M.Comm. / The purpose of this dissertation is to assess the progress that has been made in the provision of housing finance to low-income earners. In 1994, housing affordability was constrained, as around 86% of households earned below R3 500. The focus, therefore, is on the role played by both government and the four major banks in broadening access to housing finance for these households and also those who earn less than R7 500. Frameworks that brought about certain initiatives aimed at addressing this problem are explored. On the side of government, the housing subsidy scheme and the role played by the government housing finance institutions (i.e. the National Housing Finance Corporation and the Rural Housing Loan Fund) are explored. On the banking sector side, the provisioning of housing finance prior to and after the implementation of the Financial Sector Charter (FSC) in 2004 is investigated. The dissertation concludes by looking the challenges that exist in the low-cost housing finance environment. The paper notes that, although some considerable progress has been made in the broadening of access to housing finance, there is a huge gap between the number of subsidies approved and the number of households that have benefited from the government subsidy scheme, possibly resulting from, among other things, capacity constraints at local government level. In respect of the banking sector, data analysed shows that bank involvement in the low-income market was very minimal before the implementation of the FSC. However, as much as some progress has been made, there are some serious challenges in this market that could have possibly prevented the role players from extending this access to the rest of the target group.

Information and communication technology (ICT) is considered a vital enabler in the quest to reduce the disparities between the developed and developing world. Developments in mobile technology have dramatically changed the ICT landscape. Mobile cellular technologies have flourished and proliferated more rapidly than any previous technology hitherto and is thus considered, at this time, the most pervasive technology in the world. However, the introduction of mobile ICT in rural formal education is faced with many challenges and ways in which to maximise its usage is still being explored. This research explores mobile digital literacy skills required by a rural educator to successfully integrate mobile technology into the classroom. This exploration used the ICT for rural education development (ICT4RED) project as its case study and added dimensions to the project through the development of a framework for mobile digital literacy skills. ICT4RED was an appropriate case for the exploration as it met the following criteria: educators were using mobile technologies in the classroom, educators had been part of the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) course offered by the ICT4RED project and educators were based in a rural resource-constrained area in South Africa. Questionnaires were used to gain insight into which skills educators rated as most important, and least important, as based on their teaching experience using mobile technologies in the classroom. The work is grounded on an interpretivist research philosophy and followed an inductive reasoning approach. Additionally, the research employed a qualitative method of analysis with a single case study, comprising of two units, facilitating a perspective of the phenomenon. Framework development was enabled through a literature review which assisted in theorising the mobile digital literacy skills. An expert review, followed by a questionnaire driven survey for educators, was conducted. The qualitative analysis revealed that most of the mobile digital literacy skills from literature were important and should be employed. The majority of educators and experts felt that the skills could not be categorised as, due to the lack of resources, most are considered very important. The lack of stable internet connection/s were also considered a major (if not the major) hindrance to successful mobile integration in rural areas. The main research question answered by this study is: How can a framework for educators’ mobile digital literacy skills support educators using mobile technology in formal rural education? The findings of this research should be significant to developers of mobile technology training programmes, as well as educators trying to successfully integrate mobile technology into their classrooms. The framework will enable both trainers and educators to prioritise skills and channel resources into the acquisition of those skills which have been identified as important by this research work. / School of Computing / M. Sc. (Computing)

The school effectiveness, the school's ability to deliver (produce results), and the improvement of the matriculation (Grade 12) results in the Limpopo Province has been a priority ever since the new democratic government took over in 1994. The Limpopo Province has always scored lower than all the other nine provinces in the country in the matriculation (Grade 12) results. Among the reasons given as contributing to this state of affairs, was the ineffective way of governing and administering schools. This research investigated the development of the school governing structures in the Limpopo Province. The focus was mainly on revealing the nature of the school governing structures that existed in the province and how those governing structures influenced the overall performance of the schools. The researcher found that the most suitable school governing structures for the Limpopo Province schools are those that will provide parents with more meaningful participation in the education of their children and will inculcate democracy in the governance of schools. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (History of Education)

