Browsing by Subject "education"
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- ItemOpen AccessA low cost virtual reality interface for educational games(2022) Sewpersad, Tashiv; Gain, JamesMobile virtual reality has the potential to improve learning experiences by making them more immersive and engaging for students. This type of virtual reality also aims to be more cost effective by using a smartphone to drive the virtual reality experience. One issue with mobile virtual reality is that the screen (i.e. main interface) of the smartphone is occluded by the virtual reality headset. To investigate solutions to this issue, this project details the development and testing of a computer vision based controller that aims to have a cheaper per unit cost when compared to a conventional electronic controller by making use of 3D printing and the built-in camera of a smartphone. Reducing the cost per unit is useful for educational contexts as solutions would need to scale to classrooms sizes. The research question for this project is thus, “can a computer vision based virtual reality controller provide comparable immersion to a conventional electronic controller”. It was found that a computer vision based controller can provide comparable immersion, though it is more challenging to use. This challenge was found to contribute more towards engagement as it did not diminish the performance of users in terms of question scores.
- ItemOpen AccessA posthuman reconfiguring of philosophy with children in a government primary school in South Africa(2021) Reynolds, Rose-Anne; Murris, KarinThis thesis reconfigures Philosophy with Children and its community of philosophical enquiry pedagogy through posthumanist theories and practices. Philosophy with Children is an emerging movement in South Africa and there is currently very limited research on its implementation, especially in a whole primary school setting in the South. Critical posthumanism provides the theoretical framework to analyse philosophical enquiries as more than linguistic and always already material. I theorise with and draw on transdisciplinary scholarship and practices of philosophers/ theorists/ researchers/ practitioners in the fields of Critical Posthumanism, Philosophy for/with Children and Philosophy of Childhood. In this study, the community of philosophical enquiry is both the methodology for my teaching as well as my research methodology. I facilitate thirteen communities of philosophical enquiry with all seven grades of one government primary school in Cape Town (159 children in total). An embroidered tapestry of the school is used to provoke each of the thirteen intra-generational philosophical enquiries. Temporal and spatial diffraction (Barad, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2017) is adopted as a posthuman methodology to re-turn to the data in this experiential, dis/embodied and experimental research project. The communities of philosophical enquiry as pedagogical events generate video-recordings, audio recordings, photographic images, video stills, artwork and transcripts. The co-created data is diffracted through each other and re-turned to again and again. Through tracing the material-discursive entanglements in each of the methodological ‘steps' of a community of philosophical enquiry, my research contributes to the importance of doing justice to the more-than-human as well as children in educational research. The land, school, tapestry as provocation, making of the circle, thinking and drawing as enquiring and other materials show the inclusion of the more-than-human and why this matters. My research does not only give different answers about the inclusion of child and the more-than-human but also asks different kinds of questions that cannot be separated: ethical, philosophical, political, ontological, epistemological and aesthetic.
- ItemOpen AccessAccess to Knowledge in Africa: the role of copyright(2010) Armstrong, Chris; de Beer, Jeremy; Kawooya, Dick; Prabhala, Achal; Schonwetter, TobiasThe emergence of the Internet and the digital world has changed the way people access, produce and share information and knowledge. Yet people in Africa face challenges in accessing scholarly publications, journals and learning materials in general. At the heart of these challenges, and solutions to them, is copyright, the branch of intellectual property rights that covers written and related works. This book will help educators identifying challenges for learning materials access posed by copyright laws in Africa. Some solutions as to how to overcome these challenges are provided.
