Browsing by Subject "Educational Administration, Planning and Social Policy"
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- ItemOpen AccessAn analysis of parents' reasons for participating in school governance(2001) Janari, Spencer; Soudien, CrainBibliography: leaves 89-93.
- ItemOpen AccessAn analysis of primary school teachers' perceptions of appropriate leadership styles for principals : a case study of schools in the Cape Peninsula and surrounding areas(1995) Prinsloo, Clive Peter; Lungu, GatianSchool effectiveness is a multi-faceted concept. One of the important factors leading to school effectiveness is the type of leadership provided by the principal. Through his/her leadership, the principal must create the conditions under which the staff can function optimally in pursuit of the educational goals of the institution. A very important means of creating these conditions is for the principal to try to match his/her leadership style with the expectations of his/her staff. Failure to do so may lead to frustration and consequently to conditions not conducive to education. The only way for this match to take place is to know what teachers perceive as appropriate leadership styles and under which conditions these will be appropriate. Although much research has been done on effective leadership and leadership styles, they remain very complex issues. Research outside the sphere of educational management coupled with institutionally based research will provide us with a source of information rich enough to try to unravel the complexities of effective leadership. This survey must also be seen in that context.
- ItemOpen AccessThe applicability of the school effectiveness and school improvement approaches to school reform in Africa(2005) Homadzi, Joseph Atsu; Soudien, CrainIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 87-91).
- ItemOpen AccessAn appraisal of the Teacher Inservice Project(TIP) approach to education management and leadership training and development(1998) Scholtz, Desireé Leonora; Soudien, CrainFollowing the events of South Africa's democratisation in 1994, the country is undergoing transformation processes in virtually all spheres of life. Education is widely accepted as the one field where transformation is most needed. However at school level so many' complexities exist, that the management of the process of change and transformation requires a new approach to the effective training and development of education managers. It is precisely in this regard, that this research report seeks to offer an insight into the existing situation and understand the difficulties involved in attempts to address this need, with specific focus on the need for training and development of middle and senior management. One notable attempt to address the need for formal training and development programs for education managers and leaders in order to meet the demands of transformation, is the organisation development (OD) approach of the Teacher lnservice Project (TIP). Embodied in the OD approach of TIP, is the philosophy and methodology of Action Research, which encourages self-reflective enquiry and allows participants to be active in their own transformation process. In an attempt to locate TIP within the existing literature, the study shows how much it breaks new ground in the field. This new ground is reflected in the role assigned to action research within OD. TIP's approach to educational management and leadership, has value to both historically disadvantaged as well as advantaged schools, because its understanding of transformation is not solely based on the acquisition of material resources. The present educational crisis has to do with the provision of adequate resources to especially disadvantaged schools. The Western Cape Education Department (WECD) has taken cognisance of the transformational role of education management, in that it has called on Western Cape Business to advise on school administration. School governance and management would have full responsibility for monetary allocations and thus schools would be trained to run like small businesses. As stated by the Executive Director of the WCED, 'being a principal will change radically and require thinking like a company MD', (Cape Times, 13 March 1998). However this begs the question of how justified the implementation of corporate world practices in education is. One should bear in mind that fiscal expertise is but one of the plethora of skills which current education managers require. OD through action research could seemingly effect transformation of the entire system within which that school operates. Conclusions drawn from this research report clearly point to the interdependence of educational transformation as espoused by TIP - to restructure and redefine school management and the national attempt to consolidate democracy within education. TIP helps to focus attention on the need to implement School Based Management (SBM) as an exercise of empowering the teaching profession, because in essence, a critical and constructive disposition is developed in educators through Action Research.
