The objective of this research was to investigate the perceptions and experiences of educators and Grade 6 and 7 learners on the effectiveness of school rules at public primary schools within the Fezile Dabi school district. Chapter Two of this dissertation focused on the specific identification of what effective school rules comprise of, as perceived by the academic community. In order to provide the reader with an overview of the nature of effective school rules, this chapter was divided into providing a short historical reflection on discipline, looking at the nature of discipline, developing a South African framework for legal school rules and taking note of international and foreign law relevant to the topic of this dissertation. The researcher then discussed the outlines of the research design used to collect, edit and analyse the data in Chapter Three. The chapter included the research paradigm, and the difference between research designs was highlighted to motivate the choice for the research design. The research design chosen for this study was a quantitative design. The researcher also indicated that she used a pilot study while conducting the empirical research of this dissertation. It was followed by the data collection method and the data collection strategies were discussed. Reliability and validity were dealt with and the guarantees thereof included. The chapter negotiated ethical considerations and ended with a discussion of foreseen research challenges. The data were extrapolated from questionnaires. This study was conducted at 6 primary schools in the smaller Metsimaholo district. Learner participants (n = 421), as well as educator participants (n = 54), were selected to answer the same/similar questions on the effectiveness and experiences concerning school rules so as to enable comparisons of learners and educators’ perceptions of learner misconduct. The data were analysed and interpreted. Learner responses were used to determine the factor analysis, after which the same factors were applied for educators. The empirical study led to the following findings: • According to this study, it appears that educators with more experience than the average educator do not necessarily have command of content on the contemporary approach to dealing with learner discipline, which may contribute to learner misconduct. • According to the responses of participants, it seems that the role players are not aware of their influence on one another in terms of learner misconduct. *Educators are not aware of the influence of gang activities on learners. *Educators are not aware of the high prevalence of abuse within their school communities. *Learners are not aware of the educators’ concerns for the influence of family structures and divorces. *Educators feel that they are not respected by parents. • Learners acknowledge that they have less control over and input into the drawing up of school rules, than educators are willing to admit. • Some learners indicate that educators turn to illegal forms of punishment in a desperate attempt to maintain discipline. / MEd, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/10281 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Dirks, Monica |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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