Since 1994, South African education system has been undergoing continuous transformation which had an impact on the quality of teaching and learning. There appeared to be a huge underperformance in the High School and FET College learners which for many years forced Universities to embark on bridging courses in order to enroll new students. Furthermore, a misalignment of college’s National Technical Diploma (NATED) programmes that did not afford college graduates an opportunity to register with Universities nor Universities of Technology brought about the questioning of the quality of teaching and learning in the FET College sector. Tabling the unified quality improvement plans in education in South Africa, the Education Ministry introduced an integrated approach to measure teaching and learning with the view of identifying improvement strategies. However, the implementation of this integrated tool called the Integrated Quality Management System had educators and managers attaching ambiguous meanings to the system. The IQMS instrument is meant to be a dependable quality assurance tool to measure and improve the quality of teaching and learning. The ambiguity lies with educators and managers referring to IQMS as a means to acquire 1% pay progression and the possible return of the old apartheid systems’ inspectorate. This research study was promulgated by a concern on the effectiveness and efficiency of implementing the IQMS instrument to measure the quality of teaching and learning in South African FET sector. In exploring literature on the concept of quality teaching and learning in the FET sector in South Africa, the researcher identified that similar trends of integrating quality management systems in education are being followed globally. The difference to the South African system is the attachment of the salary progression of 1% as an incentive to performance. In view of the introduction of the new system of education and training, the researcher realized that ‘short cut’ processes were followed in preparing educators to be able to offer new education programmes using the OBE system of teaching and learning. That appeared to be another shortfall to the adequacy of implementing IQMS as a quality assurance instrument to measure the quality of teaching and learning in the FET sector in South Africa. In addition, there appeared to be conflicting trends in the FET sector where the same sector provided curriculum 2005 programmes for schools which differed from college programmes offering National Certificate Vocational {NC(V)}. Both sectors were expected to use IQMS as a tool to measure the quality of teaching and learning with the view of enhancing improvement thereof. Furthermore, the end product of the FET sector for both schools and colleges is the Further Education and Training Certificate (FETC). Unfortunately, it was difficult for the education department to achieve its objectives because time frames to prepare educators and the critical element of providing adequate human resources for the implementation of IQMS could not be met through Umalusi the national quality assurance body for the sector. The FET Sector which is expected to deliver Education and Training to produce quality students for HE sector and the world of work is faced with shortfalls of quality delivery. The driving force of this research study was to explore the dependability and adequacy of implementing IQMS as a quality assurance instrument to effectively and efficiently measure the quality of teaching and learning to meet the expected outcomes. It is in this regard that the researcher through empirical evidence realized that IQMS did not have theoretical grounding hence there are no principles, procedures or processes that govern the implementation of this very important system. In addition, the empirical evidence from the qualitative study proved that quality delivery of teaching and learning has been monitored using diverse assessment practices. A variety of assessment tools like the TQM and QMS which exist in FET Colleges with the summative IQMS in FET Schools of which the three practices are premised around Quality Management. Quality Management refers to a process where quality delivery in a school, college or any other organization is systematically managed to maintain the competence of the organization. It is in this regard that TQM, QMS and IQMS refer to Quality Assurance Practices in any organization that is geared to effective and efficient client relations. / Teacher Education / D.Ed. (Education Management)

Thesis (MTech (Office Management and Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Healthcare facilities across South Africa are increasingly facing a myriad of societal, fiscal, political and cultural challenges associated with demands for greater quality in the provision of healthcare services. This study measures service quality and customer satisfaction at a Cape Town hospital (hereinafter referred to as Hospital X), with the aim of providing its management with information to enable them to enhance service quality and thus improve customer satisfaction. It is essential to note that the respondents in this study were the parents or guardians of patients. The views of the patients were not obtained directly from them as it would have been unethical for minors to have participated in the survey. Their parents or guardians were surveyed in order to obtain the requisite data. The problem investigated was that management at public hospitals does not regularly research what customers need from a service quality point of view, Therefore, Hospital X may be failing to provide a quality service to its customers, namely, parents and guardians. Against this background, the researcher set out to measure customer perceptions and expectations of service quality by making use of the SERVQUAL model. “Customer expectation” is what the customer can reasonably expect given the available resources and is likely to be influenced by personal needs and past experience. “Customer perceptions” are totally subjective and based on the customer’s interaction with the service provided at Hospital X. The SERVQUAL model (reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness), is commonly known as the RATER model, RATER being an acronym formed from the first letter of each of the five dimensions of SERVQUAL. The study incorporates the SERVQUAL dimensions within a survey comprising a number of questions structured on a six-point Likert scale. The results of applying the SERVQUAL model will indicate whether or not Hospital X provides a quality service to their customers. The study seeks to demonstrate the importance of service quality and customer satisfaction to hospital management, as well as the impact that effective service quality can have on customers’ evaluation of their overall hospital experience. (The term customer will be used interchangeably with parent and/or guardian in this study.)

