South African Journal of Education

Teachers’ views on the role of economic and management sciences in preparing learners for accounting in the Further Education and Training Phase

2023-03-24T04:24:13+00:00

With this study we explored teachers’ views on the role of economic and management sciences (EMS) in preparing learners for accounting in the Further Education and Training (FET) Phase. A qualitative research approach was employed along with the interpretivist paradigm to underpin the study. We used a qualitative case study approach to allow for an in-depth understanding of the views of the teachers by talking to them directly. Semi-structured individual and focus-group interviews were used as data collection methods. Participants in the study included 5 Grade 9 EMS teachers and 5 Grade 10 accounting teachers who were conveniently and purposively sampled from 5 secondary schools. A thematic analysis approach was adopted to analyse the interview responses. The findings of the study reveal that teachers understood that EMS was an integrated subject. However, Grade 9 teachers struggled to teach EMS in an integrated manner and this hampered the teaching of financial literacy. The challenges in teaching EMS are aggravated by the lack of relevant pedagogical strategies, the lack of adequate knowledge of the subject and missing pertinent foundational content in the EMS curriculum and textbooks. As a result, learners enter the FET phase without being adequately prepared to study accounting in subsequent grades.

Enabling environments that South African teachers create to accommodate diversity in their classrooms: A case study on the Limpopo Province

2023-03-24T03:58:34+00:00

With this article, we investigate how primary school teachers create enabling environments to accommodate diversity in their classrooms. In the study reported on here, we used the qualitative research approach and a case study research design was adopted. Five primary school teachers were recruited through purposive sampling to participate in the study. Data were collected through an open-ended questionnaire. We employed pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (Shulman,1986) as a theoretical lens to make sense of the findings. Four findings emerged from the analysis of the data. Firstly, teachers were knowledgeable about the legislation, policies and guidelines about inclusive education to leverage their efforts to create enabling environments to accommodate diversity in their classrooms. Secondly, teachers’ understanding of inclusive education was still entrapped in the medical model, and not in the social model. According to the medical model of disability people are regarded as disabled by their impairments or differences while according to the social model disability is caused by the way in which society is organised. Thirdly, teachers showed an understanding on how to use the principle of differentiation to accommodate diversity in their classrooms. Fourthly, teachers used their social capital to manage diversity in their classrooms. These findings have at least 3 implications. One, policymakers need to take teachers into consideration when they develop policies for inclusive education. Two, there is a need to empower teachers with a better understanding of what inclusive education is. Three, there is a need for parents, teachers and other stakeholders to collaborate in accommodating diversity in schools.

Developmental dyslexia in private schools in South Africa: Educators’ perspectives

2023-03-24T03:40:13+00:00

In South Africa, as is globally, many people struggle with the challenges which emanate from developmental dyslexia (DD). It is thus important for educators to have adequate knowledge and a positive mindset regarding DD and the management thereof in the school context. One such important method of management is the accommodation of these learners in mainstream class. The quantitative survey study reported on here was aimed at determining the perspectives of educators in 2 private schools in the Tshwane South District, Gauteng, South Africa, regarding the knowledge of, attitude towards, and management of accommodations for learners with DD. We implemented a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional survey research approach where a self-administered questionnaire was administered after purposive sampling. Results indicate that the respondents, regardless of their qualifications, gender, or years of teaching experience, had limited knowledge of DD, but with a generally positive attitude towards inclusion and management of these learners. Furthermore, it was found that educators had an awareness of the terminology related to the accommodations that the education department granted these learners with DD. However, they were uncertain about the perceived path and nature of accommodations provided to learners. Specific details and related recommendations were explored.

English First Additional Language: Teachers’ written feedback practices in multi-grade classrooms in rural South African primary schools

2023-03-24T03:59:19+00:00

Multi-grade teaching is a widely accepted phenomenon in both developing and developed countries. In this article I report on a phenomenological inquiry into written feedback practices of teachers in multi-grade classrooms and how they described and interpreted their feedback practices pertaining to learners’ writing activities in English First Additional Language. Written feedback is widely believed to be central to learners’ learning and achievement. Feedback is assumed to change learners’ thinking or behaviour towards their work and is regarded as a tool to focus their attention on improving their learning. Despite the benefits of written feedback, however, there is a widespread belief that many learners are disengaged from the feedback they receive. The population in this study comprised 4 English First Additional Language teachers from 4 multi-grade primary schools. Content analysis was used to analyse the data collected from the participants through semistructured interviews. The findings indicate that participants differed in their understanding of what was involved in feedback, and that there was a shared view that feedback was a product and not viewed as a process that could be used towards developing learners’ learning. It was also shown that feedback practices used by the teachers of multi-grade classes included providing correct answers and providing delayed feedback to learners. This study adds to the ongoing debates on multi-grade teaching and attempts to shed some light on the nature and the type of feedback that could motivate and enhance learners’ learning in multi-grade classrooms.

