Research portfolio
- Authors: Garosas, Elfriede S
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia , Curriculum planning -- Namibia , Home economics -- Study and teaching -- Namibia , Teaching -- Namibia , College teachers -- Training of -- Namibia , Universities and colleges -- Curricula -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2010 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015966
- Description: [From Introduction]. The study involved student teachers and teacher educators providing me with information concerning their perception and understanding of the BETD broad curriculum and needlework and clothing syllabus. The above mentioned are the people who are involved in teacher education thus I found it relevant to have their opinions and understanding of the documents. The contextual analysis has engaged me in exploring a possible area of research specialisation for the two years during the course of studies with Rhodes University; this will serve as an introduction to the particular research to be done through the course of my studies. The focus of this report includes the following: • A critical analysis of (BETD) needlework and clothing syllabus in relation to the BETD broad curriculum; • A socio-historic and economic analysis of the context for which the syllabus has been designed; • An analysis of the learners for whom the syllabus is designed. In this case students provided their autobiography; • An analysis ofthe learning environment in which the syllabus operates; the physical structure and resources. Together with the critical analysis of the curriculum a small scale survey intending to find out the following information from the student teachers and teacher educators was conducted. • The extent to which the broad curriculum differs from the previous teacher education on issues related to democracy, quality, access, cultural bias, racial discrimination and classes (level of economic status); • How the needlework and clothing syllabus addresses the needs of student teachers; • Whether the needlework and clothing syllabus has enough content; • The challenges facing teacher education and how they can be addressed; • Whether the needlework and clothing syllabus is learner-centred; • Whether the syllabus is gender oriented or biased. This evaluation framework provides a foundation for later investigation
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- Date Issued: 2004
The adaptive development and use of learning support materials in response to the 1st principle of the revised national curriculum statement : the case of Hadeda Island
- Authors: Olvitt, Lausanne Laura
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Environmental education -- South Africa -- Case studies Environmental education -- Curricula -- South Africa Teaching -- Aids and devices -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1938 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007719
- Description: This case study describes the development and trial use of the Hadeda Island Big Book. Developed within a transforming South African curriculum framework, the study recognises that current educational practices are shaped and steered by historical, cultural, political and economic realities. This perspective guides the research design, which considers each of the three participating schools as contextually unique. The Hadeda Island Big Book was developed in response to the 1st Principle of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). This calls for all curriculum activities to develop learners' understandings of the relationship between social justice, a healthy environment, human rights and inclusivity. The study probes ways in which learning support materials might respond in line with the vision of the RNCS 1st Principle. Associated challenges, tensions and opportunities are discussed in relation to schools' interactions with the Hadeda Island Big Book. The diverse and creative responses to the book lead this study to foreground generative approaches to curriculum work. Emphasis is thus redirected from hierarchical, stipulative views of curriculum to more dynamic, responsive views of curriculum as a guiding framework. This is regarded as a valuable orientation to the development of future learning support materials. The study comments on the challenge of supporting teachers to develop curriculum activities that reflect a view of 'environment' as socially shaped and multi-dimensional. Tendencies to focus on either the 'ecological' or the 'social' dimensions of environmental issues rather than on the interacting socio-ecological dimensions are recognised as limiting the material's potential to strengthen environmental learning in schools. The study recommends that greater attention be paid to the environmentally-oriented Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards of all Learning Areas in the RNCS. In so doing, socio-ecological learning processes may be strengthened through curriculum work.