- ItemOpen AccessAn assessment of Botswana teacher in-service(1999) Malambane, Mokgweetsi; Soudien, CrainThe importance of In-service training in Botswana's education system cannot be overemphasised. The formulation of an in-service policy and deployment of resources in the support of the policy, is testimony of the government's commitment to the in-service work. In-service is highly regarded in the education system because, it is hoped that it will transform the practice of serving teachers. The implementation of policy, however, is always a complex matter. The purpose behind this research study was to investigate how the policy on in-service was understood and represented by trainers in the field of practice. This study arises from the fact that policy analysis is an area that has been overlooked in the study of in-service work. The literature on in-service, in the developing world, has ably dealt with mechanics of policy implementation, with a strong bias towards the acquisition of resources and the procedures necessary for the successful implementation of in-service policy. Investigating the way policy is understood by in-service providers has not, however, been given the attention it deserves in the field of research. The interest in this area of study was, further, given impetus by the argument that intentions of policy texts are likely to be represented differently in practice. A group of in-service trainers in a particular regional in-service area were selected for the purpose of information gathering. The selection was done on the basis that trainers were key interpreters of in-service policy. As the study depended on their subjective information, semi structured interview questions were designed as they provided trainers with some degree of freedom, to express their understanding of policy unhindered. The research study, established that policy is understood in keeping with trainers' backgrounds. This means that policy is not necessarily represented according to the intentions of the texts. Two groups of trainers are identified, viz, the poorly grounded and well grounded trainers. Trainers classified as well grounded, demonstrated a higher knowledge of policy and correctly interpreted the policy texts. This is in contrast with poorly grounded trainers who had not well read the policy texts and as a result incorrectly interpreted policy texts. The study concludes that policy representation is complex and informed by everyday understandings.
- ItemOpen AccessAttitudes of teachers and students to the place of Home Economics in a mixed curriculum : a case study(1995) Mlambo, Phares Jona Taindisa; Muller, Johan PieterThe aim of the investigation is to assess the extent to which various initiatives aimed at improving the status of a technical subject like Home Economics (H/E), have helped to transform the attitudes and perceptions of teachers and students in a school in Zimbabwe. The study was carried out at Rusununguko Secondary School in Zimbabwe, where H/E was one of the technical subjects within a curriculum mainly dominated by academic subjects. Students and teachers' attitudes and perceptions towards H/E were assessed along the following dimensions: 1. The extent to which H/E is subjected to gender stereotyping; 2. The extent to which H/E is viewed as suitable for slow learners and low-achieving students; 3. The extent to which the subject suffers from subject choice constraints; 4. The extent to which H/E is viewed in terms of low academic and occupational expectations; 5. The extent to which the subject is perceived as offering low-status knowledge when compared to other subjects.
- ItemOpen AccessA case study of some of the factors which affect learning for black students in residence at the University of Cape Town(1997) Mushishi, Clifford; Gilmour, D
- ItemOpen AccessA comparative analysis of parental participation in schools with regard to the South African Schools Act of 1996(2001) Du Toit, Asa; Soudien, CrainThe South African Schools Act (SASA), 1996 (Act No. 84 of 1996) seeks parents educators, learners and the broader community to become more actively involved in the school as an organisation in two ways: 1.) by serving on the school governing body (SGB); and, 2.) by providing the SGB with support through participation in the everyday activities of the school. The focus of this study is an examination of the extent to which the SASA (1996) has bee realized in two schools in the Athlone area, with particular respect to parental participation. This is done through an analysis of the two schools studied, using Ball (1994) as its main text. The form of comparison used in this study is essentially that of comparing the performance of the two schools across common activities relating to parental participation in school governance. The theoretical framework provided by Ball (1994) argues that there is non-linearity in the process of policy-making and that the three contexts of policy-making are the context of influence; the context of policy text production; and, the context of practice. This study centers around the latter as it researchers policy implementation, the practice of policy and the micro-politics involved in its recontextualization.
- ItemOpen AccessThe contradictions and contestations in policy production and elaboration of policy for the training of tourist guides in South Africa(2002) Gavron, Michele; Soudien, CrainIncludes bibliographical references Bibliography: leaves 79-87.
