The aim of this study was to fulfil two purposes: to gain deeper insights into what young children think about their teachers, and to examine the effectiveness of different methodologies which are designed to elicit information from school beginners. By employing a variety of qualitative techniques, the study focussed on the development of research methodologies specifically appropriate to this age group. Although the results of the study suggest that the children perceive teachers as performing the more obvious didactic and authoritarian roles, they also indicate an awareness of the managerial aspects of teaching. The data also suggested that the children placed greater emphasis on the teachers role as an entertainer than as a nurturer. An examination of the results in relation to the methodologies used, indicates the possibilities of further developing the drawing and interview technique for use by classroom teachers. The research highlights some interesting implications for teachers. A better understanding of childrens views about classroom practices may influence teachers decisions about how they wish to fulfil their roles and functions.

The aim of this research is to study changes resulting from parents attending a study group designed by class teacher that include reading a chosen book and engaging in teacher¡¦s designated activities relating to grade 1 elementary school mathematics contents; and trying ideas at home with school children. By referring to literature she decided on a study group format and adopted equal interaction and co-operative discussion setting. The math contents are: Number (1-10); Knowing about Geometric Shapes, Classifications (Color, Shapes). Data collection included questionnaire about study group meetings, children¡¦s interviews, parents¡¦ interviews, teacher¡¦s diaries, video tapes of in-class activities. Analyzes of interviews is by Goldin (2000). The findings are four: through the above mentioned study group (1) parents upgraded themselves in math ability and in confidence and set goals relating to different age of children; (2) children were given the opportunities to learn in a variety of ways; (3) promoted parent-child interaction, especially at home; and, (4) enhanced parent-teacher relationships and stimulated creativity in teacher¡¦s instruction.

Abstract The purpose of this survey is to examine how educators work with reading- and writing-skills in preschool with six year old children. I want to examine if the new curriculum, Lgr11, has affected the school teachers in their teaching of reading- and writing and if their work has changed through the years. Using a qualitative study, five preschool-teachers, working in preschool for several years, were interviewed to be heard of their thoughts about this topic. The survey shows that preschool-teachers are more familiar with the curriculum of today, in relation to previous curriculums. Much because of that the new one is more addressed to preschool compared with earlier curriculums but also that the teachers in an easier way can see the pupils’ way to knowledge. The preschools in the survey also work more and more similar to grade one. The difference is that the school uses more books and materials and that the preschool emphasis the importance of early childhood education in their business and that preschool teaches more knowledge about drama, music and the children play. A current question is how preschool and grade one can cooperate so that all pupils can develop their reading- and writing-skills as good as possible. / Sammanfattning Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur pedagoger arbetar med läs- och skrivinlärningen i förskoleklass. Jag vill undersöka om den nya läroplanen, Lgr11 (läroplan för grundskolan, förskoleklass och fritidshemmet 2011), påverkat personalen i läs – och skrivundervisningen och om pedagogernas arbete förändrats under årens lopp. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ studie är fem förskollärare som arbetat under många år i förskoleklass intervjuade, för att få höra deras tankar om detta. Undersökningen visar att de intervjuade förskollärarna i förskoleklass är mer insatta i den läroplan vi har idag i förhållande till de läroplaner vi haft tidigare. Mycket därför att den riktar sig mer till förskoleklass i jämförelse med tidigare läroplaner men också för att man kan se de kunskapskrav som eleverna ska nå på ett tydligare sätt än förut. Dessutom arbetar förskoleklasserna i studien alltmer liknande årskurs ett. Enligt de intervjuade lärarna är skillnaden att man i skolan använder sig av mer böcker och material och att förskoleklassen betonar vikten av förskolepedagogiken i sin verksamhet och tycker sig lära ut kunskap mer med hjälp av drama, musik och lek. En fråga som blir aktuell är hur förskoleklass och årskurs ett ska kunna samarbeta för att alla elevers fortsatta läs- och skrivutveckling ska bli så optimal som möjligt.

