At present there is no cure or vaccine for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) therefore prevention programmes are seen as the only means of reducing the spread of the disease. HIV/AIDS education programmes in schools have been identified as the most effective intervention because billions of children can be reached worldwide and because schools are the one social institution with which most children come into contact. Young people in particular have been identified as the age group most in need of a preventative programme. The aim of this study is to explore the perceptions of grade six and seven learners with regard to the Life Skills programme focusing on HIV/AIDS education in the Port Elizabeth region. In order to fulfill the above aim a qualitative study was undertaken within an exploratory descriptive approach. A non-probability, convenient sample of six schools were selected. Focus groups, utilising an unstructured interview, were used to gather qualitative data about the perceptions of grade six and seven learners. The focus groups consisted of 10-12 participants. The data was thematically analysed using Tesch’s approach. The major findings of the present study included the following: 1. Learners’ perceptions of completing the questionnaire were generally positive in nature. Negative perceptions related to practical issues such as the length of the questionnaire and the time of administration. 2. Learner’s perceptions of the programme were generally positive. 3. Learners’ felt more comfortable discussing HIV/AIDS with parents and teachers. xi 4. Learners’ appeared to be well informed about high-risk behaviour related to HIV/AIDS and existing myths. 5. Contact with HIV+ people is non-existent. However, learner’s felt that the programme had fostered positive attitudes towards HIV+ people. 6. Learner’s felt that schools had an important role to play in sharing information about HIV/AIDS. These findings seem to indicate positive outcomes for the programme as a whole, in that is was successful in terms of conveying information regarding HIV/AIDS; it led to positive changes in attitudes, especially towards HIV+ people; and it confirmed the school as the best setting for implementing HIV/AIDS Life Skills programmes.

Doctorat en sciences psychologiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

D.Ed. / The general preference for English as language of teaching and learning (LoLT) poses a formidable learning barrier to many English Second Language (ESL) learners in South African schools. Addressing this barrier is the responsibility of the whole-school with the support of the Department of Education. In particular, school based support teams (SBST) are tasked with the support of learners who experience reading barriers in an inclusive mainstream school. This thesis concerns the implementation of a whole-school intervention at a primary school in a disadvantaged community in Gauteng, South Africa, where ESL learners experience severe barriers to reading acquisition. The aim was to provide support to the whole-school to address reading barriers in an inclusive environment. Objectives were to identify the elements of whole-school reading; to develop and implement an integrated whole-school reading intervention; to train educators to address learners’ reading barriers; and to provide guidelines to the Inclusion and Special Schools Unit (provincial level), District Based Support Team (DBST) and the school, to address reading barriers in future. A literature study reviewed themes regarding inclusion, support structures and whole-school development. Literature dealing with essential elements of whole-school reading, approaches and strategies provided a theoretical framework for the implementation of whole-school reading. A qualitative study within an interpretive paradigm using practitioner action research was conducted. The research site was a primary school in a disadvantaged area in Gauteng, which had referred ESL learners to the local Inclusion and Special Schools Unit for support. Action research was selected because of its fundamental principle of participant empowerment through participation, collaboration, acquisition of knowledge and social change. Data was gathered from staff and learners and analysed during the phases of the action research process. Data collection included learner and educator questionnaires, discussions, observations, field notes, pre- and post baseline scholastic assessment, focus group interviews and the researcher’s reflections. Findings indicated that SBST’s need support in order to address reading barriers. ESL learners do not receive sufficient exposure to English to develop reading skills. Intermediate phase educators have not been trained to teach learners to read and improve their reading skills. Whole-school reading intervention was thus valuable in providing training and support structures for the school to address reading difficulties.

M.Ed. / The research report in this study deals with the views of teachers on Planning, Organisation and Implementation of EE in the senior phase. The aim of the study was to investigate teachers' views on how EE could be integrated within existing learning Programe in the senior phase of Primary Schools.It also seeks to identify necessary support Programs, which may be, needed by senior phase teachers in introducing EE within the Curriculum. A random Sample of five (05) Primary Schools from the total of eleven (11) primaries within the Itsoseng Circuit in the Lichtenburg district participated in the study. Interview was used as a sole tool for data gathering from the participants viz: teachers and principals (Educators and site managers). The findings of the study indicate that the majority of teachers responsible for senior phase have knowledge on EE, but have insufficient in-depth knowledge on EE related issues. The sites managers and subject advisors have a mammoth task to perform, so that EE can be integrated within existing learning areas of the core curriculum, like other school subjects. The general impression captured is that Environmental Studies and EE are just one as the same. Based on the findings of the research, it is the recommended that site managers together with subject advisors should take the leading role in ensuring that EE related activities are well planned, organised and implemented in primary schools. The main implications of the findings are: There is a need for support programs for senior phase teachers in the circuit. There is a need for active involvement of all stakeholders for the successful implementation of EE in schools.