The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which rural schools understand and perceive the concept of participative management. The concept of participative management has been viewed as an ideal style of leadership and management for school development purposes. In South Africa’s case, it is an educational policy which is expected to reign in all school management bodies. Many theorists envisaged participative management as enhancing active involvement of relevant stakeholders and it has been advocated by many scholars who believe it is the best leadership style in implementing democratic values to education, particularly South African rural education, which is still in a transitional stage. As an interpretive orientated study, this research had an interest in understanding the research participants’ subjective experiences as well as their general perception of participative management. As case-study-driven research, it sought to investigate their understanding of the concept in their natural setting. This included various meanings they aligned with and attached to participative management, their attitudes, their interpretations and feelings towards it. The study employed a focus group data gathering technique in collecting data. The findings of this study suggest that participative management has been embraced by rural school management to a certain extent. There are potentially positive aspects that have been brought by participative management to the school, namely, shared vision, common goals, shared decision-making and general involvement of relevant stakeholders. However, the study has depicted a lack of ethical values on the side of some stakeholders and this hinders the smooth implementation of participative management. The study has also revealed that there are challenges facing rural schools in terms of parental involvement in school governance. Challenges such as lack of commitment to the school, illiteracy among adults and communication breakdown between the school and its parents are still rife in rural schools. Besides these challenges, the blood of participative management is flowing steadily in the veins of the rural school communities.

The study investigated errors made by Grade 9 learners when simplifying algebraic expressions. Eighty-two (82) Grade 9 learners from a rural secondary school in Limpopo Province, South Africa participated in the study. The sequential explanatory design method which uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches was used to analyse errors in basic algebra. In the quantitative phase, a 20-item test was administered to the 82 participants. Learners’ common errors were identified and grouped according to error type. The qualitative phase involved interviews with selected participants. The interviews focused on each identified common error in order to establish the reasons why learners made the identified errors. The study identified six (6) common errors in relation to simplifying algebraic expressions. The causes of these errors were attributed to poor arithmetic background; interference from new learning; failure to deal with direction and operation signs; problems with algebraic notation and misapplication of rules. / Mathematics Education / M. Ed. (Mathematics Education)

