Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

According to the literature the status of Physical Education as school subject has declined considerably worldwide in many schools over the past twenty years. The concern about this decline in the presence and presentation of Physical Education in school curriculums across the world, initiated the “International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education‟s” (ICSSPE) investigation into the status of Physical Education in 167 countries and states. Hardman (2005) confirms that numerous governments legally committed themselves to offer Physical Education to children and young people, but due to several factors, this promise has not materialised. The most important outcome of this worldwide investigation is the World Summit on Physical Education in Berlin in 1999, organised by ICSSPE. More than 250 representatives of governments, inter-government organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and academic institutions of 80 countries from across the world, including South Africa, attended this summit. This summit was presented under the international supervision and protection of the “United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization” (UNESCO) as well as the “International Olympic Committee” (IOC), with the co-sponsorship of the “World Health Organization” (WHO). Three weeks later, the Berlin Agenda or “Call for Action”, compiled at the World Summit, was presented for acceptance and support to “Ministers and Senior Officials reponsible for Physical Education and Sport” (MINEPS III) in Uruguay. With the acceptance of this “Call for Action” MINEPS III committed themselves to present and support quality Physical Education as a basic right of all children and young people in their different countries. Research Aim 1 of this study is: The evaluation of the re-implementation of Physical Education as subject in South African schools, and Research Aim 2 is: The analysis of the further implementation of Physical Education as subject in South African schools according to the Berlin Agenda. In 1994 Physical Education disappeared as a separate school subject in South Africa. With the implementation of Curriculum 2005 the subject was included as one of the outcomes of the Learning Area Life Orientation, and was systematically implemented from the Foundation Phase through to the FET Phase. Since the beginning of 2008 Physical Education has been a compulsory outcome of Life Orientation from Grade R up to Grade 12, with minimum ONE specified Physical Education period per week, per grade on every school timetable in South Africa. However, since the DoE-initiated countrywide training of 277 Life Orientation subject advisors in Physical Education in 2008, co-ordinated by the NWU (Potchefstroom Campus), there seem to be major problems with the implementation of Physical Education as outcome of Life Orientation. A quantitative research design, which included six phases and was supported by a limited qualitative set of data, was used in this research. Physical Education does not experience a very high status in South Africa. Insufficient teacher training (almost 50% of Physical Education staff have had no training), apparatus, facilities and support for the implementation of the subject increase the problem. If the government and National Department of Education wishes to honour the Berlin Declaration or “Call for Action”, it will have to speedily and seriously consider the recommendations in this research concerning training, apparatus, facilities, support as well as changes to the curriculum. Internationally the subject is under pressure, but countries such as Australia, England and the USA are serious about the subject. South Africa should speedily follow the same route as these countries and become serious about the re-implementation of Physical Education. As a democratic country, quality Physical Education for children and young people is the obligation and responsibility of the government, National as well as Provincial Departments of Education, school governing bodies, school management teams, teachers and parents. A lack of quality Physical Education can result in an unfit, overweight and uncompetitive sport population of children and young people in South Africa. Such an undesirable situation can cause negative a health-status, economic development as well as poor national and international sport results for an upcoming, developing country such as South Africa. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Movement Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The general aim of this study was to explore the extent to which the Grade 11 LO curriculum prepares learners for active citizenship in a democratic South Africa. The main research question that the study addresses is: To what extent does the Grade 11 LO curriculum prepare learners for active citizenship in a democratic South Africa? The main objective of the study is to explore the extent to which the Grade 11 LO curriculum prepares learners for active citizenship in a democracy in the South African context. Even though democratic structures and participation forms a small component of the broader topic of active citizenship in the Grade 11 LO curriculum, the study examines the public participation initiatives of Parliament, as a democratic structure with the intention to increase active citizenship in a democratic South Africa. The theoretical framework of this study considers Paulo Freire's educational theory in the context of critical theory and models of public participation in preparation for active citizenship. As such, the literature was used in order to come to an understanding of concepts relating to active citizenship in a democracy, the concepts, namely, "education for "public participation‟, "citizenship‟, "democracy‟, "inclusivity‟ and "human rights‟. The study adopted a mainly qualitative research approach to explore the extent to which the Grade 11 LO curriculum prepares learners for active citizenship in a democracy. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of learners' perceptions, a case study method was employed and data collection techniques included questionnaires and focus group interviews. The sample in this study comprised 461 Grade 12 learners, who completed the Grade 11 LO curriculum during 2012, and seven LO educators from five selected schools in Metro South Education District in the Western Cape. Even though the total number of participating educators was seven, four completed the questionnaires and four participated in the focus group interviews. The data collection process encompassed three phases. Phase one included a literature review and document study. Phase two included the administration of questionnaires and phase three included the facilitation of focus group interviews. Thematic and document analyses were applied in order to undertake a detailed examination of documents and interviews.

