Towards a broader socio-ecological education : a case study of school based curricular reform
- Authors: Cimma, Gary Martin
- Date: 2002
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:20973 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5763
- Description: This work documents and analyses an action research project that the researcher undertook in conjunction with colleagues at an independent Catholic high school in Johannesburg. The main objective was to try to expand the existing curriculum in operation at the time of starting the research to one, which was more socio-ecologically sensitive. One of the key references during the action research was the recently drafted ‘Vision Statement’ document, which detailed the educational ideals of the school. Some of the key findings that emerged as the research proceeded, were that the levels of socio-ecological sensitivity displayed by the learners were influenced by the backgrounds from which they came, and that these background environments were often not comfortable with the changes taking place in the educational and greater South African environments. The Participatory Action Research mode of research which was used proved to be problematic in that only a handful of the educators actually got involved in participating in the project. The failure of many of educators to get involved was, in the opinion of the researcher, due to their lack of understanding how important the development of social and ecological sensitivity are to the necessary change capacity required in present day South African society. The need to be involved in the ongoing development of curriculum as required by Curriculum 2005 as a form of Outcomes Based Education was also problematic as some educators were not familiar with their role in this regard. The limited time-span of the research was also a limiting factor as the development of a socio-ecologically sensitive curriculum required changes in some fundamental attitudes and approaches to education and the environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
- Authors: Cimma, Gary Martin
- Date: 2002
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:20973 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5763
- Description: This work documents and analyses an action research project that the researcher undertook in conjunction with colleagues at an independent Catholic high school in Johannesburg. The main objective was to try to expand the existing curriculum in operation at the time of starting the research to one, which was more socio-ecologically sensitive. One of the key references during the action research was the recently drafted ‘Vision Statement’ document, which detailed the educational ideals of the school. Some of the key findings that emerged as the research proceeded, were that the levels of socio-ecological sensitivity displayed by the learners were influenced by the backgrounds from which they came, and that these background environments were often not comfortable with the changes taking place in the educational and greater South African environments. The Participatory Action Research mode of research which was used proved to be problematic in that only a handful of the educators actually got involved in participating in the project. The failure of many of educators to get involved was, in the opinion of the researcher, due to their lack of understanding how important the development of social and ecological sensitivity are to the necessary change capacity required in present day South African society. The need to be involved in the ongoing development of curriculum as required by Curriculum 2005 as a form of Outcomes Based Education was also problematic as some educators were not familiar with their role in this regard. The limited time-span of the research was also a limiting factor as the development of a socio-ecologically sensitive curriculum required changes in some fundamental attitudes and approaches to education and the environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
Perceptions on future fulfilment of visually impaired adolescent learners at the Khanyisa Special School
- Authors: Ciyana, Nontobeko Minica
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Blind children -- Education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Children with visual disabilities -- Education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Special education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:9538 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/683 , Blind children -- Education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Children with visual disabilities -- Education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Special education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: This research focuses on the perceptions of future fulfilment of visually impaired adolescent learners at the Khanyisa Special School. The qualitative research was undertaken at the selected special school, which is situated in Nelson Mandela Bay in the western region of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, with ten learners, ten parents and five teachers as participants. The concluding chapter suggests ways and recommendations to assist the visually impaired adolescent learners at the Khanyisa Special School financially and academically.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Ciyana, Nontobeko Minica
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Blind children -- Education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Children with visual disabilities -- Education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Special education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:9538 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/683 , Blind children -- Education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Children with visual disabilities -- Education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Special education -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: This research focuses on the perceptions of future fulfilment of visually impaired adolescent learners at the Khanyisa Special School. The qualitative research was undertaken at the selected special school, which is situated in Nelson Mandela Bay in the western region of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, with ten learners, ten parents and five teachers as participants. The concluding chapter suggests ways and recommendations to assist the visually impaired adolescent learners at the Khanyisa Special School financially and academically.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
A case study of a series of process writing workshops for teachers of English as a second language
- Authors: Claude, Marianne
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Foreign speakers English language -- Writing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1433 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003314
- Description: The case study, which is described in this thesis, is concerned with two aspects of second language teaching and learning, namely process writing and 'teacher development'. Ten Zulu speaking, English second language teachers in Durban, Natal, participated in a series of process writing workshops. Before the workshops, they were given opportunities to reflect, in interviews, upon their own past and present writing practices. After the workshops there were follow-up interviews to elicit their further understanding of what is involved in writing. The workshop materials were compiled and written by the researcher. The aims of the research project were, in summary, the following: to let the teachers, who are teachers of writing in their classrooms, become participating writers themselves; to make the process writing workshops be a reflective activity through which the participants would develop as teachers. The entire case study is positioned within critical theory, as a philosophical framework, in which the teachers' reflections upon their writing experiences is seen as emancipatory practice. The research project was small scale and predominantly qualitative. A narrative, 'explanation-building' analysis of the entire findings forms the major part of the thesis. The writing workshops gave the teachers in this study occasion to experience process writing; furthermore they were enabled to reflect in detail on their experiences. It is suggested that teacher training colleges and in-service courses incorporate the 'writing workshops for teachers ' concept, as an activity for growth and development. Further research may take the form of long term action research into how teachers who have attended such workshops implement the insights they have gained in their classrooms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Claude, Marianne
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Foreign speakers English language -- Writing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1433 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003314
- Description: The case study, which is described in this thesis, is concerned with two aspects of second language teaching and learning, namely process writing and 'teacher development'. Ten Zulu speaking, English second language teachers in Durban, Natal, participated in a series of process writing workshops. Before the workshops, they were given opportunities to reflect, in interviews, upon their own past and present writing practices. After the workshops there were follow-up interviews to elicit their further understanding of what is involved in writing. The workshop materials were compiled and written by the researcher. The aims of the research project were, in summary, the following: to let the teachers, who are teachers of writing in their classrooms, become participating writers themselves; to make the process writing workshops be a reflective activity through which the participants would develop as teachers. The entire case study is positioned within critical theory, as a philosophical framework, in which the teachers' reflections upon their writing experiences is seen as emancipatory practice. The research project was small scale and predominantly qualitative. A narrative, 'explanation-building' analysis of the entire findings forms the major part of the thesis. The writing workshops gave the teachers in this study occasion to experience process writing; furthermore they were enabled to reflect in detail on their experiences. It is suggested that teacher training colleges and in-service courses incorporate the 'writing workshops for teachers ' concept, as an activity for growth and development. Further research may take the form of long term action research into how teachers who have attended such workshops implement the insights they have gained in their classrooms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Intergenerational learning and environmental care: a case of a fishing community next to Africa’s first marine protected area
- Authors: Cloete, Cindy-Lee
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area (South Africa) , Covie (South Africa) , Intergenerational relations -- South Africa -- Covie , Intergenerational communication -- South Africa -- Covie , Fishing villages -- South Africa -- Covie , Sustainable fisheries -- South Africa -- Covie , Environmental education -- South Africa -- Covie
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7598 , vital:21277
- Description: This study explored the relationship between intergenerational learning and environmental care in the small fishing community of Covie, located next to the Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area (TMPA) on the south-eastern coast of South Africa. Since Covie’s establishment as a woodcutter settlement in 1883, the community has depended on the marine and coastal environment such that their communal identity and basic means of subsistence are closely tied to their traditional fishing practices. Since its proclamation in 1964, the TMPA has undergone numerous policy changes, most notably the complete closure of the TMPA to fishing in 2001. Against this backdrop, the study sought to understand how intergenerational learning about fishing practices are mediated in Covie and the ways in which such learning processes constitute a sense of place and belonging for the Covie fishers, and to develop a sense of care for the natural environment. The study included 12 Covie community members of different generations and genders so as to be representative of the community (approximately 86 members). The research was informed by qualitative data generated through a focus group discussion with eight Covie community members, a mirror workshop with the same eight community members, eight semi-structured interviews, and five naturalistic observations of fishing practices. Data generation and analysis was informed by Etienne Wenger’s theory of Communities of Practice which was complemented by theoretical perspectives on intergenerational learning and attachment to place. This study found that the Covie fishers indeed operate as a community of practice who depend significantly on intergenerational learning processes to transfer knowledge, skills and values about fishing practices to younger generations. The 2001 policy changes that denied the Covie fishers access to their traditional fishing sites were shown to reduce the participation in fishing of a range of community members (in particular children and women), which in turn influenced forms of intergenerational learning about fishing. The youth’s reduced participation especially was linked to more protracted and fragmented processes of learning about fishing and Covie’s code of fishing conduct, including its underpinning sense of environmental care. Finally, this study argues that the affective and socio-material connections to their natural surroundings have shaped the Covie community’s sense of care and responsibility toward the environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Cloete, Cindy-Lee
