Education Studies

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African secondary school pupils' and their teachers' perceptions of their performance in selected schools.
(1999) Arsiradam, Prema.; Naicker, Subramunian Anand.
The concept of racially-desegregated state schooling in South Africa was officially implemented in 1991. This change to racially-mixed schooling was not without problems. There are, to date, few known studies on this theme in South Africa although there are many overseas studies. The focus of the present study is on the implications of racially-desegregated schooling for the disadvantaged African population. The study examines African secondary school pupils' and their teachers' perceptions of their performance in the context of racially-desegregated schools. It also aims to study these perceptions in the context of striving for 'equality of opportunity' in the light of current educational refonns in South Africa. This study is located in the sociology of education framework, using a symbolic interactionist approach of analysis. Six schools in the suburb of Phoenix in Durban, originally designed for the Indian population, were used. A sample of 150 pupils belonging to both the middle and working class groups in the senior and junior phases of schooling was calculated. A sample of 68 teachers who teach pupils in the sample was also chosen. Questionnaires were administered to and interviews were conducted with both teachers and pupils. Objective data was also collected in the form of pupils' examination results over a period of a year. The Chi-square test of significance was used to establish if there were differences in performances of pupils within the social groups and within the phases of schooling.
Integrating cultural inclusivity in a grade 4 classroom : a teacher's self-study.
(2016) Mkhize, Ntokozo Sibusisiwe.; Pithouse-Morgan, Kathleen Jane.
The purpose of my self-study research was to explore integrating cultural inclusivity, particularly children’s culture. As an aspiring inclusive practitioner I wanted to explore and reflect on what I could learn about cultural inclusivity and children’s culture from my own personal history and how I could integrate cultural inclusivity and children’s culture in my teaching. I was drawn to the practice of inclusivity as a focal point for my research. White Paper 6 policy stimulated me to explore how I could include my learners and take into account all my learners’ needs, interests and cultural backgrounds. I looked forward to implementing diversity in my classroom and to learn from my learners. A socio-cultural theoretical perspective channeling my thoughts to the fundamental nature of children, how they bring in conceptual resources into the classroom and introduce their cultural and daily encounters into the classroom before learning or attending school. I took inclusive participation inspired by the Children’s culture perspective which was to bring in games, toys and interests into their learning. I was the main participant in the research study. My 37 learners were participants in my study. I also worked with two critical friends who were also doing their Master’s Degree in Teacher Development and my supervisor. My two research questions were: 1. What can I learn about cultural inclusivity and children’s culture from my personal history? 2. What can I learn about cultural inclusivity and children’s culture from my grade 4 learners? To respond to these two questions, I generated data through practicing: artefact retrieval; collage making, poetry, journal writing, audio-recording and taking photographs. From this, I discovered that, as teachers we need to emancipate and not cage our learners’ thoughts and ideas. I appreciated the feedback I received from my learners, their participation, activities and games. I also explored that in children’s culture there are daily adventures and challenges that stimulate heroic moments for them. Additionally, I learned that children can create their own learning resources through toys, games and live passionately through laughter, questions, smiles, curiosity and uncertainties. Teaching and learning is not predictable. My most imperative lesson from self-study research was I discovered that as a teacher I make mistakes and so I need to constantly question and reflect on my teaching methodologies and lessons. We are constantly learning from our own practices through inquisition, reviving ourselves and accommodating differences.
An investigation into the problems encountered by pupils in the former Transkei in understanding the models used in geography textbooks in senior secondary schools.
(1996) Ntikinca, Nondumiso.; Peel, Harold Alexander.