Life Orientation is a new learning area in the National Curriculum Statement. The Learning area promises to improve the quality of education for all the South Africans. This study was founded upon the Structural Curriculum Theory to investigate how secondary school teachers understand, response to and implement Life Orientation. Life Orientation is a core subject area according to the Department of Education. A total number of thirty six Life Orientation teachers form five secondary schools in different circuits in Gert Sibande Region in Mpumalamga Province participated in the study. Data was collected through the focus group, individual interviews and qualitatively analysed. The results revealed that teachers are frustrated, lack knowledge, understanding, has negative response and are ignorant in implementing the subject area in schools. Teachers lack sufficient support, not suffiently qualified, disregard the importance of the subject area, low status of the subject area, limited time allocation for the learning area. In the light of the results, recommendations are made with regard to the study on training monitoring and support of teachers. The Department of Education should increase school-based support visits and monitoring by district officials. These visits should be more intense and should include practical demonstrations of curriculum implementation. District officials must monitor progress by following-up previous visits. Heads of Department should exercise control and provide guidance with regard to curriculum implementation. Learning area teachers and the Heads of Department should be empowered by the Department of Education through scheduled workshops. Specific emphasis should be given to the interpretation and practical implementation of the learning area policy components. Heads of Department should deliberately create opportunities for Life Orientation staff to collaborate to exchange creative ideas and information that will improve teachers’ understanding and interpretation of the curriculum. Schools should acknowledge the status and importance of the learning area. Life Orientation should not be disregarded and deliberately allocated to ineffective teachers or to fill up gaps in the timetable of teachers. Teaching Life Orientation should not be imposed on teachers. Higher Education Institutions should have programmes that will prepare teachers as specialists in Life Orientation as a learning area. The Department of Education and Higher Education Institutions should actively recruit students to become specialists in Life Orientation as a learning area for better implementation of Life Orientation in South African schools. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Early Childhood Education / unrestricted

