Browsing by Author "Gilmour, James David"

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    The effectiveness of indicators in measuring school based poverty A case study of the application of norms and standards for school funding in the Western Cape
    (2002) Toefy, Feizel; Gilmour, James David
    This 10 000 word report looks at the application of the Norms and Standards for School Funding policy with respect to whether it fulfills its aims of equity and redress. The type, nature and weighting of indicators used in applying this policy at two previously disadvantaged Western Cape secondary schools, which have different socio-economic backgrounds, is examined through a review of the funding allocation received by these two schools.
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    The impact of learner transport on Grade 3 learners' physiological, emotional and educational well-being: a case study of a rural primary school in the Cape Winelands, South Africa
    (2018) Portwig, Carla; Gilmour, James David
    This dissertation examines the impact of various modes of transport on Grade 3 primary school learners' well-being in a rural school in the Cape Winelands district of the Western Cape, South Africa. The study moves beyond this narrow frame of physical transport to include the physiological, emotional, and educational domains of learners' lives. The individuals' physiological, emotional and educational well-being are utilised as analytical categories. The research used a mixed-methods design in a case-study approach. The qualitative data was derived from learner focus groups, open-ended interviews, and learner and teacher questionnaires. The quantitative data was derived from school records of learner attendance, Western Cape Education Department (WCED) term schedules and the WCED Systemic test results for the school. The main findings were as follows: (1) On a physiological level, irrespective of the mode of transport, access to school was found to be difficult but not impossible due to dangers and similar safety issues for all learners including pedestrians (2) On an emotional level, again all learners faced similar fears and trauma possibilities, and lacked the support of professional counsellors (3) Educationally, the bus passengers performed worse than other MoTs, whereas the pedestrians were the highest performing group. Also, seasonal change influenced learner absenteeism and similar attendance patterns were found for all MoTs in summer but in winter the pedestrians came to school more often than the bus passengers.
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    The implementation of Chinese quality education in the context of the National College/University entrance examination : a case study of two senior secondary schools in Taiyuani city
    (2010) Li, Ruipeng; Gilmour, James David
    As the unique selective mechanism for senior secondary school students who are 'qualified' to access higher education institutions, the National College/University Entrance Examination (NCEE) in China has contributed significantly to a one-sided pursuit of examination scores and promotion rates by schools and to an overloaded 'school burden' for students. Thus, the Quality Education reforms were formally launched in 1993. These focus on developing well-rounded individuals, lightening the school students' academic workload, changing the one-sided pursuit of the NCEE promotion rate and reforming the NCEE testing subject areas, testing contents, and assessment methods. The latest Quality Education reform was a new curriculum introduced by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in July 2001. This study focuses on the implementation of the new curriculum in practice and the tension between the goal of the Quality Education and the NCEE pressure. It provides an analysis of the impact of the new curriculum on the managerial decisions of the senior secondary school principals, the pedagogic strategies use of the teachers and the learning strategies of the Grade 11 students. The site for this study is Taiyuan City, the capital city of Shanxi province. There were two participating schools, a high performing school (HPS) and a low performing school (LPS). This was done to examine the hypothesis that the degree of implementation of the new curriculum would be different in these schools due to differing performance pressures. In order to find out how principals and teachers maintain and improve pass rates under the pressures of the NCEE while at the same time attempting to implement the requirements of the new curriculum, and the workload of the Grade 11 students, the iv study conducted structured interviews with 2 principals and 8 teachers, administered questionnaires to 120 students and had 16 classroom observations in the schools. The findings of this study indicated that, firstly, although the requirement of the new measures of the new curriculum had been implemented, the managerial decisions of the principals still focused on the NCEE preparation. Secondly, the pedagogic strategies that were employed by teachers for the compulsory courses focused only on examination preparation, and even if they attempted to employ the learner-centred teaching in the selective courses, the large class sizes and the tradition of the Examination-oriented Education hindered the implementation. Thirdly, instead of lightening the school students' academic workload, the organisation of the new curriculum aggravated it. Thus, consequences of the pursuit of the NCEE promotion rate still remain, and there is a limited processing of the full implementation of the aims of Quality Education.
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    Quality assurance in high schools through regression analysis
    (1997) Watermeyer, John Westerton; Gilmour, James David; Dunne, Tim T
    School Effectiveness is a relatively new and poorly defined domain for which a structure is proposed, to facilitate future discussion. Three fields within School Effectiveness are identified, namely School Effectiveness Research (SER), School Improvement (SI) and Quality Assurance (QA). Three divisions are identified within each field on the basis of various criteria. SER has methodological generations, Sl is classified by decade, and three themes of QA are described, including performance indicators (Pis). A definition of effectiveness in terms of regression lines is described and the concept of added value or adjusted achievement developed. This study is concerned with the development of Pis for use within a single school to monitor and promote improvement. The context of the study (a model C senior high school in a predominantly white southern suburb of Cape Town) and the data collected is described before a review is made of some of the analyses which could be used to monitor effectiveness. A technique whereby pupil achievement is adjusted (for prior achievement and other background variables) and the residuals (or adjusted achievement) derived from the regressions investigated with one-way A NOVAs is described and tested using various models and subjects. With respect to groups, it is proposed that statistical significance of differences between mean residuals could be used as a PI. With respect to individual pupils, educators could set their own criterion for investigating cases where adjusted achievement is very large or very small. Statistical significance requires interpretation, however, and the role of professional judgement in modelling and monitoring adjusted achievement is discussed. The view that techniques such as regression analysis can only indicate when professional investigation and intervention might be necessary is stressed. It would seem unwise to rank teachers or subjects on the basis of adjusted achievement.
