This study investigated the extent to which human and civic values were addressed in the Life Skills and English Literacy curriculum for grade three. It also looked at the extent to which these values were applied in the Rainbow workbooks, which are workbooks provided to all learners by the national Department of Basic Education. The study began by defining values and selecting two lists of values, a democratic/civic list of values which included: democracy, social justice, equity, equality, non-racism, non-sexism, ubuntu (human dignity), an open society, accountability (responsibility), rule of law, respect, reconciliation and peace. The second list was a human/spiritual list of values which included: truth, respect, kindness, tolerance, responsibility, cleanliness, neatness, contentment, courage /creativity. The research method used was a content analysis. The discourse in this field indicates that there is a need to define a list of common values that will transform people into citizens with characters that will be of benefit to them and to the society at large, and that education should play an important role in promoting these values. The important role of values in the curriculum is endorsed by local and international studies as well as the Department of Basic Education. The Department of Education developed a Manifesto of Values (2001) as a blueprint for values in education. Despite this, the present CAPS has a minimal focus on values and as a result so do the workbooks. A number of very fundamental and pertinent values don’t appear in the curriculum or the workbooks. The values most addressed are responsibility towards personal hygiene and the environment and respect. The values least addressed are truth and peace. The present state of the values addressed in the curriculum does not equip it to transform society to the one that was envisioned in the Manifesto. This study recommends that the curriculum needs to be infused with human and civic values across the subjects, additionally special attention needs to go into developing educators to ensure they know how and why to practice these values. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2014.

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 &lsquo / Cape Flats&rsquo / , 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.<br /> <br /> 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&lt / 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&lt / 0.05). Learners in the Experimental group were also found to be more responsive to instruction and modifiable than learners in the Comparison group.<br /> <br /> 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.<br /> <br /> 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.

Part of my responsibilities as Life Orientation teacher at Sagewood School is the Community Outreach Programme. In particular encouraging participation and ensuring that learners enjoy a life giving and reciprocal experience as they focus beyond themselves in the wider community. Information for this research was gathered from other independent schools, parents and learners from Sagewood. Sources included answers to questionnaires, class discussions and feedback from past experiences. My focus included a study of the history of outreach, works on postmodernism, social construction, practical theology and my position of co-constructor with the learners. Important outcomes included ensuring that the voices of the learners are heard in decision making and planning for future outreach activities. Given the constantly changing nature of society such activities need to be evaluated regularly. Lastly, people care in different ways and about different things and we need to encourage learners to care, in their own unique way. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

This study was conducted at a school designated as a higher primary school comprised of grade 0-9 learners (GET band) in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. With the advent of the new curriculum in South Africa, we are also grappling with the implementation of the new curriculum at this school. This motivated me to investigate the benefits of eliciting and integrating learners’ prior everyday knowledge and experiences during teaching and learning of acids and bases. Essentially, the study sought to gain insight into whether engaging learners during practical activities using easily accessible materials from their homes facilitated meaning-making of acids and bases. This study is located within an interpretive paradigm. Within this paradigm, a qualitative case study approach was conducted with the researcher’s Grade 7 class. To gather data, document analysis, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, lesson observations, stimulated recall discussions while watching the videotaped lessons as well as focus group interviews with learners were used. An inductive analysis to discover patterns and themes was applied during the data analysis process. The validation process was done through watching the videotaped lessons with the teachers who observed the lessons. Also, transcripts of the interviews and a summary of discussions were given back to the respondents to verify their responses and check for any misinterpretations. Rich data sets were analysed in relation to the research questions which were: How do Natural Sciences teachers elicit and integrate learners’ prioreveryday knowledge and experiences to facilitate learning of scientific concepts of acids and bases in their classrooms? Does engaging learners in practical activities using everyday substances enhance their conceptual development and understanding of acids and bases? The findings from the study revealed that the use of learners’ prior everyday knowledge and experiences during teaching and learning of acids and bases facilitated meaningful learning. Furthermore, linking learning to learners’ everyday experiences enabled them to learn scientific concepts in a relaxed and non-threatening environment. It is thus recommended that teachers should be supported in their endeavours to incorporate learners’ real life experiences during their teaching and learning repertoires. Notwithstanding, as much as there were benefits in this study there were, however, also some challenges that were encountered, such as language, which warrants further research.