Empirical research has confirmed the importance of supervision and support to subordinates in improving the quality of performance. This study investigated the nature of supervision and support provided at previously marginalised school-based Grade classes of the Gauteng North District, at Gauteng Province in South Africa. To meet this objective qualitative research design was used. The subjects of the study were all purposefully selected practitioners, Head of Departments and school principals. Data was collected through observations, documents analysis and semi structured interviews (individual and focus group). The total of 33 purposefully selected participants took part in the research. Participants were selected according to the socio-economic status of their schools. It included schools from rural, semi-rural, semi urban and farm areas. To analyse the information collected, responses were grouped into categories as they appear in the practitioners’ observation template and ATLAS ti. software themes for individual and focus group interviews. The findings showed that the nature of supervision and support provided in Grade classes compromised the quality of teaching. Practitioners were also very vocal about the absence of support they get with regard to classroom practices from the School Management Team (SMT). The Head of Departments also mentioned lack of knowledge of Grade R practices, work overload and limited time as challenges that inhibit them to provide the needed support. Their concerns were also confirmed by the findings of the conducted classroom observations. The mistakes and omissions made by practitioners when carrying out Grade R daily routine activities indicated a lack of proper guidance and support. It was also confirmed during practitioners’ interviews that, practitioners worked on their own without any classroom support or guidance. The problems noted were exacerbated by the lack of professional qualification of practitioners. This study made recommendations and proposed a functional model of supervision and support that could address the challenges of poor supervision and support at Grade R classes. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Despite educational legislation and school reforms to promote improved performance and quality education, underperformance among secondary school learners is still the norm in the rural schools of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). This dissertation investigates the problem of learner underachievement by means of a literature study and an empirical inquiry. The former provides an overview of the provisions for and problems of rural schooling in both an international and local context and it is followed by a discussion of learner assessment and learner achievement in the South African education system, with specific reference to KZN's schooling system and the problem of learner underachievement. The empirical inquiry investigates the experience of learner achievement in four rural schools in KZN and makes use of qualitative data gathered during individual and focus group interviews conducted with a small sample of underachieving learners and their parents, educators and school managers. Based on these findings, recommendations for improvement are made. / Comparative Education / M.A. (Comparative Education)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of negative influences facing children with physical disabilities living in rural areas. Children with physical disabilities living in rural areas of South Africa have to deal with many negative influences in addition to their disability. The main theme is that all children in rural areas face negative influences, but these are far worse for the children with physical disabilities. Societal and educational exclusion and poverty continue to place these children at a disadvantage despite South Africa’s policies that promote inclusion and equality. These rights are central to a meaningful democracy yet; research indicates that children with physical disabilities remain in a hopeless situation in the rural areas. To escape their plight inclusive education is pivotal. It is argued that the government’s capacity to deal with all the negative influences is limited and this therefore necessitates community involvement. Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological approach was used both to investigate the impact of the negative influences facing children with physical disabilities as well as providing a framework that tackles the barriers that prevent this marginalised group of children having an equal opportunity to education. A qualitative and ethnographic study was undertaken to investigate these issues. This entailed the researcher living in four rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal, and collecting data through community participation, observations, questionnaires and interviews as well as photographs and drawings collected from the children. Data was analysed and poverty and exclusion clearly impacted not only on the children with physical disabilities, but their parents/caregivers. It became clear to the researcher that unless this group of children received early intervention to prepare them for education they would not be able to be included in formal education from Grade 1 but would need to begin their schooling in a specialised and exclusive environment. A framework for intervention based on Bronfenbrenner’s model was formulated that involved community involvement on the micro and mesosystemic levels. This framework is unique in that it will provide intensive early intervention for children with physical disabilities with the explicit aim of preparing them for inclusion and at the same time giving their parents/caregivers an opportunity to escape their plight of poverty.Every child in South Africa according to our Constitution and other policies is guaranteed equality. This equality needs to be provided to children with physical disabilities before they attend formal schooling and end up floundering never having had the opportunity to lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty that they face. Contemporary models for understanding these negative impacts and exclusion suggest that an important outcome of rehabilitation services is to optimise children with physical disabilities participation in the home, school and community life. Bronfenbrenner’s Model is based on the premise that disability involves an interaction between features of the child and features of the environment that can be adapted to promote educational inclusion and thus reduce the cycle of poverty. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

This study is based on a need for community involvement in farm schools to enhance effective teaching and efficient learning. The rationale behind it was to determine the current state of community involvement in farm schools in the Pietermaritzburg area, with a view to determining the extent to which the current community i nvolvement, namely, the active participation of parents, teachers, the farmer, the church, the state and the private sector could be extended on a large scale. The study revealed that the community involvement dimension of schooling is central to the teaching profession. If neglected, no effective teaching and efficient learning can materialise. The role of the farm school principal in the realisation of this goal is indispensable. The empirical survey and literature revealed that farm school principals can address the serious shortcoming concerning the participation of community members in the affairs of farm schools. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Comparative Education)

The purpose of the study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions of parental involvement in children’s education in the rural Mawa and Molototsi circuits in the Mopani district, Limpopo Province. Three-hundred-and-thirty (330) teachers participated in this research survey. The results indicated that the common perception amongst teachers was that parental involvement had positive benefits for both learner performance and social behaviour. The study also revealed that schools used involvement initiatives and strategies to a lesser extent than expected. Primary schools reported higher rates of parental involvement than secondary schools, which suggested that parents of primary school children were likelier to involve themselves in school governance than those of secondary school children. The extent to which the school used media to promote parental involvement was found to be small and moderate. The respondents also perceived certain social and economic barriers as moderate to large impediments to parental involvement. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)