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area (South Africa) , Covie (South Africa) , Intergenerational relations -- South Africa -- Covie , Intergenerational communication -- South Africa -- Covie , Fishing villages -- South Africa -- Covie , Sustainable fisheries -- South Africa -- Covie , Environmental education -- South Africa -- Covie
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7598 , vital:21277
- Description: This study explored the relationship between intergenerational learning and environmental care in the small fishing community of Covie, located next to the Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area (TMPA) on the south-eastern coast of South Africa. Since Covie’s establishment as a woodcutter settlement in 1883, the community has depended on the marine and coastal environment such that their communal identity and basic means of subsistence are closely tied to their traditional fishing practices. Since its proclamation in 1964, the TMPA has undergone numerous policy changes, most notably the complete closure of the TMPA to fishing in 2001. Against this backdrop, the study sought to understand how intergenerational learning about fishing practices are mediated in Covie and the ways in which such learning processes constitute a sense of place and belonging for the Covie fishers, and to develop a sense of care for the natural environment. The study included 12 Covie community members of different generations and genders so as to be representative of the community (approximately 86 members). The research was informed by qualitative data generated through a focus group discussion with eight Covie community members, a mirror workshop with the same eight community members, eight semi-structured interviews, and five naturalistic observations of fishing practices. Data generation and analysis was informed by Etienne Wenger’s theory of Communities of Practice which was complemented by theoretical perspectives on intergenerational learning and attachment to place. This study found that the Covie fishers indeed operate as a community of practice who depend significantly on intergenerational learning processes to transfer knowledge, skills and values about fishing practices to younger generations. The 2001 policy changes that denied the Covie fishers access to their traditional fishing sites were shown to reduce the participation in fishing of a range of community members (in particular children and women), which in turn influenced forms of intergenerational learning about fishing. The youth’s reduced participation especially was linked to more protracted and fragmented processes of learning about fishing and Covie’s code of fishing conduct, including its underpinning sense of environmental care. Finally, this study argues that the affective and socio-material connections to their natural surroundings have shaped the Covie community’s sense of care and responsibility toward the environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A case study: the role of a positive school climate in the enhancement of parental and community involvement at a primary school in Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Cloete, Jacqueline
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Education -- Parent participation , Community and school , Home and school
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8735 , vital:26425
- Description: This study examines the phenomenon of parental and community involvement in a primary school and the benefits thereof to the learners, teachers and community members. The aim of this study is to investigate how a positive school climate can improve the involvement of parents and community members in a school’s activities. The research attempted to determine what the role of a positive school climate is; the strategies schools could apply to enhance parental and community involvement, the possible benefits of involvement and reasons for non-involvement of parents and community members in school activities. The theoretical frameworks of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model and Joyce Epstein’s overlapping spheres of influence were used in the study. A case study was used as the qualitative research methodology. The data for the research was gathered from a purposive sample of teachers, community volunteer workers, parents and the principal. Semi-structured interview schedules and pre-designed questionnaires including open and closed questions, were used to collect data. The data was analysed inductively by using a descriptive open coding method to identify emerging themes. The findings of the research suggest that a positive school climate to improve parent and community involvement can be created by applying the strategies of effective communication, good working relationships, creating opportunities for involvement, ensuring a healthy and safe environment, formulating a school policy for parent and community involvement, creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere as well as upholding an ethos of good moral values. The study found that parent and community involvement in a school’s activities offers various benefits to all stakeholders.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Cloete, Jacqueline
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Education -- Parent participation , Community and school , Home and school
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8735 , vital:26425
- Description: This study examines the phenomenon of parental and community involvement in a primary school and the benefits thereof to the learners, teachers and community members. The aim of this study is to investigate how a positive school climate can improve the involvement of parents and community members in a school’s activities. The research attempted to determine what the role of a positive school climate is; the strategies schools could apply to enhance parental and community involvement, the possible benefits of involvement and reasons for non-involvement of parents and community members in school activities. The theoretical frameworks of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model and Joyce Epstein’s overlapping spheres of influence were used in the study. A case study was used as the qualitative research methodology. The data for the research was gathered from a purposive sample of teachers, community volunteer workers, parents and the principal. Semi-structured interview schedules and pre-designed questionnaires including open and closed questions, were used to collect data. The data was analysed inductively by using a descriptive open coding method to identify emerging themes. The findings of the research suggest that a positive school climate to improve parent and community involvement can be created by applying the strategies of effective communication, good working relationships, creating opportunities for involvement, ensuring a healthy and safe environment, formulating a school policy for parent and community involvement, creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere as well as upholding an ethos of good moral values. The study found that parent and community involvement in a school’s activities offers various benefits to all stakeholders.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
A critical investigation into the managerial implications of inclusive education
- Authors: Cloete, Sanet
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1477 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003358
- Description: Special needs education has always provided special challenges to school administrators, policy makers and teachers. The world-wide move towards inclusive education as an alternative to exclusive education or casual mainstreaming has resulted in significant developments in Namibia in the past decade. Global educational reforms have focused on education for all as well as inclusive education and Namibia is signatory to several conventions and declarations in this regard. Research in this field has largely focused on the role of the inclusive teacher, and of course the special needs of the learners. Little or no attention has been paid to possible managerial and organisational challenges which accompany the move to inclusive education. This thesis seeks to critically investigate the managerial implications of inclusive education. The focal point of this research is to gain a clear understanding of the managerial implications in an inclusive school for learners with visual impairment, chiefly through an exploration of the experiences of management members of the inclusive process. The research is located within a qualitative research paradigm, which is subsumed by a phenomenological model. The data gathered through in-depth interviews include many anecdotal accounts that provide insight into the ways respondents reacted to experiences at the inclusive school. The main findings of the research are highlighted and discussed. Recommendations arising from a critical analysis of these main findings are presented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
- Authors: Cloete, Sanet
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1477 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003358
- Description: Special needs education has always provided special challenges to school administrators, policy makers and teachers. The world-wide move towards inclusive education as an alternative to exclusive education or casual mainstreaming has resulted in significant developments in Namibia in the past decade. Global educational reforms have focused on education for all as well as inclusive education and Namibia is signatory to several conventions and declarations in this regard. Research in this field has largely focused on the role of the inclusive teacher, and of course the special needs of the learners. Little or no attention has been paid to possible managerial and organisational challenges which accompany the move to inclusive education. This thesis seeks to critically investigate the managerial implications of inclusive education. The focal point of this research is to gain a clear understanding of the managerial implications in an inclusive school for learners with visual impairment, chiefly through an exploration of the experiences of management members of the inclusive process. The research is located within a qualitative research paradigm, which is subsumed by a phenomenological model. The data gathered through in-depth interviews include many anecdotal accounts that provide insight into the ways respondents reacted to experiences at the inclusive school. The main findings of the research are highlighted and discussed. Recommendations arising from a critical analysis of these main findings are presented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
An intervention to improve reading comprehension for grade 8 learners
- Authors: Coetzee, Ghauderen N
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Reading comprehension
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:9474 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/934 , English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Reading comprehension
