This research extended and refined an in-service assessment model used in Project Genethics resulting in an evaluation of Project Genethics and a test of the model's utility. The model guided analyses of the correlational relationships between (a) teacher competency measured by a written 50-item validated posttest (Teacher 50), (b) the number of teaching strategies reported by the participant teachers (Strategy 20), and (c) student competency measured by a written 25-item validated posttest (Student 25) using a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient Lr). A multiple R statistic and stepwise linear regression with an F ratio were used to determine the association of Teacher 50 and Strategy 20 with the criterion, Student 25.The model is hierarchical. Subsets of test items and teaching strategies related to core genetics concepts (Mendelian genetics, mitosis and meiosis, pedigrees and probability, polygenic inheritance, and chromosome aberrations) were analyzed in teacher posttests, student posttests, and reported teaching strategies. Stepwise linear regression was used to determine the relative impact of the predictors on the criterion, Student 25.The research population consisted of 78 secondary biology teachers and 4,920 of their students. The teachers attend one of six Project Genethics workshops conducted in the summer of 1991, . funded by the National Science Foundation, and implemented by staff of the Human Genetics and Bioethics Education Laboratory (HGABEL).The researcher employed an ex g facto design. A summative data form was designed and used with project data for testing eight null hypotheses. A significant positive linear correlation was found between teacher competency and student competency and the number of strategies used in both full and subset analyses. No significant correlation was found between the number of strategies used and student performance in both full and subset analyses. The number of strategies used did not add significantly to the predictability of student competency after teacher competency was considered.The conceptual understanding of secondary students should be the ultimate criterion by which the effectiveness of in-service programs is measured provided the assessment items are congruent with the student conceptual level of understanding. Teacher knowledge was the most highly associated predictor of student concept attainment. / Department of Biology

Typescript. / Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1982. / Bibliography: leaves [201]-215. / Photocopy. / xi, 215 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-104). / Microfiche. / xii, 104 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Includes bibliography (p. 841-843). / ix, 843 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Investigates the educational phenomenon of pupil teachers, used in South Australia from 1874-1965, through accounts in contemporary official documents, the comments of those who managed the system, and observers of the system and its effects. The findings have implications for current debates on the relative balance between theory and practice in the preparation of teachers. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Education, 1999

Includes bibliography (p. 841-843). / ix, 843 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Investigates the educational phenomenon of pupil teachers, used in South Australia from 1874-1965, through accounts in contemporary official documents, the comments of those who managed the system, and observers of the system and its effects. The findings have implications for current debates on the relative balance between theory and practice in the preparation of teachers. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Education, 1999

Text in Afrikaans / Die konsepdokument van die National Curriculum Statement (2003) van die Onderwysdepartement in Suid-Afrika staan 'n inklusiewe benadering voor met verwysing na gehalte-onderwys vir alle leerders, en maak sodoende voorsiening vir die diversiteit van leerders. Die National Curriculum Statement stel dit (vir die eerste keer in Suid-Afrika) onomwonde dat die nuwe Nasionale Kurrikulum voorsiening sal maak vir alle leerders met struikelblokke tot leer (StL) in teenstelling met hulle uitsluiting in die verlede van gewone onderwys of hoofstroming by verstek. Beperkte navorsing het aan die lig gebring dat onderwysers opleiding benodig om die verskeidenheid struikelblokke te hanteer wat leerders moontlik kan he. Die navorser het die weg gebaan vir die opleiding van onderwysers en leerders om StL te akkommodeerdeurditas deel van die leerondersteuningsmateriaal in te sluit. Die vertrekpunt van die opleidingsprogram is dat elke mens in 'n sekere mate struikelblokke het om te oorkom en dat die opvoedkundige gemeenskap elkeen van daardie gemeenskap kan insluit en versorg. / The draft document of the National Curriculum Statement (2003) of the Department of Education in South Africa promotes an inclusive approach regarding the quality education of all learners, thus including provision for diversities of learners. The National Curriculum Statement states explicitly (for the first time in South Africa) that the new National Curriculum will provide for all learners with barriers to learning (BtL) as opposed to their previous exclusion from ordinary education or mainstreaming by default. Limited research - has shown that teachers need training to deal with the variety of barriers that learners may exhibit. The researcher pioneered the concept of including the training of teachers and learners to accommodate BtL as part of the learning support material. The training programme's point of departure is the view that, to some extent, every person has certain barriers to overcome, and that the educational community can include and care for each and every member of that community. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Inclusive Education)

