Browsing by Author "Craig, Anita"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    An exploration of children's drawing, talking and thinking
    (1997) Gamble, Marjolein; Craig, Anita
    This study explores children's ways of conceptualisation through what children draw and what they say about their drawings. Drawings taken from 40 children between the ages of 5-10 form the main data of the study. Ten basic categories are drawn from a careful analysis of the drawings. The study also includes what children say about their drawings. The talk about their own drawings forms the language component of the study. The talk is organised into eight basic language categories drawn from an analysis of the talking data. Piaget's theoretical understanding of children's cognitive development is used to frame the data. Lowenfeld's (1975) broad developmental stages of children's art was used to test for correlation with the sample's output. In addition, Sinclair's (1992) linking of children's first utterances with the form of children's most fundamental self-expressions in language, are annotated. Piaget's cognitive understanding of children's developmental thinking strategies are used to explain the strategies children use in their drawings. Indications are that the drawings do reflect a developmental process, but this needs to be borne out by further research. The study bears out Lowenfeld's (1975) contention that there are unique ways of applying the basic conceptualisations of spatial relations in children's drawings. The presence of first and second language speakers in the sample points to the possibility that second language users may resort to basic and fundamental language structures when they use a second language. This aspect too would need more specific further research. Finally, the categories found could form a tool to enlarge an understanding of the found trends with a larger sample. The objective of obtaining some understanding of how children's minds work in the way they solve and approach their drawing and talking tasks was achieved within the constraints of a relatively small sample of children.
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    An exploration of the learning-teaching of English as a second language by non-native speakers
    (1999) Mosito-Matheleli, Cina Patricia; Craig, Anita
    This is an exploratory study of the teaching strategies of non-native speakers English who teach English as a second language in secondary schools. Classroom observations of three teachers were conducted. It was found that teaching and through English as a second language is not a single decisive factor in teaching and learning effectiveness. Other factors such as cultural norms and the teacher's choice of strategies could impinge on the quality and effectiveness the teaching-learning process
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    An exploration of control in schools : a discourse analysis of secondary school mission statements in the greater Cape Town region
    (1999) McKinnon, Candice; Craig, Anita
    Given the political changes in South Africa in recent years, an exploration of any particular set of education-related documents, as far as the impossibilities/possibilities they allow for action, is made tempting and promising. This is what the present study takes on; more particularly, a discourse analysis (disciplined reading) of school mission statements. The results in general reveal support for both a traditional and a liberal/progressive orientation to schooling and control, arguably limiting the possibility of realising democracy within the school, and increasing the likelihood of punitive techniques of control. One of the most evident ideals seems to be of providing for the nation's person-power needs, and of ensuring later financial security for the individual. Finally, it was found that at well resourced schools, there is a resistance to transformation and in particular social equality, accompanied by support for a liberal capitalist system. In comparison, at less resourced schools there is less support for a capitalist system, but rather a desire for socioeconomic transformation.
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    An exploration of the interface between policy and practice
    (1998) Wildschutt, Geralda; Craig, Anita
    The domains of policy and policy implementation have been researched to a far greater extent than the link and interface between these two domains. It is this area that the current study attempts to explore. Education Support Services (ESS) and particularly psychological service delivery as part of this service within the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), has seen several new policy proposals and documents during the period of 1994-1995 and the practitioners in this field are currently in the process of implementing (some of) these new policies. This study explores the interface between new policies (policy domain) on the one hand, and the practice of psychological service delivery to schools (implementation domain) on the other hand. Discourse analysis and specifically the technique of discourse analysis proposed by Ian Parker (1992) provides a framework to analyse and understand the issues involved in these two domains, and as such, the relationship between them. In this regard, the following trends in the data are interesting : the positive patterns regarding the interface between policy and practice obtained from the data include a team worker, democratic discourse and new world. The above-mentioned person-position, discourse and world represent the values of the new policies and therefore facilitate the implementation process. There are, however, also certain negative signals contained in the data, namely: a victim, an us-them discourse and a cruel world. These patterns pose a threat for the implementation process. The study therefore provides a working document for those involved in policy making in ESS to ensure a smooth implementation process. It will also help the practitioners (school psychologists) and departmental officials in ESS to understand the issues involved in transformation and the need for different actors on the policy-practice continuum to talk.
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    An investigation into children's developing mathematical abilities
    (1997) Gurney, Jean Rosemarie; Craig, Anita; Flanagan, Wendy
    This study examines children's developing mathematical abilities during the first three years of their schooling. More particularly, children in grades one, two and three of three different primary schools, in two different regions, had their performances on eleven mathematics tasks monitored over the course of 1996 to examine their developing mathematical abilities. These abilities were investigated in terms of task-particular performances and the assumed competencies (internal mental processes) underlying these performances. The data was generated through the use of a repeated measures design. The theory of the methods used to gather the data and to analyse the results is rooted in Vygotsky's (1978) experimental-developmental approach to the study of higher mental functions. This method of observation proved to be successful to the degree that it allowed for the study of changes in children's performances over a seven month period. The overall findings of the study revealed that the subjects in the sample population had the developmental readiness with which to improve their mathematical abilities. However, when this developmental readiness had to be taken further through formal instruction, their performances were inadequate. The investigation exposed the complexity and importance of language in the successful development of mathematical concepts. The data indicated that the subjects' learning was neither in advance of their development nor was it indicative of the constructivist approach to the task of teaching. Furthermore, there existed a conflict between spontaneous and formal knowledge in engaging with school mathematics tasks.
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    An investigation into children's grasp of reality
    (1999) Hill, F K; Craig, Anita
    This study aims to explore a heterogeneous group of pre-schoolers' conceptual understanding. Seven Piagetian type tasks, aimed slightly above pre-schoolers' perceived pre-operational level of development, are presented to the research subjects individually, on two separate occasions. The results indicate that unilingual subjects fare best, while subjects learning a second language at the preschool phase fare better than subjects who learn a second language at an earlier age. The results suggest that language alone is not predictive of task performance; higher parent education levels are associated with greater quantity and quality of mediated learning and with better task performances. The study concludes that task performance reflects the interaction between developmental level and learning opportunities, and the influence that factors such as age, language, class, parent education level and gender have on one this.
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    An investigation into sources of teacher stress in rural secondary schools
    (1998) Kutame, Azwidohwi Philip; Craig, Anita
    Teaching is generally regarded as a stressful occupation and perhaps more so in South Africa during this phase of transformation. This dissertation reports on an investigation into the incidence and sources of teacher stress in rural, secondary schools in the Northern Province. Data has been collected through forty-two interviews with individual teachers (each interview schedule containing ten semi-structured question items); and a fifty-five item self-report questionnaire survey. A total of hundred and seventy-seven teachers, drawn from twenty-two government secondary schools over the course of an academic year ( 1996) participated in the study. Results reveal five major sources of teacher stress: the learning-teaching situation, factors related to the school and community, and professional and personal factors. Analyses of the different stress factors also show that certain biographical characteristics are significant mediators in teachers' perception of sources of stress, that is to say, these contribute to teachers' assessment of their emotional, physical and psychological well-being. Teachers have also reported on various coping strategies. Teacher stress is a problem in rural areas in South Africa. It warrants the attention of all those involved in this profession.