Investigating English First Additional Language educators’ reading comprehension practices in selected schools in Gauteng, South Africa

2023-03-24T04:22:29+00:00

Educators’ reading comprehension instructional practices have been identified as 1 of the factors that contribute to learners’ poor reading comprehension performance. To this end, several studies were conducted to identify and analyse educators’ practices while teaching reading comprehension. As a result, the aim of the study reported on here was to investigate educators’ teaching practices when teaching reading comprehension in order to diagnose challenges and then make recommendations. The study was qualitative in nature with a case study design. For the purpose of data collection, 3 Grade 9 English First Additional Language (FAL) educators were purposively chosen. The observation data collection method was followed and content analysis was used to analyse data. With regard to the choice of reading comprehension strategies, the findings reveal that the educators did not appear to have a thorough knowledge of reading comprehension strategies. In the observed lessons, the reading comprehension strategies were neither applied explicitly nor implicitly. Educators tended to change the reading lessons into vocabulary lessons. The findings further reveal that the educators relied on traditional questioning techniques that did not engage learners with the text. Thus, the reading comprehension support, motivation and feedback from educators were limited. The main recommendation is for teacher training institutions and universities to play a more active role in developing both pre-service and in-service educators’ reading comprehension instructional practices.

Participation or eschewal? Final-year secondary school students’ attitudes towards participation in higher education in Cameroon

2023-03-24T03:56:25+00:00

In this article we examine students’ attitudes towards participation in higher education in Cameroon and consider the role of personal and socioeconomic factors in their post-school educational trajectories. The data were drawn from a questionnaire survey of 1,860 final-year secondary school students from Yaoundé, Cameroon, as well as supplementary interviews with 16 students. The findings show that the majority of respondents indicated a preference to continue their education after the end of secondary school and participate in some form of higher education. However, contrary to previous studies that identify gender or SES segregation in higher education participation, the findings in this study suggest that the influence of SES and gender on students’ attitudes was minimised in the later stage of secondary schooling. Among the relatively minor external influences, institutional factors surpass family influence, and fathers’ influence is stronger than that of mothers, echoing the patriarchal cultural background in Cameroon. Considering the positive attitudes revealed in this study, it is suggested that more external efforts could be made to respond to students’ optimistic attitudes and smooth their transition processes. Higher education institutions should improve their capability to enrol and accommodate more students and patriarchal culture should also be challenged to boost women’s educational opportunities.

The principal’s role in managing curriculum change: Implications for the provision of quality education

2023-03-24T04:00:02+00:00

Drawing mainly on Lewin’s 3-Phase Process of Change framework, in the study reported on here we explored the role of principals in facilitating curriculum reforms. A case study design within an interpretivist paradigm was employed to determine the experiences and perceptions of principals, school management teams (SMTs) and teachers of how principals managed curriculum changes in their schools. Change is deemed a necessary and significant component of educational praxis. Principals, as instructional leaders, are compelled to be the driving force in managing curriculum reforms, ensuring that changes are conscientiously aligned to high learner achievement. Data were gathered through personal and focus-group interviews using a purposeful sample comprising of 4 principals, 13 SMT members and 9 teachers. Findings reveal that principals were not directly involved in the facilitation of curriculum changes but delegated this to deputy principals and heads of departments. For SMTs and principals to effectively manage curriculum changes, a collaborative culture must exist in schools. It is recommended that principals should make a paradigm shift by placing high priority to the procurement of adequate resources, providing support and development to teachers, and keeping abreast with latest trends in teaching. This approach will result in high learner achievement and educational standards.

Tokenism and barriers to genuine learner participation in school governance in one progressive South African girls’ high school

2023-03-24T04:23:00+00:00

Borrowing the participation level typology from civic participation literature, in the study reported on here, we explored the level of learner participation in school governance in 1 girls’ high school in South Africa. We demonstrate that despite the schools’ self-claimed progressive stance, its learner participation still exhibits numerous nuanced examples of tokenism. Using a qualitative research design and purposive sampling, we collected data from interviews and observation to examine the possible causes for, as well as consequences of this tokenism. The findings indicate that adults’ beliefs about minors’ limited capacity remain a structural barrier to learners’ genuine participation. This belief threatens the credibility and legitimacy of the Representative Council of Learners (RCL) and this threat to legitimacy, in turn, reinforces the structural beliefs that adults hold and thus perpetuates a cycle whereby genuine participation is compromised and token participation is entrenched. We conclude this article with recommendations to address, mitigate and transcend token participation.