- Description: Since the official opening of ex-model C (previously whites only) schools to learners of all races, cultures and languages, there has been an influx of black learners into these schools. Reasons for this are that many black parents believe the quality of education and resources available at these ex model C schools is better than those available in township schools (De Klerk, 2000). Parents also believe sending their children to English medium schools enables them to compete and be marketable in the global world of work. This dissertation describes a qualitative case study of grade 8 learners who took part in a six week intervention conducted at a school in the Eastern Cape where they learn through an additional language (English). The purpose of the intervention was to equip these learners with skills to enable them to improve their reading and comprehension in this language. Participation in the intervention was voluntarily, based on a selection conducted of learners who wrote a baseline English assessment test. Assessments done during the intervention suggest that isiXhosa home language learners fare academically weaker than their English and Afrikaans counterparts who learn through the medium of English. This correlates with findings done nationally and internationally with regard to South African learners’ literacy levels. This dissertation looks at the affective and cognitive effects of the intervention on its participants. Literature on how additional language learning should be done is examined, as well as the Language in Education policy of South Africa (1997). Findings from the research suggest the importance of establishing a ‘safe’ teaching and learning environment for learning to take place optimally and indicate that interventions to improve English reading can produce positive results. Furthermore the research provides evidence that explicitly teaching reading strategies can improve the participants’ comprehension and overall language competence. While English, as the language of technology and economics is acknowledged, it is argued in this dissertation that due to a lack of information to make informed choices, parents and learners become victims of the ‘straight for English’ phenomenon, and learners are robbed of an opportunity to reach their academic potential. However, if additional language learning takes place under the ideal conditions, learners can be enabled to become academically equipped to deal with the demands of learning through an additional language. What is essential for the afore-mentioned to materialize is that learners need to be equipped with reading and comprehension skills in their home language first, for these skills to be effective in attaining the ‘other’ language. Also, learners need to be aware of the fact that they carry knowledge in their own language that can and should be used to learn (in) the additional language.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Coetzee, Ghauderen N
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Reading comprehension
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:9474 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/934 , English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Reading comprehension
- Description: Since the official opening of ex-model C (previously whites only) schools to learners of all races, cultures and languages, there has been an influx of black learners into these schools. Reasons for this are that many black parents believe the quality of education and resources available at these ex model C schools is better than those available in township schools (De Klerk, 2000). Parents also believe sending their children to English medium schools enables them to compete and be marketable in the global world of work. This dissertation describes a qualitative case study of grade 8 learners who took part in a six week intervention conducted at a school in the Eastern Cape where they learn through an additional language (English). The purpose of the intervention was to equip these learners with skills to enable them to improve their reading and comprehension in this language. Participation in the intervention was voluntarily, based on a selection conducted of learners who wrote a baseline English assessment test. Assessments done during the intervention suggest that isiXhosa home language learners fare academically weaker than their English and Afrikaans counterparts who learn through the medium of English. This correlates with findings done nationally and internationally with regard to South African learners’ literacy levels. This dissertation looks at the affective and cognitive effects of the intervention on its participants. Literature on how additional language learning should be done is examined, as well as the Language in Education policy of South Africa (1997). Findings from the research suggest the importance of establishing a ‘safe’ teaching and learning environment for learning to take place optimally and indicate that interventions to improve English reading can produce positive results. Furthermore the research provides evidence that explicitly teaching reading strategies can improve the participants’ comprehension and overall language competence. While English, as the language of technology and economics is acknowledged, it is argued in this dissertation that due to a lack of information to make informed choices, parents and learners become victims of the ‘straight for English’ phenomenon, and learners are robbed of an opportunity to reach their academic potential. However, if additional language learning takes place under the ideal conditions, learners can be enabled to become academically equipped to deal with the demands of learning through an additional language. What is essential for the afore-mentioned to materialize is that learners need to be equipped with reading and comprehension skills in their home language first, for these skills to be effective in attaining the ‘other’ language. Also, learners need to be aware of the fact that they carry knowledge in their own language that can and should be used to learn (in) the additional language.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
An examination of the suitability of some contemporary South African fiction for readers in the post-developmental reading stage
- Authors: Cole, Lorna
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Children's literature, South African -- History and criticism Children -- Books and reading -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1530 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003412
- Description: Adverse criticism regarding the quantity and quality of children's books in South Africa appear in such respected sources as The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature and The Companion to South African English Literature, the authors of which are of the opinion that South African children are dependent solely upon Eurocentric literature for their reading material. In recent years however, local publishers have attempted to redress this imbalance by offering prizes for unpublished works. These prizes have acted as incentives for aspiring writers, many of whom have had novels published specifically for children in the post-developmental reading stage. This study critically examines some of these prizewinning works of fantasy and contemporary realism, in an effort to gauge their literary worth within the context of accepted criteria for judging children's literature. Accolades from adults are not however a guarantee that the prizewinning books will be received with equal acclaim by the children for whom they are written. For this reason, five children in the post-developmental reading stage were asked to pass their opinions and non-literary judgments on the books. Although the critical evaluation of the indigenous works proves them to be eminently worthy of the prizes which they received on publication, the children did not rate them as highly as certain imported works. The works of fantasy by Marguerite Poland rated poorly in terms of their popularity despite the fact that the children said that in a non-circumscribed context, they choose fantasy in preference to contemporary realism. Within the context of the indigenous literature which they read for this study though, they preferred the works of contemporary realism as they were able to identify with particular aspects of the novels. Indigenous literature for children in the post-developmental reading stage is a comparatively new phenomenon which needs to be nurtured if it is to attain any lasting status. The onus rests upon the teachers of literature and librarians to introduce the literature and make the books more accessible to young readers. Publishers need perhaps to engage the views and opinions of the audience for whom the books are written in an effort to publish books which, without in any way detracting from their literary worth, will deal with subjects favoured by young readers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
- Authors: Cole, Lorna
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Children's literature, South African -- History and criticism Children -- Books and reading -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1530 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003412
- Description: Adverse criticism regarding the quantity and quality of children's books in South Africa appear in such respected sources as The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature and The Companion to South African English Literature, the authors of which are of the opinion that South African children are dependent solely upon Eurocentric literature for their reading material. In recent years however, local publishers have attempted to redress this imbalance by offering prizes for unpublished works. These prizes have acted as incentives for aspiring writers, many of whom have had novels published specifically for children in the post-developmental reading stage. This study critically examines some of these prizewinning works of fantasy and contemporary realism, in an effort to gauge their literary worth within the context of accepted criteria for judging children's literature. Accolades from adults are not however a guarantee that the prizewinning books will be received with equal acclaim by the children for whom they are written. For this reason, five children in the post-developmental reading stage were asked to pass their opinions and non-literary judgments on the books. Although the critical evaluation of the indigenous works proves them to be eminently worthy of the prizes which they received on publication, the children did not rate them as highly as certain imported works. The works of fantasy by Marguerite Poland rated poorly in terms of their popularity despite the fact that the children said that in a non-circumscribed context, they choose fantasy in preference to contemporary realism. Within the context of the indigenous literature which they read for this study though, they preferred the works of contemporary realism as they were able to identify with particular aspects of the novels. Indigenous literature for children in the post-developmental reading stage is a comparatively new phenomenon which needs to be nurtured if it is to attain any lasting status. The onus rests upon the teachers of literature and librarians to introduce the literature and make the books more accessible to young readers. Publishers need perhaps to engage the views and opinions of the audience for whom the books are written in an effort to publish books which, without in any way detracting from their literary worth, will deal with subjects favoured by young readers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
Computer assisted language learning for academic development programmes : an appraisal of needs, resources and approaches
- Authors: Collett, Philip Godfrey
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: English language -- Computer-assisted instruction Language arts -- Computer-assisted instruction Language acquisition Computers and literacy English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers Computer-assisted instruction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1457 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003338
- Description: A major objective of Academic Development Programmes is to support the student in acquiring a level of language competence which is sufficient to enable the student to cope with the linguistic demands of academic courses. Language teaching programmes in the Academic Development context in South Africa suffer from a number of constraints: staffing, time on task, relevance, and difficulty of integration with learning in other coUrses. A review of developments in the field of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) shows that computers can be used to support language learning. CALL materials range from simple instructional programs to powerful linguistic research tools and need to be integrated into wider language programmes so as to support and enhance other teaching and learning activities. However, relatively little research has been done to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of CALL in language development courses within Academic Development programmes in South Africa. The development of a system designed to enable students to practise proof-reading and editing is described and evaluated. Suggestions are made for using this system with other CALL materials within a computer assisted language development environment. It is argued that CALL can be used feasibly and effectively in this environment to enhance learning and to counteract constraints.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Collett, Philip Godfrey
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: English language -- Computer-assisted instruction Language arts -- Computer-assisted instruction Language acquisition Computers and literacy English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers Computer-assisted instruction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1457 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003338