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    Quality primary education in India: A review and analysis of the National Curriculum Framework 2005 (NCF-2005), with a focus on curriculum reform in primary (Grade I-V) education
    (2016) Saha, Anshu; Gilmour, James David
    The National Curriculum Framework, 2005 (NCF-2005) was introduced by the Government of India to address the issue of quality in education. This study aims to analyse the area of actual curriculum reform for quality aspects at the primary (Grade I-V) level, both generally and specifically within India, in order to look at the quality aspect of education, which the NCF-2005 highlights as a key aim. In light of this, the key question that the current study asks is: how does the National Curriculum Framework 2005 (NCF-2005) address the 'quality' issue for primary education? In order to move more closely to an assessment of 'quality' within NCF-2005, this study employed document analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as methodological tools. The study used CDA to generate a critical analysis of the dominant discourses in the NCF-2005 policy document alongside a framework that included tools for policy analysis. An important feature of the framework design was that it considered various definitions of 'quality' at the international level; the influence of these on the national level, and how these are operationalized in the curriculum through the NCF-2005's key monitoring tool- Quality Monitoring Tool (QMT). The primary level (Grade I-V) curriculum is used in this thesis as an illustrative case. This study concludes with an attempt to highlight that the problem does not necessarily lie with the quality indicators or the definition of quality, nor necessarily with the curriculum itself. On the contrary the difficulty lies far more with complex implementation issues- the QMTs, the texts, and the lack of teacher training to implement the new curriculum. Also, the study highlights how the humanistic indicators that better capture the concept of 'quality' have been downplayed. Thus the thesis concludes that the NCF-2005 does not sufficiently capture the differing political, social and education ideologies resulting in a subsequent gap between the policy and its implementation.
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    Quality schooling : defining and developing indicators of quality schooling for South African schools. A case study of a secondary school in an economically deprived area of the Western Cape
    (1998) Maged, Rushid; Gilmour, James David
    If the main objective of schooling is the holistic development of the learner, i.e. the development of cognitive skills, critical thinking skills, social skills, life skills, creativity and emotional maturity, then it stands to reason that a quality school is one which contributes to such a holistic development of the learner. Therefore indicators of quality schooling would be those factors which make the holistic development of the learner possible. The important point to bear in mind however, is that these factors (indicators) in themselves are not standard nor static, they are dynamic and context-specific. It is this conceptual framework which underpins the research study. Tue research study is informed by the work of West and Hopkins (1996), Schmelkes (1996), Heneveld (1994) and Govinda & Vargese (1993), who propose a more ''whole school approach" in the measurement of school performance. The indicators of quality schooling were measured separately, but it is their collective impact that must be considered when attempting to assess the quality of schooling. Over a seven month period a co-educational secondary public school centrally situated in a community which resides in an economically and socially deprived area of the Western Cape, was closely observed and studied. The items and questions used in the questionnaires, interviews and observations were significantly influenced by the following: the work of West and Hopkins' (1996) four domains of school effectiveness; the IIEP research on increasing and improving the quality of basic education and Heneveld's (1994) model: Factors that determine School Effectiveness. The case study illustrates that when assessing the quality of schooling of any school it is important to assess all the factors that impact on the quality of schooling.
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    The role of parent members of school governing bodies in school financial management
    (2015) Diamond, Landeka; Gilmour, James David
    This study reports on the role of Parent Governors in School Financial Management in six high schools situated in Metro South Education District in the Western Cape. The study also explored parental participation in financial processes at school level and its relation to their knowledge, skills, expertise and responsibilities as required by the South African Schools Act. Qualitative data was gathered using interviews with principals, educators and parents, questionnaires were issued to parents with specific and open ended questions and observation. Data analysis was compared within Quintiles and across Quintiles. Major themes that emerged were Financial Documents and processes, Training and Skills, Attitude and the Role of the Principal. Findings revealed that parents lack capacity to manage the funds. Parent governing body members are influenced by a number of factors; Literacy levels, competency, context, work demands, willingness to assist and time. Parents are heavily reliant on educators and the principal in performing the required role. The study concludes that, the parents have a positive attitude towards financial management however they are not skilled and there is no initiative taken by schools to empower the parents. Secondly, there is no significant difference in parental involvement in financial management between a Section 21 and a Section 20 School within and between Quintiles.