- ItemOpen AccessAccessibility to schooling in South African rural areas(2021) Narcy, Deisy; Vanderschuren, MarianneIn developing countries rural communities are normally geographically isolated contributing to both poverty levels and the deficiency in the participation of social and economic activities. Accessibility to education constitutes one of the primordial links between the economic growth of a country and the development of high skilled population. Given South Africa's unique history, divisions throughout the landscape incapacitate inhabitants of rural communities in reaching opportunities and services, therefore, aggravating issues related to social exclusion and inequality. This study aims to determine accessibility levels in South African rural regions by looking at different aspects that entangle the theory behind it, specifically: the zone attractiveness and impedance. With that in mind, the investigations carried out are firstly directed towards accessibility at the provincial level and thereafter a focus area is determined. At the provincial level, it was found that the Northern Cape presented the greatest disadvantages. However, given insufficient resources and data related to this province, the Cape Winelands Municipality District was chosen as the area to extend the investigations. When assessing the focus area, the study deployed a GIS-based analysis wherein potential and real accessibility were determined. Initially using the gravity measure, and subsequently using a survey carried out in the region. The study has revealed that Stellenbosch and Robertson are the towns experiencing high accessibility levels. Notwithstanding, most principal towns still experience critically low accessibility indexes. The findings of this study can, therefore, be useful in indicating areas that need further studies or are experiencing disadvantages regarding accessibility.
- ItemOpen AccessAddressing quality through school fees and school funding(Children's Institute, 2009) Hall, Katharine; Giese, Sonja
- ItemOpen AccessAn investigation of ‘powerful knowledge' in the drama curriculum: a comparative document analysis of the FET caps dramatic arts and the international baccalaureate theatre guidelines(2022) Senekal, Nicole; Hoadley, UrsulaThis study sets out to investigate the notion of ‘powerful knowledge' in the Dramatic Arts curricula by comparing two curriculum documents: The Internationale Baccalaureate Theatre Guidelines and the FET CAPS Dramatic Arts Guide. Michael Young's (2010) notion of ‘powerful knowledge' has been at the heart of many research studies, curriculum theories, and educational debates in recent years, evolving into a seminal concept within the wider academic and theoretical discourse of curriculum studies. It is within this paradigm that my interest was piqued to examine the knowledge structures within the Drama curriculum and more specifically this notion of ‘powerful knowledge' within Drama as a subject. Currently there is little research to draw on from a Drama education and ‘powerful knowledge' perspective which created the gap to investigate the epistemology of the Drama curriculum and whether the notion of ‘powerful knowledge' could be connected to Drama as a subject. The study is based on a qualitative document analysis comparing two distinct Drama curricula: The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) Curriculum and assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) Dramatic Arts FET Grades 10-12, and the Internationale Baccalaureate Theatre Guidelines. The study draws on the work of Michael Young (2010, 2013) and his concepts of ‘powerful knowledge' as the key theoretical foundation along Basil Bernstein's (1975) work on ‘voice', classification and framing. The study was developed further through an additional analysis utilizing Graham McPhail's (2017) analytical dimensions. McPhail's three analytical dimensions labelled the experiential, the aesthetic and the epistemic has been developed as an analytical tool for further investigation in the Drama curricula to highlight dramatic principles that could be related to the notion of ‘powerful knowledge'.
- ItemOpen AccessAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder: towards an inclusive approach in the management of ADHD in South African classrooms(2019) Loedolff, Simone; Muthivhi, AzwihangwisiAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a world-wide phenomenon which has a major impact not only on a child’s academic performance but also daily activities and social interactions. It is a phenomena which manifests in most classrooms. This dissertation investigates ADHD, not only as a medical phenomenon, but also as a social phenomenon, with a specific focus on how it manifests and applies in South African schools. Using Vygotsky’s Cultural Historical Activity Theory, and linking it with the ideals of the Education White Paper 6. The research is presented as a literature review that focuses on what current literature suggests is happening, and what theoretically should be happening in practice. The research is intended to demonstrate the need of the school-going aged child to be supported by the family, the school, and, if chosen, by medical professionals as well as the need to have informed parents and teachers. This need is linked to an exploration in this research of the practices and procedures currently being used to support learners with ADHD in mainstream South African schools in the context of an inclusive education model. The research concludes that Educators needs further support and training to be fully equipped to support learners formally and informally diagnosed with ADHD.
