Published Article / The purpose of this article is to report the findings of the study that investigated the causes of conflict in the township secondary schools – as viewed by the deputy principals. A questionnaire was developed and six deputy principals from six secondary schools of the Lejweleputswa district completed it. Data analysis was mainly qualitative, with numbers and tables used to enhance the qualitative understanding. It was found that the shortage of resources, poor communication and taking care of learners of absent teachers were the major causes of conflict in the schools surveyed. The conclusion was that conflict existed in the township secondary schools, and that the shortage of resources and teacher absenteeism played a major role in teacher conflict. It was recommended that the use of available resources be properly monitored, and that stress and conflict management sessions be introduced for teachers.

Published Article / Learner discipline is an important aspect of schooling. Historically, teachers applied a number of measures to maintain discipline, including corporal punishment. In 1996 the use of corporal punishment in South African schools was banned. However, some parents and teachers believed that the banning of corporal punishment was directly responsible for poor discipline among learners in the township schools. The purpose of this article was to investigate this perception, as well as to investigate what teachers were doing to address disciplinary problems among learners. A questionnaire was developed, and distributed among 20 teachers from primary schools in the Matjhabeng Municipality (16 teachers responded). The data collected was quantitatively analysed. It was found that although cases of learner mischief were still experienced in the primary schools, the level of discipline has not increased disproportionately after the banning of corporal punishment; the majority of learners behaved fairly well. However, some teachers were found to use harsh measures of disciplining learners, including corporal punishment. The involvement of parents in learner discipline was not preferred by many teachers. To help teachers to effectively handle discipline, the Ministry of Education has to find ways of training teachers in democracy, stress management and conflict management.

Published Article / In South Africa a high premium should be placed on the value of effective education and training to achieve an array of economic and social objectives. The development of a strong and functional education system is closely linked with the quality of teaching and learning taking place at schools. In this regard, the nagging shortage of skilled educators underscores the importance of effective training of student teachers to address the shortages and ultimately contribute to the establishment of a competitive and sustainable education system. The present article examines the effectiveness of mentoring and teaching practice experiences of student teachers at a South African university who completed their practical training at township schools. These schools are typically under-resourced, overcrowded and situated in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Not only are many of these schools' teachers under-qualified, but the schools also experience acute shortages of teachers in scarce subjects. An empirical study was conducted that targeted all final-year education students who had completed their teaching practice at 34 township schools. The empirical findings provide food for thought as to the success of mentoring in these schools. While 16 aspects of mentoring rendered a positive result ranging from 'positive' to 'strongly positive', seven aspects of mentoring were regarded as 'mildly adequate' and five skills were evaluated as between 'below adequate' to 'inadequate'. Even though the findings of this study cannot be generalised to mentoring at all township schools, some noteworthy trends were identified.

Published Aticle / The learners going through outcomes-based education (OBE) were expected to acquire skills which would help them to become critical thinkers, good workers and good citizens. However, this is not happening for learners in the Free State Goldfields' township schools, due to the unsuccessful implementation of OBE in these schools. The purpose of this study is to investigate why OBE is failing in the Free State Goldfields' township schools. In order to determine these reasons, a questionnaire was developed and administered on 183 educators from township primary schools in the Free State Goldfields. Focus group interviews were also conducted to confirm information collected through the questionnaire. Data collected was qualitatively analysed. It was found that the inadequate professional training received by educators, the poor home backgrounds of learners, illiteracy of parents, and a lack of adequate resources and facilities were the main reasons why the implementation of OBE was not succeeding in these schools. The re-training of the township school educators, the involvement of parents and the provision of resources may help to implement OBE more effectively in these schools.

