Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Education)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10566/15753

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An exploration of the teaching and learning experiences of learners from single and two-parent households In rural schools in the Limpopo province of South Africa.
(Univesity of the Western Cape, 2025) Tsiga, George; Luckay, Melanie B.
Research findings indicate that rural school learners from single-parent households often endure challenging schooling experiences compared to those from two-parent households. This study explores home and school variables that influence the teaching and learning experiences of secondary school learners in rural areas. Its focus is specifically on examining those living in biological single-parent and biological two-parent households in the Vhembe District of South Africa's Limpopo Province. Employing a mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design with quantitative and qualitative approaches, the study explores the case of a sample from secondary school learners in Grades 8 to 12. The school was selected as it is considered representative of the broader community's secondary schools. During the quantitative phase, a questionnaire survey was administered to 200 sampled learner respondents. The quantitative data analysis informed the qualitative phase where 10 selected learners participated in the semi-structured focus group interviews and 4 purposively selected educators participated in the semi-structured individual interviews. The theoretical framework draws on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, focusing on the three most immediate systems - the Microsystem, Mesosystem, and the Exosystem – as well as Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. Quantitative data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 28, employing descriptive statistics and regression analysis, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. The study findings reveal no correlation between learner households (biological single-parent and biological two-parent) and rural school learners' teaching and learning experiences, suggesting that the household structure does not notably impact learners' schooling experiences. However, academic support or assistance emerged as a crucial factor influencing schooling experiences in rural South African contexts (p<0.05). Academic support in this context refers to assistance provided by educators, parents, and the broader community specifically in school subjects and effective utilisation of available resources to enhance schooling experiences. Highlighted in the study is the importance of educators and the impact they have in the classroom setting in fostering positive schooling experiences for learners irrespective of their home backgrounds. This implies establishing an environment conducive to seeking and receiving academic support from educators without apprehension is paramount for that support to be effective.
Quality assurance in African higher education: a bibliometric mapping of research, policy and practices
(Univesity of the Western Cape, 2025) João, Luís Manuel; Langa, Patrício V
This study provides a comprehensive analysis of quality assurance (QA) research in African higher education by examining its evolution, key themes, methodologies, and challenges. Using a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of scholarly articles from Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), Google Scholar, and African Journals Online (AJOLs), the study explores QA research trends from 1999 to 2019, focusing on both policy and practice. The analysis reveals a significant increase in publications and citations from 1999 to 2019, underscoring the growing attention being paid to QA in the region. The findings reveal regional disparities in research output, stakeholder engagement, and citation impact, highlighting the need for equitable opportunities and enhanced collaboration. Additionally, the study identifies the role of financial support and policy harmonization in improving QA standards across the continent. Based on these insights, the study recommends areas for future research, including longitudinal studies to extend bibliometric analyses beyond 2019 and comparative studies between African and non-African higher education systems to identify best practices. Further research should also explore stakeholder engagement, particularly the roles of governments, QA agencies, institutions, students, and employers in shaping QA frameworks. Given the rise of digital transformation, technological integration—such as artificial intelligence and data analytics—should be assessed for its potential to enhance QA processes. Moreover, regional collaboration through initiatives like the Pan-African Quality Assurance and Accreditation Framework requires deeper analysis to evaluate its effectiveness in policy harmonization. Finally, future research should address disparities in capacity building and funding while ensuring that QA frameworks promote equity and inclusivity, especially for marginalized institutions and communities. By addressing these areas, this study contributes to a more effective, globally competitive, and inclusive QA system in African higher education.
