Magister Educationis - MEd / Euclidean geometry was recently re-introduced as a compulsory topic in the Mathematics Curriculum for learners in the Further Education and Training (FET) band in 2012. The diagnostic analysis reports on the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Mathematics Paper 2 examinations since 2014 has repeatedly expressed concern of the poor performance of leaners in proof and reasoning items linked to circle geometry. Various efforts have been made to examine the composition of the curriculum to find ways of motivating learners in the study of circle geometry and enhancing their performance but not much has been realized. The use of technology or cooperative learning approaches for the teaching of geometry is beneficial for pedagogical purposes, particularly for improving learners’ performance in geometry. Hence, this study investigated the impact of using technology through cooperative learning on learners’ performance on grade circle 11 geometry. It was thus an attempt to focus on blending these two teaching methods with an emphasis on the use of technology. The research took place at a Khayelitsha school and the scope of technology was limited to using a mathematical computer programme called Heymath. This research was grounded on the cognitive level framework that is used by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in the setting of National Senior examination mathematics papers, as well as the set of social constructivist views of mathematics teaching and learning. In the case of the latter, both social constructivism and cognitive constructivism views were considered and applied for the purposes of this study. Using a positivist paradigm, this convergent parallel mixed methods study employed a quasi-empirical design, where the control group consisted of a group 26 grade 11 learners who were comparable to the group of 27 grade learners that made up the experimental group.

Published Article / This article reports the findings and results of the Masters study on the causes of poor performance of learners in English in primary schools in Leribe district. A literature study was conducted to explore and to identify the causes of poor performance of learners in English in the literature. The findings of the study were collected by means of in-depth individual interviews the manifestation of the causes of poor performance of learners in English was investigated from the participants. Based on interpretive theory employing qualitative research approach, data collected and analysed from the individual interviews were analysed as emerging and themes. The findings of the study repudiate the argument that existence of the Education policy inevitably leads to sound improvement of learners in English in primary schools and consequently quality education improved.

The concept of self-directed learning (SDL) has been extensively studied; however, the majority of studies have explored learners’ perspectives on SDL, with less attention paid to investigating SDL from educators’ perspectives. Surprisingly, while assessment and feedback have long been recognized as powerful elements which influence how learners approach their learning, and key research studies have examined how both assessment and feedback can encourage and enhance the development of SDL, this nevertheless remains an area that would benefit from increased attention. Moreover, although there is a growing body of literature investigating the cultural dimension of SDL, most of these studies are limited to examining the formation of SDL among individuals influenced by Western or Confucian cultures, ignoring the existence of other cultural groups. This study, which investigates Malaysian teacher educators’ conceptualisations of SDL, begins to address these gaps. The key research questions which guided the study are: 1) How do teacher educators in Malaysia conceptualise learning? 2) How do teacher educators in Malaysia conceptualise SDL? 3) To what extent do teacher educators in Malaysia perceive themselves as self-directed learners? 4) What kind of learning opportunities do teacher educators in Malaysia create for their learners to foster the development of SDL, and what is the particular role of assessment and feedback in SDL? Twenty Malaysian teacher educators were interviewed to obtain their views on SDL and to identify their pedagogical practices which may foster or hinder the development of SDL approaches among their learners. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to inform the methodological framework of this study, whilst a hybrid inductive and deductive analysis approach was used to analyse the interview data. The findings of the current study suggest that most assessment and feedback practices are heavily focused on assessments designed by educators and on educator-generated feedback, in which learners are passive recipients. It is argued that these practices have significantly contradicted the primary principle of SDL, which characterises the learner as the key agent of his or her own learning. The findings of this study suggest that a more comprehensive conceptualisation of SDL is required that recognises the fundamental role of both the self and of educators in SDL, and acknowledges the impact of the socio-cultural context on SDL. Informed by the existing SDL literature, and derived from fine-grained analysis of the interview data, the proposed definition of SDL and reconceptualised SDL framework foreground SDL as socially constructed learning where the learner takes control of his or her own learning processes within complex socio cultural contexts. The thesis concludes by recommending that future research (i) explores the central role of assessment and feedback in the context of SDL and (ii) investigates the impact of various cultures on learning, in order to develop a broader and more nuanced understanding of SDL.

The way in which educators’ competency to enforce disciplinary measures in the classroom is influenced by learners’ fundamental rights is investigated in this study. An in-depth literature study was conducted, and questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data at five rural high schools in the Southern Cape. The research findings indicate that participants’ understanding of the stipulations of important relevant acts and government notices is insufficient to manage problem situations regarding discipline with confidence. There is undoubtedly a need for information sessions and/or workshops that not only convey information on a theoretical level, but apply the stipulations of relevant legal sources and the principles of effective classroom management to educators’ daily classroom situations in a practical and functional way. A positive approach to discipline and restorative disciplinary measures that are based on respect and the positive development of learners are upheld, and various important principles that will promote more effective classroom management are suggested. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Onderwysbestuur)

The way in which educators’ competency to enforce disciplinary measures in the classroom is influenced by learners’ fundamental rights is investigated in this study. An in-depth literature study was conducted, and questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data at five rural high schools in the Southern Cape. The research findings indicate that participants’ understanding of the stipulations of important relevant acts and government notices is insufficient to manage problem situations regarding discipline with confidence. There is undoubtedly a need for information sessions and/or workshops that not only convey information on a theoretical level, but apply the stipulations of relevant legal sources and the principles of effective classroom management to educators’ daily classroom situations in a practical and functional way. A positive approach to discipline and restorative disciplinary measures that are based on respect and the positive development of learners are upheld, and various important principles that will promote more effective classroom management are suggested. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Onderwysbestuur)

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of the North, 2001 / Refer to document