Magister Educationis - MEd / The rate at which the spread of human immunodeficiency virus/auto immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is increasing in the world has brought with it the realization that the disease is more complex and extensive than imagined. The alarming increase in the rate of infection combined with the fact that researchers have not found a cure has considerable socioeconomic implications. The peculiarity of HIV/AIDS, has caused almost all countries of the world to introduce different types of intervention programmes for the youth in order to reduce or eradicate the disease. South Africa, being one of the countries in the world that has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS, has introduced a Life Orientation Programme (LOP) into the school curriculum as a preventive measure. HIV/AIDS prevention programmes as part of the LOP are designed to increase the knowledge and skills of youths in order to adopt and maintain good sexual behaviours that can virtually eliminate the risks of becoming infected with the HIV. This study evaluates the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and impact of LOP on the sexual behaviours of the learners in a high school in Cape Town. The study was motivated by the fact that, despite the introduction of different intervention and prevention programmes in high schools, there seems to be no significant reduction in the spread of HIV/AIDS among the youths. In order to make this evaluation worth the while, four instruments, (questionnaires, semistructured interviews, a classroom observation schedule and a test), were used in the study with the consent of the participants and the school authorities. The participants (the teachers and learners) were contacted independently by an educator who was introduced to me by the principal, so that the researcher would not influence the information provided.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / This thesis is an evaluation of a study that focused on the health promotion of learners in schools. The study evaluated the process of health promotion in the schools focusing on the school’s compliance as health-promoting schools in line with the WHO principles, the intervention process that includes training of students in health promotion and assessing the impact of such intervention. The intervention was delivered by Life Orientation (LO) Educators over nine months. The thesis aimed to evaluate if learners who have been exposed to the health-promoting school programmes will exhibit more confidence in avoiding and refusing to indulge in mental health-related risky behaviours than those who were not exposed; and whether the WHO health-promoting school approach compliance can be modified to establish site specific agenda regarding mental health. Twenty schools in two circuits within Capricorn district in Limpopo province participated in the evaluation process using eighteen schools that took part in the whole school intervention project of LASH project. Data was collected for process evaluation and impact analysis of the intervention. Process evaluation used data collected from the interview reports of LO Educators who implemented the project at schools and thus evaluated the process of their experience with the project. The impact analysis was done using data collected from the participants at baseline and a follow-up after nine months using a self-administered questionnaire. The process evaluation findings showed that the degree of understanding of the expected implementation objectives was not standardised and was not done according to the initial plan as well as following the contextual needs. Factors that came out explicitly as hindering the desired effect included neglect of key methodological aspects meant to enhance and validate the experiential report by the Educators namely classroom observation and logbook reports; specialisation of the topics for the intervention and lack of training manuals specific for the task; lack of adequate capacity building for staff, the schools to take charge of the process and neglect of the needs to avoid challenges for contextualrelevance. However, it is worth noting that the introduction of the process was done under the systematic recommendation by WHO with the schools adhering to the basic principles for health promotion outlined by WHO. The impact analysis evaluation highlighted some negative and positive results ofthe study. Positive results on the impact of the intervention elicited factors such as the development of learners’ assertiveness, learners’ utilisation of available policies in the school for their daily activities and change in risky behaviour. The gaps noted above were in the region of methodological aspects, capacity building, context-related challenges and recommendations were made in the areas of (i) enhancement of methodological gaps that were neglected in the main study; this included the utilisation of logbooks and classroom observation that were planned and did not materialise as well as more succinct validation of some items in the questionnaires that seemed to have created ambiguity in some responses ii) development of specific training manual for health promotion and not use of ad-hoc topics separately developed with limited capacity for comparability between schools iii) capacity building of staff to take full charge and act as role models for the learners and not feel compromised; iv) capacitation of the school management to assist with the daily logistics and enhancement for implementation especially at school level v) planning process that contextualise the needs of the schools involved. The project was ground-breaking work of whole school health promotion with promise in the behaviour changes of learners and their empowerment and aggressive outlook on the difficult school based challenges around substance abuse, violence and sexual behaviour. Such work could in future benefit from studies that are both theory and evidence-based which will use validated and contextualised realistic methods guided by the findings of pilot studies which was missing in this project.

BackgroundGender-Based Violence (GBV) is a global problem rooted in gender inequality. South Africa has exceptionally high rates of GBV. Despite the fact that Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) has been taught as part of the school subject Life Orientation to teach topics like gender equality, studies have demonstrated inconsistent implementation of this curriculum.AimTo investigate Life Orientation educators’ experiences of teaching the curriculum in relation to GBV and gender equality and manging the issue of GBV in public schools located in the Gauteng province, South Africa, and gain information about the challenges educators experience and what they think is needed to actively work towards preventing GBV in schools.Research DesignA qualitative research design was utilised.MethodTwelve participants were interviewed online using a semi-structured interview guide. The data was transcribed, coded, and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsThe results indicate that the participating educators experience various challenges and have diverse views on potential improvements. Limited educational and training resources, deep-rooted views of gender roles and cultural traditions, limited recognition of the subject’s importance by educational authorities, as well as uncertainty regarding existing school GBV policies are crucial findings on how the educators experience teaching GBV.ConclusionThis study identified challenges and the potential benefits of improved educator training to address the topic of GBV, more detailed coverage of GBV in the curriculum, increased awareness surrounding GBV and allocating more time to these concepts.