Magister Educationis - MEd / The purpose of this study was to investigate the difficulties encountered by the grade ten township learners with respect to the concept of electricity. More specifically, the study attempted to explore the learners’ scientific knowledge by investigating their conceptions or alternative conceptions about electricity; the influence of learners’ age, career interests and gender issues on their conceptions of electricity and; the effectiveness of concept mapping (a pedagogic tool designed by Novak in the 1970s) in facilitating the learners’ understanding of electricity. The study was premised on socio-cultural constructivism as well as meaningful learning as espoused by Ausubel (1968).A Pre-Test-Post-Test Control Group Design was adopted in the study in which two comparable groups were used. The data was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative research methods and the instruments that were used included a conception of electricity (COET) (originally adopted and administered in the Western Cape, Northern Cape provinces and in Norway in 1999 for the purpose of Science and Technology Literacy Project (STLP) with the hope that their reliability and validity was guaranteed); selected learner interviews and evaluation forms.The summary of findings has suggested that the Grade ten learners held misconceptions about the concept of electricity even after they were exposed to intervention that included concept mapping. In terms of the gender issues, there was no significant difference in performance between the boys and girls though the females outperformed their male counterparts at both groups. The underachievement of the older learners compared to the younger ones has also surfaced and that is against expectation since a number of studies carried out earlier (see Ogunniyi (1999)) have already corroborated such findings. With respect to career interests, what the learners indicated as their future dreams, i.e. what they intend to do and become, seems to have been influenced their performance at the pre- and post-test stages.

The study investigated the linguistic challenges faced by Setswana-speaking Grade 7 learners when writing Science examinations in English. Learners from rural and township schools are only introduced to English as a language of learning and teaching in Grade 4, which creates problems for the learners because English is foreign to them. Teachers help by translating words or code-switching but it become a problem in the examinations because teachers cannot help the learners during the examination session. Since starting as a Grade 7 Mathematics and Science teacher almost three years ago, I have noticed that Grade 7 Setswana-speaking learners are struggling to understand the language used in formal assessments, which is English. I decided to investigate the linguistic challenges these learners face when writing Science examinations in rural and township schools. The purpose of conducting this research is to help policymakers to meet the linguistic needs of non-native English speakers. The study will also make curriculum development specialists and those who set provincial question papers aware of the linguistic challenges faced by non-native speakers of English in primary schools. Lastly, the study will help readers gain a better understanding of why some teachers prefer to use indigenous languages when they teach over English and why some prefer to use English over indigenous languages. Many literature sources state that non-native English-speaking learners underachieve academically because of learning in a language that is not their first language (O’Connor & Geiger, 2009; Dawber & Jordan, 1999; Ortiz, 1997; Statham, 1997). The participants comprised of four purposively selected Grade7 Natural Science teachers, two SGBs and Grade 7 learners from two primary schools in Hammanskraal, Gauteng. This study followed a qualitative research approach and falls under the interpretive research paradigm. It is a phenomenological study and focuses on the lived experiences of teachers and learners. Methods of data collection used were classroom observations, interviews, questionnaires, and document analysis. Data gathered indicated that Setswana-speaking learners made basic errors such as spelling, sentence construction, grammar, incomplete sentences, mixed languages, using words that do not exist, tenses and understanding instructions. Recommendation to the SGBs is that they should consider these linguistic challenges when they draft language policies for rural and township schools. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Humanities Education / MEd / Unrestricted

M.Ed. / The central theme of this study is the development of guidelines to create more effective classroom management in "township" schools. In the research the focus is based on the factors which influence classroom management and what the learning facilitators would do for the improvement thereof. The investigator's involvement with classroom management and the run-up to this research will be enunciated in the following two paragraphs. The researcher is employed in the Department of Educational Management and Educational Studies of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at the Technikon Northern Gauteng. The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences has at task the training of learning facilitators that are principally accommodated in "township" schools after completion of their studies. With effect from 1996 a four year B.Tech (Education) degree course with Educational Management as a major subject is implemented at.the above-mentioned Faculty. Classroom management is a component in the instructional programmes of Educational Management and of which the researcher is co-responsible for the instructional presentation thereof. Indicators that are symptomatic of the undesired discipline in the schools have been observed during teaching practice. The indicators are among others a lack of punctuality and a high percentage of daily absenteeism. On the ground of the preceding discussion and prompted by regular reporting on the unacceptable functioning of some schools, as well as the poor annual school-leaving results, the aim of this study is to: -qualitatively determine what the present standing of classroom management in "township" schools is; and -lay down guidelines to establish effective classroom management in "township" schools. The findings of this study indicates that: various and diverse factors contribute to unproductive classroom management; classroom management is not separate (independent) actions, but is intertwined with the interests and needs of the school, parents, learners and a dynamic society. On the ground of the research results the investigator is of the opinion that short, as well as long-term solutions should be put into operation in making classroom management more productive.