- ItemOpen AccessDiscourses of professionalism and the production of teachers' professional identity in the South African Council for Educators (SACE) Act of 2000 : a discourse analysis(2002) Omar, Yunus; Jacklin, HeatherThis study seeks to identify discourses of professionalism and the production of Teachers' professional identity in the South African Council for Educators (SACE) Act of 2000. These identifies are located in the context of their social impact on, and in the actualisalion of the political roles of teachers in post-apartheid South Africa. Central to the study is the conceptualisation that discourses coiistruct identities. The research methodology is derived from Ian Parker's approach to discourse analysis, which is premised to an extent on post-structruralist thought. The author summarises Parker's 'steps' to effect a discourse analysis, and constructs a set of five analytic tools with which no analyse the SACE Act of2000. The study's main finding is that two discursive frames constitute the roles of the post-apartheid teacher in South Africa. The first is a bureaucratic discourse of marketisation that defines a role for teachers in preparing students for participation in a global market economy. A second discourse which is identified in the study is a democratic professional discourse, which delineates a critical, independent professional role for teachers. The study suggests that the two teacher identities are in tension. The two identities are complex and are simultaneously constructed and actualised.
- ItemOpen AccessThe effect of LoLT on learner performance in disadvantaged schools in the Western Cape(2017) Molteno, Alexander; Gilmour, JamesThe research investigated the differential effect of language of teaching and learning (LoLT) on learner performance in relation to learners' first language (L1) (isiXhosa) compared to their second language (L2) (English) by researching a sample of comparable primary schools that followed one of two LoLT models; either: • An early-exit transitional LoLT model, which employed isiXhosa as LoLT until Grade 4, where a transition to English LoLT occurred; or • A straight-for-English LoLT model, which made use of English as LoLT from Grade 1 and throughout all grades. The research was conducted in two parts, A and B. Part A indicated which LoLT model was associated with higher learner performance, and Part B determined the extent to which Part A's findings reflected LoLT model implementation, as well as the ways in which this implementation affected performance. Part A quantitatively compared the performance of 14 714 (average dataset size) learners in 2012 and 2015 Western Cape Education Department (WCED) Systemic Testing of Language and Mathematics from 135 (average dataset size) National Quintile (NQ) 1–3 schools which followed different LoLT models cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Comparisons drawn by the research were tested for statistical significance. Part A found that: • Grade 3 learners in L1 LoLT contexts performed better than Grade 3 learners in L2 LoLT contexts. • The performance of learners in the early-exit transitional model of LoLT declined after the point of transition to L2. • Learners who had had more years of exposure to L2 LoLT performed better in Grade 6 when taught and assessed in the language than learners who had had fewer years' exposure to the language as LoLT. Part B qualitatively studied a sample of 5 schools from Part A identified from each of the LoLT models, visiting them to investigate how LoLT model implementation affected learner performance. 11 teachers were surveyed using comparative rating scale response item questionnaires and 14 teachers as well as members of school management were interviewed using structured interview schedules. Part B found that: • Particularly where English was LoLT, the greatest challenge was teachers' and learners' inability to use the LoLT in order to teach and learn. • Teachers and learners typically employed mixed-language-use practices to communicate during lessons that deviated from the LoLT, constituting LoLT non-implementation to the extent that LoLT descriptors were inaccurate. • Schools designated as following a straight-for-English model were unintentionally implementing a rough dual-medium (two-way immersion) LoLT model which outperformed schools following an early-exit transitional LoLT model by Grade 6. • The transition of LoLT from L1 to L2 at Grade 4 in early-exit transitional models was non-conducive to educational outcomes from the point of transition onwards. The research concluded that a dual-medium late-exit transitional LoLT model with gradually increasing L2 LoLT/gradually decreasing L1 LoLT use from Grade 1 up to the point of transition should be advocated for. From the point of transition, the L2 beshould used as sole LoLT for the rest of schooling , while the L1 should be taught as a subject during this time.
- ItemOpen AccessEngendering discipline : perceptions and practices of students and teachers in a secondary school in South Africa(2010) Singh, Marcina; Gilmour, DavidThis thesis aimed to investigate whether there is a gender bias in the way teachers discipline boys and girls. The study was conducted in an affluent school in Cape Town and consisted of 113 participants, 97 students (48 boys and 49 girls) and 16 teachers and staff (6 males and 10 females). The data showed that although teachers assume they are being gender neutral in the way they respond to misdemeanors committed by boys and girls, in reality, this is not the case. However, even though the biases of the teachers are largely unconscious, the students were very much aware of the biased nature of the teachers. The data also revealed that male and female teachers react and respond differently when they discipline boys and girls and that male teachers focus more on serious offenses whereas female teachers focused on the less serious offenses.