Research studies emphasize the need for a supportive educator-parent relationship in promoting teaching and learning in Life Orientation. This study is based on the assumption that educators are supposed to supplement the teaching of values by building on what parents have already taught at home and this means that learners need the support of their parents in their academic achievement especially in Life Orientation. The aim of this study is to explore the role that educators and learners expect parents to play in creating a positive climate in the teaching of Life Orientation. A qualitative approach was applied in this study in order to get in-depth information about the experiences of educators and learners of parental involvement in creating a positive climate for the teaching of Life Orientation. The researcher collected data through semi-structured interviews from four Life Orientation educators and Grade 10 learners from two Secondary schools at Phokoane Circuit. The data was analysed resulting with themes and sub-themes. The researcher ensured that data collected enhance trustworthiness. Both educators and learners experienced minimal parental involvement in the teaching of Life Orientation. They both recommended partnership, openness and regular meetings amongst partners for effective teaching of life orientation. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

In-service education and training (INSET) has become a key vehicle for the professional development of educators in the school context. However, its role and impact has yet to be fully comprehended. This study resulted from the realization that educators often attend short training courses without being tracked or monitored afterwards. Using an illuminative approach to evaluation, this study aimed to establish the impact of INSET on educators’ ability to effectively implement the Life Orientation (LO) curriculum, after attending national INSET in 2005. It was also important to gauge if educators had gained the knowledge and skills to deal with emergent issues not addressed during the training. The field of adult education offered a particular lens through which I aimed to look at both LO and INSET. The sample selected for this study consisted of three teachers teaching at co-educational government schools in Johannesburg, who attended the 2005 Gauteng provincial training in LO for grade 10. Data collection methods included questionnaires, naturalistic observations, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings of this study suggest that the success of this INSET programme depends heavily on the individuals who attend them and their personal experiences and beliefs. The study concluded that for educators to implement LO effectively they would not only have to develop professionally but they should also be committed to lifelong learning.

Yes / Research suggests a decline in the mental health and wellbeing of people with dementia (PwD) during the COVID-19 pandemic; however few studies have compared data collected pre-pandemic and during the pandemic. Moreover, none have compared this change with what would be expected due to dementia progression. We explored whether PwD experienced changes in mental health and wellbeing by comparing pre-pandemic and pandemic data, and drew comparisons with another group of PwD questioned on two occasions prior to the pandemic. Methods: Community-dwelling PwD enrolled in the IDEAL programme were split into two groups matched for age group, sex, dementia diagnosis, and time since diagnosis. Although each group was assessed twice, one was assessed prior to and during the pandemic (pandemic group; n = 115) whereas the other was assessed prior to the pandemic (pre-pandemic group; n = 230). PwD completed measures of mood, sense of self, wellbeing, optimism, quality of life, and life satisfaction. Results: Compared to the pre-pandemic group, the pandemic group were less likely to report mood problems, or be pessimistic, but more likely to become dissatisfied with their lives. There were no changes in continuity in sense of self, wellbeing, and quality of life. Discussion: Results suggest the pandemic had little effect on the mental health and wellbeing of PwD, with any changes observed likely to be consistent with expected rates of decline due to dementia. Although personal accounts attest to the challenges experienced, PwD appear to have been resilient to the impact of lockdown and social restrictions during the pandemic. / Identifying and mitigating the individual and dyadic impact of COVID-19 and life under physical distancing on people with dementia and carers (INCLUDE) was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through grant ES/V004964/1. Investigators: LC, Victor, C., FM, CQ, Hillman, A., AB, LA, RA, AM, RC, and CP. ESRC is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life: living well with dementia. The IDEAL study was funded jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) through grant ES/L001853/2. Investigators: LC, I. R. Jones, C. Victor, J. V. Hindle, R. W. Jones, M. Knapp, M. Kopelman, RL, A. Martyr, FM, R. G. Morris, S. M. Nelis, J. A. Pickett, CQ, J. Rusted, and J. Thom. IDEAL data were deposited with the UK data archive in April 2020 and will be available to access from April 2023. Details of how the data can be accessed after that date can be found at: http://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/854293/. Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life: a longitudinal perspective on living well with dementia. The IDEAL-2 study was funded by Alzheimer’s Society, grant number 348, AS-PR2-16-001. Investigators: LC, I. R. Jones, C. Victor, C. Ballard, A. Hillman, J. V. Hindle, J. Hughes, R. W. Jones, M. Knapp, RL, AM, FM, R. G. Morris, S. M. Nelis, CQ, and J. Rusted.