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- Date Issued: 2004
The implementation of multigrade teaching in rural schools in the Keetmanshoop education region: leadership and management challenges
- Authors: Titus, David Petrus
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia Education, Rural -- Namibia Education and state -- Namibia Educational change -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Rural schools -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia School principals -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1566 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003448
- Description: Leadership has received much attention in both the business world and education. My thesis explores effective educational leadership through examining the management and leadership challenges that face principals in a multi-grade school. Schools in sparsely populated rural areas in Namibia have had to resort to multi-grade teaching to be able to be economically viable. Hard economic realities force people to move to bigger towns and cities. The constant demand for better schools, effective principals, qualified teachers and an improved service to the communities coupled with the demand for better working conditions and salaries for teachers drained the education budget even further. To keep in line with the four major policies of education namely equity, access, quality and democracy, the operation of smaller, rural multi-grade schools has become a necessity. The alternative – which is to close smaller schools and operate fewer, bigger schools at an affordable and reasonable cost - would deny rural communities access to schooling. This thesis is a case study of the leadership and management challenges of multigrade schooling in a single school. The goal was to understand how education managers and leaders perceived their role in making it possible for teachers and learners to cope with multi-grade teaching. I worked in the interpretive paradigm to be able to interpret the social and cultural context of a rural, multi-grade school in the Karas region. The methods included questionnaires, interviews and observation. One of the leadership models universally considered to be available to principals of multi-grade schools is instructional leadership. My study revealed that the concept was unknown to teaching staff, although there were indications that the model had been encountered. My findings also revealed that the communication between colleges of education and the regional education department staff was very limited. One of the major issues that arose was that principals were so occupied with teaching that important issues about training/evaluation and supervision of teachers, the ‘visibility’ of the principal, setting and implementation of the aims and goals of the school and regular communication with parents and community leaders were neglected. Probably the most significant finding was that head teachers are not trained in the management of a multi-grade school, hence most if not all of the head teachers run multi-grade schools like a single-graded school. The single most important problem was that the importance of multi-grade teaching had never been highlighted, particularly in light of new staffing norms, in spite of the fact that it was a phenomenon that was likely to be a permanent arrangement.
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- Date Issued: 2004
The perceptions that mentors and in-service teachers in the basic education teacher diploma have of the nature and role of the mentoring system
- Authors: Mostert, Johan André
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia Teaching -- Namibia Curriculum planning -- Namibia Educational change -- Namibia Teachers -- Training of -- Namibia Teachers -- In-service training -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1695 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003578
- Description: This contextual analysis is concerned with the study of the Basic Education Teacher's Diploma In-service Curriculum. It is based on the following assumptions: firstly, that the BETD (Inset and Preset) represents the Namibian Educational Reform in the realm of Teacher Education. Secondly, it is assumed that the BETD as a vehicle for reform in Teacher Education should yield teachers who are capable of change and development. Based on the above-mentioned assumptions, this analysis examines this Teacher Education course/programme against some criteria pertinent to its philosophy. A critical analysis of its curriculum in terms of some core subjects, as well as its practical implementation, will form the basis of this scrutiny. Secondary to the above, this analysis also intends to reflect this sociohistoric and economic context in which the BETD has been designed. An underlying motive in this analysis is to study the dynamics between the philosophy, which represents the heart and intention of the Namibian educational reform on the one hand and implementation which in turn delivers the end product or final outcome of the course on the other hand. This analysis should also fit into the current debate between conservatives who claim that the BETD lacks content and is therefore inferior, and those who claim that the course adequately prepares teachers for the needs of Basic Education.