This study was conducted in order to understand to what extent Grade 2 teachers use books (or other forms of extended text) in their reading lessons in Oshindonga where very little published material is available, and, if so, whether they engage in shared reading with these materials or not. The study also explored ways to introduce more books (or other forms of extended text) into Oshindonga classrooms. The study took the form of an interpretive case study. It was conducted in two primary schools in Otjiwarongo district in the Otjozondjupa region of Namibia. Two qualified Grade 2 teachers were selected. The purpose of this sampling was to gain an in depth understanding of how these two selected teachers taught reading in Oshindonga. The data was gathered by using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions, as well as lesson observations and stimulated recall with each individual teacher after each lesson. The purpose of this was to gain clarity in areas that were not clear during lesson presentations. A focus group interview was also conducted in order to generate ideas about how to introduce more extended texts into the classroom. The key fmdings are that both schools in the study lacked books in Oshindonga, and the teachers lacked an understanding of the importance of using books (or other forms of extended text). Other key findings are that teachers had a problem in choosing appropriate texts to read with their learners; teachers understand reading more as decoding than reading for meaning and pleasure; children were not asked any comprehension questions and the two teachers had different views on the value of shared reading. The research data revealed that there are problems in teaching literacy in Namibian African languages.

This research studies the acquisition and development of specific reading skills in English by "Coloured" primary school children for whom English is a second language. This study involves both oral and silent reading research. Developmental trends in both modes of reading are compared with those established for reading in Afrikaans in order to ascertain whether any transfer takes place from Afrikaans to English. For analysis of data obtained from oral reading, this researcher adopted an error analysis method devised by Kenneth Goodman (1973), viz. Miscue Analysis (MA). Readers read a passage and their miscues were recorded. From the miscues this researcher established, for the different standards: the frequencies of miscues; readers' ability to associate sound and symbol; sensitivity to grammar; meaning access; and correction strategies. In the silent reading research, readers' performances in a test battery of eight sub-tests provide insights into the presence or absence of information processing skills. Readability levels (Singer and Donlan (1980), discrimination index and facility value (Heaton 1975), and Chi-Square Statistics (Roscoe 1969) determine the development of specific reading skills, viz.: utilization of textual cues; understanding cause and effect relationships and sequence; previewing and anticipation; scanning, referring and synthesizing; understanding text structure and coherence; understanding propositional development; understanding synonymy and antonimy; and understanding communicative value. Grellet (1981), Kennedy (1981), and Harri-Augstein (1982), inter alia, regard these skills as crucial to efficient text processing. Analyses of data show there are developmental patterns, but skills emerge 1 - 3 years late when compared with results obtained by Kennedy (1981 ) and develop at a retarded and erratic pace. The readers in all the standards have not mastered the skills sufficiently to process text efficiently. This research shows that Std 3 is a cut-off level where a transition takes place from lower-order to higher-order skills processing. In addition, Chi-Square Statistics show little transfer from Afrikaans to English; the skills develop independently in the two languages. Enquiry has identified various factors that influence skills deficiencies, viz.: syllabus prescriptions and problems of interpretation; teachers' understanding of the reading process and the methods employed; teacher-training progresses; materials prescribed for reading; and reading in the society. This research recommends ways in which short comings can be remedied

This thesis examines the development of children's reading skills, in both the mother tongue and English as a foreign language, during their first four years of school. It is an attempt to enter the reading world of very young learners in underdeveloped, mainly rural communities in search of practical insights into the teaching of reading in the junior primary classroom. The research focuses specifically on two approaches to reading instruction. The first is the approach traditionally used in black South African schools, characterised by teacher-centredness and rote-recall techniques. The second is a more progressive and communicative approach encapsulated in the language courses of the Molteno Project. Both approaches, and their theoretical underpinnings, are described in some detail. The context of language-in-education policy in South Africa is also reviewed. The research then tests the hypothesis that a communicative approach to reading pedagogy produces measurably better results in pupils than more traditional methods. The research explores the use of quantitative methods of evaluation, giving justification for their use, and examines the practicability of standardised EFL tests at junior primary level. Existing tests are evaluated and found wanting. The process of developing and administering original hybrid-communicative tests is described. The results of these, which were administered over four years to a total of some 6 000 pupils across the first four years of school, are assessed. Implications for testers, teachers, educational administrators and educational NGOs are extrapolated.

