The purpose of this study was to develop a Life Sciences programme, integrating Environmental Education, on environmental endocrine disruptors, for the Further Education and Training Phase of the Outcomes Based Educational System. This programme aims at giving learners the necessary knowledge and skills to limit their exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs). The programme was evaluated by means of a quantitative study. Group-administered questionnaires were used to gather information before and after the programme had commenced. Lickert scales were used to establish the learners' knowledge, attitudes and values in connection with EDCs and the environment before and after the learners had followed the programme on EDCs. The results of the study indicated that the programme proved to be successful in increasing the knowledge of the target group in connection with EDCs. This study will contribute to the process of integrating Environmental Education in the Life Sciences curriculum. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Environmental Education)

This thesis is a study of a leadership model for the effective management of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges in the Gauteng Province. This research was triggered by the need for quality and sound leadership skills highly needed in FET colleges. The vision of FET colleges lies at the heart of the integration of the country's education and training system. Leadership is the distinguishing factor in bringing about organisational transformation. A key contemporary issue in the development of a high quality education service relates to the new thinking about how best to pursue quality and excellence in FET colleges. Leadership, strategic planning and the need for alternative models of management lead, inevitably, towards a reconsideration of both staff competencies and continuing staff and organisational development. This research seeks to assist those who have the responsibility of leading and managing the further conceptualisation and implementation of further education and training. A qualitative research was conducted, in which a newly merged college in Pretoria was chosen as a case study for this research. The following constituted the broad aims of this study:  To examine the leadership strategies that should be employed for effective management of FET colleges;  To investigate the vision and mission development and implementation and the organisational structures established;  To determine the opportunities and challenges offered by the new large and multi-sited college; and  To investigate a leadership model for the effective management of FET colleges. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with the leadership of the college ranging from the senior managers, campus managers, middle managers to educators. Analysis of documents and observation notes was also done to supply more data about FET leadership. Data were analysed and interpreted by identifying themes and categories that would shed more light into the effective leadership of the college. The following recommendations were made:  A new approach to the leadership of the college should be adopted;  The leadership of the college should be more accountable and responsive to community needs;  More financial support should be allocated to FET colleges; and  More focus should be given to learner support. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Education Management)

The purpose of this research was to investigate the factors affecting job satisfaction at the Coastal Kwa Zulu Natal (KZN) Further Education and Training (FET) COLLEGE - SWINTON CAMPUS in order to determine the factors that lead to job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction, to measure these factors and to present findings and make recommendations to management and the Department of Education in order to promote and improve job satisfaction at the college. The data was collected and administered by means of a structured questionnaire based on the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). It was discovered that most of the academic staff draw their job satisfaction from having a positive working relationship with management, their relationships with their peers, their training needs and the training provided from the college, and the condition of their staff room. It was found that educators mostly derive their job dissatisfaction from the absence of recognition for work done, remuneration and the benefits that they receive, company policies and practices, achievement and advancement, feedback and communication, the ability to work independently and creatively and the general working conditions of the college. It was found that staff was generally dissatisfied with their jobs. / Management Sciences / M.Tech. (Business Administration)

This study aimed at exploring the Life Orientation (LO) teachers’ knowledge and teaching of study skills in high schools, Ekudibeng cluster, Gauteng East. The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) is the most recent curriculum policy (Department of Basic Education [DBE], 2012) and serves as an action plan to 2030 for the South African education system in order to address some of the origins of underperformance in South African schools (Nicolson, 2013). Life Orientation (LO) can be described as a learning area within the educational context that promotes the holistic development of a child. The educational context refers to all processes at school level involved in training children’s minds and abilities so that they can acquire knowledge and develop skills to succeed in life. Life Orientation integrates subjects, such as life skills, career guidance, health education, physical education, human rights studies and religious education (Pillay, 2012). According to the Life Orientation 2011 CAPS document, Life Orientation teachers are expected to teach study skills to learners starting from grade 10 – 12 (Further Education and Training (FET) Phase (DBE, 2011). Learning or study skills carry over into other areas of life and beyond school. Study skills are therefore critical tools that ensure that learner achievement leads to success. Furthermore, effective study skills need effective interaction between teachers and learners (Gettinger, & Seibert, 2002). The teacher is a social agent and should make study skills accessible through the process of teaching in the classroom. This implies that the teacher is a central tool for equipping the learners with the necessary study skills which can aid in the unlocking of their future potential (Sasikala, 2012). As such, it was considered important to explore the knowledge and skills for teaching LO as well as the challenges faced and their needs for further development. Three schools in Ekudibeng cluster, Gauteng East were purposefully selected for this purpose on the basis of their results in the previous year’ matric exit examinations. Qualitative case studies of the Further Education and Training LO teachers’ experiences at each of these schools were undertaken utilising semi-structured interviews as a data collection tool. The data were analysed via qualitative content analysis techniques. The findings of this study emphasise the need for a focus on study skills teaching and teacher proficiency in the high school education system. The South African Education System role-players need to take LO seriously and have teachers qualified to teach LO, and to meet their needs through study skills training workshops. Comprehensive continuous improvement in learner performance requires a constant determination of trained LO teachers, qualified for the subject and properly equipped with relevant knowledge to cascade it to learners and cooperative community members, where parents are involved/hands on in shaping their children’s’ future. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

