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M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The pressure exerted on schools in South Africa to provide student support is ever increasing. This is directly attributable to the lack of support in the child’s home, often with both parents being absent due to work obligations. As a result, the growing need for classroom support rests solely upon the teacher. Teachers are finding themselves in a very difficult position, firstly to find the time with already full schedules looking after the curriculum and extramural activities, and secondly feeling incompetent to adequately provide the learner with the required support. The need for inter-professional collaboration between the teacher and the educational psychologist is clear. The educational psychologist is adequately trained to provide the necessary learner support, albeit facing a logistical problem of reaching all the learners in the school. To overcome this problem, the help of the teacher is vitally important. The question that arises and which is investigated further in this study, is: What is the nature of this inter-professional collaboration between the teacher and educational psychologist that is required to address the learner’s need for classroom support? To fully grasp and understand this concept of collaboration, the analysis has been applied within the framework of the existing interaction model which classifies it into two dimensions, one being relationship interaction and the other the interaction with the organisational milieu. The research methodology used in this study can be described as a qualitative study. The study took place within an interpretative paradigm with participants being chosen using a goal-orientated sample. The participants were selected from a single school within the Gauteng educational system, to ensure the study remains focused. The data were collected from research journals, semi-structured individual interviews and uncompleted questionnaires. Finally, the data was analysed by making use of a qualitative content analysis method.

Academic performance may be understood as the accumulation of interactions among several variables over time in specific situations. Aptitude theory describes cognitive ability, motivation, and personal affect as key variables in the explanation of performance. Racial identity may be another essential variable in explaining academic achievement for non-white students. Racial identity is described as the importance and understanding that African American students ascribe to belonging to a Black racial group in a society that is dominated by non-Black members. Investigating how the factors of racial identity (private regard, public regard, and racial centrality) are associated with the other key variables of performance may provide unique opportunities to support African American students in improving academic performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among the racial identity variables, academic intrinsic motivation, perceived school support, and academic achievement for African American students. This study was conducted with students (N=56) grades 11 and 12, from two schools in a single Midwestern metropolitan district. Students completed questionnaires to provide data regarding their perceptions of school support, academic intrinsic motivation, and racial identity. The school provided information regarding grade point average, number of advanced placement courses taken, and sixth grade standardized test scores. Hierarchical linear regression models were tested to investigate whether the racial identity factors moderated the relationships between academic intrinsic motivation and perceived school support on grade point average or the number of advanced placement courses taken when prior academic achievement was controlled. Significant interactions were found between racial centrality and perceived school support on academic intrinsic motivation. Significant interactions were also found for racial centrality and private regard moderating the relationship between academic intrinsic motivation and the number of advanced placement courses taken when prior academic achievement was controlled. The findings of this study suggest that racial centrality and private regard may be important for students with lower levels of academic intrinsic motivation and lower perceived school support. These students may benefit from interventions that support feeling positive about being Black and recognize the importance of race in students' self-concepts.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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M. Ed. (Inclusive Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

In many countries the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially computers, into schools has been praised as the necessary (although not without problems) course of action for the qualitative improvement of teaching and learning methodology. However, one of the greatest barriers inhibiting the successful adoption of a range of strategies to improve learning in a new technologically enriched framework is resistance from teachers who may feel threatened and disempowered by the change brought about by the introduction of technology into their classrooms. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that influence the self-efficacy of teachers in the foundation phase: Which factors influence the computer self-efficacy of foundation phase teachers? What is the relation between the identified factors and the computer self-efficacy of teachers? 0 What are the implications of the results for future training of foundation phase teachers? All teachers (N=34) in the foundation phase in the central region of Lichtenburg, a town in the Northwest province of South Africa, participated in the study. They completed a questionnaire, which consisted of two sections: The first section determined the teachers' computer self-efficacy. a The second section identified the possible factors that may influence the computer self efficacy of foundation phase teachers. To ensure that all possible data, with regard to factors that might affect teachers' computer self efficacy, were collected, the researcher also made use of interviews and observations. The data was analysed by using frequency distributions, Pearson product-moment correlations as well as Analysis of Variance, (ANOVA). The results regarding age and computer efficacy was analysed using ANOVA. The results showed a slight difference in the computer efficacy of the teachers from different age groups. Therefore, it may be possible to enhance the computer efficacy of teachers from any age group. The results indicated a relation between the computer self-efficacy of foundation phase teachers and some of the identified factors, namely formal training, computer experience and school support. The relation was statistically as well as practically significant. Age and access to a computer did not seem to have a statistically significant effect on computer self-efficacy. The results of this study have implications for teacher training. Computer training will be to the benefit of Foundation phase teachers. Explicit guidance on the choice and use of software and the integration thereof with teaching methods is essential, because computer technology is an integrated part of the 21st century generation of learners. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

In many countries the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially computers, into schools has been praised as the necessary (although not without problems) course of action for the qualitative improvement of teaching and learning methodology. However, one of the greatest barriers inhibiting the successful adoption of a range of strategies to improve learning in a new technologically enriched framework is resistance from teachers who may feel threatened and disempowered by the change brought about by the introduction of technology into their classrooms. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that influence the self-efficacy of teachers in the foundation phase: Which factors influence the computer self-efficacy of foundation phase teachers? What is the relation between the identified factors and the computer self-efficacy of teachers? 0 What are the implications of the results for future training of foundation phase teachers? All teachers (N=34) in the foundation phase in the central region of Lichtenburg, a town in the Northwest province of South Africa, participated in the study. They completed a questionnaire, which consisted of two sections: The first section determined the teachers' computer self-efficacy. a The second section identified the possible factors that may influence the computer self efficacy of foundation phase teachers. To ensure that all possible data, with regard to factors that might affect teachers' computer self efficacy, were collected, the researcher also made use of interviews and observations. The data was analysed by using frequency distributions, Pearson product-moment correlations as well as Analysis of Variance, (ANOVA). The results regarding age and computer efficacy was analysed using ANOVA. The results showed a slight difference in the computer efficacy of the teachers from different age groups. Therefore, it may be possible to enhance the computer efficacy of teachers from any age group. The results indicated a relation between the computer self-efficacy of foundation phase teachers and some of the identified factors, namely formal training, computer experience and school support. The relation was statistically as well as practically significant. Age and access to a computer did not seem to have a statistically significant effect on computer self-efficacy. The results of this study have implications for teacher training. Computer training will be to the benefit of Foundation phase teachers. Explicit guidance on the choice and use of software and the integration thereof with teaching methods is essential, because computer technology is an integrated part of the 21st century generation of learners. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

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