Access, barriers and successes of educational pathways for out-of-school youth. applying the capability theory
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Solomon, Mark Deon
The study investigated the impact of BASIC College, a private, non-profit educational institution, on youth accessing alternative post-school pathways, and how new theoretical insights were generated about the relationship between the Capability Approach (CA) and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) among youth at a post-school educational institution. The research investigated whether such provision enabled young people to access opportunities in South Africa’s post-school education and training (PSET) sector, while developing the skills, capabilities, and agency necessary for workplace participation and transition into adulthood. Using life histories and photovoice, the research captured the lived experiences of current learners and graduates, revealing both immediate educational impacts and longer-term trajectories. The findings showed that learners developed key capabilities such as practical reason, affiliation, and agency, moving from constrained life choices to imagining and pursuing valued pathways. Some graduates gained formal employment, while others-built hybrid livelihoods through informal work and entrepreneurship. From a CHAT perspective, these shifts were linked to transformations in activity systems through new mediating tools (vocational and soft skills, confidence), altered rules (personalised pedagogy, collaborative learning), and enabling communities. However, the study also highlighted the fragility of these gains, as structural barriers in the labour market, limited transitional services, and socio-economic instability constrained the sustainability of capability development. Theoretically, the study advances the integration of CA and CHAT for understanding post-school transitions; methodologically, it demonstrates the value of combining life histories with photovoice for generating fine-grained insights; and practically, it underscores the need to align educational initiatives with systemic reforms. Overall, the research contributes new knowledge by showing how a non-profit post-school institution can mediate capability growth, while emphasising that sustainable youth transitions require coordinated educational, labour market, and social policy responses.
Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students’ experience of reflective practice as part of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) within two higher education institutions
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Daniels Ruben
Universities preparing students for the teaching profession are often blamed for not sufficiently equipping them for classroom realities. This study explored PGCE students' experiences of reflective practice during Work Integrated Learning within two Western Cape Higher Education Institutions, addressing how these practices can improve teaching quality and programme effectiveness. This dual-site case study used an interpretivist approach. Two Higher Education Institutions served as macro cases, with their PGCE programmes as meso-cases. Units of analysis were students, WIL lecturers, method lecturers, supervisors, and school-based mentor teachers. Shulman's Pedagogical Reasoning and Action Model and Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, field, and capital framed the analysis. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, and programme documents, analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic Analysis. Findings revealed that reflective practice existed primarily as something spoken about rather than systematically developed. Students associated reflection narrowly with journaling, treating it as assessment compliance rather than professional learning. The disconnect between university preparation and school realities created what students described as 'a battlefield', leaving them physically and emotionally drained. Students encountered discipline issues, administrative tasks, and time pressures for which they felt unprepared. Despite structural constraints, students demonstrated considerable agency through spontaneous strategies: reflection in transit whilst driving, instinctive reflection during lessons, and reflective rehearsal through mock-classes with family members. The compressed one-year timeframe emerged as the most fundamental constraint, with teaching practice occurring late in the academic year, limiting opportunities for repeated reflection and improvement. The study identified four critical missed opportunities for bridging theory and practice: underutilised triadic relationships wherein students preferred accessible mentor teachers over evaluative university supervisors, disconnected microteaching operating separately from teaching practice, individual-dominated rather than collaborative reflection, and journals functioning as assessment artefacts rather than pedagogical tools. Recommendations include extending PGCE programmes to 18-24 months, establishing systematic microteaching with technology integration, developing scaffolded reflective curricula, strengthening triadic relationships through joint conversations, and revising MRTEQ requirements. The study shows that reflective practice must be woven throughout teacher education rather than taught as isolated competency.
Pre-service teachers’ preparedness, adoption, and integration of ICTS for technological pedagogical practice at a higher education institution in South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2026) Ebimomi, Oluwafemi Ebiseni
Integration of information communication technologies (ICTs) and other digital innovations in teaching-learning has gained global popularity and thus become one of the most promising prospects, particularly in teacher training institutions. This research aimed to explore pre-service teachers’ level of preparation, adoption, and integration of ICT in their pedagogical skills during classroom presentations, and in their professional development. The study is underpinned by three prominent technological theories: Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and Technology Integration Planning Model (TIP) to provide a theoretical explanation for the potential implementation of technology in classrooms. Additionally, this study introduces the Pedagogy, Technology and Content (PTC) model, to illustrate how the interconnectedness between pedagogy, technology and content could facilitate effectiveness in teaching and learning in the modern classroom. This study employs a mixed method explanatory research design using a descriptive survey and interviews as sources of primary data collection. The quantitative research part adopt the use of a structured questionnaire with a five-level Likert-scale rating of Undecided (U), Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Strongly Disagree (SD), and Disagree (D) which were administered to the participants. Relevant items in the questionnaire include statements developed from the seven dimensions of the TPACK, TAM, and TIP models on the extent to which students were prepared to integrate ICTs, and the challenges faced by the pre-service teachers in their use of ICTs in the classroom. SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) v25 was used to get the aggregated descriptive statistical mean values and regression analysis value of the dimensions of the administered questionnaire items. The population of this study comprised 300 third and fourth year Bachelor of Education (BEd) students in the Faculty of Education at a higher education institution in the Western Cape Province.
