Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this mini-thesis I share the action research that I undertook at the school where I teach. This research was an attempt to improve my practice in career guidance, a sub-division of Life Orientation. The need for a study of this nature was developed out of my experiences with matriculants who appear to be confused about their future careers they intent pursuing. It appeared that they lacked the capacity to do self-planning and did not really comprehend how to plan their future careers. In reflection on career guidance, in general, and my own teaching practice in particular, I came to the conclusion that there is a real problem in terms of the effectiveness of career guidance and that I, in my technicist attitude towards policies of the education department, perhaps unconsciously, became part of the maintenance of a fruitless practice. Although I dutifully carry out the curriculum according to the required education policies, there remain an uncertainty and a concern regarding the practicality surrounding career guidance and more so when it comes to disadvantaged students from rural areas. This compelled me to do some introspection about the way I was teaching and involving the learners in my career guidance classes. This introspection lead me to the realisation that the instrumentalist and technicist way of teaching (‘talk and chalk’ method of teaching) and my endeavour to finish my content and assessment tasks within a certain prescribed timeframe, were at odds with creative career guidance teaching. My classroom practice was trapped in the old methods, and I was caught up in the old traditional ways while teaching a 21st-century learner. In an effort to address the above-mentioned issues of concern, I address the following critical questions, namely:
- How can career guidance be used as a tool to improve the life skills of learners from a poor rural school?
- How can I improve my classroom practice?
In Chapter one I explore my background and provide reasons why I got involved in this project. In my literature review, I suggest that the principles of the National Curriculum Statement Grades R–12 (2012) and the outcomes that the learners have to achieve have certain implications for classroom practice. This is in line with Cuseo’s (1996) view that basic education is guaranteed by not only giving form to the structure of the curriculum, but also to what happens between learners and teachers in the classroom.
A detailed description of the two action research projects that were undertaken with Grade eleven learners at my school is given in Chapters four and five. In the final chapter of this thesis, I reflect on the research engaged in the classroom and I also reflect on the future of teachers as researchers. I believe that any attempt to improve the education and conditions of our rural and disadvantaged schools would go a long way in addressing the inequities prevalent in our society. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie mini-tesis deel ek die aksienavorsing wat ek by die skool waar ek onderrig, onderneem het. Hierdie navorsing was ʼn poging om my praktyk in beroepsvoorligting, ʼn onderafdeling van Lewensoriëntering, te verbeter. Die noodsaaklikheid van ʼn studie van hierdie aard het voortgespruit uit my ervaringe met matrikulante wat totaal verward voorkom oor hul toekoms en ʼn kommerwekkende gebrek aan kapasiteit toon om selfbeplanning te doen en nie regtig weet hoe om hul toekoms te beplan nie.
Tydens refleksie oor beroepsvoorligting in die algemeen en my eie onderrigpraktyk in die besonder het ek tot die slotsom gekom dat daar ’n wesenlike probleem ten opsigte van die effektiwiteit van beroepsvoorligting bestaan en dat ek, deur my tegnisistiese ingesteldheid teenoor beleide van die onderwysdepartement, dalk onbewustelik deel geword het van die instandhouding van ’n vrugtelose praktyk. Alhoewel ek pligsgetrou die kurrikulum en gepaardgaande onderwysbeleide uitvoer, stem hierdie onsekerheid en onbekwaamheid van ons leerders my tot kommer. Dit het my genoodsaak om terug te staan en my eie praktyk in heroorweging te neem en te bevraagteken. Hierdie introspeksie het my gelei tot die bewuswording dat my instrumentele en tegnisistiese ingesteldheid ook in my klaskamerpraktyk gemanifesteer word deurdat ek, in my strewe om inhoud en assesseringstake binne ʼn voorgestelde tydsraamwerk te voltooi, in my klaskamerpraktyk na die ‘talk’ en ‘chalk’-metode geneig het. My onderrigpraktyk was dus van ʼn ou, tradisionele aard en het nie tred gehou met die moderne eeu waarin ons onsself bevind nie. In ʼn poging om bogenoemde aspekte aan te spreek, bespreek ek die volgende kritiese vrae:
- Hoe kan beroepsvoorligting gebruik word as ʼn hulpmiddel om die lewensvaardighede van leerders van ʼn arm landelike skool te verbeter?
- Hoe kan ek my praktyk in die klaskamer verbeter? Ek suggesteer ook in my literatuuroorsig dat die beginsels waarop die Nasionale Kurrikulumverklaring grade R–12 (2012) rus en die uitkomstes wat deur die leerders bereik moet word ʼn sekere klaskamerpraktyk impliseer. Hierdie aanname is in ooreenstemming met Cuseo (1996) se siening dat algemene onderwys verseker word deur nie net aan die struktuur van die kurrikulum vorm te gee nie, maar deur ook aan wat tussen leerders en onderwysers in die klaskamer gebeur, vorm te gee.
ʼn Gedetailleerde beskrywing van my twee aksienavorsingsprojekte, wat ek met graad elf-leerders by my skool onderneem het, word in hoofstukke vier en vyf gegee. In die laaste hoofstuk van hierdie tesis reflekteer ek oor my navorsing in die klaskamer en die toekoms vir die onderwyser-navorser. Ek glo dat enige poging om die onderwys en toestande van ons landelike en minder-bevoorregte skole te verbeter ‘n lang pad sal gaan om die ongelykhede wat teenwoordig is in ons gemeenskappe aan te spreek.
In Hoofstuk een verskaf ek inligting met betrekking tot my agtergrond en gee ook redes waarom ek by hierdie projek betrokke geraak het. In my literatuuroorsig fokus ek op aspekte wat direk en indirek aan die onderwerp van hierdie aksienavorsingstesis gekoppel word.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/80011 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Klaasen, Danoven |
| Contributors | Esau, Omar, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Curriculum Studies. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | af_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | xi, 147 p. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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