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / The purpose of this study is to get parents of black pupils in the senior primary phase of state-aided (model C) schools to evaluate the curriculum. After a short period of gradually being opened to pupils ,of all races, schools which has obviously been-government schools became state-aided, or semi-private schools. This meant that school had the liberty to decide on their own admissions policy. Most English medium schools became-so called open schools, that is, they decided to admit pupils of all races. Although the target population for the curriculum had thus changed, there was no adjustment to the curriculum. Teaching carried on as it had always done, with there being no mention of any form of multicultural education; the schools became assimilatory schools. In order to determine the attitude of the parents and to gauge what could be done about this problem, this study was embarked upon. A literature study of the curriculum, multicultural education and parental involvement in their child's schooling, with particular reference to the curriculum, was conducted in order to serve as a theoretical background and to act as a yardstick against which conclusions and recommendations could be made.

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Education Management) / The eradication of the apartheid education system and subsequently the 're-admission' of the Republic of South Africa to the international arena does not only entail that the education system be effectively managed and governed but also that the potential of all stakeholders in education be maximized. The foundation for performance is linked to investment in people to capitulate high returns in education in the form of skilled personnel, a productive and competitive workforce and an effective and efficient educational community ...

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Souns-for-Literacy program in selected Knysna and Plettenberg Bay pre-schools. This included investigating if there were significant benefits for its recipients and recommending improvements that could be made to the program, particularly in adapting it to fit the South African context. The program claims to build letter-sound associations. In response to evidence gained in the biannual surveys done by KET, it was decided that the program warranted a more formal evaluation. It was later agreed that the evaluation should i) critically examine claims about the effectiveness of the program; ii) analyse the relative value of factors contributing to its effectiveness, such as teachers, implementation practices and the program’s material and methodology, then iii) recommend improvements that cauld be made to the program. The evaluation should also identify insights gained in developing reading skills in pre-school children, specifically in South Africa’s multicultural and multilingual contexts. The total number of schools investigated was 25 (21 pre-schools and 4 primary schools for follow-up purposes). The data collection was primarily through i) interviews with program personnel (mentors, facilitators, teachers and volunteers), ii) observations of the children interacting with the equipment of the program as well as iii) individual, informal and age-appropriate testing of letter-sound association knowledge at the end of the academic year. The findings revealed that: i) the program’s materials and methodology showed ‘highly significant’ benefits to most of its beneficiaries; ii) KET’s support system (including mentors, facilitators and volunteers) was particularly valuable in contributing to the program’s effectiveness; iii) certain adaptations to the sequence of symbol presentation for each language would benefit the children’s word-building capacity; iv)the emergent literacy skill of learning letter-sound knowledge should gain more focus during this pre-school stage.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the new History curriculum at Grade 10 level of Further Education and Training band in the Qumbu district of the Eastern Cape Province. The focus of the study was on evaluating: (a) the extent to which the new History curriculum was implemented as intended; (b) concerns harboured by History educators in relation to the new History curriculum; and the (c) degree of support undertaken by principals in the implementation of the new History curriculum. A review of literature related to the implementation, evaluation and support in curriculum implementation was done. It was the basis for establishing a theoretical framework. The approach used in the study was the survey method. Data was gathered by means of a Stages of Concern (SoC) questionnaire and principal intervention questionnaire. The sample was made up of 15 educators from 15 high schools. The findings indicate that History educators have intense concerns about the new History curriculum. Also, the data shows that principals provide support during the implementation of the new History curriculum. However, the data indicates an occurrence of a disjuncture. It seems that there is no correlation between the intensity of educator concerns and the degree of support undertaken by the principals. It is acknowledged that due to the limitations of this study, further studies on curriculum implementation should be done. It should encapsulate the use of an interview schedule and observation method of data gathering. It is recommended that principals should be trained by the Eastern Cape Department of Education by using stages of concern as the diagnostic tool of evaluating the degree of curriculum implementation. Principals should undertake to provide relevant and effective support to educators during curriculum implementation. Support should be provided according to the findings of the study.