Identity, and emergent counter-narratives of teachers of Afrikaans
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Kearns, Lu-Ann Millicent
The historical relationship between the Afrikaans language, race and teacher identity is representative of language inequalities which are deeply embedded through language ideology. Language serves as a powerful instrument of inclusion and exclusion but also has the potential to create different ways of ‘being’. In this research, identity, specifically teacher identity, is framed within the ideological margins of language. Language ideology therefore facilitates an in-depth analysis of race, language and identity. This study offers a decolonial interpretation to theoretically and analytically explore the existing and pre-existing linguistic and societal norms which informs the current language reality. This approach anchors the perception of self and identity, deeply rooted within social systems, which include society, culture and history. Therefore, Critical Theory and Critical Race Theory CRT), a LangCrit approach, specifically raciolinguistics, form the theoretical underpinning of this study. This facilitates a critical analysis of race, language and identity focusing on teachers of colour. Race is understood as a socially constructed category and the ideas that emanate from it, are historically determined. The lived experiences of teachers served as a source for authentic and reliable data which is translated into narratives. Narratives are identities; a narrative approach was therefore used to study the intersection between teacher identity, race and language. Semi-structured interviews with five teachers of Afrikaans informed the study. Data is used inductively to construct and enlighten interpretations and theories. This informs counter-narratives which question representations of identity, especially within an unequal language environment. Findings suggest that the silences governing the spaces of race and language teaching continue to compromise teachers’ voices, create dissonances and influence educational practices. These voices are instrumental in deconstructing the deeply embedded norms and values that impede the decolonisation agenda.
The raison d'etre of the Muslim mission primary school in Cape Town and environs from 1860 to 1980 with special reference to the role of Dr A. Abdurahman in the modernisation of Islam-oriented schools
(University of Cape Town, 1986) Ajam, Mogamed
This d~ssertation concerns the modernisation of Islam-oriented schooling in Cape Town and environs whereby Muslim Mission Primary Schools emerge as a socio-cultural compromise between community needs and State school provision policy. It proceeds from the recognition of the cultural diversity that has since the pioneering days characterised the social order of the Mother City. Two religious and cultural traditions have coexisted here in a superordinate and subordinate relationship; one developed a school system for domestication and cultural assimilation, and the other a covert instructional programme for an"alternative religious system and behaviour code. The thrust of the argument is that the Islamic community, developed on the periphery of society that excluded non-Christians, were in the main concerned with cultural transmission, first in the homes of Free Blacks during the Dutch regime, and later in the mosques that arose when religious freedom was obtained. Traditional schools for Islamic culture transmission were conducted by imams and tended to attract in large numbers the children of slaves and other non-white children causing concern among evangelists In 1863, a political understanding between the governments of Britain and Turkey resulted in Abu Bakr Effendi being assigned by the Sultan to conduct a school in Cape Town to effect some uniformity of Islamic instruction. A latent consequence of this Turkish funded school was the production of the first Afrikaans textbook on Islam, a step in the modernisation of cultural transmission. After Effendi's demise the school was discontinued. State education policy ensured that non-white children generally were educated only at State-funded Christian Mission schools. Most Muslim children received only Islamic instruction at the various madressahs (traditional schools) as a result. An increasingly rigid segregation of public schools oriented towards reproducing the superordinate-subordinate culture relationship resulted in a widening gap of literacy which was increasingly important for the economic and political dispensation. Concerned Muslims organised themselves to address the educational deficiency.
