Thesis (M.A. Education (Educational Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / Satisfactory learners′ performance in primary schools is faced by many challenges. One of these challenges is the School Management Teams′ (SMTs) competencies in the management, leadership, administration, monitoring and assessment of curriculum implementation. In an attempt to contribute towards improving the learners′ performance, this research study focused on exploring the SMTs′ competencies in the management, leadership, administration, monitoring and assessment in the management of curriculum implementation. The main focus group of the study was the heads of department (HODs) due to the fact that they are deemed as curriculum managers and are therefore well positioned to ensure successful curriculum implementation which yields good learners′ performance in schools. A qualitative case study design was adopted to explore the SMTs curriculum management competencies. This design was used because of its ability to document multiple perspectives, exploring contested viewpoints, its usefulness for exploring and understanding the process and dynamic of change as well as its potential to engage participants in the research process (Simon, 2009:23). The case study allowed the researcher to use interviews and document study in the case schools as sites of the research study and hence this facilitated triangulation. Interviews and document study were used as methods of collecting data from the participants. The population of the study was composed of 88 SMT members from 22 primary schools in Phokwane Circuit, Limpopo Province. Four primary schools were purposively sampled and from each of the schools four members of SMT namely, the principal, deputy principal and two HODs formed the study sample. The total study sample was therefore sixteen. Data collected was then analysed by content analysis method of analysis. The research findings revealed that the SMTs and HODs in particular lack competencies in the management, leadership, administration, monitoring and assessment of curriculum implementation. The study further revealed that there was lack of teamwork among members of SMTs, overcrowding of learners and v insufficient of learner and teacher support materials (LTSM) in the primary schools. The study therefore recommended that the SMTs and HODs in particular be extensively trained in the management, leadership, administration, monitoring and assessment through unique, intensive and well-tailored programmes by service providers. Furthermore, the study recommended that the HODs be thoroughly developed in educational legislative frameworks and policies in order to ensure appropriate application of the documents.

The overall purpose of this study is to examine how students and teachers state that they view the use of digital writing tools during the first years of school. Is the use seen as training the ability to use them operationally, what I in this work call goals, or are they seen as a tool to change, improve or simplify the writing process, what I call meaning? By using an interview method where students and teachers talk about the use of digital writing tools in groups, pairs or individually, I try to investigate what opportunities, positive aspects, limitations and negative aspects they state when it comes to digital writing tools. I also intend to investigate whether this can be linked to the view of digital writing tools as meaning or goal.   The teaching of reading and writing during the first years of school is influenced by both teachers' and pupils' thoughts regarding language and learning. How we view the ability to read and write and how best to learn it affects how we organize and think about the teaching we do. This work focuses on digital writing, which I define as writing that is mediated by digital tools. In this work, I use two different approaches to investigate digital writing. Hyland (2020), which is based on the concepts of product-, process- and reader-focused, and Merchant (2008), which argues that digital competence is either seen as a set of skills, as a tool for learning, or as an opportunity for transformation of subjects' representational possibilities. By applying these approaches to the concepts of meaning and goal, I get a model to start from in the abductive approach I use when I conduct a thematic analysis of the results my interviews generated.  Most students are positive about typing digitally but mention that they find it difficult to use the keyboard. The teachers also have an overall positive attitude but mention technical problems, such as logging in and connecting, as negative aspects. Both teachers and students express that the use of digital writing tools is seen as training the ability to use them (goal). Using the digital tools to improve, change and simplify the writing process (meaning) is mentioned to a greater extent by the teachers, even though the students express that it is easier to move, edit and change the text. The aspect that the digital writing tools increase social interaction is not mentioned at all by the students, but by several of the teachers.   Learning with digital tools is about being able to use them in appropriate ways. To be able to do this, both the operational skills and the knowledge of how digital resources can be used as tools for learning need to be in place.