- Description: A major objective of Academic Development Programmes is to support the student in acquiring a level of language competence which is sufficient to enable the student to cope with the linguistic demands of academic courses. Language teaching programmes in the Academic Development context in South Africa suffer from a number of constraints: staffing, time on task, relevance, and difficulty of integration with learning in other coUrses. A review of developments in the field of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) shows that computers can be used to support language learning. CALL materials range from simple instructional programs to powerful linguistic research tools and need to be integrated into wider language programmes so as to support and enhance other teaching and learning activities. However, relatively little research has been done to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of CALL in language development courses within Academic Development programmes in South Africa. The development of a system designed to enable students to practise proof-reading and editing is described and evaluated. Suggestions are made for using this system with other CALL materials within a computer assisted language development environment. It is argued that CALL can be used feasibly and effectively in this environment to enhance learning and to counteract constraints.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
An exploration of the interaction between English language learning orientation and motivation among marketing students at an FET college
- Authors: Cosburn, Ericha
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers Language and culture -- South Africa Language and education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1536 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003418
- Description: Student motivation in FET colleges in South Africa is generally considered to be underresearched. Seyfried (1998, p. 54) contends that "motivations of participants still receive too little attention in the planning of vocational programmes". In an attempt to explore how motivational variables interact with English language leaming, this mixed-method study focused on FET marketing students studying English as part of their three-year vocational qualification. In the first phase, three focus group discussions were conducted with students from the three levels in the programme - a total of 16 students. These interviews were transcribed and coded according to a theoretical model that was adapted from Domyei's Extended Framework of Motivation (1998). In the second phase, 195 questionnaires were distributed, of which 142 were used in the final analysis. The results of these were indexed according to the theoretical model. Initial data processing enabled the creation of two analytical models for use in data analysis - one to analyse focus group data and the other to analyse questionnaire data. The study found a link between instrumentality, integrativeness, identity and perceived motivational orientations. It was also clear that orientation did not automatically translate into motivation. Another link was found between self-worth, self-efficacy and goal orientation. Perceived L2 competence, self-concept and identity also interacted strongly: participants who saw themselves as most alienated from their culture, also saw themselves as more competent in the L2, than their peers who identified more closely with their own culture. A predictable link was found between linguistic self-confidence, willingness to communicate [WTC] and language use anxiety. What made this finding interesting was that participants seemed to fear being judged by native English speakers to a greater extent than being judged by their peers. Finally some factors emerged as detracting from motivation, while others played a contributing role. While this is to be expected, it was interesting to note which factors fell into which category.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Cosburn, Ericha
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers Language and culture -- South Africa Language and education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1536 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003418
- Description: Student motivation in FET colleges in South Africa is generally considered to be underresearched. Seyfried (1998, p. 54) contends that "motivations of participants still receive too little attention in the planning of vocational programmes". In an attempt to explore how motivational variables interact with English language leaming, this mixed-method study focused on FET marketing students studying English as part of their three-year vocational qualification. In the first phase, three focus group discussions were conducted with students from the three levels in the programme - a total of 16 students. These interviews were transcribed and coded according to a theoretical model that was adapted from Domyei's Extended Framework of Motivation (1998). In the second phase, 195 questionnaires were distributed, of which 142 were used in the final analysis. The results of these were indexed according to the theoretical model. Initial data processing enabled the creation of two analytical models for use in data analysis - one to analyse focus group data and the other to analyse questionnaire data. The study found a link between instrumentality, integrativeness, identity and perceived motivational orientations. It was also clear that orientation did not automatically translate into motivation. Another link was found between self-worth, self-efficacy and goal orientation. Perceived L2 competence, self-concept and identity also interacted strongly: participants who saw themselves as most alienated from their culture, also saw themselves as more competent in the L2, than their peers who identified more closely with their own culture. A predictable link was found between linguistic self-confidence, willingness to communicate [WTC] and language use anxiety. What made this finding interesting was that participants seemed to fear being judged by native English speakers to a greater extent than being judged by their peers. Finally some factors emerged as detracting from motivation, while others played a contributing role. While this is to be expected, it was interesting to note which factors fell into which category.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The "About to teach" course: an introductory orientation course for secondary teachers in training: an evaluation of student assessments
- Authors: Coughlan, Niall Sean
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape High school teachers -- Training of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1910 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007057
- Description: This piece of research is an attempt to evaluate the assessments made by secondary teachers in training of an introductory orientation course offered during the first seven weeks of the 1984 H.D. E. course in the Department of Education of Rhodes University. This course, the About To Teach (ATT) course, was introduced in an attempt to obviate some of the perceived problems that students experience in the initial months of their H.D.E. year. The course was first offered in 1982 and in both 1982 and 1983 it was assessed by the students. The evaluation of the assessments offered in those two years provided much of the background for this in-depth look at student assessments of the 1984 ATT course. Briefly, the course attempts to offer the students a stimulating, meaningful, interesting and enjoyable learning experience which will help them to orientate; prepare them adequately for their first teaching practice and the reception later of the offerings of the core theory discipline of Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology. The course itself is a piece of action research and its underlying assumptions are essentially humanistic in nature. Its planners have attempted to bracket as many assumptions as possible and to espouse only those assumptions which are basically positive in nature. It does not attempt to prescribe or offer any dogma which can or must be assessed in any formal sense; it attempts to meet the students from whatever stages in their development they are at when they arrive to commence their H.D.E. year; and it does not attempt to compel the students in any way whatsoever. It is a course which must stand or fall on its own merits. Since the researcher is himself an involved participant in the process, he felt that the completion of a detailed questionnaire and interviews with a sample of the students would be the most economical and the best means of obtaining data for as objective an analysis as possible. To further obviate the possibility of researcher bias all the responses collected have been included in the appendices so that the reader may satisfy him/herself that the interpretations made and conclusions drawn are reasonable. Briefly, the chief conclusion of this researcher is that the overwhelming majority of the students perceived the course as offering them a meaningful learning experience. In addition, it can be argued that the course is, in effect, a guidance course in that it appears to be preparing students for experiences which they still have to come across . Most are generally critical of other courses offered during the H.D . E. year and many make an appeal for, or suggest, a much more integrated approach along the lines of the ATT course . There is a definite appeal for a coherent H.D.E. experience which is meaningful and 'peoplecentred'. By no stretch of the imagination can the findings of this particular piece of research be generalised to any other context since it is very definitely specific in both context and setting. However the researcher is quietly confident that his conclusions and recommendations make a great deal of sense within the specific context of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
- Authors: Coughlan, Niall Sean
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape High school teachers -- Training of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1910 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007057
- Description: This piece of research is an attempt to evaluate the assessments made by secondary teachers in training of an introductory orientation course offered during the first seven weeks of the 1984 H.D. E. course in the Department of Education of Rhodes University. This course, the About To Teach (ATT) course, was introduced in an attempt to obviate some of the perceived problems that students experience in the initial months of their H.D.E. year. The course was first offered in 1982 and in both 1982 and 1983 it was assessed by the students. The evaluation of the assessments offered in those two years provided much of the background for this in-depth look at student assessments of the 1984 ATT course. Briefly, the course attempts to offer the students a stimulating, meaningful, interesting and enjoyable learning experience which will help them to orientate; prepare them adequately for their first teaching practice and the reception later of the offerings of the core theory discipline of Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology. The course itself is a piece of action research and its underlying assumptions are essentially humanistic in nature. Its planners have attempted to bracket as many assumptions as possible and to espouse only those assumptions which are basically positive in nature. It does not attempt to prescribe or offer any dogma which can or must be assessed in any formal sense; it attempts to meet the students from whatever stages in their development they are at when they arrive to commence their H.D.E. year; and it does not attempt to compel the students in any way whatsoever. It is a course which must stand or fall on its own merits. Since the researcher is himself an involved participant in the process, he felt that the completion of a detailed questionnaire and interviews with a sample of the students would be the most economical and the best means of obtaining data for as objective an analysis as possible. To further obviate the possibility of researcher bias all the responses collected have been included in the appendices so that the reader may satisfy him/herself that the interpretations made and conclusions drawn are reasonable. Briefly, the chief conclusion of this researcher is that the overwhelming majority of the students perceived the course as offering them a meaningful learning experience. In addition, it can be argued that the course is, in effect, a guidance course in that it appears to be preparing students for experiences which they still have to come across . Most are generally critical of other courses offered during the H.D . E. year and many make an appeal for, or suggest, a much more integrated approach along the lines of the ATT course . There is a definite appeal for a coherent H.D.E. experience which is meaningful and 'peoplecentred'. By no stretch of the imagination can the findings of this particular piece of research be generalised to any other context since it is very definitely specific in both context and setting. However the researcher is quietly confident that his conclusions and recommendations make a great deal of sense within the specific context of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