n’Kritiese studie ten-opsigte van die status van die plattelands’ onderwyser in die Ceres - Tulbagh gebied
(University of the Western Cape, 1987) Baartzes, Wesley Barry
'n Waarheid wat dikwels aangehaal word is dat die onderwyser die spil is waarom die onderwys met al sy aspekte uiteindelik draai. Onderwysfasiliteite wat grootliks tot die sukses van die onderwysproses bydra, word wel voorsien, maar daar word dikwels gesê dat sonder die inspirerende aandeel van die entoesiastiese, bevoegde en toegewyde onderwyser daar geen sweem van ware onderwys kan wees nie. Die taak waarmee die onderwyser gemoeid is, was nog altyd swaar en veeleisende een. Die veranderinge - ekonomies, maatskaplik en kultureel - wat in resente tye in die lewens van landsburgers plaasgevind het, het egter groter eise aan die onderwyser gestel. Hierdie eise moet nietemin nagekom word as die skool sy funksie as 'n moderne instrument van onderwys wil vervul. 1 ) Om hierdie uitdagings die hoof te bied, het dit gebiedend noodsaaklik geword dat die onderwyser te alle tye 'n aanvaarbare status moet handhaaf , Statusverryking kan verkry word deur die voornemende onderwyser akademies goed toe te rus, hom aan die heilsame en opvoedende invloede van 'n omvattende opleiding vir 'n betreklike lang tydperk bloot te stel, aan die goedgekwalifiseerde onderwyser h kompeterende salaris te betaal en aan hom gunstige diensvoorwaardes en diensomstandighede te bied. 'n Bevredigende professionele werksklimaat vereis op sy beurt dat die onderwyser h gesonde gesindheid en houding teenoor die onderwys moet koester. Sy professionele optrede moet gekenmerk word deur hoedanig hede soos professionele aanspreeklilcheid, integriteit, trots, effektiwiteit, idealisme, gesag, kollegialiteit, altruïstiese dienslewering ring, die regte houding van diensbaarheid te handhaaf en waardigheid wat eerbied by ander sal wek. Verder behoort sy houding deur hoë ideale gelei en deur professionele etiek beinvloed te word. Om dit anders te stel: die onderwysowerheid se verantwoordelik heid is om die werksomstandighede te verskaf, terwyl die beroep self die klimaat skep waarin die onderwyser sy taak op so ~ wyse verrig dat die beroep in alle opsigte as 'n professie be stempel kan word.
Urban social movements in metropolitan Cape Town South Africa
(University of Illionois, 1989) Williams, John James
This study set out to investigate the conditions under which urban issues triggered grassroots mobilization in Metropolitan Cape Town, South Africa between 1976 and 1986. It sought to understand the form taken by such collective behavior and tried to discover the relations of power that inform urban social movements, locally, regionally and nationally. I did not only observe neighborhood social life, but neighborhood-based protests. Through a close observation of social practices in different neighborhoods I have managed to document the influence of urban social movements on the dominant relations of power in Cape Town. In this regard, I have demonstrated that through the organizational strategies and mobilizational tactics of neighborhood associations, political institutions in Black townships have been turned upside down; social relationships in some neighborhoods have been dramatically challenged and reviewed, and perhaps most significantly the legacy of constructed cultural silence amongst the oppressed and exploited has been significantly eroded from unconscious acquiescence to the status quo to a conscious disobedience to the dominant relations of power politically, economically and ideologically. It is in the mobilizational moments of resistance and organizational strategies of city-wide neighborhood networks in the form of urban social movements that there emerge, through conscious struggle, the organic potential and conjunctural possibilities for the construction and propagation of counterhegemonic social relations in the arena of conflict and contestation where the State, since 1976 is finding it increasingly difficult to elicit the consent of the governed. Thus, it is in this historically-informed context that urban social movements are first and foremost an expression of an organized attempt by the people at the grassroots level to transform the dominant Apartheid practices at all levels of society.
The difference between rural and urban Xhosa varieties: A sociolinguistic study
(University of Natal, 1989) Thipa, Henry Mothebesoane
This thesis examines two interrelated issues, namely, the concept of language variety, also called linguistic diversity or linguistic variation and the difference between rural and urban Xhosa varieties in terms of standard and non-standard forms, respectively. The thesis is conceived partly against the background of the pioneer work of Labov (1966) on language variety and partly against a heterogeneous background of developments in the area of language change. The study is essentially about the nature, causes and the result of language change. Consequently, such aspects as language variety, culture, speech community, lexical borrowing, terminology and language standardization are dealt with insofar as they relate specifically to language use and language change. For purposes of the thesis, some parameters are set in terms of which the difference between rural and urban Xhosa varieties is conceived. Because the study is sociolinguistic, no detailed consideration of grammar as such is given. such aspects of grammar as are treated relate specifically to the objective of the thesis. Selected aspects of phonology, syntax and the lexicon are considered. The selection has been done on the basis of the possibility of these aspects being best suited to the kind of comparison the study undertakes. One of the expectations of a research project is that its findings, or at reast some of them, must be capable of being generalized in other areas. It is for this reason that this thesis considers some of the imprecations of the study of language varieties for language planning and language teaching.