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- Date Issued: 2004
The role of management and leadership in the schooling of at-risk learners: a case study of a school in Namibia
- Authors: Ipinge, Emma
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia -- Case studies Educational leadership -- Namibia -- Case studies Education and state -- Namibia School discipline -- Namibia Children with social disabilities -- Education -- Namibia Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1750 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003634
- Description: Most schools that serve learners who come from disadvantaged areas and backgrounds face unusually difficult challenges. These schools experience poor performance and disciplinary problems, and teachers lack motivation and commitment. This study explores the role of leadership and management in the schooling of at-risk learners at Pandu Primary School. This school accommodates learners mostly from Hafo, a township characterised by poverty with a high crime rate. However, in spite of these factors school inspectors and advisory teachers perceive the school to be successful. The school uses an abundance of energy and unusually high levels of human effort in a very focused way to improve the teaching and learning standard. The study found the co-existence of apparently conflicting management and leadership approaches in managing and leading the school. Strict control used in the school to make teachers work hard is an element of classical organisational theory, with its emphasis on span of control or number of workers supervised. Policies with strict rules are in place to create a calm atmosphere and serve as directives for teachers and learners. On the other hand, constructivist approaches – such as instructional leadership, transformational leadership, collegial model of management and open systems – are also clearly evident in the findings. Instructional leadership is evident in the emphasis on improvement of classroom practice. Elements of transformational leadership are seen in that the principal motivates the teachers and serves as a role model. The school also has some features of the collegial model of management, and can be described as an open system. Thus, by drawing on management and leadership approaches informed by different traditions and philosophies, the school succeeds against severe odds.
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- Date Issued: 2004
The role of school management teams in school improvement
- Authors: Sister, Loliwe Fezeka
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: School management teams -- South Africa , School improvement programs -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:9489 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/372 , School management teams -- South Africa , School improvement programs -- South Africa
- Description: This study is aimed at investigating the role of the School Management Team (SMT) in school improvement. The investigation was carried out using the qualitative approach and the study is underpinned by the interpretive paradigm. The declining performance of some schools academically as reflected by the end of year results, as well as the confusion that engulfed me on assuming duty on my appointment as a head of department of Science and, therefore, becoming part of the SMT in my school, encouraged me to investigate the role of the SMT in school improvement. The study covers, among others, the following areas: § Functions performed by the SMT members. § Challenges faced by the SMT members in their management practice. § Ways of addressing these challenges. Methods of data collection used in this study were interviews, questionnaires, own observations as well as the analysis of documents. The main recommendations emanating from the study are that SMT members should be better equipped for their roles through workshops and in-service training and that the respective roles of SMT and School Governing Body (SGB) members should be better demarcated by the Department of Education.
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- Date Issued: 2004
The use of environmental learning support materials to mediate learning in outcomes-based education: a case study in an Eastern Cape school
- Authors: Nduna, Nomalungelo Rosement
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Environmental education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Environmental education -- Curricula -- South Africa Teaching -- Aids and devices -- South Africa Environmental education -- South Africa -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1812 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003698
- Description: Educational transformation and curriculum reform within the new South African Outcomes Based Education (OBE) system has introduced new roles for teachers, and a focus on environmental learning within each learning area. In an OBE system, teachers are required to mediate learning, develop learning programmes, and use a range of different learning support materials. This study aimed to explore how one teacher in an Eastern Cape school used environmental learning support materials to mediate learning within an OBE curriculum framework. Over the past ten years a number of environmental educators and researchers have been participating in curriculum policy development and curriculum implementation research. This has led to the incorporation of an environmental focus within different learning areas in Curriculum 2005. The focus on environment in the curriculum was strengthened by the introduction of the National Environmental Education Project in the General Education and Training (NEEP-GET) band in 2001. I am employed as a provincial co-coordinator within this project (for the Eastern Cape province), and one of my tasks is to work with service providers (who provide learning support materials) and teachers (who use these materials) to ensure improved environmental learning within the OBE curriculum. A qualitative and empirical case study was conducted in which I observed one teacher in a multi-grade class (with grade 6 and 7 learners) using learning support materials to achieve learning outcomes in three different lessons. The study employed a range of data collection methods such as questionnaires, interviews, field notes, video recording, and document analysis, photographs and journal entries. I compiled a contextual profile of the school and classroom and undertook two 'layers' of data analysis to report the findings of the study. This research indicates that theories of learning and associated teaching methods influence learning interactions, and the use of learning support material in the class. The study also highlighted emerging issues in the use of environmental learning support materials, which relate to planning; access to materials; over-use of materials; and the relationship between learning support materials and teaching methods.
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- Date Issued: 2004