A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Education by Creative Writing to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2019 / In the South African education landscape, an apprenticeship/learnership model of teacher education is gaining traction, particularly in the private education sector. There is a general perception that student teachers who are immersed in a school context daily will gain a better understanding of the process of learning to teach. However, this assumption has not been empirically tested. The purpose of this qualitative research was to understand how mentors of student teachers in a learnership programme in a private school in South Africa, understand and support the process of learning to teach, both theoretically and in practice. The mentors’ criteria for good teaching and what is important in the mentoring interactions determines the kind of Zone of Proximal Development they are able to create in the mentoring interactions, specifically in the provision of feedback to student teachers on the lessons they teach. The research was conducted with three mentor teachers, each responsible for mentoring a student teacher in their subject area, mathematics. The research employed consisted of audio-recorded interviews with the mentors, as well as audio-recorded feedback sessions between the mentors and their respective student teachers after the mentor observed the student teaching two lessons. The results show that there is a variation in the forms of knowledge and support provided to the student teachers. The mentors’ support of the student teachers mostly focused on general pedagogical support in the form of tips and general classroom management advice. The more substantive mentorship, which focuses on the explicit communication of instructional design and pedagogical reasoning, was limited in some instances or not evident at all in other instances. A formal cognitive mentorship programme is recommended to effectively support student teachers in the process of learning to teach and to develop them into professional teachers. Such a programme should interrogate the mentors’ own assumptions about teaching, help them to understand the processes and complexities of learning to teach and guide them on how to design opportunities for making the pedagogical reasoning behind teaching choices explicit to student teachers. / NG (2020)

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / Aim: Although a lot of money is spent on training in the Office of the Premier, such training programmes are never evaluated to determine the efficacy. Thus it is not clear whether such training improves service delivery or not, and if there is visible improvement, and how much of that improvement was in fact brought about by such training programmes. The aim of the study is to investigate whether employees’ training programmes are aligned with the training needs. Furthermore, the aim is to determine if the compilation of the workplace skills plan is informed by the employees’ skills needs. The National Skills Development Strategy (2005-2010) for the Public Service states that for the public service to succeed in its mandate of providing effective and efficient service delivery to the citizens, the government needs to invest in the training and development of the public service. Participants: A total number of 70 (seventy) officials from the Transversal Human Resources and Corporate Services participated in the study. In addition 7 (seven) managers from these sub branches were interviewed. Instruments: The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches. For the qualitative approach, the researcher used structured interviews. The quantitative approach involved a data collection procedure based on structured questionnaires administered to both the Transversal Human Resources and Corporate services. Results: The study revealed that training programmes are not always aligned to the employees’ training needs. Although employees indicated their training needs in specific skills, they received training in skills that they did not require, but yet v identified as crucial. The study confirmed that of the two sub-branches, employees from the Corporate services are the ones who receive more training compared to employees from Transversal Human Resources. Conclusion: The study concludes that the development of the skills plan is partially aligned to the training needs of employees in the Office of the Premier. This conclusion is based on the fact that the respondents’ skills were audited in the past two years whereas the skills development plan is compiled and submitted to Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) every year. This study’s conclusion is based on the findings that, the respondents’ skills were not audited this financial year and that in instances where respondents attended training intervention evaluation was never conducted. However, there is the challenge of ensuring that all employees attend some training at least once per year.