Die voorligtingsbehoeftes van Sekondêre leerlinge in 'n benadeelde gemeenskap en die implikasies daarvan vir hul groepvoorligtingsprogram:'n opvolgstudie
(University of the Western Cape, 1990) Gouws, Andre
Hierdie ondersoek is onderneem om die voorligtingsbehoeftes van leerlinge in sekondêre Kleurlingskole in Wes-Kaapland te bepaal en die implikasies daarvan vir hul groepvoorligtingsprogram aan te toon. Die navorser het ook die bevindings van die huidige ondersoek met die van sy meningsopnames in 1979 en 1983 vergelyk. 'n Literatuurstudie is aangewend om die aard, doelstellings en beginsels van groepvoorligting te kelingstake van die Westerse en Afrikaanse - adolessent te ondersoek, formuleer, die ontwikspesifiek die Suiden lig te werp op die spesifieke ontwikkelingsbehoeftes en -probleme waarmee Kleurlingjeugdiges te kampe het. Vraelyste deur leerlinge en skoolvoorligters voltooi, het die relevantheid van die amptelike program se groepvoorligtingsonderwerpe beoordeel, aangedui watter moontlik bestaande onderwerpe kan vervang of daarby gevoeg kan word, en kommentaar oor die inhoud en aanbieding van die huidige program gelewer. Ten opsigte van di,e~~rd van groepvoorligting is bevind dat die huidige Handleiding en Program slegs enkele vereistes toelig en dus hersien behoort te word om alle essensiale aspekte van voorligting te dek. Die afwesigheid van spesifieke dQelá!allinaá vir groepvoorligting in die amptelike handleiding voorsien nie die nodige riglyne aan voorligters vir hul taak nie, en dus is 'n reeks doelstellings in funksionele terme geformuleer. Havighurst (1972) se formulering van adolessente ontwikkelingstake, aangevul deur die navorsing van Burns (1988), kan as n bruikbare raamwerk vir die terrein van groepvoorligting gebruik word. Dis is voorgestel dat elke sekondêre standerd persoonlikheidsvoorligting, voorligting, opvoedkundige voorligting en voorligting behoort te ontvang. sosiale beroeps- Ten opsigte het die onderwerpe van die inhoud van 'n groepvoorligtings programliteratuurstudie onder andere aangetoon dat by die leerlinge se ontwikkelingsvlak en veranderende behoeftes aansluiting moet vind, die program buigsaam moet wees om by plaaslike vereistes te kan aanpas, en dat die klem op die bevordering van leerlinge se persoonlike waardestelsels behoort te val.
Luck, knowledge and excellence in teaching
(University of the Western Cape, 1991) Pendlebury, Shirley
Three questions are central to this thesis: First, can the practice of teaching be made safe from luck through the controlling power of knowledge and reason? Second, even if it can be made safe from luck, should it be? Third, if it is neither possible nor desirable to exclude luck from teaching, what knowledge and personal qualities will put practitioners in the strongest position to face the contingencies of luck and, more especially, to face those conflicts which arise as a consequence of circumstances beyond the practitioner's control? Martha Nussbaum's account of luck and ethics in Greek philosophy and tragedy prompts the questions and provides, with Aristotle, many of the conceptual tools for answering them; Thomas Nagel's work on moral luck provides the categories for a more refined account of luck and its place in teaching With respect to the first two questions, I argue that as a human practice teaching is open to the vicissitudes of fortune and cannot be made safe from luck, except at the expense of its vitality. Like other human practices, teaching is mutable, indeterminate and particular. Both its primary and secondary agents (teachers and pupils) and the practice itself are vulnerable to luck in four categories: constitutive, circumstantial, causal and consequential. But teaching is not just a matter of luck; it is a public practice in which some people are put into the hands of others for specific purposes, usually at public expense. If we have no way of holding practitioners accountable for their actions, the practice loses credibility. Any money or trust put into it is simply a gamble. For these and other reasons, the drive to exclude luck from practice is strong. Yet strong luck-diminishment projects are themselves a threat to the vitality of the practice. During the twentieth century two strong luck-diminishment projects have been especially detrimental to teaching: one rooted in the science of management, the other in the empirical sciences. Both have resulted in a proliferation of unfruitful and often trivial research projects, to misconceived programmes of teacher education, to distorted notions of knowledge and excellence in teaching, and to self-defeating and impoverished practice.