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the following people for their assistance mid cooperation in making this research possible. First and foremost I must mention the name of my supeivisor Mr. H.A. Peel of 1 he University of Natal. I am grateful to him for his thorough and able supervision of this research. I shall always treasure the encouragement he gave, his patience, the int.erest he shown in my work and the recommendations he made for the improvement of this work. I thank the Principal and teachers involved in this research for their kind co-operation. I am also thankful to Mr. E. Sarpong of the University of Transkei for suggesting and helping me with the interpretation of the statistical techniques and to Dr. Erapu of the same University for proof-reading the drafts for me. To members of my family and especiaJly my young son who had to endure long hours without me I say thanks for the patience. I hereby declare that the opinions expressed or conclusions arrived at are those of the writer and are not to be regarded as a reflection of the views of the above-mentioned people.
Language proficiency and academic success : an investigation into the relationship between language proficiency and academic success at university with particular reference to first-year students of English.
(1988) Court, Susan Anne.; Nel, Berndine F.; Behr, Abraham Leslie.
The relationship between language proficiency and academic success in university studies is of major concern in educational institutions throughout the Western world. The particular focus of this study is the situation in the Republic of South Africa. This problem is of critical importance at this stage in the history of South Africa when universities have publicly stated their commitment to admit any students with merit or potential to succeed at university. In order for students to succeed at university they need to be communicatively competent in the language which is the medium of instruction. It has been assumed that this ability can be assessed by means of a formal test and it is this issue on which this dissertation focuses in order to establish how reliable such tests are as predictors of academic performance. The empirical research covers a six-year period from 1982 to 1987 and investigates two tests. One is a particular language test which was designed specifically for the selection of students for courses of academic study of English at university. The other is the senior certificate examination which provides the statutory admission requirement for university entrance in South Africa. An extensive review of relevant studies both within South Africa and overseas has been undertaken. In addition an unstructured questionnaire was sent to English departments throughout South Africa in order to establish the current practice with regard to the selection of students for first-year courses. The conclusion seems to be that in the context of a homogeneous population language proficiency as measured on a formal test is predictive of academic success in first-year courses in English. In heterogeneous student populations, like that of South Africa where the majority of prospective students may be described as being "disadvantaged", however, this is not the case. Academic success cannot be predicted with any degree of confidence on the basis of language proficiency. Extreme caution is necessary in the implementation of any language test for the selection of students for academic study at university in the present changing nature of university student populations in South Africa.
Lecturers' and students' perceptions of contributory factors towards the high failure rate in an information administration course at a merged University of Technology.
(2010) Padiachee, Ragani.; Buthelezi, Thabisile M.
Since Colonial times Education in South Africa was segregated leaving African educational systems disadvantaged with inferior services. The segregation became official when apartheid became an official policy following the general election of 1948 which resulted in the National Government taking over. This report, in particular, is a study at one of the 22 merged Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) that was comprised of previously advantaged and disadvantaged tertiary institutions. The University of Technologies (UoTs) have a history of such segregated education dating back to its origins in 1882, when Technical Colleges were established. While the development of the early technical colleges continued to change its focus and status, inferior services continued until very recently in 2002 when mergers of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) occurred. The democratic government of 1994 developed to many policies in an attempt to repair the damages emanating from the apartheid system. Of the many policies, one was the redressing of educational inequalities that were created by the apartheid system. During the early 1990s and to date there has been poor Higher Education (HE) performance. One of the goals of the 1997 White paper was to improve the throughput rates at HE in terms of pass rates and thus throughput rates. The study focuses on the high failure rate in the Information Administration (IA) course at one of the merged HEIs called Southern University of Technology1 (SUT). What has been conducted is an investigation of perceptions of contributory factors towards the high failure rate in the Information Administration course at SUT. The mentioned UoT has also implemented transformational policies as required by the Department of Education (DoE) but the desires of the Education White paper 3 of 1997 regarding the improvement of throughput rates has not changed. The main findings of the research present the following; lack of preparedness of enrolled students and lecturers in the IA subject , the non-compliance to the institutions assessment policy and procedures, lack of quality assurance and management measures and insufficient accessibility and utilisation of the resources.
Trends in participation, performance and career choice, among girls who are successful in mathematics.
(2002) Essack, Regina Miriam.; Vithal, Renuka.
Abstract available in the PDF.

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