This study, based on interviews with seven teachers of Swedish, investigates how they define the concept of text interpretation and how they assess pupils’ ability to interpret text. The results show that the teachers define text interpretation as an ability to perceive hidden messages in text and an ability that is closely connected to reading comprehension. This description agrees with the way text interpretation is explained in previous research but not with the description in the curriculum. This is a defect, since teachers ought to know what they are supposed to assess, based on the steering documents they are expected to follow in their professional practice. Here, however, the teachers’ assessment skills are shown to be an asset. When teaching literature the teachers say that they normally use dialogue and written assignments in which pupils reason on the basis of the content of the text and their personal experience. The forms of assessment are summative and formal, although it seems difficult to use fixed answer templates for reasoning in contexts like this where it is not clear what can be said to be right or wrong. Summative assessment, however, seems more reliable and credible than formative assessment. A picture thus emerges of the difficulty of assessing text interpretation which is simultaneously multivalent and reliable. / Denna studie är grundad på intervjuer av 7 svensklärare i syfte att undersöka hur de definierar begreppet texttolkning och hur de bedömer elevers förmåga att tolka text. I resultatet framgår att lärarna definierar texttolkning som en förmåga att uppfatta dolda budskap i text och en förmåga som är nära sammankopplad med läsförståelse. Denna beskrivning stämmer väl överens med hur texttolkning förklaras i tidigare forskning men inte med den beskrivning som framkommer i läroplanen. Detta är en brist då lärare bör veta vad de ska bedöma, utifrån styrdokument de ska utgå från i sin yrkesutövning. Här framstår dock lärares bedömningsfärdighet som en tillgång. Vid litteraturundervisning säger lärarna att de vanligen tillämpar dialog och skriftliga inlämningsuppgifter, med resonemang utifrån både textens innehåll och personliga erfarenheter. Bedömningsformerna är summativa och formella, även om fasta svarsmallar ter sig svåra att använda vid resonemang, då det i dessa sammanhang inte tydligt framgår något som med säkerhet kan sägas vara rätt eller fel. Summativ bedömning ter sig dock mer tillförlitlig och trovärdig vid en bedömningssituation, jämfört med formativ. Här framkommer således en bild av att det är svårt att bedöma texttolkning som på samma gång är flertydig och tillförlitlig.

The democratic era in South Africa has led to the introduction of a wide-ranging series of teaching and learning policies aimed at school reform. The study aimed at establishing how these policies are implemented by educators in selected schools. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather information from educators, members of the School Management Teams and learners through in-depth individual and focus group interviews as the main data collection methods. Critical discourse analysis was used to examine participants‟ spoken words and the content of relevant documents such as lesson plans in detail. Comparisons were drawn and similarities identified through the coding, categorisation and condensation of data. The researcher interpreted the displayed data. A discussion of the main themes was presented and supported by quotations by participants. Findings indicate that there have been only few changes in terms of how educators teach; some educators conceded that they had not changed the way they teach since the introduction of new curriculum and assessment policies. The role played by learning outcomes in teachers‟ lesson planning was uneven. Members of School Management Teams demonstrated diverse views on teaching and learning policies. Learners who are taught in their home language encounter few difficulties in learning; this is not the case with learners who are taught through medium of a second language and thus lack the necessary language proficiency necessary for academic achievement. A shift from teacher-centred to learner-centred approaches to teaching is still required: that is, a shift from teaching to learning to enhance thinking and reflection which accommodates and draws on learners‟ prior knowledge and experiences. Class sizes should be reduced to enable effective educator and learner interaction. Educators‟ interest, tolerance, innovativeness and competency in the subject matter will help sustain learners‟ interest in the learning activities. Policy makers should explore professional development from viewpoint of the participating educators in order to identify the most effective strategies to support and change educators‟ classroom practice where necessary. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