Yes / A recent pilot study by Chesham et al. in BMC Medicine established some initial effects of the Daily Mile™ using a quasi-experimental repeated measures design, with valid and reliable outcome assessments for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, fitness and body composition. Their contribution is important and welcome, yet, alone, it is insufficient to justify the recent UK-wide adoption of the Daily Mile within the Childhood Obesity Plan. The study concluded that the Daily Mile had positive effects on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, fitness and body composition, suggesting that intervention effectiveness was confirmed. However, only some of the significant limitations of the work were addressed. Herein, we identify and discuss six key limitations, which, combined, suggest a more tentative conclusion. In summary, evidence supporting the effectiveness of the Daily Mile is in its infancy and requires refinement to fully justify its widespread adoption. Further, we need to be cautious considering that the full range of its impacts, both positive and negative, remain to be fully established.

Teachers leaving the profession is an ongoing problem; fewer teachers enter the profession each year and the number of teachers leaving the profession has increased. Many teachers listed job satisfaction as a reason for leaving the education profession, whilst citing the lack of mentoring as a cause of job dissatisfaction. Mentoring is known as the planned paring of a more experienced person with a lesser individual to help with the professional development of that individual and reduce teacher turnover. The aim of the study is to explore the impact of an effective mentoring programme at primary schools by developing and implementing such a mentoring programme to support and improve job satisfaction among beginner teachers in the province of Mpumalanga entering the profession for the first time. The following quantitative techniques were used during this study: document analysis and Likert-scale questionnaires, completed by 1 000 male and female teachers (principals, deputy principals, heads of departments, teachers and student teachers) from different races and cultures (20 teachers per school) from 50 randomly selected rural primary schools, private primary schools and Quintile 4 and 5 primary schools in the province of Mpumalanga. The analysis of data enabled me to identify a series of factors that were utilised to develop a mentoring programme that school management can implement in their schools to help beginner teachers to cope in their new work environment in order to improve job satisfaction and improve teacher retention. The factors identified include: aspects of job satisfaction that support leaners in achieving their goals; aspects of school management; the contribution of mentoring programme on the job satisfaction of beginner teachers; the responsibility of a mentor in developing a mentoring programme; the responsibility of a mentee in developing a mentoring programme; the responsibility of schools in developing a mentoring programme and characteristics that should be demonstrated by a mentor. From the data gathered, a mentoring programme was developed, namely the Hugo mentoring model. This model outlined the roles and responsibilities of mentors, mentees and school management throughout the mentoring process. The model also provided steps that should be taken into consideration when organising meetings between mentors and mentees. / Educational Studies / D. Ed.

Parental involvement in education in Kenya is mainly limited to financial contributions and teacher-parent meetings. Given the high cost of education and the need to improve quality of education, parental involvement is important. The effectiveness of educational restructuring initiatives therefore would depend on more comprehensive parental involvement in schools. A literature study investigated existing programmes and models of parental involvement in schools as well as legislation as pertaining to parental involvement in Kenya. A qualitative design utilising Epstein’s model of parental involvement was used to examine parental involvement practice in public primary schools in Kenya. Accordingly, a qualitative approach within purposefully selected schools study was conducted. The findings suggested that parental involvement activities in the study sample fitted Epstein’s typology comparatively well. Based on the findings recommendations for the improvement of parental involvement practice were presented. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