Department of Curriculum Studies and Education Management / MEDCS

Magister Educationis - MEd / The twenty-first century society demands a high level of mathematical literacy. This drove Korean educators to evaluate their students using international mathematics tests such as TIMSS, PISA and IMO. In these tests, Korean students ranked highly among the participating countries. Korean students, however, had done poorly in the application of mathematics in daily life situations as well as in their interest in mathematics in co~parison to those of other countries. Based on these observations, the present study is an investigation on the contexts which Korean grade 8 to 10 students would prefer to deal with mathematics, in order to improve these weak points and thus increase their mathematical power. The aim of this study was thus to investigate mathematical literacy in connection with the relevance of mathematics and mathematical modelling. The study pays more attention to mathematics education 111 real life situations. Data was collected using the ROSME questionnaire that deals with contexts preferred by students for mathematics education. A sample made up of over 1600 learners in grades 8 to 10 were randomly selected from 21 schools. Data collected from these learners was analysed using Kendall's W mean rank method in the SPSS 12.0 program since the data for this study were ordinal. The most important finding of this study was that, "Mathematics that entertains and surprises us" came up the highest ranked item. This indicates that mathematics education must be directed towards raising learners' interests. The lowest ranked item was, "Mathematics used to calculate the number of seats for parliament given to political parties after elections," and this might indicate among other things that political activity does not attract students' interest in a society where the concept of well-being is dominant. In general, Korean learners appear to favour learning mathematics in technological contexts and show less interest in political and agricultural contexts. In conclusion, this study suggests that teachers should use contexts that increase learners' interest in classroom activities. Korea has today become one of the strongest Information Technology countries. Therefore mathematics curricula and textbooks which are appropriate to this context must be provided for more efficient mathematics education. Thus, it becomes imperative that the Korean school system must develop a particular program for nurturing learners' mathematical power. Furthermore, mathematics education policy makers must reconsider whether the current education system, Pyungjunhwa Kyoyuk system, should be used or not.

The South African government spends huge sums of funds on schools with an aim to redress past inequalities. Schools receive resource budget allocations to exclusively procure learning materials to ensure that the government’s aim is realised. This study examines availability and enactment of learning materials to enhance effective curriculum delivery. Four township public ordinary primary schools participated in this study. Focus was mainly on Grade 3 home language lessons. I used the case study methods to interview one teacher from each school and scrutinized their documents to establish what learning materials they have in their possession. Additionally I observed and analysed three lessons per educator. Analysis across the cases reveals different collections and variations in usage of learning materials. The former covers the standard, mix and match, and limited collections. Whereas the latter refers to the textbook bound, productive blend and the haphazard approaches. Significantly, the study also explored principles in line with the “ideal teacher”- under which desired results can be achieved.

Mokinio veiklos, kaip asmens komponento tobulinimas meno (muzikos) mokykloje. Skaitant asmens kultūros raidą atskleidžia muzikinio ugdymo reikmė. Ugdymo praktikoje asmens kultūros raidos įgyjamų vertybių ir jų paskirties suvokimas priklauso nuo to, kaip jos pateikiamos ir perimamos. Demokratinėje visuomenėje vyrauja asmens interesai, kūrybinė veikla. Ugdytiniui svarbu pažinti kultūros vertybes, orientuojantis į jas pratintis kurti ir taip tobulinti individualią kultūrą, suvokiant veiklos prasmę vertinti asmeninių poreikių tenkinimo reikšmingumą. Muzikinis ugdymas remiamas kūrybine veikla, įtirtindamas kūrybos poreikį, vertinimo nuostatas, gebėjimus. Mokinio veikla- ne tik savitas individualios kult��ros pasireiškimo būdas, bet ir komponentas. Ugdymo procese tobulinant mokinio veiklą keičiasi ir asmens kultūra. Todėl mokinio veiklos, kaip jo kultūros komponento, tobulinimas meno (muzikos) mokykloje yra aktuali pedagoginė problema Tyrimo objektas yra mokinio veikla ir jos tobulinimas meno (muzikos) mokykloje. Tyrimo tikslas yra atskleisti mokinio veiklos, kaip kultūros komponento, tobulinimo prielaidas, meno (muzikos) mokykloje. Darbe apibūdinta mokyklos ugdymo samprata mokinio veiklos aspektu, aptartas mokinio veiklos modelis meno (muzikos) mokyklos pamokose, ištirtos pedagogų nuostatos, susijusios su mokinio veikla, pateikti mokino veiklos, kai kultūros komponento, vertinimo ir tobulinimo orientyrai. Atliktas tyrimas parodė, kad mokinio veiklos, kaip ir kultūros komponento... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The significance of musical training reveals in stimulating the person‘s cultural development. In the upbringing practice, the understanding of person’s culture process obtained values and their purpose depends on the way how they are shared and adapted. Personal interests and creative work dominate in the democratic society. It is important to the learner to know the cultural values, orient to them, try to create and in this way to improve individual culture, understanding the activity’s essence to evaluate the significance of the personal requirements. Musical training is supported by the creative work, consolidation of the cultural needs, evaluation guidelines and abilities. The learner’s activity is not only a distinctive method of individual culture expression but also a component. In the training process, the person’s culture changes together with the learner’s improved activity. Therefore, the improvement of the learner’s, as the cultural component’s, activity in the art (music) school is an actual educational problem. The research object is the learner’s activity and its improvement in the art (music) school. The research aim is to reveal the learner’s activity development premises in the art (music) school. The tasks of the research: to describe the musical training concept through the learner’s activity aspect, to discuss the model of the learner’s activity in the art (music) lessons, to analyze the educators’ attitude towards the learner’s activity and to propose... [to full text]