In recent years, the South African education system has experimented with different appraisal systems in an attempt to evaluate the performance of educators in public schools. Educator appraisal is receiving attention throughout the world as governments become aware of the need to examine educational provision critically to ensure that it is both relevant for and appropriate to, the needs of the youth. Before 1994, the appraisal of educators was mainly based on traditional approaches to evaluate their performance. For instance, it was the responsibility of the inspectors from the Department of Education (DoE) to evaluate the performance of educators in schools. Consequently, a great deal of criticism was levelled at this appraisal system such as the prevalence of political bias in the system, the unchecked power that the inspectors wielded, the incompetence of inspectors and irrelevance of some evaluation criteria and absence of contextual factors. After 1994, there was a paradigm shift from the traditional to the developmental approach to evaluate the performance of educators in public schools. That is, there was a need to develop educators through appropriate appraisal schemes with a view to enhancing their continued professional growth. Therefore, the present education system calls for a decentralised appraisal system, which places greater emphasis on the professional development of educators. Stakeholders such as educators and teacher unions have also made higher demands for improved educator evaluation and professional growth. In 1998, at the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), the Department of Education (DoE) agreed to introduce the Developmental Appraisal System (DAS) followed by the Whole-School Evaluation (WSE) in 2001. Both these policies were rejected by educators and their teacher unions since they regarded these appraisal systems as summative, judgmental and that failed to offer opportunities for further development. In August 2003, the DoE and the unions signed two collective agreements, which led to the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) and it was intended to integrate and strengthen various components of DAS, WSE and performance measurement (PM). The IQMS was first implemented in South African schools in 2005 with the aim of enhancing the continuing professional growth of educators. Furthermore, the National Department of Education (NDoE) introduced the National Policy Framework on Teacher Education and Development (NPFTED) in 2006. This policy aimed to equip educators to undertake their essential and demanding tasks and to enable them to enhance their professional competence and performance on a continuing basis. Even though the IQMS was introduced as a new system to evaluate the performance of educators and to enhance their professional growth, it does not actually serve its purpose since it is not properly implemented and monitored in schools. Instead of using it as a tool to enhance the professional growth of educators, its emphasis is on getting assessment scores, which are directly related to remuneration. As a result, the ultimate aim of professional development for educators is neglected. This means that the IQMS is regarded as a separate entity that is not linked to the continuing professional growth of educators and its developmental programmes are criticised for being traditional since they are only confined to class visits, which are conducted once or twice a year for PM purposes. Therefore, since the introduction of the IQMS in 2003 and its implementation in 2005 in South African schools, no empirical research has been conducted on the need to link appraisal to professional development in the IQMS in South African schools. The study conducted by Bisschoff and Mathye (2009) focusses on the advocacy of an appraisal system for teachers. Another study conducted by Dhlamini (2009) concentrates on the role of the IQMS to measure and improve teaching and learning in the South African further education and training (FET) sector. Furthermore, the study by Rabichund (2011) focusses on the assessment of the IQMS and its implications for whole school development. Furthermore, the study by Mahlaela (2011) investigates the IQMS as a transformational strategy for teacher development in South Africa. Accordingly, this study builds on these studies and it seeks to investigate how appraisal and professional development can be linked in the IQMS in South African schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Thesis / This research is mainly concerned with determining whether the existing evaluation methods/measurement instruments used in Business Management at Technikon SA, are still suitable, adequate and acceptable enough for continued use, or whether there is a need for the introduction of alternative methods. The first objective in this research was to determine what the exact role and function of evaluation in the education process is. On the basis of literature, it was determined that evaluation, and by implication measurement, is a crucial component of the education process and that no real teaching or learning can occur without it. Second, an attempt was made to determine what the nature and extent of the shortcomings of the existing measurement instruments were. Also on the basis of literature it was found that there are numerous and serious