The main research question was What are the relationships between parenting style, self-regulated learning (SRL) and the academic achievement of selected (upper) primary school students in Ethiopia? The following specific research questions were formulated: • What are the views of the students on the parenting styles, and on parental acceptance and control, the cognitive strategies they use, and their self-regulated learning? • What is the relationship between parenting style and SRL? • What is the relationship between parenting style and academic achievement? • What is the relationship between SRL and academic achievement? • Does SRL moderate the relationship between parenting style and academic achievement? In this study a correlational design was used, but it was also exploratory and descriptive. Data were collected by means of a self-report questionnaire, while the academic achievements of the students were derived from official records. The questionnaire was completed by 477 randomly selected students from two classes in each of five schools in Hawasa, Ethiopia. The analysis of the data was done by means of descriptive, correlation, and ANOVA tests. The major findings included the following: Most of the children experienced acceptance by their parents, in particular from their female parents/guardians. The best levels of acceptance were, for example, “When I get a poor grade at school, my parents encourage me to try harder”, or “I can count on my parents to help me if I have some kind of a problem”, and “My parents keep pushing me to do my best in whatever I do”. However, it was found that the parents seldom spent time merely talking to their children. The female parents/guardians seemed to control their children more than the male parents/guardians, and were more involved with their children. The children, though, also believed that their parents/guardians did not really know how they spent their leisure time. More often the children perceived their parents as being neglectful. Regarding their cognitive strategies, the students particularly made use of memorization. The cognitive strategies of the children whose parents were authoritative were significantly better than those of the other children. When a student’s self-regulation increased, his/her cognitive strategies also increased, and when the cognitive strategies improved, so did the average achievement. The parents’ parenting styles were also significantly related to their children’s achievement, and were moderated by cognitive strategies as co-variants. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This graduation thesis covers the concept of free time and transformation of its understanding in history. It evaluates possibilities of school, and society in general, in support of welfare of primary school children with the use of free time activities. The practical part of the thesis maps opportunities available in this respect in the Prague 6 - Dejvice district. It contains research of opinions of parents and children on free time activities. In the thesis' conclusion a project is being proposed with a goal of introduction of various options of free time activities to children.

The work is focused on influence of schools on pupil's self-concept formation at primary school. It captures the different influences of the school and the school surrounding at shaping of the self-concept of the pupil. The theoretical part maps the internal and external that influences at pupils at school. It deals with defining of self- concept as one of the special feature of personality self development, focusing on the pupils at primary schools, which influances at success at school and self-concept formation. This work presents the various effects of schools and school surrounding that are important for the development of pupils' self-concept. At the same time the work shows the possibility of the development of a healthy self-concept of pupils at elementary school. The practical part explores the self-concept of pupils at the end of the third and fifth year. The practical tries to determine the relationship between success at school and self-concept of the pupil in the primary school. There is information about pupils' maening of success at school, if success at school is important for them. It also researches which of the various influences of school is the most important and how it differ self-consept of the pupils of the third and fifth grade.

The objective of the thesis is to evaluate the current situation of capacities of primary schools compared with the number and the distribution of pupils in compulsory education age in Prague suburban municipalities. In the analysis the area of Pragueʼs hinterland (districts Praha-východ and Praha-západ) was examined. The paper assesses the impacts of suburbanization on demographic development and on primary education in this region. Insufficient capacities of primary schools are significant problem in last few years in this area. In connection with uneven development of the region the problem does not affect all municipalities with equal intensity. Serious problems were identified in the particular area of the northern, southern and south-eastern hinterland of Prague. The strategy of the municipalities to ensure the sufficient capacities of primary schools depends on whether the municipality establishes its primary school or not and it is also connected with the availability of basic education for residents of the municipality. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

TITLE: Czech language at primary schools for children with hearing impairment SUMMARY: The topic of graduation thesis is education of students with hearing impairment, focusing on education in the Czech language. The thesis focuses on the recent history of education of students with hearing impairment, but also on the current situation in special education surdopedics and the current legal standards that define it. Sufficient space is devoted to the central theme of the thesis- the Czech language and its teaching. This thesis presents and comments the data that was obtained through quantitative research, which was implemented in four Czech primary schools for children with hearing impairment. In the investigation, we used methods of questioning (questionnaire for students and questionnaire for Czech language and literature teacher) and methods of observation (structured observation during the hours of Czech language and literature) on the 2nd stage of these schools. The aim of this thesis was the most complex mapping of Czech language and literature- in terms of modes of communication, staffing of teaching, used textbooks and teaching aids, and in terms of views of our respondents in the Czech language and literature as well as their opinion of the Czech language as such. KEYWORDS: Czech language, education...