraction facts; to infer, if possible, when addition is conceptualized as an operation with reversibility; and to determine at which grade levels at a particular method of drill is effective. The sample was drawn from Logan, Utah small, city school district of 3700 students. The experimental groups consisted of 12 elementary and eight secondary existing classrooms of students. The control groups consisted of 10 elementary and five secondary existing classroom groups. A total of 1007 elementary and secondary students were involved in the study. The sample included treatment and control groups form first through the ninth grades. The treatment consisted of administering drill on the addition facts, to classroom groups using the overhead projector. All students were tested three times, at the beginning of the study, after one week and after two weeks; using two tests, an Addition Facts Test, which contained the 100 basic addition facts, and a Subtraction Facts Test which contained the 100 basic subtraction facts. Four scores were considered for each test; "time", the "number left out", the "number missed", and the "total error". Gain scores showing loss or progress from the pretest to each of the two posttests were computed for each of these four scores. All groups corrected their own test papers immediately after taking the tests. The statistical analysis included the following: 1. Correlation coefficients were computed between addition and subtraction scores for each of the four scores mentioned. 2. Correlation coefficients were computed between the addition and subtraction scores for each gain score. 3. Two-way analyses of variance were computed for grade level effect and treatment effect for each of the 16 gain scores. The results included: 1. The correlation coefficients for addition and subtraction "time" scores were positive and significant at every grade level. The correlation of the first grade, .30, was significantly lower than that of the second grade, .72. The correlations showed an increasing trend to .87 at the seventh grade, then a falling off in the eight and ninth grades. The correlation coefficients for addition and subtraction error scores were positive and significant for the "number left out" and "total missed" scores for grades one through seven. 2. For the two posttests, the correlation coefficients for the "time" gain scores from the first grade were negative. They were positive and significant for grades two, four, five, seven, and eight. The results for the correlation of error gain scores were mixed. 3. Of the 16 two-way analyses of variance for gain scores, five showed significant F ratios, two were concerned with addition and three with subtraction; four analyses showed significant grade level effect, three analyses showed significant treatment effect, and two showed significant interaction. On nine scores there were large differences between first and second grade groups. The results are consistent with what one would expect if first grade students had not formed the concept of addition as an operation with reversibility. The results are consistent with that one would expect if: at the second grade level, addition were conceptualized as an operation with reversibility for a good portion of the students, yet there were a good number for whom this reversibility were limited or inoperative; the concept of addition as an operation continued to develop with a more pronounced reversibility during grads three and four. It was concluded: 1. First grade children do not possess the requisite understanding to profit from drill of the type used in this study. 2. Second grade students have a good start on understanding and can profit from practice experiences in addition and subtraction. 3. Maximum gains were made in third and fourth grade groups with the type of drill used in the study.

No description available.

This study elicited data from chemistry teachers in Manitoba via a qualitative narrative inquiry study to reveal teachers’ perceptions of their evolving professional identities and teaching practices following the introduction of the latest chemistry curricula and participation in long-term professional development. This study also aimed to identify any tensions these teachers have experienced associated with their beliefs about teaching and learning and their current teaching practices as a result of the recent change in curricula and professional development. Teaching life stories constructed from the interview data revealed that these teachers have indeed experienced tensions regarding their beliefs and teaching practices, and that this has caused them to reflect more on their practice and strive to improve their practice. Though these teachers feel that they are starting to shift their beliefs and teaching practice to better support student understanding in chemistry, they still feel they have a long way to go.