disadvantages in the existing measurement instruments. Third, the researcher also attempted to determine whether any other (alternative) measurement instruments, in addition to the existing ones, were available. It was discovered that there are a variety of alternative evaluation/measurement instruments available. Fourth, the measurement instruments used in Business Management were analysed and compared to the Business Management curriculum objectives to determine whether they were indeed suitable for the subject. It was found that, although a positive correlation seems to exist between the measurement instruments and the curriculum objectives, there were certain definite shortcomings in the existing measurement instruments in terms of the realization of some of the curriculum objectives. Fifth, focus group interviews were used as a research method to get an understanding of the views of TSA learners on the aspect of evaluation and the methods/instruments currently used. Most of the participants expressed a need for more practical types of measurement/evaluation. However, many participants felt the written examination should not be abolished entirely, but be used in conjunction with other more practical methods. The research concluded with a number of recommendations based on the findings in this research. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Le présent mémoire explore l’enseignement en classe inversée, tel que rapporté par 25 enseignants de niveau collégial et universitaire au Québec en 2017-2018. L’étude décrite dans ce mémoire documente l’usage de la classe inversée, dans le but d’en favoriser l’usage par la communauté enseignante. Avec le développement rapide de ressources éducatives en ligne en 2020-2021, le contexte technopédagogique est favorable à un plus grand usage de la classe inversée à tous les niveaux de l’éducation. La classe inversée est étudiée comme piste d’amélioration de la réussite scolaire au postsecondaire, puisque la réussite scolaire est une problématique sociale d’actualité qui a des répercussions sur la société, les établissements et les individus. À l’aide d’approches pédagogiques recourant à l’apprentissage actif, les enseignants peuvent concevoir des activités motivantes et engageantes pour les étudiants ce qui a un effet positif sur la motivation. L’approche de la classe inversée, devenue très populaire au postsecondaire, exploite les avantages motivationnels connu de l’apprentissage actif sans sacrifier la capacité à transmettre beaucoup de contenus théoriques durant une session de cours. Le présent mémoire fait l’inventaire des pratiques technopédagogiques en classe inversée et comporte 3 angles d’analyse : l’adoption de la classe inversée, les pratiques d’enseignement et la gestion de classe. Nous avons recours à un modèle de développement professionnel afin de comprendre le contexte de la classe inversée, ses particularités et l’évolution des pratiques des répondants. Ces questions spécifiques sont répondues à l’aide d’une approche où l’on compare 25 différents cas d’usage de la classe inversée pour en faire émerger les convergences. Des entrevues semi-dirigées d’une heure et demie sont analysées à trois reprises pour répondre spécifiquement à ces trois questions, permettant une triangulation par l’analyse qui contribue à dresser un portrait compréhensif de la classe inversée. Premièrement les résultats démontrent que l’adoption de la classe inversée est faite par l’accumulation des pratiques d’enseignement qui la composent au fil du temps. D’un point de départ magistrocentré, on constate que cette accumulation débute plus souvent par l’adoption de nouveaux dispositifs technologiques, puis ensuite de nouvelles approches pédagogiques, plutôt que l’adoption des pédagogies actives, précédant les dispositifs technologiques (Figure 6 à Figure 8). Deuxièmement les résultats permettent d’observer que les pratiques d’enseignement de chaque phase de la séquence pédagogique sont régies par des logiques de conception pédagogique sous-jacentes propres à la classe inversée. La préparation et l’amorce d’un cours sont complémentaires et jouent le rôle de l’acquisition et de la consolidation-réactivation des acquis. Les activités sont davantage magistrocentré et médiatisés hors du cours. Les activités d’apprentissage actif et l’enseignement magistrocentré sont complémentaires en classe, cependant l’enseignement est davantage pédocentré et moins médiatisé hors de la classe. Finalement la conclusion des séances de classe permet généralement aux étudiants de recevoir une rétroaction (ANNEXE VIII). Troisièmement, les résultats indiquent que la gestion de classe en classe inversée se présente sous diverses formes mais favorise généralement le style interactionniste, avec quelques aspects plus interventionnistes ou plus non-interventionnistes (Figure 11). L’étude de la gestion de classe met en lumière les pratiques de contrôle comportemental des étudiants par l’évaluation en classe inversée, en plus de son rôle principal évaluatif et formatif (Figure 12). / This thesis explores the use of flipped classroom teaching, as reported by 25 college and