Perceived deterrents to participation in compensatory education educationally disadvantaged adult South Africans
(University of the Western Cape, 1991) Reddy, Kistammah Bergmann
South African society is regulated by inequality and discrimination based on race. Fundamental human rights and privileges have been extended only to a small sector of the population. The majority of South African citizens remain constrained within a context of imposed inferiority in every aspect of their lives. Inequality, entrenched in political and economic apartheid structures, is also reflected in educational provision for Black citizens. Decades of apartheid schooling have resulted in a large population of illiterate, low-literate and educationally disadvantaged adults. Educational, political and economic discrimination all contribute to relegate Blacks to the lowest socioeconomic strata of South African society. Since numerous Blacks, particularly Africans, are restricted from effectively learning in South African schools, there is an escalating need for compensatory adult education Segregation and unequal educational provision have always characterized education in South Africa. The system of apartheid schooling was formalized by the government in 1953 when different education systems for distinct population groups were introduced. Inequalities in the structural features of apartheid schooling were evident in the discriminatory allocation of funds for public education. In 1953 government funds allocated for the education of each White child were approximately R128 (Rands), for every Indian and Coloured child R40, and for every African child R17 (a 7:1 ratio between the 'White and the African allocations). In 1976, the year of uprising by school children in Soweto, the discrepancy in allocation of educational funds had widened to a 10:1 ratio with the White allocation rising to R724, Indian to R357, Coloured to R226, and Africans to only R71 (Horrell, 1982, p. 115). At that time White, Indian and Coloured children were provided with at least ten years of free compulsory schooling. Nonetheless, the unequal distribution of educational funds afforded White children better educational facilities and better qualified teachers than those provided for other racial groups.
Free or co-ordinated markets? education and training policy options for a future South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 1994) Kraak, Andre
This thesis is a comparative study of competing education and training (ET) policy options in South Africa today. The thesis examines the economic and ET policy proposals of the South African state, and in particular, the recently published National Training Strategy and Education Renewal Strategy. These documents are both critically examined and contrasted with the policy proposals which are currently emerging in the African National Congress (ANC) and Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu). The analysis establishes a continuum of ET systems, with the policy proposals of the South African state representing a
Towards the democratization of instructional leadership in South African schools: current trends and future possibilities.
(1995) Williams, Clarence Gordon
The Department of Education of the South Mrican Government of National Unity has accepted democratic governance as one of the principles of its education and training programme. At school level, especially at historically black schools, there is also an increasing demand for meaningful involvement in the decision-making that affects school policy. Unfortunately educational leaders have generally not been empowered to make a meaningful contribution to the transformation of the schools into democratic teaching and learning organizations. This motivated the decision to undertake this thesis. The focus on the democratization of instructional leadership is meant to serve as an example and catalyst for the democratization of all other aspects of the school. In order to contextualize the investigation the main approaches to schooling in South Africa were interrogated against the background of the conservative, liberal and radical theories of democracy in western capitalist societies. The main finding is that, in spite of obvious differences, South African schooling is essentially another form of mass education used as the legitimating apparatus of state ideology. Within this framework Christian-National Education and liberalism form the dominant educational discourse in South Africa while the aspirations of the majority of blacks find manifestation in People's Education which embodies radical/nco-Marxist theories. In spite of the claims of it being basically neutral and value free, educational leadership in South Africa has generally been used to legitimate and reproduce the existing hegemony. An investigation of the positivistic, interpretive and critical research paradigms indicated that, given the South African context, critical action research with its emphasis on, amongst others, collaborative participation, empowerment and emancipation is the most appropriate means to effect the democratization of instructional leadership. Relevant theories and research findings from the literature on action research were then explicated and made applicable to instructional leadership.