The past two to three decades have seen unprecedented expansion in enrolments in Universities across the world. Increased participation rates in Higher Education, however, has not been matched by a corresponding increase in success rates as reflected in students' poor retention rates and unsatisfactory outcomes. One strand of explanation claims that students, for a variety of reasons, come to university `unprepared' and suffer an articulation gap in the transition between high school and university; the other explanation seeks to move away from the deficit perspective and puts emphasis on the need to enrich experiences of students to enable them to exercise agency and change constraining circumstances in order to succeed. This study reports on one programme, a grounding programme known as the Life, Knowledge and Action (LKA) in one South African university. One of the central purposes of the LKA is to enrich students' first year experiences through liberating dialogue embedded in its pedagogical architecture. A sequential mixed methods study was carried out. A survey of first year students who had been exposed to the LKA was first carried out. This was followed by a case study of purposively selected first year students. Findings show that LKA promoted dialogue in varied ways depending on the level of the pedagogical architecture. At Umzi level students as peers across disciplines exchanged ideas freely about their circumstances and social issues. At the Ekhaya level where the abakwezeli (facilitators) were active, power dynamics emerged between students and the facilitators which had the effect of diminishing dialogical moments. At village level, there was not much discussion; instead there was a lot of lecturing. Dialogue was limited to a few minutes of discussion at the end of the lecture. The other finding was that seen from Archer's lens of morphogenetic analysis, the `articulation gap' can be seen as a structural constraint, that can be addressed through liberating dialogue which enables the students to question the status quo. There was evidence that through dialogue in the LKA, students felt that it liberated them in the sense that it exposed them to different perspectives as well as enabled them to explore alternatives. It can be concluded that through an appropriately designed dialogical pedagogy, students can be empowered to transform the structural constraints to their education and create enablers that can help them succeed in their learning. There is evidence that within the LKA pedagogical architecture, the students have the opportunity to take responsibility for their learning and thus enabled to exercise agency. It is recommended that the processes that take place at each level of the LKA architecture must be further studied with a view to discovering mechanisms at work that may undermine the liberating thrust of the programme. As a liberating core curriculum, LKA must not be limited to first year students; consideration must be given to roll it out across the levels of the undergraduate offerings.

M.Ed. (Curriculum studies) / The purpose of this study is primarily to establish whether or not the curriculum objectives of the primary schools in Davey ton are worthwhile. This study is prompted by the observation that pupils in Davey ton are reluctant to school and that they fail their examinations in area numbers. The rationale in this study is that learners become demotivated if they find the teaching learning activities incomprehensible or leaning less to them, that is, if they fail to interpret the learning experiences. In order to be meaningful and worthwhile, curriculum objectives (thus, the curriculum) must help people to meet their significant needs, such as helpin2 them to solve their social and economic problems, helping them to discover their potentials, helping them to find meaning in their life world, to pursue their goals, to lead a meaningful life and to survive. In short, to be relevant, curriculum objectives (thus the curriculum itself) must address the needs of the society wherein the schools operate. In evaluating the curriculum objectives, situation-analysis was conducted in order to find out what the community needs are. A random sampling of pupils, teachers, parents and some members of the community was done. Interviews were conducted. Pupils and teachers were asked to complete questionnaires. The results of the study indicated that the home and the school appear to be two different and incompatible worlds to the child's experience. What the child learns at school has no bearing~ to what the child experiences in the community or in real life. Learners seem to be unable to reconcile school learning with their practical daily experiences. The knowledge pupils gain from schools cannot help them to solve their social and economic problems. The learning in the schools is academically biased. Career education or vocational training is non-existent. Schools and parents do not co-operate. The most significant findings of this study is that the curriculum objectives of these schools do not address the needs of the community, and this casts's shadow of doubt whether pupils can really be motivated in pursuing studies wherein they find no solutions to the problems that beset them in their social, community or family lives. In the final chapter, recommendations are made on how to improve the curriculum objectives and how to make teaching learning activities in these schools meaningful and worthwhile.