Browsing by Author "Govender, Krishnen Mogamberry."

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Exploring the experiences of foundation phase educators within a context of curriculum change in English literacy.
(2014) Tolmen, Priscilla Selishna.; Sookrajh, Reshma.; Govender, Krishnen Mogamberry.
The year 1990, marked significant political changes in South Africa, and heralded a defining change in education as significant changes were implemented in the curriculum as one of the many attempts to rectify the injustices of an apartheid system and Bantu Education. The importance of improving literacy at the Foundation Phase (Grades 1 to 3) has been a major challenge for the new curriculum (National Education Evaluation and Development Unit – National Report 2012). Although education has become more accessible for all learners, the results in Literacy, especially in the Foundation Phase have not improved, as is evident from the results from the Grade 3 Systemic Evaluation in 2003 and 2007 and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2006 and in 2011. Learners reading and comprehension levels continue to be low, and writing, reading and verbal skills are inadequate. The poor results of learners and their difficulties experienced in Reading has compelled the Department of Education to re-evaluate the curriculum and modify it to boost learner performances in English. The observation of this poor performance and of the several changes to the curriculum (particularly in literacy in the case of this study) provides the rationale for this research to be undertaken. This thesis was aimed at identifying the challenges experienced by Foundation Phase teachers in English as a first additional language within a context of a changing curriculum. The study is an interpretative one and uses a qualitative, case study approach. To obtain the data, four educators were purposively sampled, and requested to participate in semi-structured interviews in which their experiences with curriculum change were explored. Observations of their lessons and documentary analysis were also conducted to elicit richer data. The study, which is located at a public school in the urban area in the Pinetown district of the Mafukuzela Gandhi Circuit, Kwa-Zulu-Natal, South Africa, serves to explore the experiences of Foundation phase educators. The researcher, who is an educator for 19 years is motivated by personal, political and contextual factors and asks the following critical questions: 1.What changes have been effected in literacy (English) in Foundation Phase? 2. How do Foundation Phase teachers experience these changes? The literature review focused on curriculum change and how this had affected the teaching of English Literacy in the Foundation phase with special emphasis on educator’s strategies and approaches to teaching this subject. The conceptual framework of the use of New Literacy Studies approach which regards Literacy as a social practice and how this facilitated learning is explained. The study suggests that while the participating educators are happier with the CAPS system and make attempts to use it, their lack of training as Foundation Phase educators, large numbers of children who have no English language background, as well as lack of home support in terms of homework follow up, and the poor the socio-cultural background works against an effective implementation of the CAPS policy. It is suggested that the Department of Education provide regular and constructive support so that educators can be successful in the classroom. In this study, it was argued that experiences in English First Additional Language pedagogy within a context of changing curriculum is a complex and difficult process and requires careful planning, adequate time, funding and support and opportunities for successful teacher engagement.
The interface between non-governmental organisations' intervention programmes and rural out-of-school youth entrepreneurship development : a case study in Wedza District Zimbabwe.
(2014) Mangwende, Silas Parowa.; Sookrajh, Reshma.; Govender, Krishnen Mogamberry.
The purpose of the study was to examine the interface between NGOs intervention programmes and rural out-of-school youth entrepreneurship development in Zimbabwe. Three research objectives guided the study. Firstly, the study sought to examine the relationship between NGOs intervention programmes and rural out-of-school youth entrepreneurship development. Secondly, it sought to describe how this relationship happens and thirdly, it aimed at evaluating the impact of the relationship on the rural out-of-school youth. A qualitative research design was adopted for the study. Questionnaires and interviews were the main instruments used for soliciting data from the target population. The questionnaire consisted of both closed and open-ended questions. The study participants comprised of selected rural out-of-school youth in Wedza district, BOOST Fellowship officials and Government officials from the Ministries of Youth Development and Small-to-medium Enterprises. The participants were selected using purposive and stratified sampling methods. The study revealed that resources (human, financial and material), entrepreneurship curriculum, communication and social networks are the major interface components between NGOs intervention programmes and rural out-of-school youth entrepreneurship development in Zimbabwe. The resources (human, financial and material), entrepreneurship curriculum, communication and social networks are the elements of the rural entrepreneurship interface model. It was established that the rural out-of-school youth were motivated by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors before and during their engagement with NGOs. It was also established that the interface contributed to the intellectual, moral and economic development of the rural young people. The following recommendations were suggested; enacting policy in support of rural out-of-school youth entrepreneurship development, effective and efficient utilisation of resources towards empowerment of rural out-of-school youth, establishment of rural micro-credit schemes targeting rural out-of-school youth and development of infrastructure facilities.
School language change led by internal change agents : interrogating the sustainability of school language change initiatives.
(2009) Govender, Krishnen Mogamberry.; Sookrajh, Reshma.; Mbatha, Thabile Austaline.
Amid the dearth of implementation of South Africa’s post-apartheid Language-in-education policy which encourages multilingualism and recognizes the value of instruction in the home language of learners, internal change agents initiating language change in their schools were identified in a Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) project on multilingual education. With limited policy support these change agents had sought ways of transforming language policy and practices at their schools to address the linguistic diversity of their learners. The initiative taken by these change agents to transform language policy and practice in their schools was the point of departure for the study. While the HSRC project focused broadly on the factors enabling and disabling multilingual education with a view to exploring strategies to encourage greater implementation of multilingual education, the study interrogated the work of the change agents with particular focus on the sustainability of their language change initiatives. The change agents were two school principals, a Level 1 educator (classroom practitioner) and a School Governing Body chairperson, operating in four public primary schools (one in each school) in KwaZulu-Natal. The experiences of sustaining school language change of these change agents were interrogated to elicit how and why they were able to sustain or not sustain the school language change that they had initiated in their schools. The insights drawn from this interrogation were used to deepen understanding of the process of school language change that encourages multilingual education. The data used in this study was gathered from in-depth interviews with the change agents and significant others (educators/school managers) in their schools, documentation (school language policies and notices to parents) and a Focus Group Discussion in which the change agents engaged in reflecting on their experiences of driving school language change and commenting on the process of sustaining school language change. The findings from the study revealed that all but two of the change agents were marginally successful in sustaining language change in their schools. The study revealed that school language change was a complex process involving the interplay of various factors and the existence of such factors enabled but did not guarantee the sustainability of school language change. The non-existence of some or any of the factors necessary for school language change thwarted the attempts of the change agents to sustain language change in their schools. Using the experiences of each of the change agents and the collective experience of all four change agents contextualized in qualitatively-oriented case study research and using features of grounded theory research to develop theory from case studies, the study developed a theoretical framework explicating the process of school language change led by internal agents of language change. It is suggested that the framework which seeks to deepen understanding of the complexities of the school language change process can be used as a guide to planning language change but cautions against using it as a blue print for school language change.