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

M.Ed. (Educational Linguistics) / This study sets out to examine the use of mother tongue education in one Grade 3 classroom in the foundation phase in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The focus is on learners’ and parents’ whose children are in that Grade 3 classroom as well as educators’ experiences of the use of mother tongue education. The aims of this study were to examine how, when, why and by whom mother tongue is used in the Grade 3 classroom and to examine how mother tongue medium of instruction can contribute to the teaching of literacy in the Grade 3 classroom. With these aims in mind, data were collected from the Grade 3 teacher and the Grade 3 learners as well as the parents of these learners. A qualitative approach was used to obtain data from the Grade 3 teacher, five Grade 3 learners as well as parents of these learners. Classroom observations and semi-structured interviews were used as means of collecting data. Interviews were conducted one-on-one and 6 lessons on Literacy as a learning area in the foundation phase were observed. The findings in this study reveal that the mother tongue, Xitsonga was the dominant language during classroom activities. This was influenced by the learners’ inability to use the second language. It is also revealed that the teacher and learners as well as parents have positive attitude towards the mother tongue as a language of learning and teaching in schools. However, some parents still believe that their children should be taught through English as the medium of instruction hoping that they will be able to secure better jobs. Another finding is that not all learners’ language needs are catered for in black African schools, hence, such learners experience difficulties in learning through a language which is not their mother tongue. On the basis of the findings, the study recommends that the Department of Education should support the use of the mother tongue in the L2 classroom in order to strengthen literacy during early learning.

No description available.

No description available.

Doctor Educationis / The Basic Concepts Mediated Learning Programme (BCMLP) was developed to enhance the cognitive and scholastic functioning of learners who experience barriers to learning in the early years of schooling in the South African context. The study aimed to initiate a process of evaluation of the efficacy of this metacognitive programme with Grade 2 learners from the ‘Cape Flats’, an historically disadvantaged community in Cape Town. The study was conducted simultaneously in two local education authorities by independent teams of fieldworkers in each of the education authorities. This quantitative, quasi-experimental, non-equivalent comparison group design study was implemented with learners who were equally assigned to an Experimental group (N=54) or Comparison group (N=55). English home-language and Bilingual (English and Afrikaans) learners made up a majority of the study sample. The study was conducted in English. Extensive pre-test and post-test batteries consisting of cognitive (information-processing), cognitive modifiability (dynamic assessment), and scholastic tests were used to collect data. A number of structured interview schedules including post-intervention teacher rating scales were also used for the purpose of data gathering. The results from the parametric and non-parametric methods of data analysis selected, revealed a pattern of significant pre- to post-study cognitive and scholastic gains in scores for learners in both the Experimental and Comparison groups (p<0.05). In addition, it was found that the study participants, irrespective of their designation to the Experimental or Comparison group became more modifiable and demonstrated enhanced information-processing abilities at the end of the study. Significantly greater gains were, however, attained by learners in the Experimental group in a majority of the areas assessed (7 out of 12) (p<0.05). Learners in the Experimental group were also found to be more responsive to instruction and modifiable than learners in the Comparison group. Learners who participated in the BCMLP were found to benefit with respect to their knowledge of basic concepts, cognitive and scholastic functioning. However, it was not possible to infer from the current study that findings were attributable to any one specific procedure (mediational teaching, concept teaching, vocabulary teaching and teaching to enhance information-processing) or process (Basic Concept Teaching Model) of this metacognitive programme. Furthermore, the study had a number of limitations and findings should be regarded with some caution until replication studies can be completed and the long-term effects of the study can be evaluated. The study provides some evidence for the efficacy of short-term, small group intervention programmes implemented by Learning Support Teachers within disadvantaged communities. The study also provides some initial evidence for the efficacy of the BCMLP (a specially designed metacognitive programme). The BCMLP was found to be both appropriate and manageable for Learning Support Teachers to implement in the South African context / South Africa

Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Humanities Education / MEd / Unrestricted