university teachers in Quebec in 2017-2018. The study described in this thesis documents the use of the flipped classroom, with the aim of promoting its use by the teaching community. With the rapid development of online educational resources in 2020-2021, the technopedagogical context is favorable to greater use of the flipped classroom at all levels of education. The flipped classroom is being studied as an avenue for improving post-secondary academic success, since academic success is a topical social issue that has repercussions on society, institutions and individuals. Using active learning pedagogical approaches, teachers can design motivating and engaging activities for students which has a positive effect on motivation. The flipped classroom approach, which has become very popular in post-secondary education, harnesses the known motivational benefits of active learning without sacrificing the ability to convey a lot of theoretical content during a class session. This thesis takes stock of technopedagogical practices in the flipped classroom and includes 3 angles of analysis: its adoption, teaching practices and classroom management. We use a professional development framework to understand the context of the flipped classroom, its peculiarities and the evolution of respondent practices. These specific questions are answered using an approach where we compare 25 different use cases to bring out the convergences. One-and-a-half-hour semi-structured interviews are analyzed three times to specifically answer these three questions, allowing analytical triangulation that helps paint a comprehensive portrait of the flipped classroom. Firstly, the results show that the adoption of the flipped classroom is made by the accumulation of teaching practices that compose it over time. From a teacher-centered point of origin, this accumulation begins more often with the adoption of new technology, then new pedagogical approaches, rather than the adoption of active learning preceding the use of technologies (Figure 6 to Figure 8). Secondly, the results allow us to observe that the teaching practices of each phase of the teaching sequence are governed by underlying teaching design logics specific to the flipped classroom. The preparation and primer of a course are complementary and enable acquisition and consolidationreactivation of acquired knowledge. The activities are more lecture-oriented outside the course. Active learning activities and formal teaching are complementary in the classroom, however teaching is more student-centric in the classroom. Classes concludes generally with feedback (APPENDIX VIII). Thirdly and lastly, the results on classroom management states a variety of approaches but generally favors the interactionist style, with some more interventionist or non-interventionist aspects (Figure 11). Exploring classroom management sheds light on student behavioral control practices through assessments, in addition to its primary evaluative and formative role (Figure 12).

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The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) heralds the beginning of a new curriculum for Grades 10 to 12 in South Africa. Underpinned by the South African Constitution, and based on the tenets of Outcomes-based Education, the NCS seeks to provide contextually-relevant education for all South African learners, so that they are able to embrace inevitable change. Although the NCS highlights the importance of assessment, an analysis of the English Home Language (EHL) NCS reveals tensions between policy and practice. This study attempts to contextualise the role of relevant assessment for the 21st century. It then proceeds to engage in a historical evaluation of assessment within the NSC in terms of how assessment was conducted in the former Natal Education Department, a liberal education department within former apartheid South Africa. The conclusions drawn from the evaluation are used to provide recommendations to relieve the tensions identified within the EHL NSC. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.

The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) heralds the beginning of a new curriculum for Grades 10 to 12 in South Africa. Underpinned by the South African Constitution, and based on the tenets of Outcomes-based Education, the NCS seeks to provide contextually-relevant education for all South African learners, so that they are able to embrace inevitable change. Although the NCS highlights the importance of assessment, an analysis of the English Home Language (EHL) NCS reveals tensions between policy and practice. This study attempts to contextualise the role of relevant assessment for the 21st century. It then proceeds to engage in a historical evaluation of assessment within the NSC in terms of how assessment was conducted in the former Natal Education Department, a liberal education department within former apartheid South Africa. The conclusions drawn from the evaluation are used to provide recommendations to relieve the tensions identified within the EHL NSC. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.