This thesis is focused on finding relations and attitudes of students of selected secondary schools on the topic of proper nutrition, physical activities and use of addictive substances. The theoretical part contains basic knowledge of the topics. The practical part of the thesis describes and evaluates the questionnaire survey, which was carried out at selected secondary schools. A whole-school project was designed to improve the identified shortcomings.

Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio) / Background: Several chronic health conditions that previously manifested in adulthood are now increasingly being identified in young people. Various health risk behaviours established during youth results in chronic diseases of lifestyle as well as behaviours leading to injury, trauma and substance abuse. Current evidence proposes that a school health programme could become one of the most efficient means available to improve the health promotion and education of people as it reaches large numbers of young people in a replicable and sustainable way. Aim: The purpose of the study was to determine health risk behaviours and investigate the understanding and perception of health promotion among adolescent learners attending secondary schools in the Theewaterskloof region. Objectives: 1) To determine the health risk behaviours that secondary school learners in the Theewaterskloof region engage in; 2) to explore and describe the understanding and perceptions of health promotion among secondary school learners in the Theewaterskloof region and 3) To explore and describe the understanding and perceptions of health promotion among life orientation educators in the Theewaterskloof region Methodology: The study used a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach. Quantitative data was collected by means of the Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance Survey and qualitative data through focus group discussions. Ethics was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of the University of the Western Cape (13/2/3) and permission was obtained from the Western Cape Education Department, school governing bodies, learners, parents and guardians of identified schools regarding the research. Results: Data from 276 participants in Grades 8-11 from secondary schools in a rural district within the Western Cape, South Africa was analysed. The most significant health risk behaviours engaged in by the participants was substance abuse, sexual activity and physical inactivity. In focus group discussions held with both the learners and educators, the most prevalent health risk behaviours were; substance use and sexual activity. Although the health risk behaviours were such a pertinent issue for both the learners and educators, current health promotion strategies were inadequate. In terms of health promotion strategies the learners highlighted the need for adequate support and guidance from both their parents and educators. They also made reference to themselves, their parents and educators playing a role in the improvement of their health status. The educators felt that parents needed to play their role in health promotion by disciplining their children and by being better role models. They were also of the opinion that the current socio-economic climate of the Theewaterskloof region predisposes learners to specific health risk behaviours. According to them, an effective health promotion strategy would include parents, educators and learners working together to promote better health behaviours. Conclusion: Health risk behaviours are rife in rural communities. Even though the adolescents feel that the management of the trajectory of their health is their responsibility, they see a need for collaboration between educators, parents and themselves in developing health promotion. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

This dissertation presents findings from a qualitative case study of three English teachers representing varying levels of comfort with technology and years of teaching experience at St. Patrick Catholic High School. This research was motivated by two questions: (1) What are three literacy educators’ perceptions of a multimodal tablet initiative at a Catholic High School? (2) How is information regarding the use of iPad technology for literacy disseminated to three High School English teachers within a Catholic School system? Data was collected over a twelve-week period during the first academic year of implementation of a school-based multimodal tablet (iPad) initiative. Implementation during this time period was limited to students in their first and second year of high school. Under the direction of the initiative, teachers were tasked with utilizing the iPad as part of their daily instruction. Moreover, three Apps were highlighted for explicit use for uploading assignments and sharing content with students. Additionally, all textbooks utilized were in digital format. Data collected includes: artifacts, observations, interviews, and reflective field notes. Findings from this research indicate that all participants had positive perceptions of the tablet initiative and its promise for the future of the school and effect on student achievement. They felt, however, many areas that would support the effective implementation of the initiative were overlooked in lieu of the school remaining overly focused on maintaining its competitive edge against neighboring private schools. In essence, the school’s leadership utilized the iPads like “pixie dust”- sprinkling them around campus and hoping for an increase in achievement and digital citizenship among students without providing appropriate support and guidance for the teaching staff. Furthermore, the teachers believed the device presented new difficulties within the classroom dynamic including struggles with classroom management, academic honesty, and networking. The path of dissemination for information was convoluted with leadership members often verbally presenting conflicting expectations and information. While promising, the initiative lacked clearly articulated expectations for how teachers should integrate the device in their classrooms. Information related to the initiative was most often disseminated verbally via faculty meetings, but also uploaded within the school’s digital communication system. This digital drive was overly crowded with documents and lacked organization making locating information tedious and challenging. Given the pilot status of this implementation, the administrators did not present fully developed evaluative procedures or expectations for iPad integration creating uncertainty for teachers. These findings offer insight into the need for meaningful and individualized professional development opportunities for teachers that focus on deep interactions with multimodal capabilities prior to the onset of any initiative aiming to integrate iPad technology. Additionally, a clear path of dissemination in which expectations are written, explicit, and correlated with evaluative procedures would likely reduce confusion among teachers. Aligning the goals from all leadership members in an effort to create consistency among the information shared with staff is critical to implementing a technology initiative effectively.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The purpose of the study was to investigate prospective 'A' level mathematics teachers’ knowledge of the concept of a function. The study was a case study of six prospective Zimbabwean teachers who were majoring in mathematics with the intention of completing a programme leading to certification as secondary mathematics teachers. At the time of the study the six prospective teachers were in their final year of study. Prospective teachers' knowledge of the concept of a function was assessed through task-based interviews and reflective interviews. These interviews, which were done over a period of three months, were structured to capture the prospective teachers' subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge for teaching the concept of a function. The interviews were also meant to capture the prospective teachers' underlining pedagogical reasons for their choices of the examples, representations and teaching approaches when planning to teach the concept. As part of the study a theoretical framework for understanding prospective teachers' knowledge of the concept of a function was developed. The framework, which was developed, was used as an analytical tool in analyzing prospective teacher’s knowledge of the concept of a function. The results of the study indicated that the prospective teachers had a process conception of a function although some of them had given a set-theoretic definition of a function in which a function is perceived as a mathematical object. They also confined the notion of a function to sets of real numbers. Functions defined on other mathematical objects (for example, the differential operator and the determinant function) were not considered as functions by five of the six prospective teachers. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Introduction: This study was conducted because of a gap in information on the factors influencing the health promoting schools (HPS) implementation process in South Africa (SA) specifically and in secondary schools globally. The aim of this context- sensitive, practice-based study was to explore and understand the complexity of the factors that influenced the implementation process of HPS in three secondary schools in a resource-limited setting in Cape Town, SA. This research drew on a five year project that initiated the implementation of HPS in these schools. Methodology: An exploratory qualitative study was used, adopting a multiple case study design. The sample included two principals, ten teachers and 30 students involved in HPS implementation at their schools, and the three school facilitators, who served as mentors to the schools. The data collection methods included: individual interviews, focus group discussions, documentary review, secondary data and observations. A conceptual framework was developed drawing on the settings approach and various implementation frameworks and was used to analyse the findings. Thematic analysis was employed and the data for each case were analysed separately first before undertaking cross case analysis. Findings: A combination of several internal and external factors influenced the ability of the schools to implement and integrate HPS as a whole school approach. A key factor was the degree of understanding of the HPS concept by all key actors and where there was lucid understanding, there was better integration. Significant school factors included the schools’ readiness for change; a culture of collaboration and cooperation; existing school structures, practices and workload; the leadership style and management role of the principals; the role and influence of HPS champion teachers; and the role that students played. The major external factors included the role of the education district; the role of project team as external catalysts for change; and the community context. The main achievements in all schools were discrete activities, including co-curricular activities rather than changes to routine school functions. This highlighted the difficulty in implementing HPS as a whole school approach, a challenge typical of all health promoting settings. Conclusion: The findings illustrate the challenge of achieving full integration of HPS, although the influencing factors, and hence level of integration varied mainly according to context. This highlights the complexity of the different factors and their impact. The study demonstrates the paradox of HPS implementation. In that, despite the recognition of the value of HPS, the challenges to address the complexity of factors that would have brought about change through a whole school approach were too great. It was too difficult to change the status quo from what was routinely done to a more radical way of working due to the conservatism of traditional ways of working and extent of adjustment that it would have resulted. It was therefore only possible to put simple, discrete, strategies in place and that was not too resource intensive. The study concluded that this does not imply that HPS should not be attempted, particularly where there are adverse conditions that would benefit from HPS. Starting with marginal changes, it can be effective in increasing the schools’ readiness for change, building on the achievements both in activities and structures, and the resultant commitment by those involved. Once they experience these changes it will more likely enable schools to incrementally attempt more complex changes. The key recommendations for within the school include: building the understanding and capacity of relevant actors to actively support the implementation of HPS; building the capacity of the principal to create an environment which is conducive to change; and providing support for the HPS champions and students. Recommendations for those external to the school include: support from external catalysts who can provide expertise and mentorship; support from the education district, especially in terms of policies on integration, resources, and raising the profile of HPS; and better collaboration between the education and health sectors. Although most of the literature on HPS implementation identifies similar issues to those found in this study, the complexity has not, to date, been sufficiently described. The contribution of this study, therefore, is to take the debate on the complexity of the factors influencing HPS implementation forward.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / During apartheid, black learners with disabilities experienced difficulties accessing education. At this time very few special schools existed and admissions were limited, as they were restricted according to certain segregation criteria. In 2001, the Education White Paper 6 was published, demarcating that South African education should shift into the international trend of inclusion. Inclusion, relating to mainstream schools, encourages the schools to review their structures, approaches to teaching, student grouping and promote schools to meet the diverse needs of all students. Research indicated that inclusive education has been promoted in primary schools. However, there is limited research regarding inclusive education in secondary schools in South Africa. The purpose of this study was to explore the implementation of inclusive education in secondary schools for learners with special needs. The research study used an exploratory qualitative methodology with an interpretivist approach. Participants included the principal, teachers and learners from a secondary school which has an inclusive approach. Purposive sampling was used to identify participants. There were 12 participants who partook in the study and data was collected through a focus group discussion and individual interviews. The focus group consisted of 6 non-disabled learners who participated in the study. Data were analysed through the use of thematic analysis. The results suggest that learners with special needs should be taught in this mainstream secondary school. Teachers and non-disabled learners accept learners with special needs in their classroom and at their school. However, there are a number of barriers such as access, awareness, lack of training, that hinder the full participation of teachers when assisting learners with special needs.

This study was made for the purpose of determining the status and methods of conducting non-athletic extra-curricular activities in the secondary schools of Central West-Texas with the hope that the findings may prove valuable to school boards and administrators in setting up standards for evaluating their activity programs.

The purpose of this study is to make a survey of some changes in the aims, techniques, and methods of teaching mathematics in the secondary schools and to some philosophical bases underlying the changes.

This is a study to ascertain the qualifications, the general status, and in-school and out-of-school activities of the industrial arts teachers employed in the secondary schools in Arkansas in order to compare them with the qualifications and general status of the industrial arts teachers employed in the State of Texas in 1953, as reported by Jack P. Dial.

O objetivo central deste trabalho foi o estudo da evolução das concepções de estudantes de 2ª e 3ª séries do Ensino Médio de duas escolas da Rede Pública de Ensino, sobre alguns conceitos, envolvendo o tema soluções e da utilização, dessas concepções na construção de um modelo que permitisse interpretar o processo de dissolução como um conjunto de interações entre as partículas constituintes do sistema. Partiu-se do pressuposto de que os estudantes possam ficar insatisfeitos com suas teorias de momento quando, o que acreditam, entra em contradição com as novas informações. Dessa forma, um processo em sala de aula foi desenvolvido para desencadear e encorajar discussões e reflexões sobre as próprias concepções, visando a reestruturação destas para níveis de maior abstração. O estudo se alicerçou em pressupostos construtivistas, e em estratégias de ensino para a mudança conceitual. Os resultados obtidos basearam-se na análise das concepções dos estudantes, antes, durante e após o processo de ensino, o que possibilitou a elaboração de níveis explicativos, os quais permitiram a interpretação da evolução das concepções, desde as noções macroscópicas para as noções microscópicas dentro do tema escolhido. Pôde-se perceber uma evolução conceitual, de níveis concretos, com pouca abstração, para níveis conceituais mais complexos, uma vez que os alunos estão habituados a raciocinar sobre o real. Portanto, as explicações apresentadas pelos alunos foram influenciadas pelos aspectos observáveis e pelas experiências vivenciadas. Também foi possível perceber a influência positiva na construção de conceitos quando da participação ativa do estudante, através de experimentos e experiências em sala de aula que lhes permitissem refletir sobre suas ideias e confrontá-las com outras. Nesta pesquisa procurou-se ir além do conhecimento das concepções alternativas, propondo um modelo de ensino que pudesse contribuir para a superação das mesmas, além de auxiliar os professores a planejarem um ensino mais significativo, especificamente dentro do tema soluções e em outros. / The primary aim of the paper was to study the evolution of second and third grade junior high student\'s conceptions in two public schools as to concepts dealing with the solution theme, and the use of such conceptions in the development of a model which allows an interpretation of the dissolution process as body of interaction among the forming particles of the system. It is understood that students may be unsatisfied with their current theories, when they allegedly contradict new information. In this way, a process was developed to encourage and bring about discussions and reflections about such conceptions, aiming their reconstruction to levels of higher abstraction. The research was based on constructivist conjectures and teaching strategies for a conceptual change. The results obtained were based on a study of the students\' conceptions before, during, and after the teaching process, and that made an elaboration of explicative levels possible allowing the interpretation of conception evolution from its macroscopic to its microscopic notions within the chosen theme. A conceptual evolution will be noticed; an evolution of concrete levels to more complex conceptual levels since students more often reason facts. Therefore, all explanations presented by the students were influenced by observable aspects and their experiences. Also, a positive influence on the construction of concepts was seen as result of the student\'s active part through activities and experiments in class which made them reflect about their ideas and how to confront them with others. The research tried to reach beyond the knowledge of alternative conceptions offering a teaching model which might contribute to overcome such conceptions and help teachers to plan a more meaningful teaching particularly adjusted within the solution theme and in others.