In Chapter 7, it was argued that improved satisfaction of basic needs could in principle lead to increased labour productivity and, via a comulative process, to increased output and income levels. Higher incomes could in turn mean further improved satisfaction of basic needs, greater labour productivity and even greater output and income levels. Thus the satisfaction of basic needs could be seen as a means towards the end of improved living standards and the reduction of poverty, and hence an instrument of development policy. From the analysis of basic needs in Ciskei, it is apparent that government expenditure has been such that the "core" basic needs have evidently been catered for, at least to some extent, for some time. Yet, there has been nothing like a concerted strategy, and expenditure on basic needs was the result of ad hoc measures, rather than a conscious strategy or development policy as such. Basic needs were therefore seen simply as ends in themselves, rather than as means to the end of self-sustained economic development. In the case of Ciskei, more information about the satisfaction of basic needs, especially health, and water supply and sanitation, is required at the present stage. Such information should not only be seen in quantitative terms (as "inputs"), but also be evaluated qualitatively (as "outputs"). In other words, basic needs should be viewed functionally as thresholds to the goal of self-sustained economic development. This applies particularly to educatfon, where the total supply may be misleading, more significant measures being quality, access and actual consumption. Data for health, and water supply and sanitation, are not readily available, and again should reflect access and usage as well as availability. Nutritional data should not only reveal the extent and nature of poor nutrition (malnutrition) but also its causes, such as, inadequate expenditure on food on account of low income levels, or inappropriate nutritional patterns of consumption. Data on shelter should take into account the appropriateness of standards and types of shelter, rather than simply the number of houses as such. At the same time, the extent to which basic needs are complementary should be investigated; e.g. the effect the improved satisfaction of education would have on shelter, shelter on health, etc. The stronger such complementarities, the lower total government expenditure on basic needs would have to be. Similarly, if expenditure on basic needs is inappropriate or ill-directed, a revision of standards and redirection of resources may be necessary. In the case of Ciskei, it may well be that total expenditure on basic needs may not be inadequate as such at the present stage, but rather that co-ordination of existing expenditure is required to yield a purposive development policy. A powerful case for the suitability of a Basic Needs strategy for Ciskei may be suggested by the intermediate nature of economic development within its borders. To the extent that some basic needs are already satisfied, at least to some degree and some more than others, certain preconditions for economic development can be said to already exist. Yet it cannot be claimed that Ciskei has reached the "take-off" stage into self-sustained economic growth in the Rostovian sense. Nevertheless, a deliberately co-ordinated Basic Needs strategy may well move Ciskei away from the danger of slipping back into the so-called "Low-Level Equilibrium Trap." In other words, a more scientifically designed, co-ordinated and deliberately applied strategy, whereby basic needs become the means towards self-sustained economic growth, should at least be able to establish the "preconditions for take-off" necessary for sustained economic development.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017. / Education is indeed essential for the improvement of the performance, competence and effectiveness of parliamentarians. Many countries in the world including South Africa do not require specific minimum qualifications or skills to qualify to be a parliamentarian. As a result, parliamentarians come into the legislature with varying levels of skills and qualifications, which has an impact on their competence and effectiveness. The purpose of the study was to assess the training needs of parliamentarians focusing on the case of the Limpopo legislature. Mixed research method comprising both qualitative and quantitative methods was applied in this study. A survey questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from thirty-six respondents. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the qualitative data from seven respondents. The study found that seventy-eight percent of parliamentarians had a bachelor degree and post-graduate. Parliamentarians identified FAMPPLA, PFMA, research analysis, standing rules and orders, presiding over meeting, strategic management, interpersonal skills, speech writing, computer literacy, negotiations, facilitations skills, monitoring and evaluation as their priority training needs. The study further found that parliamentarians prefer two to three day workshops as a mode for training.

The level of savings in South Africa has been described as dismal and on the verge of becoming an economic crisis. Household savings has declined to a level of dissavingand is therefore in need of rectification. Savings can be broken down into household, corporate and government saving. The purpose of this research is to identify measures to improve household savings in South Africa. A critical review of household savings is conducted in chapter two utilising secondary data to examine household savings, identify factors affecting savings as well as establish measures to improve household savings. The study gathers primary data from 10leading economists and financial experts located in South Africa.A qualitative study is undertaken as it helps provide intrinsic information on the thoughts and opinions of the sample group on measures to improve household savings. The research has revealed that South African households are not saving sufficiently and that there are a few key factors affecting households savings. The key factors are indentified and investigated in the literature review and further examined by the respondents for their expert opinions. The respondents have identified thathousehold savings behaviours are insufficiently contributing to savings and there is a lack of a savings culture to encourage positive savings growth. Consumers are caught up in a web of consumerism with easy access to credit as a result of financial liberalisation. These two factors have created a debt trend and left many households in a downward spiral of debt. The respondents have identified the main factors affecting households as: savings culture,financial literacy, consumerism, income levels, education and interest rates. Measures identified to improve household savings are: Tax breaks, government incentives to saving, education, budgeting as well as developing a national culture of saving. These suggestions help outline a path for government, corporations and individuals to follow in achieving greater household savings. The research has outlined measures to improve household savings and stressed that there is no one single measure to rectify the savings dilemma, but rather it is to identify and acknowledge that the savings solution lies in addressing each of the factors affecting saving with a view to improving saving as a whole. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2011.