This thesis is presented for the degree of Master of Education at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. / Research has revealed that the academic performances of learners in South Africa are below the required level. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) launched the literacy and numeracy strategy 2006 – 2016, in response to the low literacy and numeracy levels. In addition, the WCED introduced the Grade one baseline assessment in 2006, as part of the literacy and numeracy strategy. The purpose of this study was to observe the implementation of the Grade one literacy baseline assessment programme of the WCED. This study aimed to determine what literacy barriers, if any, the learners were experiencing and to recommend literacy support strategies, in order to inform teaching practices. The learning theories of the two key Constructivist theorists, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky have therefore been explored. Purposive sampling was used for the selection of the participants for this study. The Grade one class, with English as the language of learning and teaching (LOLT), was selected due to the diverse nature of the learners, in terms of their different home languages. Thirty-seven Grade one learners participated in the study. I used a mixed methods research design in order to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. Multi-method data collection strategies were employed to collect data for this study. The multi-method approach involved: document collection, observation of learners as well as an interview with the Grade one class teacher who conducted the research. The document collection included the learners’ admission forms as well as the written baseline assessment scripts of the learners. The admission forms provided biographical information of the learners in terms of gender, home languages, Grade R attendance and their ages. The collection of data assisted in identifying the literacy barriers that the Grade one learners were experiencing. An interpretivist data analysis style was employed for the qualitative data analyses and the quantitative data analysis was statistical. The results of the quantitative and qualitative data were interpreted together. The triangulation of the data enhanced the reliability of the research findings. The findings suggest that some of the learners experienced literacy barriers in terms of: receptive- and expressive language, perceptual skills and fine motor development. The educator’s perceptions in terms of the administration and usefulness of the baseline assessment have also been included. The data was summarised and the information was used to describe the literacy barriers in terms of the biographical variables and to recommend learning support strategies for literacy development.

Music is a form of language and uses tones and rhythm as its media of universal language. Language development and music development have many similarities. Both are communicative modes, aurally and orally transmitted, containing phonetic, syntactic, and semantic components, develop early in life and are socially interactive media. The researcher has noted the important role that music plays in the teaching of English as a second language. To be able to learn, understand and experience music and language, the learner should have well-developed listening skills. The aim of this research is to investigate the use of music and movement to develop the listening skills of the ESL learner. To provide activities to develop listening and concentration through music and movement, the researcher aims to prove that music and movement should be used to develop ESL learners' language. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Syftet med examensarbetet är att undersöka läromedels upplägg och utformning. Undersökningen har även som syfte att öka förståelsen för vilka förmågor, centrala innehåll och kunskapskrav som läromedel förmedlar och inkluderar skrivövningar. Undersökningen består av en läromedelsanalys av fem läromedel i svenska avsedda för årskurs ett. Innehållet i läromedlen analyseras såväl kvalitativt som kvantitativt utifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv.  Det har utförts en kvalitativ och kvantitativ innehållsanalys av fem läromedel, där studien undersöker utifrån delar av kursplanens förmågor, centrala innehåll och kunskapskrav tillhörande skrivning. Det studeras vilka likheter och skillnader av läromedlens uppfyllelse av de valda analysvariablerna och faserna, men också likheter. I studien har det även försökt synliggöras vad läromedlen innehåller och hur de presenteras. Kvalitativt och kvantitativt har olika analysvariabler rörande skrivande av olika texttyper samt alfabet, alfabetisk ordning och bokstävers form utförts. Analysen visade ett resultat där läromedlen är uppbyggda på ett varierat sätt och fokuserar i varierande utsträckning på olika delar av analysvariablerna. Det är inte en självklarhet att läromedlen innehåller varje analysvariabel, utan det var endast tre av de fem utvalda läromedlen. Läromedlen har stora skillnader i variation av övningar och mängd övningar rörande uppfyllelse av kursplanens förmågor, centrala innehåll och kunskapskrav. / The purpose of the thesis is to investigate the study material and their structure. The study also increases the understanding of abilities, central content and knowledge requirements that the study material mediates, also including writing exercises. The study composes of a study material analysis of five materials used in Swedish education for children in grade one. The study materials content is analyzed both qualitative and quantitative from a sociocultural perspective.   A qualitative and quantitative subject analysis has been performed on five study materials, where the analysis investigates the study material from the aspects of syllabus's abilities, central content and knowledge requirements associated with writing. It investigates what the similarities are between the study materials' fulfillment of the chosen analysis variables and the phases, but also their similarities. In the study, it was also tried to make visible what the study materials contain and how they are presented. Qualitatively and quantitatively analyze got different analysis variables concerning the writing of different text types as well as the alphabet, alphabetical order and lettering form. The analyze showed a result where the teaching aids are structured in a varied way and focus on varying degrees in different parts of the analysis variables. It is not obvious that the study materials contain every variable, but there were only three of the five selected study material that clearly contained them. The study material has a big difference in the variety of exercises and the number of exercises concerning the fulfillment of the syllabus's abilities, central content and knowledge requirements.