This study investigates the effect of multilevelled semanticogrammatical consciousness raising procedures on fossilised verb structures. It is hypothesised that these procedures will reactivate grammaticisation processes leading to the destabilisation of fossilised structures. The study attempts to establish whether fossilised structures can be destabilised, how processes of grammaticisation may be activated, whether adult advanced learners are still able to improve grammatical accuracy levels, what cognitive processes operate in interlanguage change, and how ESL teaching in the primary school classroom may be improved. The subjects are first-year ESL teacher trainees who have been learning English in formal classrooms for eight to ten years. They are subjected to pretests, a ten-week consciousness raising intervention programme, and posttests. The consciousness raising activities are set in a primary school teaching context, thus establishing relevance. The varied strategies used are presented progressively on different levels of consciousness. The theoretical contributions of the study are the insights gained in respect of the psychodynamics of fossilisation and learning theory as it relates to semantico-grammatical consciousness raising within a Cognitive Theory paradigm. According to the findings the total number of verb errors are significantly reduced and self-monitoring and other-monitoring skills significantly improved after the intervention. The semantic value of verb structures evidently acts as a regulator of form: semantically significant structures are destabilised but semantically vacuous structures do not respond to semanticogrammatical consciousness raising strategies. By implication, semantic significance of structures promotes learnabili ty whereas semantic vacuity is conducive to fossilisation. A relatively invariant ability gap between self-monitoring and other-monitoring is also identified. Subjects are significantly better at monitoring structures produced by others than their own. Self-monitoring, which is a necessary prerequisite for interlanguage change, is improved by consciousness raising but is apparently affected negatively by conventional analytical rule-based teaching. This study concludes that multilevelled semantico-grammatical consciousness raising procedures may precipitate defossilisation and that fossilised structures are not necessarily immutable. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Lunguistics)

The problem of this study was to measure, to compare, and to analyze the amount of stress, as indicated by heartbeat rate, experienced by students during teaching-learning activities in sixth-grade mathematics in a regular classroom. The bases for comparison were the heartbeat rates of selected students as recorded by a cardiotachometer and achievement scores on pretests and posttests dealing with verbal problems. All data were analyzed using the t-tests for the significance of the difference between the means. Findings of the study showed that students did experience increased heartbeat rates while solving verbal problems in sixth-grade mathematics. Also, during the teaching-learning activities, students who solved verbal problems using the realistic approach did not experience more stress than students who solved problems using the standard approach. The standard group did not perform significantly better than the realistic group on the standard pretest-posttest. However, students who were involved in the realistic method achieved better on all types of problems than did students who were taught by the standard method.

M.Ed. (Media Studies) / The subject mathematics is for one reason or another regarded as a necessary prerequisite for various job directions by many countries (Del;we, 1988:1). This subject is also valuable as preparation for the contingency that the child in future may take up an occupation requiring knowledge of the subject in question (Young, 1927:14). What matters most is that·a large number of pupils fail mathematics every year in their examination in primary and secondary schools. This is a clear indication that there are problems in the teaching and learning of mathematics which need special attention. Mathematics is a sequential learning subject (Larcombe, 1985:12). By this is meant that new learning content cannot be grasped unless there is insight into and understanding of the previous learning content. This is true because the growth of mathematical understanding develops step by· step with each forward move depending upon the consolidation of previous experience. In the light of the evidence that primary school children are in the concrete reasoning state, most mathematics educators believe that it is desirable to use large amounts of manipulative materials with young children. The understanding of the nature of mathematics is more important in teaching, as the teaching of the subject is influenced and determined by the teacher's understanding of the nature of the subject. The theory, most prevalent among teachers is that mathematics affords the best training for the reasoning powers, and this is its traditional form (Young, 1927:15).