The purpose of this research was to investigate the factors affecting job satisfaction at the Coastal Kwa Zulu Natal (KZN) Further Education and Training (FET) COLLEGE - SWINTON CAMPUS in order to determine the factors that lead to job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction, to measure these factors and to present findings and make recommendations to management and the Department of Education in order to promote and improve job satisfaction at the college. The data was collected and administered by means of a structured questionnaire based on the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). It was discovered that most of the academic staff draw their job satisfaction from having a positive working relationship with management, their relationships with their peers, their training needs and the training provided from the college, and the condition of their staff room. It was found that educators mostly derive their job dissatisfaction from the absence of recognition for work done, remuneration and the benefits that they receive, company policies and practices, achievement and advancement, feedback and communication, the ability to work independently and creatively and the general working conditions of the college. It was found that staff was generally dissatisfied with their jobs. / Management Sciences / M.Tech. (Business Administration)

The purpose of this study was to develop a Life Sciences programme, integrating Environmental Education, on environmental endocrine disruptors, for the Further Education and Training Phase of the Outcomes Based Educational System. This programme aims at giving learners the necessary knowledge and skills to limit their exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs). The programme was evaluated by means of a quantitative study. Group-administered questionnaires were used to gather information before and after the programme had commenced. Lickert scales were used to establish the learners' knowledge, attitudes and values in connection with EDCs and the environment before and after the learners had followed the programme on EDCs. The results of the study indicated that the programme proved to be successful in increasing the knowledge of the target group in connection with EDCs. This study will contribute to the process of integrating Environmental Education in the Life Sciences curriculum. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Environmental Education)

The advent of democracy in South Africa necessitated a radical transformation in education. It was recognised from the outset that the revision of History education was an activity that had to be accorded special consideration if the renaissance of education in South African public schools was to become a reality. Yet, precisely at a time when the nurturing of historical consciousness, especially among the youth, is so urgent an undertaking, the subject History is increasingly being judged as lacking in utilitarian purpose, and is deemed irrelevant and meaningless. A strong need is thus felt among History educationists to strengthen History studies because of its importance not only in itself but also because a knowledge of the past is crucial to an understanding of the present. In a South African educational context this thesis attempts to make a contribution to this worthwhile endeavour. It investigates the nature, functions, changing modes and historical role of historical consciousness in the writing and teaching of History in South Africa; proposes a heightened interest in adopting an outcomes-based approach to the teaching of history; and advocates an historical consciousness approach to the teaching of History to learners in the Further Education and Training phase (schools), within the framework of the above-mentioned Outcomes-based Education system. It recommends, among others, the training and retraining of teachers in the historical consciousness approach; the adoption of a fresh methodology; and the revamping and strengthening of the content and scope of the present curriculum to accommodate the new historical consciousness approach. The thesis concludes with a set of recommendations which could serve as a basis for the nurturing of historical consciousness in the South African History classroom. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Didactics)