- ItemOpen AccessChallenges of a new academic discourse: an investigation into the reading and writing practices of first-year chemical engineering students at a South African University(2021) Vicatos, Evelyn Magdalene; Le Roux, CatherineThe challenges for a diverse intake of first-year engineering students, when acquiring a new academic discourse during the transition to university, has triggered this study of literacy practices in the first project task in a core first-year chemical engineering course, in a four-year undergraduate degree programme at a South African university. Most reviewed engineering courses incorporate a socialisation approach into valued practices including literacy skills, particularly writing. Research on such courses focuses on the outcome of successful acquisition of a new discourse, rather than the process. This study focuses not only on the successful outcome, but also on describing and explaining the process of acquisition in the classroom leading to this outcome. It specifically investigates what is valued in the reading and writing tasks of the first project and the qualitative detail of students' writing, as they utilise school resources to fulfil their interpretations of the literacy task requirements. The study followed an ethnographic case study approach, informed by Norman Fairclough's language and social theory and his related methodology of critical discourse analysis. It included observation, interviews with twelve selected students, the course convenor and lecturer, and the analysis of course documents and written texts of two students, each from a selected group. The analysis shows that there is a strong socialisation approach into valued literacy and other practices in the course project work from the start of the programme. This requires integrating valued knowledge, literacies and ways of being and interacting into different learning areas (called “strands”), related to professional graduate outcomes, and with activities which should be completed in the valued prescribed way to meet these outcomes. The analysis also shows that the project work includes potentially transformative aspects, associated with an Academic Literacies perspective, by including current shifts in valued knowledge and by extending support for a gradual socialisation process with projects throughout the degree programme. The key finding of this study is that the socialisation process is very complex, not only because of the type of literacy resources which students bring from school, but because of multiple issues occurring in the classroom when they interpret and produce texts. These include the range of information given meaning in the course documents, time pressure related to competing demands of various strands, and power relations within groupwork. The results can inform further collaborative educational development and longitudinal research between disciplinary and literacy staff to strengthen the existing support for this complex process. This would increase the transformative potential of the course project work by helping students to access valued practices for their first task within a new academic discourse, especially for a diverse student cohort.
- ItemOpen AccessChallenging Open Education(Asian Association of Open Universities, 2016) Czerniewicz, LauraThis presentation focuses on critiquing some of the assumptions about Open Education as a response to global educational challenges. It was presented at the 30th Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities in Manila, Philippines.
- ItemOpen AccessChampions for Children Handbook: how to build a caring school community (Pilot edition)(Children's Institute, 2008-03) Rudolph, Norma; Monson, Jo; Collett, Karen; Sonn, Brenda
- ItemOpen AccessChanging the game: public education and the discourses and practices of privatisation in educational technology policy and intervention(2020) Staschen, Orrie; Kell, CatherinePrivatisation in education is a contentious issue, inseparable from the shift in focus from community-based education initiatives to individualistic and economically driven ones (Ball and Youdell, 2007). This raises ethical issues with initiatives like the Western Cape Government's Game Changer initiatives, given the range of access issues that learners experience in the pervasive social inequity of South Africa. There is a lack of existing research on privatisation practices in public education in the Western Cape, specifically what linguistic strategies are utilized in the official texts promoting it. The Game Changer initiatives and their associated ‘Roadmaps' promote non-state collaboration in extra- curricular eLearning classes and broader technology rollout in under resourced public schools. Analysis of the Roadmap policy reveals discourses of fast capitalism, skills talk, datafication and digital nativism. These discourses were mirrored in the practices, text and talk generated in an after-school mathematics intervention run by an EdTech company, which I have called ZipEd, in a Cape Flats school between 2017-2018. The company prioritized their funder's mandate and to prove their software's efficacy, spun data to reflect largely positive results. In the rush to provide this data, ZipEd entered several schools without fulfilling ethical clearance requirements. Obtaining access to Game Changer pilot sites ensured ZipEd's product rollout, continued growth, and financial success, revealing the neoliberal approaches which dominate ZipEd's practices. The Game Changer policy texts and the intervention observed, treated languages as silo-ed entities, ignoring family or community approaches to literacy initiatives, curricular reform, trans-languaging strategies and inclusive language learning. While EdTech is a useful teaching tool, this promotion of “exogenous” (Ball and Youdell, 2007) privatisation in the Western Cape, blurs the lines between state and non-state involvement, ultimately resulting in the commodification of public schooling.