Emancipatory education in a workplace
(University of the Western Cape, 1995)
The thesis is about an action research project which had an emancipatory educational intent. The social situation in which this research took place involved people in a specific workplace. Because education is historically constructed, the process of education in the research was considered in relation to the historical background and prevailing socio-political, educational and business situation. The research efforts in this context were directed towards seeking "truth; not as an absolute category, but as a structural and relational one" (Giroux, 1988b:xx). Ostensibly this research was about my own practice. On the one hand, I wanted to examine traditional views of workplace operation in an educational context, and on the other hand, reveal new possibilities which would change my practice and the traditional approach to education that I was part of. In the process a practical learning experience for employers and employees, in a particular workplace, was set in motion. The need for this learning experience was identified by the people in the specific workplace and the attempts at change-action were developed based on the democratic values of equality; justice; empowerment; participation; responsibility and accountability. The primary focus of the employers (and hopefully the employees) in the workplace, was to produce profitable productive work, but one cannot work in a social and political vacuum. Ignoring the reality that a workplace was an area of accommodation and contestation among differentially empowered people was problematic. Issues such as culture, race, gender, economic access and educational opportunity were (are) highlighted in the South African situation and needed to be confronted Workplaces retreat into discourses of management and administration with a focus on issues of efficiency, control and results. It is a myth to believe a workplace can do without these. However, through this research I intended to alert people in workplaces that they need to develop a discourse which reveals the understanding of experiences by questioning, inquiring and reflecting on these experiences.
Besluitnemingsvaardighede: 'n Sielkundig-andragogiese perspektief
(University of the Western Cape, 1995) Strydom, Irene
Die volwassene wat 'n professionele beroep beoefen, vervul nie net die rol van professionele beroepsbeoefenaar nie, maar is ook 'n voltydse leerder (student); tuisteskepper en landsburger. Hierdie verskillende rolle kan só veeleisend raak dat die volwassene oorweldig voel en in spanningsituasies of te midde van 'n vol program, onvanpaste besluitnemingstrategieë aanwend. Die openbaring van onvanpaste besluitnemingsgedrag sluit in die onvermoë om • die kern van die probleem te formuleer • alternatiewe te genereer en te evalueer • die besluit te neem, te implementeer en te evalueer 'n Empiriese ondersoek is onderneem om te bepaal watter besluitnemingstrategieë deur professionele volwassenes bemeester behoort te word en of die andragoog die volwassene tydens die afhandeling van die besluitnemingsproses moet bystaan. Die faktore wat 'n rol by besluitneming speel, is ook behandel. Die navorser se eie voorstelling van die besluitnemingsproses, wat as opsomming van die literatuurstudie beskou kan word, is as raamwerk gebruik om vrae te genereer wat in die vraelys opgeneem kon word, asook om onderhoude te voer. Die belangrikste gevolgtrekking van die ondersoek is dat professionele volwassenes tydens die besluitnemingsproses op ondersteuning aangewese is en dat besluit nemingskonflik verlig kan word indien 33 belangrike besluitnemingsvaardighede bemeester is. Verder is gevind dat daar beduidende verskille is ten opsigte van die besluitnemingsvermoë van die agt verskillende beroepsgroepe wat by hierdie navorsing betrek is, asook tussen manlike en vroulike respondente en Afrikaanssprekende en Engelssprekende respondente. Die algemene gevolgtrekking waartoe gekom is, is dat sommige professionele volwassenes onderpresteer wat besluitneming betref en dat hulle in besonder op begeleiding aangewese is. Die andragoog wat as besluitnemingskonsultant optree, sal hom dit spesifiek ten doel stelom sy medevolwassene wat ontoereikende besluitnemingsgedrag openbaar, te begelei tot die vorming van 'n realistiese besluitnemingsidentiteit. Verder word 'n nuwe, meer omvattende uiteensetting van die besluitnemingshandeling vanuit die Sielkundige Opvoedkunde voorgestel wat ten doel het om 'n meer indringende beskrywing van dié konatiewe handeling daar te stel as wat tans in die opvoedkundige sielkundige teorie te vind is.