This thesis is a study of a leadership model for the effective management of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges in the Gauteng Province. This research was triggered by the need for quality and sound leadership skills highly needed in FET colleges. The vision of FET colleges lies at the heart of the integration of the country's education and training system. Leadership is the distinguishing factor in bringing about organisational transformation. A key contemporary issue in the development of a high quality education service relates to the new thinking about how best to pursue quality and excellence in FET colleges. Leadership, strategic planning and the need for alternative models of management lead, inevitably, towards a reconsideration of both staff competencies and continuing staff and organisational development. This research seeks to assist those who have the responsibility of leading and managing the further conceptualisation and implementation of further education and training. A qualitative research was conducted, in which a newly merged college in Pretoria was chosen as a case study for this research. The following constituted the broad aims of this study:  To examine the leadership strategies that should be employed for effective management of FET colleges;  To investigate the vision and mission development and implementation and the organisational structures established;  To determine the opportunities and challenges offered by the new large and multi-sited college; and  To investigate a leadership model for the effective management of FET colleges. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with the leadership of the college ranging from the senior managers, campus managers, middle managers to educators. Analysis of documents and observation notes was also done to supply more data about FET leadership. Data were analysed and interpreted by identifying themes and categories that would shed more light into the effective leadership of the college. The following recommendations were made:  A new approach to the leadership of the college should be adopted;  The leadership of the college should be more accountable and responsive to community needs;  More financial support should be allocated to FET colleges; and  More focus should be given to learner support. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Education Management)

This study aimed at exploring the Life Orientation (LO) teachers’ knowledge and teaching of study skills in high schools, Ekudibeng cluster, Gauteng East. The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) is the most recent curriculum policy (Department of Basic Education [DBE], 2012) and serves as an action plan to 2030 for the South African education system in order to address some of the origins of underperformance in South African schools (Nicolson, 2013). Life Orientation (LO) can be described as a learning area within the educational context that promotes the holistic development of a child. The educational context refers to all processes at school level involved in training children’s minds and abilities so that they can acquire knowledge and develop skills to succeed in life. Life Orientation integrates subjects, such as life skills, career guidance, health education, physical education, human rights studies and religious education (Pillay, 2012). According to the Life Orientation 2011 CAPS document, Life Orientation teachers are expected to teach study skills to learners starting from grade 10 – 12 (Further Education and Training (FET) Phase (DBE, 2011). Learning or study skills carry over into other areas of life and beyond school. Study skills are therefore critical tools that ensure that learner achievement leads to success. Furthermore, effective study skills need effective interaction between teachers and learners (Gettinger, & Seibert, 2002). The teacher is a social agent and should make study skills accessible through the process of teaching in the classroom. This implies that the teacher is a central tool for equipping the learners with the necessary study skills which can aid in the unlocking of their future potential (Sasikala, 2012). As such, it was considered important to explore the knowledge and skills for teaching LO as well as the challenges faced and their needs for further development. Three schools in Ekudibeng cluster, Gauteng East were purposefully selected for this purpose on the basis of their results in the previous year’ matric exit examinations. Qualitative case studies of the Further Education and Training LO teachers’ experiences at each of these schools were undertaken utilising semi-structured interviews as a data collection tool. The data were analysed via qualitative content analysis techniques. The findings of this study emphasise the need for a focus on study skills teaching and teacher proficiency in the high school education system. The South African Education System role-players need to take LO seriously and have teachers qualified to teach LO, and to meet their needs through study skills training workshops. Comprehensive continuous improvement in learner performance requires a constant determination of trained LO teachers, qualified for the subject and properly equipped with relevant knowledge to cascade it to learners and cooperative community members, where parents are involved/hands on in shaping their children’s’ future. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) heralds the beginning of a new curriculum for Grades 10 to 12 in South Africa. Underpinned by the South African Constitution, and based on the tenets of Outcomes-based Education, the NCS seeks to provide contextually-relevant education for all South African learners, so that they are able to embrace inevitable change. Although the NCS highlights the importance of assessment, an analysis of the English Home Language (EHL) NCS reveals tensions between policy and practice. This study attempts to contextualise the role of relevant assessment for the 21st century. It then proceeds to engage in a historical evaluation of assessment within the NSC in terms of how assessment was conducted in the former Natal Education Department, a liberal education department within former apartheid South Africa. The conclusions drawn from the evaluation are used to provide recommendations to relieve the tensions identified within the EHL NSC. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.