- ItemOpen AccessChildren's right to basic education(Children's Institute, 2009) Lake, Lori; Pendlebury, Shirley
- ItemOpen AccessDesigned to fail: evaluating grade 1-3 English first additional language textbooks as preparation for English medium grade 4 natural sciences and technology in South Africa(2021) McAravey,GenéBarnard; McKinney, CarolynDespite official school language policies mandating English as the medium of instruction from Grade 4 onwards, nearly half of South Africa's English Language Learners (ELLs) are obtaining less than 50% in their final (matric) English examinations. These same students are writing all of their other high school examinations in English. It seems clear that the majority of students do not have an adequate mastery of written English. What is the nature of the English language instruction these children are receiving? Especially in the earliest years of schooling? Are children being adequately prepared to learn through the medium of English? To investigate these issues, the research question for this study asked: 'Does children's learning of English in the subject English First Additional Language (EFAL) in Grades 1-3 prepare them to make sense of a Grade 4 Natural Sciences and Technology (NST) textbook?' This study employed content and discourse analysis, specifically relating to school textbooks and curriculum documents. The focus was on evaluating the readability of one Grade 4 NST textbook, in relation to the language resources provided by a Grade 1-3 English Language Teaching (ELT) scheme. The methodology employed was mixed methods, with elements of both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Findings revealed that for all three key areas relating to text accessibility, namely Vocabulary, Genres and Syntax, the subject EFAL in Grades 1-3 does not adequately prepare learners to make sense of a Grade 4 NST textbook. Based on this, I recommend that learners no longer be made to transition to English as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) in Grade 4. Instead I recommend that children receive bilingual instruction throughout primary school in all learning areas, and that LTSMs and teacher training be updated to support this approach. I also recommend that EFAL and other home and additional languages be consolidated into a single language arts period and also taught bilingually. Alternatively, I recommend that learners be given two to three additional years to study EFAL before using it as a LOLT and that the EFAL course of study be revised to align more closely with the language and literacy demands of content subjects.
- ItemOpen AccessDevelopment and validation of an inventory for Western Cape primary science teachers' conceptions of formative assessment(2024) Ghorpade, Aparna Sandeep; Laugksch, RudigerAcross many nations worldwide, formative assessment has become an increasingly important component of education policies. Adopting a formative assessment approach in education can improve learners' academic performance, ultimately leading to enhanced educational outcomes. The current South African assessment policy (DBE, 2011) emphasises using formative assessment in primary schools, highlighting its importance in the educational process. However, studies exploring South African teachers' formative assessment practices have shown the need to improve teachers' understanding and use of formative assessments in classrooms. Therefore, it is important to make South African teachers' conceptions of assessment explicit in order to determine their current understanding of formative assessment and to move them towards implementing appropriate approaches to formative assessment. In South Africa, limited research has been conducted exploring teachers' conceptions of assessment, especially in Natural Sciences and Technology at the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4-6) level. Consequently, this study has four objectives - a) to develop an instrument suitable for use with primary school science teachers in the Western Cape, b) to identify practicing primary school science teachers' conceptions of formative assessment, c) to identify the demographic factor(s) that influence the conception of formative assessment of primary school science teachers, and d) to identify the preferred formative assessment practices of such primary school science teachers. Data were collected using a quantitative research design. The survey instrument used was developed by adapting Brown's (2006) Abridged Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment (TCoA-IIIA) inventory for the Western Cape context. Relevant science education stakeholders from the Western Cape province evaluated the content validity of the TCoA-IIIA questionnaire by providing feedback on the clarity of instructions and items of the questionnaire. The modifications and adaptation of TCoA-IIIA resulted in the “Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment - Western Cape (TCoA-WC)” questionnaire. To adapt the TCoA-IIIA for use in the Western Cape, rigorous cross-cultural adaptation and back-translation methods were followed. English, Afrikaans, and isiXhosa are the most commonly spoken languages in the Western Cape province. Hence, a pilot test of the TCoA-WC was conducted with a group of English, Afrikaans, and isiXhosa teachers. The TCoA-WC was then administered online to teachers in 65 schools across four Metro Education districts in the Western Cape. A stratified random sampling method was used as a method of sampling. The selected districts for the study included Metro Central, Metro North, Metro East, and Metro South, which collectively 64% of the province's teacher population. The data collection stage of the present study coincided with the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a limited response of 157 primary science teachers. These 157 responses were analysed by conducting three types of statistical analyses. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) analysis of data collected using TCoA-WC revealed the same factor structure as that of the TCoA-IIIA model, confirming the presence of four main conceptions of assessment (i.e., Improvement, School Accountability, Learner Accountability, and Irrelevance) and associated 27 items in the thinking of Western Cape primary science teachers. The TCoA-WC model also exhibited well-fitted psychometric properties. The reliability analysis and CFA analysis confirmed that TCoA-WC is a valid and reliable measure of Western Cape primary science teachers' conceptions of formative assessment. Thus, this study resulted in the development of the TCoA-WC inventory, which is conceptually, linguistically, and culturally appropriate for use with the teachers in the Western Cape province. The study participants did not explicitly endorse any specific assessment concept identified by the TCoA-WC inventory. However, the CFA analysis confirmed that all four conceptions of assessment, that is, Improvement, School Accountability, Learner Accountability, and Irrelevance, are present in the thinking of Western Cape primary school science teachers. It is hoped that the skillful integration of the findings of this study into teacher professional development initiatives will result in the implementation of formative assessment practices in the Western Cape primary classroom as outlined in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (DBE, 2011), which will lead to significant improvement in the performance of learners
- ItemOpen AccessDikakapa everday heroes - African journeys to success(2013) Xulu, Khethelo; Kiravu, Agano; Nofemela, Andile; Ndlovu, Hlumani; Moholisa, Retsilisitsoe; Abera, AronThis book, Dikakapa Everyday Heroes: African journeys to success, is the proud initiative of a social intervention project called Dikakapa: Every-day Heroes. "Dikakapa Everyday Heroes: African journeys to success" is a collection of short personal stories by young Africans. In the book, the authors exercise self introspection and examination to reflect on how they navigated the formal education system (matric and/or tertiary level) to emerge as winners in their chosen career paths. It is a motivational tool for those aspiring to join tertiary institutions and is an invaluable resource for new university entrants who often struggle to balance their new found independence with the demands and discipline that varsity requires.
- ItemOpen AccessDisability and social change: a South African agenda(2011) Watermeyer, Brian; Swartz, Leslie; Lorenzo, Theresa; Schneider, Marguerite; Priestley, MarkThis powerful volume represents the broadest engagement with disability issues in South Africa yet. It covers a wide range of perspectives of disability, from theoretical perspectives on disability, to disability in education, to disability's relationship with and effect on people living in poverty. This text can be used to support students in disability studies especially in the South African context.
- ItemOpen AccessEducation for All Week 1 - Our model of inclusive education(2018-06-01) Ohajunwa, ChiomaIn this video, Chioma Ohajunwa discusses the model of inclusivity that will be used in the Education for All MOOC. She outlines the inter-related spheres of the home environment, the school, and the community, and how these are involved in socially inclusive education practices. She then outlines the different weeks in the course and their specific focuses on the different aspects of socially inclusive education. This video is located within Week 1 of the Education for All MOOC.
- ItemOpen AccessEducation for All Week 1 - Why social inclusion matters(2018-06-01) Soudien, CrainIn this video, Professor Crain Soudien discusses how the terms social inclusion and social cohesion are used. He suggests these concepts are the basis of key ethical approaches. While these are concepts and ideas, they form the basis for framing policies and implementing practices for inclusive education - we will be covering these practices in this course. Inclusive education can be seen as one way of making society more inclusive and building social inclusion.
- ItemOpen AccessEducation for All Week 3 - Job's story(2018-06-01) Nseibo, JobIn this video, Nseibo Job Kofi discusses his experiences with education as a child growing up with polio meningitis in Ghana. He discusses how the attitudes of his family affected the kinds of care he was able to access, and how his educational achievements led to changes in how he was perceived by his family. He discusses his experience with inaccessible higher education institutions, and ends with asserting that children with disabilities should remain in mainstream education where learning environments can be made more accessible with sufficient planning and forethought.
- ItemOpen Access