'n Poging tot onderwysinnovasie in die Richtersveld
(University of the Western Cape, 1997) Van Heerden, Monica Martha Aletha
This thesis represents the outcome of an interaction between a participating "outsider" and a group of teachers during which a continued dialogue between theory and practice was pursued. The goal was to enhance the quality of teaching practice in a specific situation on the one hand and on the other, gain deeper insight into the theoretical aspects which have a bearing on classroom practice. The research project was initially started in response to teachers' request for help with the teaching of Afrikaans first language to learners whose home language was Afrikaans, but who did not make satisfactory progress in Teachers from four schools in the Richtersveld, a far-off region in the Northern Cape, one of the nine provinces of South Africa, joined the INSET project and participated in a hands-on language programme in which a different approach from the traditional teaching and learning model was advocated. The innovative programme focused on an integrated approach to the teaching and learning of reading and writing as meaning-making activities. The research was carried out within a qualitative research framework in which participants not only had to carry out specific innovative learning tasks, but had to reflect on the value of their actions with a view to become change agents who would facilitate learning in such a manner that their pupils would also develop into reflective agents who would be able to take charge of their particular life world. The project experience was shared through a narrative which required of readers to take a stance since they had to make meaning of the identified themes and motifs which gradually emerged. Some of the major themes which, in my view, developed were: that successful communication between stakeholders in die teaching and learning event is a prerequisite for successful learning. Language is a social construct, but is the central medium of communication, therefore, all participants should understand the operative "rules" of communication in a specific learning context. All pupils in multi-lingual classes should be in a position where their life chances, not only their life-styles, are enhanced.
Teacher development mediation: a cognition-based reconsideration
(University of the Western Cape, 1997) Abel, Lydia
The research was prompted by two main issues prevalent in South African education in the last decade. These were particularly the critical state of the schooling system, especially in the educationally disadvantaged schools (mainly ex-Department of Education and Training) and the relationship of the teacher to teaching and the related issue of teacher upgrading. The resultant effect was that the educationally disadvantaged communities became more and more disadvantaged over time because of decreasing mental stimulation and mental development. The answer lay in finding a theory of intellectual growth and development which takes into account the learning environment of the disadvantaged child. The Educational Support Services Trust (ESST) has been active in addressing this very issue since 1986. It provides appropriate learner-centred mediational texts to disadvantaged pupils around the country. These materials concentrate on the development of practical intelligence by relating leaming to everyday experience. The Teachers' Methodology Project was designed to change the teachers who were using the ESST materials from being disseminators of information to being managers of a learning-centred classroom environment. The idea was to change the way that teachers thought about teaching and learning. This was accomplished by sharing the methodology of the existing pupils' materials and theories of cognition and mediation with them so that they could become adept at mediating at the level of deconstruction of complex ideas and using this knowledge in the construction and development of their own learning materials, thereby contributing to the mental development of their pupils. My experience as a staff member of the ESST and my background in education provided an entry point to this research via Feuerstein et at's (1980,1991) criteria for mediation, Haywood's (1993) mediational teaching style and a range of other theories and ideas including group work and co-operative learning, graphic organisers, and the ESSTs own theory of mediatory text (Sinclair, 1991). These were consolidated into a learning-centred approach to teaching in which the learner, the teacher and the task become part of the total learning-centred environment.
Ideaal en werklikheid in die opleiding van verpleegkundiges in Suid-Afrika: ‘n Aksienavorsingsbenadering tot praktykyerbetering
(University of the Western Cape, 1997) Boshoff, Ellen Louisa Dorothea
This dissertation documents the attempt to address one of the major problems in nursing education i.e. the existing gap between the educational philosophy of nursing and nursing education practices, by means of an action research project during the period 1991-1996. The research in this dissertation is recorded in three phases. Phase One elaborates on the biographical and professional background of the researcher and the reasons why action research was selected for the purpose of this particular project Since action research provides opportunities for teachers to change and transform their own teaching practices, it was obviously the best choice for the research. The emphasis was on collaboration and participation and the researcher was morally bound to consider and observe all internal and external factors which influence and limit her own teaching practice, in order to initiate change and transformation in teaching. In order to define and contextualize the problem and to describe the situation in which this particular problem has been identified, the role of the statutory body, the South African Nursing Council which governs the profession and basic professional nursing education were explored. The problem is formulated as the existing gap between the educational philosophy on which existing nursing and nursing education practices are theoretically grounded and the way in which both nursing and nursing education practices appear in reality. Phase One also deals with the historical and philosophical foundations and development of nursing and nursing education. In an attempt to describe the researchers's teaching practice appropriately, as a social practice, it was essential to consider not only the professional and social boundaries of nursing education, but also the current situation regarding national education, the existing health system and all factors related to education and health. The dissertation then draws the attention to the essential features and historical context of a progressive and critical pedagogy, as a foundation for action research.

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