M.Ed. / This study investigated the perceptions of the teaching community, consisting of teachers and therapists, with regards to the implementation of the Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills (THRASS) programme in a special needs school. THRASS is a literacy program which promotes the learning of literacy skills within a whole school paradigm. The implementation of this program requires teachers and therapists to learn how the program approaches the teaching of literacy, which is a different methodology to what has previously been taught in the classroom. It is both the positive and negative aspects of this implementation process that has been researched for this study. This study was placed within the interpretivist paradigm. A case study design was used as one special needs school was identified as the focus of the research, which outlined the boundaries for the case. A qualitative approach was used, making use of semi structured interviews as the method of data collection. Interviews were then coded, analyzed and themes identified. The findings were explored in themes, which were used to inform recommendations. These themes included the perceptions of the initial THRASS training which included the financial implications of training and the inclusion of parent participation. Secondly, perceptions about teaching THRASS were explored. This included both positive and negative aspects on the implementation of the new programme. Thirdly, perceptions regarding the collaborative process that THRASS encourages. It was found that collaboration led to empowerment within the teaching community. Finally perceptions regarding learner performance and the view that learner confidence increased with the implementation of this programme. This study provides an opportunity to view and explore teachers’ and therapists perceptions about the implementation of THRASS which is being introduced with iii special needs learners. It outlines both positive and negative experiences that have been identified through this implementation process. These perceptions enable other schools to learn from these experiences and allows further understanding in the implementation of THRASS, within a special needs environment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:8293 |
| Date | 31 March 2009 |
| Creators | Maddison, Laura Megan |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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