Music is a form of language and uses tones and rhythm as its media of universal language. Language development and music development have many similarities. Both are communicative modes, aurally and orally transmitted, containing phonetic, syntactic, and semantic components, develop early in life and are socially interactive media. The researcher has noted the important role that music plays in the teaching of English as a second language. To be able to learn, understand and experience music and language, the learner should have well-developed listening skills. The aim of this research is to investigate the use of music and movement to develop the listening skills of the ESL learner. To provide activities to develop listening and concentration through music and movement, the researcher aims to prove that music and movement should be used to develop ESL learners' language. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

This study was designed with two goals in mind. The first goal was to describe the formal and practical knowledge of intensive reading intervention teachers related to beginning reading instruction with at-risk first graders. A second goal was to understand any potential relationships between intensive reading teachers’ practical knowledge and formal knowledge. These two goals framed the study’s three research questions. To answer these three questions, the study was conducted in two phases. Phase one included 32 participants, all of whom worked in the role of a K-2 intensive reading intervention teacher. Each of these 32 participants completed a background questionnaire and a paper/pencil Teacher Knowledge Assessment (TKA). The TKA measured participants’ formal knowledge of beginning reading concepts. Participants’ scores on the TKA were then rank-ordered from lowest to highest to help guide the selection of phase two participants. Eight teachers in all participated in phase two of the study dedicated to the study of teachers’ practical knowledge of reading. Participants’ practical knowledge of reading was explored through three activities including a semi-structured interview, a concept-mapping activity and a videotaped reading lesson. Data analysis revealed several important findings. Intensive reading intervention teachers in this study’s sample differed in their formal knowledge of reading, measured by the TKA, and in their practical knowledge of reading, explored through interviews, concept-maps and reading lessons. The TKA revealed that study participants’ held more formal knowledge of concepts related to phonology and phonics and less formal knowledge of concepts related to morphology and syllable types. Related to practical knowledge, data analysis revealed that the teachers in this sample differed in their knowledge of beginning reading with subject-matter knowledge iv accounting for most of the differences. These gaps in subject-matter knowledge also impacted this sample of teachers’ use of instructional strategies and purposes of instruction. Data analysis also revealed insight into the relationships between this sample of teachers’ formal and practical reading knowledge. In this sample, intensive reading intervention teachers with more formal knowledge of reading concepts as measured on the TKA demonstrated more evidence of these concepts within their instruction provided to at-risk first grade readers. The participants in this sample who had less formal knowledge of beginning reading as measured by the TKA demonstrated less evidence of these concepts within their instruction provided to at-risk first grade readers. Participants with less formal knowledge did accurately calibrate their knowledge of the concepts tested on the TKA but did not equate the lower scores to their practical knowledge and overall teaching efficacy. The findings from this study added several important contributions to the literature on teacher knowledge and beginning reading instruction. First, the study was unique in its focus on intensive reading intervention teachers, thus contributing new findings related to a specialized group of teachers. Secondly, this study contributed descriptions of teachers’ practical knowledge with regards to beginning reading instruction. These descriptions are relatively absent in the current literature on teacher knowledge. Thirdly, the results from this study supported earlier findings in favor of a specialized body of subject-matter knowledge, especially related to beginning reading skills and concepts. Finally, the results contributed insight into the relationships between teachers’ formal reading knowledge and practical reading knowledge