Education in South Africa faces many challenges; among them is the betterment of teaching and learning in order to improve the performance in schools, particularly in township schools where the results of learners are still not up to the required standard. For schools to function effectively, the School Management Teams (Principal, Deputy Principal, HODs), need to understand the importance of the effective management of human resources. The proper and effective management of people cannot be neglected if the schools as organisations want to attain their goals. School Management Teams as managers of schools are accountable for the effective running of the schools and the task of proper management of human resources rest on their shoulders. In this study an investigation into human recource management in selected township schools in the Gert Sibande Region (Mpumalanga Province) was done. Central to the study is the School Management Team's (SMTs) understanding of the concepts management and leadership, human resource management and related aspects. An investigation was also done regarding the knowledge, skills and strategies needed to improve education in township schools. With regard to the proper training of SMTs, various recommendations are made to expose them to more rigorous training, especially in Human Resource Management as this is the cornerstones of effective school management. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difficulties encountered by the grade ten township learners with respect to the concept of electricity. More specifically, the study attempted to explore the learners’ scientific knowledge by investigating their conceptions or alternative conceptions about electricity; the influence of learners’ age, career interests and gender issues on their conceptions of electricity and; the effectiveness of concept mapping (a pedagogic tool designed by Novak in the 1970s) in facilitating the learners’ understanding of electricity. The study was premised on socio-cultural constructivism as well as meaningful learning as espoused by Ausubel (1968). A Pre-Test-Post-Test Control Group Design was adopted in the study in which two comparable groups were used. The data was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative research methods and the instruments that were used included a conception of electricity (COET) (originally adopted and administered in the Western Cape, Northern Cape provinces and in Norway in 1999 for the purpose of Science and Technology Literacy Project (STLP) with the hope that their reliability and validity was guaranteed); selected learner interviews and evaluation forms. The summary of findings has suggested that the Grade ten learners held misconceptions about the concept of electricity even after they were exposed to intervention that included concept mapping. In terms of the gender issues, there was no significant difference in performance between the boys and girls though the females outperformed their male counterparts at both groups. The underachievement of the older learners compared to the younger ones has also surfaced and that is against expectation since a number of studies carried out earlier (see Ogunniyi (1999)) have already corroborated such findings. With respect to career interests, what the learners indicated as their future dreams, i.e. what they intend to do and become, seems to have been influenced their performance at the pre- and post-test stages. / Magister Educationis - MEd

Education in South Africa faces many challenges; among them is the betterment of teaching and learning in order to improve the performance in schools, particularly in township schools where the results of learners are still not up to the required standard. For schools to function effectively, the School Management Teams (Principal, Deputy Principal, HODs), need to understand the importance of the effective management of human resources. The proper and effective management of people cannot be neglected if the schools as organisations want to attain their goals. School Management Teams as managers of schools are accountable for the effective running of the schools and the task of proper management of human resources rest on their shoulders. In this study an investigation into human recource management in selected township schools in the Gert Sibande Region (Mpumalanga Province) was done. Central to the study is the School Management Team's (SMTs) understanding of the concepts management and leadership, human resource management and related aspects. An investigation was also done regarding the knowledge, skills and strategies needed to improve education in township schools. With regard to the proper training of SMTs, various recommendations are made to expose them to more rigorous training, especially in Human Resource Management as this is the cornerstones of effective school management. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.