The purpose of the study was to investigate the educators’ perceptions on the role of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) in teacher professional development. The study also investigated the Union’s perceived challenges in contributing to teacher professionalism in South Africa, their perceived professional priorities and perceived expectations of teachers. The research genre used for this study was the interpretivism or constructivism paradigm. The qualitative methodology was used and case study employed as the research design of the study. The findings of this study were that SADTU were perceived as militant activists. Their activities were perceived as often very disruptive to education and their role appeared to be more politically focused than educational. They promoted and protected teacher labour rights and interests. However, they had no programme, nor the expertise nor the resources to respond to teachers’ professional development needs. The perceptions about them were that they had minimal or negligible contribution to teacher professional development. SADTU conducted training, but with nothing of value to teacher professional development. The unethical, unconstitutional and professionally non-developmental cadre deployment of SADTU leadership compromised the Union. Another finding was the important role of appropriate continuous professional development programmes in the improvement of the teachers’ own professional development, in the improvement of classroom practices and eventual enhanced learner performance. Inclusive to professional development are educationally good skills and values to colleagues, learners and parents both at school and out of school. Recommendations for SADTU were the: development of a clear programme on Teacher Professional Development; mobilisation of SADTU members towards restoring and enhancing the dignity of the teaching profession; engaging politically in curriculum policymaking to form inclusive professional associations; ending cadre deployment for senior management posts by SADTU leadership; establish development centres for critical maths and science, computers skills and other subjects and resuscitation of teacher colleges.

Many white primary schools in South Africa have acquired computers which are being used in various ways. In my experience few members of staff are confident enough to use the computers in the school for educational purposes. Those who have been using them, generally have been doing computer literacy. The teachers in our school expressed the view that they would like to be able to use the computer, but that they lack the necessary skills and therefore would welcome some form of training. In my opinion computers should form an integral part of a child's learning environment. It has, for some time formed a part of his social environment, either in the home or in the workplace. For computers to be used effectively in the classroom, it follows that the teachers need to be trained to use them. In an attempt to overcome this problem, I designed and presented an in-service course, which used selected computer assisted learning (CAL) programs with teachers. These teachers then used these programs with the pupils in their class and evaluated the pupils' reactions to the innovation. As a result of the observations and the feedback provided by the sample of teachers, it is suggested that this might be a possible approach to in-service training for other schools. With adaptation it should be possible to follow this approach in any school which has a computer and someone on the staff who is willing to take the initiative to implement such an innovation.

Staff development (SD) is regarded as an important process, both for the professional growth of teachers and the organizational development of schools. The literature on SD uses the concepts of ‘SD’, ‘professional development’ and ‘in-service training of teachers’ interchangeably. The purpose of this study is to investigate the teachers’ experiences and perceptions of SD practices in a Namibian secondary school. This qualitative case study was carried out at the school where I am teaching. Two methods were used to collect the data, namely a blend of semi-structured and unstructured interviews with three teachers and one focus group interview with five teachers. The analysis of the data collected was carried using the method suggested by Taylor and Bogdan (1998) which includes discovery, coding and discounting. These concepts are discussed in Chapter Three. The main finding of this research regards SD at the school as mainly in line with the traditional view. The study also made three other unusual findings that differ from the traditional view of SD held at the school. First, the principal’s role as a human resource manager of SD; second the pastoral role of a principal in SD and third the role of teachers’ unions in SD. All these findings are important for SD practices in schools and for further research because little is known in the current literature on SD. Finally, this study proposes further research to develop an organizational development (OD) cycle of problem solving to help create an internal policy on SD, which is currently nonexistent at the school.

Project 1: This is a literature review on the teaching of ecology in South African schools. The importance of ecology education in the school curriculum is well reported. It is also reported that in spite of the apparent importance of the subject, not much ecology is taught or learned in schools. This report examines what ecology is supposed to be about and the challenges that confront its teaching. The approaches to teaching the subject are also discussed. It would seem that if teachers focus on teaching ecological concepts using constructivist teaching/learning strategies, students might be helped to learn ecology meaningfully. Project 2: 'Constructing eco-concepts' is a case study that reports the effects of a module whose design was informed by social constructivist ideas on the understanding of selected ecological concepts by college students. Social constructivism as a philosophy of learning has gained increasing attention in science education in recent times and yet the approach is so alien to so many. Many teachers still teach by the traditional teacher-centred approaches. This research project reports the conceptual change of students after undertaking the module. It also reports the students' perceptions about the teaching/learning strategies employed in the module. It would seem that the social constructivist strategies used in the module assisted the students to improve their frameworks of ecological concepts. Data also tend to reveal that the students enjoyed the approach to learning and had positive views about the social constructivist teaching/learning approach. Project 3: With the advent of the new curriculum framework for South Africa, the outcomes based curriculum, it would seem that teachers could no longer approach teaching by the traditional transmission methods. Colleges of education have been criticised for producing teachers who do not seem to be adequately prepared for their job. Presently, the argument seems to be that teachers would need in-service education on a wide scale and the colleges of education would seem to be important in-service teacher education centres. This research, using case study methodology, investigated the potential of one of the colleges of education to become an in-service teacher education institution based on its physical and human resources.