- ItemOpen AccessAn examination of factors that influence the choice of teaching as a career in Lesotho(2005) Ralenkoane, Martin Makhube; Gilmour, DaveTeacher shortage in schools is the current subject of interest among academics worldwide. Prospects of teacher supply and demand have declared imminently high teacher shortage in the developing and developed world alike. Based on the theories of occupational choice and other studies on the choice of teaching as a career, this study attempts to address this worldwide teacher shortage problem by examining factors that influence people in choosing teaching as a career in Lesotho.
- ItemOpen AccessFactors influencing parents choice of Catholic schools in the Western Cape, South Africa(2005) Kusi-Mensah, John Y; Gilmour, JDIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 128-131).
- ItemOpen AccessGlobal policy discourse and local implementation dynamics : a case study of Lesotho's junior certificate religious and moral education syllabus(2006) Molelle, Helena Khantse; Jacklin, HeatherWord processed copy. Includes bibliographical references.
- ItemOpen AccessGroup and interpersonal conflict at Rocklands Secondary School : an organisational analysis to ascertain the implications for policy making(1994) Gasant, Mogamad Waheeb; Lungu, Gatian; Soudien, CrainChange, whether organisational or societal, presents a fertile environment for the development of conflict. The probability of organisational conflict occurring in schools in South Africa is heightened by the fact that the country is in the throes of national political change. The main force influencing political events in the country, democratisation, maintains its prominence when one looks at the causes of organisational conflict in schools in the disadvantaged sectors of the South African society. Rocklands Secondary School, the area of the research, epitomises the South African situation With regard to the occurrence of organisational conflict in the context of the wider conflict taking place at all levels of society in the country. Although the traditional views of organisational conflict - as an occurrence that is evil and needs to be avoided - are evident at the school, a large percentage of the staff regard conflict as necessary but feel that it needs to be resolved.
- ItemOpen AccessAn identification and analysis of the socio-economic challenges children from rural areas face in the pré-university cycle in the Mocuba District, Zambézia Province, Mozambique(2011) Ter Horst, Aukje; Soudien, CrainThe weak performing Mozambican education system has gone through significant changes since independence in 1975. The Government’s main focus has been on increasing access and equity to overcome the high dropout rates, high grade repetition, high pupil-teacher ratios and the low number of qualified teachers. Despite this focus, access remains a large problem for the people of Mozambique. It is particularly so, as this interpretive case study research revealed, for learners from rural areas. The primary purpose of this research, therefore, was to outline the challenges learners from rural areas face in accessing what has been described as the ESG2 (Escola Secundária geral do Segunda Grãu) cycle. This research focussed on a specific school within the Zambézia province.
- ItemOpen AccessThe impact of a practice-based inquiry in-service teacher education model on teachers'understanding and classroom practice(2000) Pomuti, Hertha Ndategomuwa; Muller, JohanBibliography: leaves 98-107.
- ItemOpen AccessThe implementation of language policy in government primary schools in Windhoek, Namibia with specific reference to Grades 1-3(2012) Nambala, Iyaloo; Gilmour, JamesIncludes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.
- ItemOpen AccessThe implementation of the new curriculum in Namibia, with an emphasis on the Junior Secondary Accounting Sallybus (JSAS) and its uptake by teachers(2009) Ndeunyema, Alpha; Soudien, CrainThe focus of this study is an examination of (i) the extent to which teachers are implementing the 2006 Junior Secondary Accounting Syllabus (JSAS) in five Namibian schools; (ii) the influence of sense-making process on teachers' classroom practice and pedagogical understanding of the new JSAS descriptors. The study hopes to add to the information about the importance of the teacher in the process of policymaking and policy implementation.
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