The study sought to investigate the perceptions of TVET students regarding vocational education and its relation to the labour market. It hoped to illuminate connections or disconnections between vocational education and employment. The research emanated from the prevailing view that TVET education by its very nature is work-oriented and therefore those who enroll in TVET colleges are able to find employment. Furthermore, that conceptually the TVET curriculum was and continues to be regarded as skills-based for labour market demands thereby enhancing national competiveness and economic growth. Qualitative questionnaires, which are open-ended in nature, were used to gather facts about students’ beliefs and experiences regarding certain engineering programmes and services offered at TVET colleges. Non-probability sampling was used to select one hundred and thirteen (113) participants who voluntarily completed qualitative questionnaires, which were structured to elicit the required information, and the results reveal divergent views shared by students. There are those who feel very strongly that a TVET qualification, in engineering in particular, leads to employment due to its demand and the fact that the institution generally assists students through the placement unit makes it even easier to find employment. Other students firmly believed that whatever qualifications one attained, the world of work cannot accommodate them, as they do not have work experience. They felt this was unfair because they are unable to find employment without being properly monitored and trained by the very same industry that hopes to employ them in the near future. They argue that the only problem pertaining to unemployment is job scarcity, rather than skills scarcity. The research is framed within the human capital theory. Research findings reveal the fact that there is no link between vocational education and the labour market and as a result employment is not easy. There are personal skills required but they are not available in our educational curriculum, which focuses on educational aspirations. The research further posits five distinct but necessary interventions that students are suggesting in order to increase their lack of experience in the job market.

Bibliography: pages 66-71. / In 1984 Bybee used 262 science educators from 41 countries to develop an instrument for measuring their ranked priorities of science and technology related global problems. In 1995 the original Bybee scale was updated and clarified, and a new 15-item version, the Le Grange Global Priorities Instrument (LGPI) was piloted, refined and administered in fifteen schools to 946 secondary school pupils speaking three different home languages in two provinces in South Africa. The study is an enlargement of the work of Bybee and Mau (1986); Bybee and 'Najafi (1986); Ndodana, Rochford and Fraser (1994); and Le Grange, Rochford and Sass (1995), and is carried out in the context of the new key programme of Meeting Basic Needs presented in Section 1.4.1 of the Government White Paper on the Reconstruction and Development Programme for the New South Africa which states:- The basic needs of people extend from job creation, land and agrarian reform to housing, water and sanitation, energy supplies, transport, nutrition, health care, the environment, social welfare and security (Government Gazette No. 16085, 23 November 1994:9). The 946 pupils surveyed in this study in 1995 comprised 414 rural-Northern Sotho pupils (sample 1) from the Northern Province; 189 urban-Xhosa speaking pupils (sample 2) and 343 urban-English speaking pupils (sample 3) from the Western Cape.

