Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed February 25, 2010). PDF text: vii, 127 p. ; 2 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3386759. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-118).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 111 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-94).

Thesis (M.Phil. (Education for Community Development)) -- University of Pretoria, 2005. / Summaries at end of chapters. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

M.Ed. (Tertiary Didactics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Communication is an important and essential part of human life. In this study the necessity and impact of Invitational Communication in classrooms is researched. Communication in classrooms permeates the entire educational process. Academic excellence, conceptual and perceptual development of pupils as well as positive interpersonal relationships are all areas which are directly affected by the quality of the interpersonal communication between teachers and their pupils. Effective teaching therefore, must take cognizance of the importance of interpersonal communication in classrooms. Invitational communication which is based on Invitational Education concepts (the perceptual tradition and self-concept theory), is instrumental in developing unrealized potential of all participants in the teaching process. What teachers believe about their pupils will influence their behaviour towards pupils, especially their communicative behaviour. It is through this communicative behaviour that teachers have the ability to develop human potential or to destroy it. Invitational Communication provides teachers with an acceptable educational stance for interrelating with others in the classroom context. This stance is based on Intentionality, Respect, Trust and Optimism.

Good communication and maintaining effective relationships within a school community are essential for achieving high academic standards. The aim of effective communication between teachers and learners is to elicit and ensure behaviour that will enhance the learning process. It is therefore important that teachers relate to learners in a sensitive manner when they communicate their knowledge (Bingham and Sidorkin 2004, 5). Sotto (2007, 96) further contends that teachers‟ communication styles reveal their core attitude towards learning and that the success of their teaching will be partially determined by how effectively they communicate. Many schools are experiencing disciplinary problems, low teacher and learner expectations, a breakdown of the social order, and a high incidence of academic failure. Bingham and Sidorkin (2004, 5) explain the above-mentioned problems as symptoms of a breakdown in communication between educators and learners. Once relationships in a school have been jeopardised, it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve high academic standards. It is therefore essential that educators create meaningful interactions in an environment in which all individuals can develop to their full potential. The National Education Policy Act No. 27 of 1996 (Education Labour Relations Council 2003, A- 4) advocates the enhancement of quality education and innovation through systematic research and development. The principles contained therein are directed towards enabling the education system to contribute to the full development of each learner, respecting each learner‟s right to freedom of thought, opinion and expression within a culture of respect for teaching and learning. The establishment and strengthening of relationships in a school will contribute to improved academic achievement.

This study aimed to explore teachers‟ abilities to identify learners with behavioural and emotional problems, to examine the strategies that they implement to address the challenges and their measure of success in addressing these. This study was qualitative in nature and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 volunteer teachers located in the northern areas of Port Elizabeth and an additional 50 teachers completed open ended questionnaires. The learning areas taught by the teachers varied. Descriptive and content analysis procedures were utilized to analyze the findings. The findings indicated that teachers lack the skills and knowledge to assist learners with behavioural and emotional problems. The teachers tended to view their roles as imparting knowledge rather than tending to the mental health of learners so they did not adopt approaches to assist the learners with their behavioural and emotional challenges. This was in spite of the fact that the learners' psychological and physical well-being impacted their academic achievement.

Output, input and interaction are examined in this study for a native English speaking (NS) teacher and for native and non-native English speaking (NS, NNS) young children in two situations in the classroom, child organized and teacher organized. Video tapes and transcripts of fourteen samples of interactions in teacher organized situations and fourteen samples of naturally occurring interactions in child organized situations, each limited to the first consecutive one hundred utterances, were analyzed. Output was assessed in terms of verbal participation - utterances and words. Input and interaction were assessed both for discourse features (twelve negotiating devices) and in terms of the situational structure of the contexts that existed during the interactions - their distance from the speaker and the action was assessed with measures of exophoric and anaphoric reference (twenty-four reference items). The results indicate: 1) that output or verbal participation varies for the teacher and the NS, NNS children with situation, 2) that discourse features, often used to assess input, vary in their use by the teacher and the children with the situational context, increase with verbal participation, and may not be useful measures of input, and 3) that the situational structure of the contexts that exist during teacher organized interactions and child organized interactions vary with situation - the distance of the language and the action from the speaker as well as the nature of the interaction. Individual variations amongst items, within and across groups are noted. It is concluded that: 1) output, input and interaction vary with situation, 2) data analyses concerning input and interaction are more meaningful if they are related to the output occurring in different situations, and 3) L2 researchers will benefit from moving beyond the analysis of discourse features as the sole predictors of input during interaction to examine other aspects of the interaction situation. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate