Thesis (M.A.)--Royal Roads University (Canada), 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Of the nine South African provinces, Limpopo Province has produced the worst Grade 12 results in the ten years between 1996 and 2006. Yet Thohoyandou and Mutale districts in that province performed outstandingly well from 1994 to 2006. This study aimed to find out what influential factors made the difference within these two districts between high-performing and poorly performing schools, by comparing those that performed well with those that performed badly. Data were gathered by means of questionnaires completed by a total of 87 teachers, and structured interviews were conducted with principals. The sample of 24 schools was divided into two types, ‘high performing’ and ‘poorly performing’. By means of the questionnaires, a total of 114 variables were explored, encompassing a number of different factors, from which a total of 18 hypotheses were derived: three concerning teacher factors (qualifications, home language), 10 concerning school factors (locality, number of classrooms, assembly hall, library etc. and teacher-generated problems), one concerning parental involvement, two concerning teacher motivation and management (frequency and scheduling of staff meetings), and two concerning learner motivation and management (including performance with notes and summaries). The data from both groups of schools were compared in order to test the 18 hypotheses on the influence of different variables upon Grade 12 results, the null hypothesis being, of course, that there was no influence. Before this was done, pairs of variables were also compared and subjected to chi-square testing for each of the two groups of schools to see which of the factors might be related to one another in some way, thus impacting on interpretation of the results of the hypothesis testing. For each of the two groups of schools, results from the questionnaires were analyzed by means of: <ul> <li>Frequency analyses and descriptive statistics extracted from the tables of results where they were of possible interest. Variables such as the gender of teachers were, for example, included.</li> <li>Contingency tables with chi-square analysis testing the independence of the variables where possible relationships between the variables could emerge.</li> <li>Contingency tables with chi-square analysis where the connection was not significant and independence of the variables from each other could therefore be assumed.</li></ul> The chi-square analysis tested the difference between the variables at a 0.5% level of significance. Results of the various analyses were not particularly conclusive. Those with the most reliable levels of significance suggested that the most important variables were those relating to interpersonal relationships, specifically those involving different types of contact. Where staff meetings were scheduled and not particularly frequent, Grade 12 results were better. These results were also better where there was frequent contact between parents and teachers. The results of this study and in this sample area suggest that a school’s management style is more important to Grade 12 performance than the provision of funding and facilities. Further investigation is needed before these conclusions can be generalized to other districts and provinces. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

Emotions play a significant role in the lives of teachers, especially in their interactions with their workplace peers. This research uses a case study approach to explore this topic through the medium of an asynchronous on-line discussion group. Twelve public school teachers, eight women and four men, from BC, Canada, volunteered to participate anonymously in a 12 week on-line forum. The study was guided by three research questions: 1) How do teachers make sense of their emotional interactions with their peers? 2) How do these understandings change through discussion with a group of peers over 12 weeks? 3) What understandings of the emotional processes of school culture emerge when teachers discuss and reflect on these emotional aspects of their work in a collaborative setting? The participants responded to weekly focus questions and also initiated their own discussion topics. They were introduced to alternative perspectives of emotion, including the social constructionist, feminist, and discursive. They were asked to focus on everyday interactions with their peers and to suggest what the emotions they experienced and observed achieved within the group. They were also encouraged to pay attention to the feeling rules in their staff meetings and to notice which emotions they thought were deemed appropriate to be expressed and which were deemed inappropriate. Initially the participants used a number of strategies based on the individualized and psychological perspectives of emotions to make sense of their interactions. During the discussion group they were able to discuss their interactions in a safe non-judgemental setting and to reinterpret them in light of new information. Competition, patriarchy, and neo-liberal education policies were seen to influence the dynamics of the workplace. Two mechanisms which appeared to link the teachers’ individual, private experiences of emotions with the culture of the school were the use of the words “positive” and “negative” and the norms embedded in the feeling rules of each school. These mechanisms both constrained and allowed the expression of certain emotions, opinions, and points of view in the workplace, thereby highlighting the political role of emotions. Symbolically the forum represented a collective space within an individualized world.