Developing and using an assessment instrument for spatial skills in Grade 10 geometry learners
- Authors: Cowley, Jane
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Geometry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Geometry -- Evaluation. , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2025 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017336
- Description: This qualitative investigation took the form of a case study and fell within the interpretive research paradigm. The Mathematics Chair at the Education Department of Rhodes University launched the Mathematics Teacher Enrichment Programme (MTEP) in 2010 in order to combat poor Mathematics performance of learners in the lower Albany district of the Eastern Cape. The challenge that the participating MTEP teachers faced was a lack of time available to implement new teaching ideas. This was because most of their time was spent catching up “lost” or untaught concepts in the classroom. To address this problem, the Catch-Up Project was launched, whereby selected Mathematics teachers in the area taught lost concepts to Grade Ten learners during afternoon classes in an attempt to improve their fundamental Mathematics knowledge. In order to establish which sections of Mathematics were more difficult for the learners in this programme, bench mark tests were administered biannually. Whilst these tests certainly identified deficient areas within their Mathematics knowledge, the poorest performance areas were the sections of the syllabus which were spatial in nature, such as Space and Shape and Geometry. However, a more in depth assessment tool was required to establish which specific spatial skills the learners were not able to employ when doing these Geometry tasks. To this end, the Spatial Skills Assessment Tasks (SSAT) was developed. It consisted of traditional text book type Geometry tasks and real-world context tasks, both of which were used to assess six spatial skills deemed crucial to successfully facilitate learning Geometry. The case study took place in two of the schools which participated in the Grade Ten Catch-Up project. The case was focused on Grade Ten learners and the unit of analysis was their responses to the SSAT instrument. The learners that participated all did so on a strictly voluntary basis and great care was taken to protect their wellbeing and anonymity at all times. The results of the SSAT instrument revealed that the real world context tasks were in general far more successfully answered than the traditional text book type questions. Important trends in learner responses were noted and highlighted. For example, geometric terminology remains a huge challenge for learners, especially as they study Mathematics in their second language. The ability of the learners to differentiate between such concepts as congruency and similarity is severely compromised, partly due to a lack of terminological understanding but also due to a perceived lack of exposure to the material. Concepts such as verticality and horizontality also remain a huge challenge, possibly for the same reasons. They are poorly understood and yet vital to achievement in Geometry. Recommendations for the development and strengthening of spatial skills support the constructivist approach to learning. Hands on activities and intensive sustained practice over a period of a few months, in which both teachers and learners are actively involved in the learning process, would be considered most beneficial to the long term enhancement of these vital spatial skills and to the learning of Geometry in general.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Cowley, Jane
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Geometry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Geometry -- Evaluation. , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2025 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017336
- Description: This qualitative investigation took the form of a case study and fell within the interpretive research paradigm. The Mathematics Chair at the Education Department of Rhodes University launched the Mathematics Teacher Enrichment Programme (MTEP) in 2010 in order to combat poor Mathematics performance of learners in the lower Albany district of the Eastern Cape. The challenge that the participating MTEP teachers faced was a lack of time available to implement new teaching ideas. This was because most of their time was spent catching up “lost” or untaught concepts in the classroom. To address this problem, the Catch-Up Project was launched, whereby selected Mathematics teachers in the area taught lost concepts to Grade Ten learners during afternoon classes in an attempt to improve their fundamental Mathematics knowledge. In order to establish which sections of Mathematics were more difficult for the learners in this programme, bench mark tests were administered biannually. Whilst these tests certainly identified deficient areas within their Mathematics knowledge, the poorest performance areas were the sections of the syllabus which were spatial in nature, such as Space and Shape and Geometry. However, a more in depth assessment tool was required to establish which specific spatial skills the learners were not able to employ when doing these Geometry tasks. To this end, the Spatial Skills Assessment Tasks (SSAT) was developed. It consisted of traditional text book type Geometry tasks and real-world context tasks, both of which were used to assess six spatial skills deemed crucial to successfully facilitate learning Geometry. The case study took place in two of the schools which participated in the Grade Ten Catch-Up project. The case was focused on Grade Ten learners and the unit of analysis was their responses to the SSAT instrument. The learners that participated all did so on a strictly voluntary basis and great care was taken to protect their wellbeing and anonymity at all times. The results of the SSAT instrument revealed that the real world context tasks were in general far more successfully answered than the traditional text book type questions. Important trends in learner responses were noted and highlighted. For example, geometric terminology remains a huge challenge for learners, especially as they study Mathematics in their second language. The ability of the learners to differentiate between such concepts as congruency and similarity is severely compromised, partly due to a lack of terminological understanding but also due to a perceived lack of exposure to the material. Concepts such as verticality and horizontality also remain a huge challenge, possibly for the same reasons. They are poorly understood and yet vital to achievement in Geometry. Recommendations for the development and strengthening of spatial skills support the constructivist approach to learning. Hands on activities and intensive sustained practice over a period of a few months, in which both teachers and learners are actively involved in the learning process, would be considered most beneficial to the long term enhancement of these vital spatial skills and to the learning of Geometry in general.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Some aspects of the teaching of English as a main language at the secondary level with special reference to the question of 'language'
- Authors: Crampton, Michael Edward
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1873 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004926
- Description: From Introduction: A training in English literature followed by a limited number of English method lectures on how to teach a prescribed Victorian novel proved inadequate in these circumstances. Moreover, several years of interaction with colleagues in staff rooms, conferences and seminars in England and South Africa failed to yield a secure sense of purpose or a confident understanding of why, when and how to teach what in the English lesson. Too many amateurs are employed to teach English. Barn dancers might as well teach ballet. Yet for all that, there grew a conviction, reinforced by the vital involvement of many inspiring colleagues, that English teaching is the mainspring of the educational process where that language is the medium of education. The hope of making some contribution to the advancement of the English teaching profession, especially for the benefit of those who look up, hoping to learn, is sufficient motivation for this work. The endeavour will be, in the first place, to review some traditional aspects of English teaching in their historical context. A description of the traditional sources upon which the profession intuitively draws might assist in explaining the existence of certain attitudes. In chapters 2-4 an analysis of current thinking, directions and practices will aim to explore some aspects of what English teaching in schools is, when and how it happens and to what end. The direction in which the profession is moving will be weighed against the relevance of school English in the further learning experiences of school leavers before conclusions and recommendations are listed. Throughout, the purpose will be to contribute insights into the practice of teaching English as a main language. The term 'main language' has been deliberately chosen. Growing numbers of South Africans might be described as English L2 'main language' speakers in the sense that though Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa or Gujarati might be regarded as their 'first' language , English is the language which they mainly use in the ordinary business of life, in the home, at work and at play. The situation is fluid and interactive. Many adult speakers are in the process of assuming English as a main language. Small groups at work (and increasingly in lecture halls and classrooms) might, in learning contexts use English mainly as a means of interaction but include a variety of native Ianguage speakers from Armenian to ZuIu. The concept of English as a 'main' as distinct from 'first' or 'second' language seems to be gaining fresh significance. The fact that it is no longer safe to assume that main language English speakers will all be drawn from uniform speech communities, has major implications for the teaching of the subject; implications that will rapidly become more significant with the eradication of apartheid from our society. In this study, focus will be upon the teaching of the subject at the secondary level. Within that area particular emphasis will fall upon the final three years of schooling. With the approach of the matriculation examination many schools begin to rattle their shackles, bringing 'English specialists' to bear on prescribed works and increasing the intensity of tests and mock examinations. The leisurely dalliance with projects and casual affairs with creative work associated with English in the early years, can be forgotten as attention is confined with increasing intensity on possible examination questions . Thus the opportunity to finish what has been begun is often wasted. Where added impetus and direction could be given in the final years to interest, enjoyment and abilities fostered at primary and junior secondary levels, preoccupation with an irrelevant literary erudition, with disjointed comprehension passages and spurious essay topics, can stifle natural growth. On the other hand it must be acknowledged that the impetus provided by the final examination can channel energy and produce insights that might otherwise have remained dormant. Thus, while the final three years of schooling are educationally no more important than any other phase in the twelve years schooling, they do III involve important issues within the writer's range of experience.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
- Authors: Crampton, Michael Edward
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1873 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004926