Theses (MPA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study sets out to identify the training and development needs of the black middle managers in the Income and Cash Directorate of the City of Cape Town using Hague's Model of Training Needs Analysis (Hague, 1973). This model is predicated on the creation of a collaborative relationship between the line manager, the employee and the training consultant. Their primary task is to examine issues of job descriptions, key. performance areas based on the job descriptions, workplace performance standards, sources of skills, performance gaps and their causes, as well as training solutions and non-training solutions. The study argues that there is a need to adopt a planned and systematic approach (i.e. Hague's Model) to the identification of the training and development needs of the black middle managers in the Income and Cash Directorate of the City of Cape Town. The study has four objectives: the first is to present a conceptual framework of the study by examining the existing literature on the analysis of training needs for managers in organisations; the second is to provide some background to the Income and Cash Directorate; the third objective is to adopt and apply Hague's Model of Training Needs Analysis (Hague, 1973) in the Income and Cash Directorate; and the fourth objective is to formulate a training and development strategy to be designed and implemented in order to address the training and development needs of the black middle managers in the Income and Cash Directorate. The study concludes, inter alia, that the lack of a systematic and planned approach to the identification of the training and development needs of black middle managers in the Income and Cash Directorate should be addressed by the adoption and application of Hague's Model of Training Needs Analysis (Hague, 1973), considering the fact that it makes provision for the collective determination of the training and development needs of black middle managers. The study then recommends the adoption Hague's Model of Training Needs Analysis (Hague, 1973) in the Income and Cash Directorate of the City of Cape Town. However, the following factors and issues should be taken into account in order to ensure the effective implementation of Hague's Model of Training Needs Analysis (Hague, 1973) in the organisation: finalising the job descriptions; developing specific and measurable performance standards; managing the performance of the managers; reviewing the training and development plan on a periodic basis; implementing the induction and mentorship systems; and implementing a management development programme. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie IS gemoeid met die identifisering van die opleidings- en ontwikkelingsbehoeftes van die swart middelbestuurders in die Inkomste- en Kontantdirektoraat van die Stad Kaapstad en is gebaseer op gebruikmaking van Hague se model (Hague, 1973) vir die analisering van opleidingsbehoeftes. Hierdie model bevestig die skepping van 'n verhouding van samewerking tussen die lynbestuurder, die werkgewer en die opleidingskonsultant. Hulle primêre taak is om die kwessies rakende posbeskrywing, sleutelwerksgebiede gebaseer op posbeskrywings, werkverrigtingstandaarde, bronne vir vaardigheidsopleiding, werkverrigtingsgapings en hulle oorsake, asook opleidingsoplossings en nie-opleidingsoplossings te ondersoek. Die studie argumenteer dat daar 'n behoefte bestaan vir die aanvaarding en toepassing van 'n sistematies- beplande benadering ( te wete die Hague-model) tot identifisering van die opleidings- en ontwikkelingsbehoeftes van die swart middelbestuurders in die Inkomste- en Kontant-direktoraat van die Stad Kaapstad. Die studiedoelwitte is viervoudig: die eerste is daarstelling van 'n konseptuele raamwerk aan die hand van die bestudering van bestaande literatuur oor die analise van opleidingsbehoeftes vir bestuurders in organisasies; die tweede is die verskaffing van agtergrondsinligting oor die Inkomste- en Kontantdirektoraat; die derde is die aanvaarding en toepassing van die Hague-model vir die analisering van opleidingsbehoeftes in die Inkomste- en Kontantdirektoraat; en die vierde is die aanbeveling dat 'n opleidings- en ontwikkelingstrategie vir aanspreking van die opleidings- en ontwikkelingsbehoeftes van swart middelbestuurders in die Inkomste- en Kontantdirektoraat ontwikkel en geïmplementeer word. Die studie kom tot die slotsom dat die gebrek aan 'n sistematies-beplande benadering tot die identifisering van opleidings- en ontwikkelingsbehoeftes van die swart middelbestuurders in die Inkomste- en Kontantdirektoraat aangespreek behoort te word deur die aanname en toepassing van die Hague-model (Hague, 1973) vir opleidingsbehoefte-analise aangesien dit voorsiening maak vir kollektiewe vasstelling van die swart middelbestuurders se opleidings- en ontwikkelingsbeshoeftes. Die aanvaarding van die Hague-model vir die analisering van opleidingsbehoeftes in die Inkomste- en Kontantdirektoraat van die Stad Kaapstad word dan ook aanbeveel. Daar word egter 'n aantal faktore en kwessies wat in aanmerking geneem moet word om effektiewe implementering van die Hague-model vir opleidingsanalise in die organisasie te verseker, uitgewys, te wete, finalisering van die posbeskrywings; die ontwikkeling van spesifieke en meetbare werkverrigtingstandaarde; besturing van die bestuurders se werkverrigting; periodieke hersiening van die opleidings- en ontwikkelingsplan; implementering van die inlywings- en mentorskapsisteem; en die implementering van 'n bestuursontwikkelingsprogram.

PhDRDV / Institute for Rural Development / See the attached abstract below

PhDRDV / Institute for Rural Development / See the attached abstract below