The purpose of this study was to establish the perception of Grade One teachers regarding the school readiness of Reception Year learners in relation to the new national Curriculum Assessment and Policy Statement (CAPS). The study also provides recommendations on how to implement CAPS in Grade R so that teachers, learners and parents experience the easiest possible transition to Grade One. The research took the form of a case study, building on current trends related to the subject of Reception Year CAPS curriculum implementation, and using the Interpretive approach as its essential, functional paradigm, which focuses on experiences of the world based on the culture and previous experiences of each individual, with an emphasis on mutual understanding. By using this strategy to explore Grade One teacher perceptions regarding the school readiness of the Reception Year learners, this project was centred on an in-depth and detailed analysis of a person, group or situation as a sample of the whole, and involved a systematic collection of data and analysis. This led to a conclusions-based report on the findings, all the while focusing on five Grade One teachers and their Head of Department at a public primary school in Pretoria, Gauteng. Preliminary findings suggested that learners coming into Grade One could in fact be adequately prepared during Grade R for successful assimilation in the CAPS curriculum material, if all stakeholders overcome the challenges they face during this important phase of academic development. This study has shown that varying amounts and levels of training amongst the teachers is a hindrance to proper CAPS curriculum implementation and therefore, the Head of Department, the school and ultimately the Department of Education has to ensure parity in the area of teacher training in terms of CAPS curriculum implementation. The study has shown that, due to the different sites where learners did their Reception Year, the school and the Grade One teachers faced learners who came into their classrooms with differing levels of exposure to the formal schooling system. Some learners may have no CAPS curriculum exposure at all. This means that, if the Department of Education is to succeed in implementing the CAPS curriculum in Grade R, then it needs to assist schools more in the form of providing funds for primary schools to build and add space for the Grade R classrooms. Finally, the study showed that a language backlog remains one of the main challenges learners have to face. Historically, Early Childhood Development Centres were never required to use English as a medium of instruction. In fact, teaching in the preschool classroom, which includes Grade R, is still mostly done in one of many mother tongue languages, depending on the location of the centre. With the move to make Grade R part of formal schooling and moving the Reception Year class to a primary school, CAPS requires careful curriculum implementation from Grade R to Grade Three, although instruction in English is only required from Grade One. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Specialisation in Curriculum Studies)

The purpose of this study was to establish the perception of Grade One teachers regarding the school readiness of Reception Year learners in relation to the new national Curriculum Assessment and Policy Statement (CAPS). The study also provides recommendations on how to implement CAPS in Grade R so that teachers, learners and parents experience the easiest possible transition to Grade One. The research took the form of a case study, building on current trends related to the subject of Reception Year CAPS curriculum implementation, and using the Interpretive approach as its essential, functional paradigm, which focuses on experiences of the world based on the culture and previous experiences of each individual, with an emphasis on mutual understanding. By using this strategy to explore Grade One teacher perceptions regarding the school readiness of the Reception Year learners, this project was centred on an in-depth and detailed analysis of a person, group or situation as a sample of the whole, and involved a systematic collection of data and analysis. This led to a conclusions-based report on the findings, all the while focusing on five Grade One teachers and their Head of Department at a public primary school in Pretoria, Gauteng. Preliminary findings suggested that learners coming into Grade One could in fact be adequately prepared during Grade R for successful assimilation in the CAPS curriculum material, if all stakeholders overcome the challenges they face during this important phase of academic development. This study has shown that varying amounts and levels of training amongst the teachers is a hindrance to proper CAPS curriculum implementation and therefore, the Head of Department, the school and ultimately the Department of Education has to ensure parity in the area of teacher training in terms of CAPS curriculum implementation. The study has shown that, due to the different sites where learners did their Reception Year, the school and the Grade One teachers faced learners who came into their classrooms with differing levels of exposure to the formal schooling system. Some learners may have no CAPS curriculum exposure at all. This means that, if the Department of Education is to succeed in implementing the CAPS curriculum in Grade R, then it needs to assist schools more in the form of providing funds for primary schools to build and add space for the Grade R classrooms. Finally, the study showed that a language backlog remains one of the main challenges learners have to face. Historically, Early Childhood Development Centres were never required to use English as a medium of instruction. In fact, teaching in the preschool classroom, which includes Grade R, is still mostly done in one of many mother tongue languages, depending on the location of the centre. With the move to make Grade R part of formal schooling and moving the Reception Year class to a primary school, CAPS requires careful curriculum implementation from Grade R to Grade Three, although instruction in English is only required from Grade One. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Specialisation in Curriculum Studies)