- Description: From Introduction: A training in English literature followed by a limited number of English method lectures on how to teach a prescribed Victorian novel proved inadequate in these circumstances. Moreover, several years of interaction with colleagues in staff rooms, conferences and seminars in England and South Africa failed to yield a secure sense of purpose or a confident understanding of why, when and how to teach what in the English lesson. Too many amateurs are employed to teach English. Barn dancers might as well teach ballet. Yet for all that, there grew a conviction, reinforced by the vital involvement of many inspiring colleagues, that English teaching is the mainspring of the educational process where that language is the medium of education. The hope of making some contribution to the advancement of the English teaching profession, especially for the benefit of those who look up, hoping to learn, is sufficient motivation for this work. The endeavour will be, in the first place, to review some traditional aspects of English teaching in their historical context. A description of the traditional sources upon which the profession intuitively draws might assist in explaining the existence of certain attitudes. In chapters 2-4 an analysis of current thinking, directions and practices will aim to explore some aspects of what English teaching in schools is, when and how it happens and to what end. The direction in which the profession is moving will be weighed against the relevance of school English in the further learning experiences of school leavers before conclusions and recommendations are listed. Throughout, the purpose will be to contribute insights into the practice of teaching English as a main language. The term 'main language' has been deliberately chosen. Growing numbers of South Africans might be described as English L2 'main language' speakers in the sense that though Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa or Gujarati might be regarded as their 'first' language , English is the language which they mainly use in the ordinary business of life, in the home, at work and at play. The situation is fluid and interactive. Many adult speakers are in the process of assuming English as a main language. Small groups at work (and increasingly in lecture halls and classrooms) might, in learning contexts use English mainly as a means of interaction but include a variety of native Ianguage speakers from Armenian to ZuIu. The concept of English as a 'main' as distinct from 'first' or 'second' language seems to be gaining fresh significance. The fact that it is no longer safe to assume that main language English speakers will all be drawn from uniform speech communities, has major implications for the teaching of the subject; implications that will rapidly become more significant with the eradication of apartheid from our society. In this study, focus will be upon the teaching of the subject at the secondary level. Within that area particular emphasis will fall upon the final three years of schooling. With the approach of the matriculation examination many schools begin to rattle their shackles, bringing 'English specialists' to bear on prescribed works and increasing the intensity of tests and mock examinations. The leisurely dalliance with projects and casual affairs with creative work associated with English in the early years, can be forgotten as attention is confined with increasing intensity on possible examination questions . Thus the opportunity to finish what has been begun is often wasted. Where added impetus and direction could be given in the final years to interest, enjoyment and abilities fostered at primary and junior secondary levels, preoccupation with an irrelevant literary erudition, with disjointed comprehension passages and spurious essay topics, can stifle natural growth. On the other hand it must be acknowledged that the impetus provided by the final examination can channel energy and produce insights that might otherwise have remained dormant. Thus, while the final three years of schooling are educationally no more important than any other phase in the twelve years schooling, they do III involve important issues within the writer's range of experience.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
Enrichment strategies for gifted English first language (HG) pupils at the senior secondary level : a critical evaluation of a programme implemented at Grey Boys' High School, Port Elizabeth, 1986-1988
- Authors: Cunningham, Gregory Mark
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Gifted children -- Education (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Gifted children -- Education -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1510 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003392
- Description: Programmes developed specifically for the gifted and talented pupil are not a novel idea. Yet, by comparison, the history of gifted education is a brief one. Highly gifted and talented pupils often have difficulty being challenged in a conventional classroom situation. Since classroom instruction is usually designed for the benefit of pupils who function at the level of the majority of their peer age-group, this teaching, no matter how well done, may not be appropriate for the extremely gifted pupil whose abilities differ greatly from this group. Even special programmes for gifted and talented students may be designed for a broad group of gifted students and may not meet the specific needs of the gifted child, especially ones with a special intellectual talent. While it is important to bear aspects such as the characteristics of giftedness and the attributes of the talented individual in mind, the basis of this dissertation examines what enrichment and acceleration strategies may be utilised by the English First Language (HG) teacher when presented with a preselected group of pupils who are gifted in English, utilising a composite gifted educational model as a mechanism for the development of this specific programme.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
- Authors: Cunningham, Gregory Mark
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Gifted children -- Education (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Gifted children -- Education -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1510 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003392
- Description: Programmes developed specifically for the gifted and talented pupil are not a novel idea. Yet, by comparison, the history of gifted education is a brief one. Highly gifted and talented pupils often have difficulty being challenged in a conventional classroom situation. Since classroom instruction is usually designed for the benefit of pupils who function at the level of the majority of their peer age-group, this teaching, no matter how well done, may not be appropriate for the extremely gifted pupil whose abilities differ greatly from this group. Even special programmes for gifted and talented students may be designed for a broad group of gifted students and may not meet the specific needs of the gifted child, especially ones with a special intellectual talent. While it is important to bear aspects such as the characteristics of giftedness and the attributes of the talented individual in mind, the basis of this dissertation examines what enrichment and acceleration strategies may be utilised by the English First Language (HG) teacher when presented with a preselected group of pupils who are gifted in English, utilising a composite gifted educational model as a mechanism for the development of this specific programme.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
An investigation into how a guided learner leadership programme can foster authentic leadership in a boys’ boarding school environment
- Authors: Cuyler, Craig
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- South Africa Boarding schools -- South Africa Boys -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61756 , vital:28055
- Description: This study is located within the field of Educational Leadership and Management and the research was undertaken in a boys’ private boarding school in Grahamstown, South Africa. Learner Leadership within the ELM field of study, has gained much interest in recent times and as the process of democratisation within schools continues to take place, it is important that research efforts be more focused in this area. The lack of learner voice initiatives within South African schools, in spite of policies being in place that encourage it, has created the impression that learner leadership is far more about rhetoric than actual practice. This appears to be the case in private education as well, owing to practices that are reliant on hierarchy and tradition to cement their position within these schools. It was with this in mind that a formative peer mentoring intervention was put in place in a boarding house at St Andrew’s College, a private boys’ school in Grahamstown, South Africa, with the object of developing authentic leadership in a boarding house context. This study was framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory and sought to investigate how a guided learner leadership programme could foster authentic leadership in a boys’ boarding school context. The intervention consisted of three phases: 1) a pre-intervention questionnaire; 2) a Mentoring Course, during which Grade 12 learners were trained how to be mentors; and 3) a Mentoring Programme, during which Grade 12 learners were each allocated a Grade 8 learner to mentor during the course of the year. Data was collected during all three phases of the intervention and said data was obtained via questionnaires, interviews and from notes kept in an observation journal. The data was analysed inductively and later by using Cultural Historical Activity Theory, which acted as a lens through which data was interpreted. The findings reflected that learners responded well to the Mentoring Course and that they participated as active agents of change. It was during the Mentoring Programme, where contradictions became apparent and where the default to practices associated with hierarchy and tradition became evident. The Mentoring Programme did reflect some positive results, such as learners taking more ownership of the Programme and becoming critical of their own practice as mentors. This led to the further take-up of the Mentoring Programme in other boarding houses at St Andrew’s College after the intervention, and the course continues to grow and improve. My recommendations include that broader research be undertaken generally, to understand the role that tradition and hierarchy play, particularly in private schools, so that more authentic learner leadership can be put in place, and to conduct a longitudinal study to establish the success of the Mentoring Programme at St Andrew’s College specifically, over time.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Cuyler, Craig
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- South Africa Boarding schools -- South Africa Boys -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61756 , vital:28055
- Description: This study is located within the field of Educational Leadership and Management and the research was undertaken in a boys’ private boarding school in Grahamstown, South Africa. Learner Leadership within the ELM field of study, has gained much interest in recent times and as the process of democratisation within schools continues to take place, it is important that research efforts be more focused in this area. The lack of learner voice initiatives within South African schools, in spite of policies being in place that encourage it, has created the impression that learner leadership is far more about rhetoric than actual practice. This appears to be the case in private education as well, owing to practices that are reliant on hierarchy and tradition to cement their position within these schools. It was with this in mind that a formative peer mentoring intervention was put in place in a boarding house at St Andrew’s College, a private boys’ school in Grahamstown, South Africa, with the object of developing authentic leadership in a boarding house context. This study was framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory and sought to investigate how a guided learner leadership programme could foster authentic leadership in a boys’ boarding school context. The intervention consisted of three phases: 1) a pre-intervention questionnaire; 2) a Mentoring Course, during which Grade 12 learners were trained how to be mentors; and 3) a Mentoring Programme, during which Grade 12 learners were each allocated a Grade 8 learner to mentor during the course of the year. Data was collected during all three phases of the intervention and said data was obtained via questionnaires, interviews and from notes kept in an observation journal. The data was analysed inductively and later by using Cultural Historical Activity Theory, which acted as a lens through which data was interpreted. The findings reflected that learners responded well to the Mentoring Course and that they participated as active agents of change. It was during the Mentoring Programme, where contradictions became apparent and where the default to practices associated with hierarchy and tradition became evident. The Mentoring Programme did reflect some positive results, such as learners taking more ownership of the Programme and becoming critical of their own practice as mentors. This led to the further take-up of the Mentoring Programme in other boarding houses at St Andrew’s College after the intervention, and the course continues to grow and improve. My recommendations include that broader research be undertaken generally, to understand the role that tradition and hierarchy play, particularly in private schools, so that more authentic learner leadership can be put in place, and to conduct a longitudinal study to establish the success of the Mentoring Programme at St Andrew’s College specifically, over time.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Use of eco-art education in supporting the establishment of sustainability competencies in basic education: an interventionist case study
- Authors: Da Silva, Juliana Schmidt
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Environment (Art) , Environmental education -- Brazil , Sustainable development -- Brazil , Education -- Curricula -- Brazil , Eco-art education
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/166127 , vital:41331
- Description: Recent socioecological approaches in Environmental Education acknowledge the complexity of “real-world situations”, which include environmental problems. One response to the challenge of enabling people to develop sustainability is the key competencies in sustainability framework. It can be faced as a guide to planning Environmental Education actions. On the other side, art practices hold potential to expand learning in varied ways. Art can offer the strategies employed in learning processes directed to sustainability, constituting the field of eco-art education. This research aims to investigate the integration of the visions of the key competencies in sustainability and the eco-art education in an Environmental Education project at high school level. Horta and Gastronomia (Vegetable Garden and Gastronomy) is an extra-curricular activity which happens every year at Irmão Jaime Biazus high school in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It addresses food security and sustainability associating the garden, the kitchen and exploration of sustainability issues using eco-art strategies. Action research approach is used, defining two research cycles to explore the effectiveness of eco-art for the development of key competencies in sustainability. The first cycle focuses on the eco-art activities applied in Horta and Gastronomia (2017 group) while the second cycle deals with a post-project intervention designed to observe indicators of the sustainability competencies and further explore eco-art strategies. This study adds to the field of sustainability competencies by exploring teaching strategies through eco-art education. Insight into key competencies in sustainability is given by presenting the investigation of the group of students about a situation of their reality. The activities implemented, classified according to their objectives, are contextualized regarding the competencies and in learning sequences. This research also contributes to the development of the sustainability competencies framework by applying the theory to a basic education level, adapting the work originally proposed to higher education contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Da Silva, Juliana Schmidt
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Environment (Art) , Environmental education -- Brazil , Sustainable development -- Brazil , Education -- Curricula -- Brazil , Eco-art education
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/166127 , vital:41331
- Description: Recent socioecological approaches in Environmental Education acknowledge the complexity of “real-world situations”, which include environmental problems. One response to the challenge of enabling people to develop sustainability is the key competencies in sustainability framework. It can be faced as a guide to planning Environmental Education actions. On the other side, art practices hold potential to expand learning in varied ways. Art can offer the strategies employed in learning processes directed to sustainability, constituting the field of eco-art education. This research aims to investigate the integration of the visions of the key competencies in sustainability and the eco-art education in an Environmental Education project at high school level. Horta and Gastronomia (Vegetable Garden and Gastronomy) is an extra-curricular activity which happens every year at Irmão Jaime Biazus high school in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It addresses food security and sustainability associating the garden, the kitchen and exploration of sustainability issues using eco-art strategies. Action research approach is used, defining two research cycles to explore the effectiveness of eco-art for the development of key competencies in sustainability. The first cycle focuses on the eco-art activities applied in Horta and Gastronomia (2017 group) while the second cycle deals with a post-project intervention designed to observe indicators of the sustainability competencies and further explore eco-art strategies. This study adds to the field of sustainability competencies by exploring teaching strategies through eco-art education. Insight into key competencies in sustainability is given by presenting the investigation of the group of students about a situation of their reality. The activities implemented, classified according to their objectives, are contextualized regarding the competencies and in learning sequences. This research also contributes to the development of the sustainability competencies framework by applying the theory to a basic education level, adapting the work originally proposed to higher education contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Leadership development within a Learner Representative Council (LRC) in a rural secondary school in the Oshana region, Namibia
- Authors: Da Silva, Rolens
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Student participation in administration Namibia , Student government Namibia , Educational leadership Namibia , Qualitative research
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62808 , vital:28282
- Description: The Namibian Education Act (Namibia. Education Act No. 16 of 2001) mandates state secondary school learners to be included in school leadership through a body of learners known as the Learner Representative Council (LRC). The few studies carried out on the LRC in schools reveal that very little has been achieved in terms of learner leadership development. This study explored and provided insight into possible reasons for this, and recommendations. The research questions driving the study were: How is learner leadership currently understood and practised in the school? What are the enabling and constraining factors in the school as far as learner leadership development is concerned? And what can be done to promote learner leadership development? This study is an interpretive case study of learner leadership in the LRC in a Namibian state secondary school in the Oshana region. The conceptual framework used was distributed leadership. The Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was used as an analytical tool. The research participants were the LRC members, school principal, Heads of Departments representing the school management members, the School Board Chairperson representing parents and the LRC liaison teacher and were all purposively selected. Data was collected through document analysis, open-ended questionnaires, interviews and non-participant observation. Data analysis took the form of inductively – identifying themes emerged from the data and deductively – using CHAT to surface the systemic contradictions within the learners’ activity system. The data revealed that learner leadership was mostly understood from a management perspective and equated with the formal authority of the LRC in the school. The data further revealed that the LRC performed more leadership roles stretched from inside the classroom, outside the classroom, on the School Board and outside the school. To capture this complexity, I developed a model which may prove useful for future studies of learner leadership. The data also indicated that much support was offered to the LRC members in the school; for example, support from the LRC liaison teacher, the School Management Team and generally from the school, through LRC leadership training. Using CHAT, the findings revealed that the historical context and cultural conventions contradicted the LRC leadership development in the school. In line with a distributed leadership theory, the study recommends that learner leadership should not be limited by position and authority but should be exercised by all learners, through the development and establishment of learner leader clubs in the school. The study also recommends that schools should embark on change initiatives which challenge their traditionally held beliefs and attitudes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Da Silva, Rolens
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Student participation in administration Namibia , Student government Namibia , Educational leadership Namibia , Qualitative research
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62808 , vital:28282
- Description: The Namibian Education Act (Namibia. Education Act No. 16 of 2001) mandates state secondary school learners to be included in school leadership through a body of learners known as the Learner Representative Council (LRC). The few studies carried out on the LRC in schools reveal that very little has been achieved in terms of learner leadership development. This study explored and provided insight into possible reasons for this, and recommendations. The research questions driving the study were: How is learner leadership currently understood and practised in the school? What are the enabling and constraining factors in the school as far as learner leadership development is concerned? And what can be done to promote learner leadership development? This study is an interpretive case study of learner leadership in the LRC in a Namibian state secondary school in the Oshana region. The conceptual framework used was distributed leadership. The Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was used as an analytical tool. The research participants were the LRC members, school principal, Heads of Departments representing the school management members, the School Board Chairperson representing parents and the LRC liaison teacher and were all purposively selected. Data was collected through document analysis, open-ended questionnaires, interviews and non-participant observation. Data analysis took the form of inductively – identifying themes emerged from the data and deductively – using CHAT to surface the systemic contradictions within the learners’ activity system. The data revealed that learner leadership was mostly understood from a management perspective and equated with the formal authority of the LRC in the school. The data further revealed that the LRC performed more leadership roles stretched from inside the classroom, outside the classroom, on the School Board and outside the school. To capture this complexity, I developed a model which may prove useful for future studies of learner leadership. The data also indicated that much support was offered to the LRC members in the school; for example, support from the LRC liaison teacher, the School Management Team and generally from the school, through LRC leadership training. Using CHAT, the findings revealed that the historical context and cultural conventions contradicted the LRC leadership development in the school. In line with a distributed leadership theory, the study recommends that learner leadership should not be limited by position and authority but should be exercised by all learners, through the development and establishment of learner leader clubs in the school. The study also recommends that schools should embark on change initiatives which challenge their traditionally held beliefs and attitudes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Teachers’ experiences in identifying learners with learning barriers in a Full Service School
- Authors: Dakada, Alinda
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Inclusive education Learning disabilities -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Teaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/6147 , vital:29495
- Description: This study investigates teachers‟ experiences in identifying learners with learning barriers in one primary school in the East London District. It focuses on diversity and inclusive education as well as practices and procedures within the school. This is a phenomenological study conceptualized in terms of social constructivism(Leatherman, 2007), Kurt Lewin‟s Field Theory(Neill, 2004) and ecological systems theory(Maddock, 2000).The literature review encompasses four focal points: conceptualisation of inclusive education, inclusive education in South Africa, policy implementation, and lessons learned from inclusive education implementation both internationally and in South Africa. A qualitative research method is employed in this study through the use of semistructured interviews and observations. The findings are analysed using content analysis. The key findings of this might help the teachers working in full service or mainstream schools to have a good understanding and a sense of what diversity and inclusive education entails. The findings might attempt to examine how educators manage inclusion in the classroom, their competencies and the strategies they need in order to be competent inclusive teachers. Recommendations are developed that point to how practices could be put in place to facilitate an effective implementation strategy for the development of an inclusive education system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Dakada, Alinda
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Inclusive education Learning disabilities -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Teaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/6147 , vital:29495
- Description: This study investigates teachers‟ experiences in identifying learners with learning barriers in one primary school in the East London District. It focuses on diversity and inclusive education as well as practices and procedures within the school. This is a phenomenological study conceptualized in terms of social constructivism(Leatherman, 2007), Kurt Lewin‟s Field Theory(Neill, 2004) and ecological systems theory(Maddock, 2000).The literature review encompasses four focal points: conceptualisation of inclusive education, inclusive education in South Africa, policy implementation, and lessons learned from inclusive education implementation both internationally and in South Africa. A qualitative research method is employed in this study through the use of semistructured interviews and observations. The findings are analysed using content analysis. The key findings of this might help the teachers working in full service or mainstream schools to have a good understanding and a sense of what diversity and inclusive education entails. The findings might attempt to examine how educators manage inclusion in the classroom, their competencies and the strategies they need in order to be competent inclusive teachers. Recommendations are developed that point to how practices could be put in place to facilitate an effective implementation strategy for the development of an inclusive education system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
A study of the suitability of a modern African novel such as "Things fall apart" by Chinua Achebe for black pupils in Ciskeian schools in contrast to a prescribed novel such as "Silas Marner" by George Eliot
- Authors: Daley, Nirmala
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: Eliot, George, 1819-1880. Silas Marner -- Study and teaching Black people -- Education -- South Africa English literature -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Achebe, Chinua. Things fall apart -- Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1784 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003669
- Description: The enjoyment of any form of literature presupposes, in the reader, an understanding of the subject matter and a fundamental inclination to identify with the characters, to empathize with them and to appreciate varying perspectives. It follows that the choice of text is an important consideration especially, when the reader is not reading in the mother tongue. The choice of novel prescribed by the DET for Second Language, non-White, non-English-speaking, Ciskeian pupils poses many problems which lead to poor examination results. The increasing unpopularity of English Literature among Ciskeian pupils and teachers appears to stem largely from the predominance of works selected from the Great Tradition. To determine how far the choice of texts is responsible for the lack of success of literature teaching in Ciskei is the aim of this investigation. The DET syllabus for Black schools and the set books prescribed for Stds. 9 and 10 between 1980 and 1990 are examined to expose their Euro-centric focus. The effects of the DET examinations on literature study in Ciskei are also considered to show how examinations complicate the situation further. The aims of teaching literature to Second Language pupils are reviewed. Literary merit, relevance, aesthetic value and scope for moral seriousness, skill development are suggested as criteria suitable for an appropriate choice of literary texts for Second Language pupils. A comparative study of the prescribed novel, Silas Marner and an alternative African novel in English, Things Fall Apart has been attempted to find out whether Things Fall Apart is of equal literary value to Silas Marner and, perhaps, more relevant than Silas Marner to the experience of Black pupils. Six teachers have been interviewed for their opinions of the books prescribed. A miniature survey also has been conducted among pupils of Stds. 9 and 10 from selected schools to verify general attitudes to the study of literature. The findings indicate a dire need to make the syllabus more flexible and more open to include good African writing in English, such as Things Fall Apart.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991
- Authors: Daley, Nirmala
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: Eliot, George, 1819-1880. Silas Marner -- Study and teaching Black people -- Education -- South Africa English literature -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Achebe, Chinua. Things fall apart -- Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1784 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003669
- Description: The enjoyment of any form of literature presupposes, in the reader, an understanding of the subject matter and a fundamental inclination to identify with the characters, to empathize with them and to appreciate varying perspectives. It follows that the choice of text is an important consideration especially, when the reader is not reading in the mother tongue. The choice of novel prescribed by the DET for Second Language, non-White, non-English-speaking, Ciskeian pupils poses many problems which lead to poor examination results. The increasing unpopularity of English Literature among Ciskeian pupils and teachers appears to stem largely from the predominance of works selected from the Great Tradition. To determine how far the choice of texts is responsible for the lack of success of literature teaching in Ciskei is the aim of this investigation. The DET syllabus for Black schools and the set books prescribed for Stds. 9 and 10 between 1980 and 1990 are examined to expose their Euro-centric focus. The effects of the DET examinations on literature study in Ciskei are also considered to show how examinations complicate the situation further. The aims of teaching literature to Second Language pupils are reviewed. Literary merit, relevance, aesthetic value and scope for moral seriousness, skill development are suggested as criteria suitable for an appropriate choice of literary texts for Second Language pupils. A comparative study of the prescribed novel, Silas Marner and an alternative African novel in English, Things Fall Apart has been attempted to find out whether Things Fall Apart is of equal literary value to Silas Marner and, perhaps, more relevant than Silas Marner to the experience of Black pupils. Six teachers have been interviewed for their opinions of the books prescribed. A miniature survey also has been conducted among pupils of Stds. 9 and 10 from selected schools to verify general attitudes to the study of literature. The findings indicate a dire need to make the syllabus more flexible and more open to include good African writing in English, such as Things Fall Apart.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991
Teachers’ perception of the integration of environmental education into grade 12 curriculum in East London Education District
- Authors: Damoah, Benjamin
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Environmental education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16528 , vital:40728
- Description: The study focuses on teachers’ perception of the integration of environmental education into grade 12 curriculum in East London education district. This study is based on empirical research. The theoretical framework of the study is based on Opportunity to Learn (OTL). The concept of OTL was formulated by international Association of Achievements (McDonnell, 1995).OTL is multiplicity of factors that create the conditions for teaching and learning, such as curricula, learning materials, facilities, teachers and instructional experiences. The research study is supported by national and international literatures based on environmental education and integration of environmental education as a component in the school curriculum, and policy documents. The study adopted qualitative research approach, using phenomenological method and interpretivism paradigm respectively. The empirical data was collected from one high school in Mdantsane Township in East London education district. The study sample consisted of 6 high school teachers. Data was collected through semi- structured interviews. According to the findings of the research, grade 12 teachers expressed disparities in their perceptions of environmental education as an integrated component into their subjects. Most of the subject teachers focused on the aspect of knowledge acquisition. According to South African education system, environmental education (EE) has been integrated into all subjects. Although there is environmental education in the GET and FET phase curriculum respectively, however it is not integrated evenly in all subjects. Some subjects like Life sciences, geography have more environmental content than other subjects. Teachers suggested that the approach adopted to integrate environmental education into the school curriculum was not favourable because teachers claimed that what is to be taught as environmental education in the various subjects is not indicated explicitly in the CAPS document. The CAPS document prescribes EE integration into all subjects which makes the teaching of EE a collective responsibility. The main actors of EE integration implementation are themselves a constraint to the success of the integration. The teacher is confronted with many challenges in the process of environmental education integration. This includes lack of teaching and learning resources, time and large class size. The role of teachers in the implementation of environmental education in developing an environmentally literate citizenry is of great significance. The responsibility of the government in ii developing a curriculum with clear goals and content, developing teachers’ capacity in the teaching of environmental education and provision of teaching and learning materials needs to be taken seriously by the government in educational plans and programs. Topics for future research on the integration of EE into grade 12 curriculums were suggested in order to improve on teaching and learning of environmental education
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Damoah, Benjamin
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Environmental education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16528 , vital:40728
- Description: The study focuses on teachers’ perception of the integration of environmental education into grade 12 curriculum in East London education district. This study is based on empirical research. The theoretical framework of the study is based on Opportunity to Learn (OTL). The concept of OTL was formulated by international Association of Achievements (McDonnell, 1995).OTL is multiplicity of factors that create the conditions for teaching and learning, such as curricula, learning materials, facilities, teachers and instructional experiences. The research study is supported by national and international literatures based on environmental education and integration of environmental education as a component in the school curriculum, and policy documents. The study adopted qualitative research approach, using phenomenological method and interpretivism paradigm respectively. The empirical data was collected from one high school in Mdantsane Township in East London education district. The study sample consisted of 6 high school teachers. Data was collected through semi- structured interviews. According to the findings of the research, grade 12 teachers expressed disparities in their perceptions of environmental education as an integrated component into their subjects. Most of the subject teachers focused on the aspect of knowledge acquisition. According to South African education system, environmental education (EE) has been integrated into all subjects. Although there is environmental education in the GET and FET phase curriculum respectively, however it is not integrated evenly in all subjects. Some subjects like Life sciences, geography have more environmental content than other subjects. Teachers suggested that the approach adopted to integrate environmental education into the school curriculum was not favourable because teachers claimed that what is to be taught as environmental education in the various subjects is not indicated explicitly in the CAPS document. The CAPS document prescribes EE integration into all subjects which makes the teaching of EE a collective responsibility. The main actors of EE integration implementation are themselves a constraint to the success of the integration. The teacher is confronted with many challenges in the process of environmental education integration. This includes lack of teaching and learning resources, time and large class size. The role of teachers in the implementation of environmental education in developing an environmentally literate citizenry is of great significance. The responsibility of the government in ii developing a curriculum with clear goals and content, developing teachers’ capacity in the teaching of environmental education and provision of teaching and learning materials needs to be taken seriously by the government in educational plans and programs. Topics for future research on the integration of EE into grade 12 curriculums were suggested in order to improve on teaching and learning of environmental education
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019