Collaboration: The key to managing discipline in South African schools

2023-03-24T04:03:51+00:00

South African schools are faced with an arguably insurmountable problem as a culture of indiscipline continually increases in schools. Despite being undeterred by the legal framework that guides stakeholders in the discipline crisis in schools, indiscipline in schools has soared to critical levels. Scant literature exists on how stakeholders collaborate in managing discipline in schools. The research reported on here was guided by the primary research question: How do stakeholders collaborate in managing discipline in schools? As such, in this article we explore how stakeholders collaborate in managing discipline in schools. Through purposive sampling, 16 participants from 4 secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal were chosen to take part in semi-structured interviews. The sample of participants comprised school management team members (SMT); the principal, 1 head of department, 1 post-level 1 educator and 1 school governing body (SGB) member from 4 schools in the iLembe education district. Themes that emerged from the data include that implementation of the school code of conduct as one of the most effective strategies in managing discipline in schools. The inclusion of stakeholders such as the local community, the Community Police Forum, the South African Police Services and the Department of Social Development in the successful management of learner discipline surfaced as an important theme. Furthermore, participants asserted that a whole-school approach to the implementation of the code of conduct was successful in managing discipline. The participants revealed that the collaboration of stakeholders in schools was very important for the smooth running of the school, including the management of discipline.

School leadership practice at faith-based schools through a servant leadership lens

2023-03-24T04:06:03+00:00

In this article we report on an investigation into developing people and serving the community at faith-based schools througha servant leadership theory lens. Relevant literature was reviewed, and data were collected from school leaders by means of individual semi-structured interviews. Twelve participants were purposively selected from schools classified as top-performing schools in Gauteng, a province in South Africa. The interviews with these participants were audiotaped and transcribed, and the data analysed by using a process of abductive data analysis. The following measures were employed to review the servant leadership practices of faith-based leaders: being a serving leader, fostering people growth, and enhancing community relationships. Overall, principals were found to be effective leaders involved in a hands-on manner in both taskorientated and person-orientated activities. The servant leadership conception whereby “other” interests are regarded as more important than own interests serves as the basis for people development and there is a clear awareness that the enhancement of community relationships is a key facet in the communication that takes place between school principals and community members. The participants also showed concern for school-led development activities. It was evident that participating school staff were personally involved in facilitating learning activities such as collaborative workgroups and workshops and in creating a supporting structure for staff development. Apart from recommending that principals’ leadership behaviour in the abovementioned areas is consolidated, we strongly support their involvement in related matters such as coping with contextual realities and enhancing community relationships. The improvement of community relationships is eventually a challenging task to be exercised by principals within the social, political and demographic contexts of faith-based schools.

Effective mentoring: Understanding factors affecting the holistic development of preservice teachers during teaching practice

2023-03-24T04:07:52+00:00

The purpose with this article is to amplify the significance of effective mentoring of pre-service teachers in order to address classroom matters and situational issues associated with teaching practice. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 10 pre-service teachers about the ways in which they experienced mentoring during their teaching practice. The majority of preservice teachers have raised concerns that once they were dispatched to schools, they found themselves without adequate mentorship from in-service mentors and mentor lecturers. The study was contextualised in less-privileged South African schools and involved fourth-year Bachelor of Education and Postgraduate Certificate in Education pre-service teachers as participants. Findings suggest that the common denominator among the documented lived experiences of the interviewed pre-service teachers was a lack of information about the difficulties that in-service teachers in less-privileged schools faced on a daily basis, especially in townships or rural areas where facilities such as computer rooms, smart boards and data projectors are not available. The Situativity theory was used to frame the argument that the lack of effective mentoring that pre-service teachers received resulted in them not successfully adapting to the situation in less-privileged schools during teaching practice.

Leading collegially: Shifting paradigms for effective student teacher mentoring during work-integrated learning

2023-03-24T04:09:58+00:00

Teacher training has long relied on experienced school mentors as role models for novice teachers. However, qualifications and experience alone cannot remain the prerequisites for teacher leadership in 21st century schools. How can experienced school mentors collegially mentor new teachers into leadership, without abrogating their responsibilities? In this article, a constructivist approach was explored to mentor new teachers into leadership with the focus on establishing symbiotic relationships based on the mutual continuous professional development (CPD) of experienced school mentors and novice teachers. A multi-faced approach to leadership is proposed. Data regarding the perceptions of 241 final-year student teachers of their mentors’ collegial leadership competencies were collected using a questionnaire. The findings indicate the positive perceptions that the student teachers had of their mentors’ collegial leadership competencies. In the study reported on here, the focus was on the perceived characteristics of experienced school mentors to assist student teachers with work-integrated learning. The findings provide insights into enhancing the interpersonal collegial competencies of experienced school mentors to improve the school-work-integrated knowledge of student teachers.

The impact of using the modified Know-Want-Learn strategy in physics teaching on students’ metacognition

2023-03-24T04:12:38+00:00

To make it easier for students to learn the contents of physics and increase their motivation to learn, physics teachers need to apply different teaching strategies. With this study we aimed to examine the impact of the modified Know-Want-Learn (mKWL) strategy in physics teaching on elementary school students’ metacognition. The pedagogical experiment with parallel groups was applied to determine whether the mKWL strategy affected students’ metacognition. The students in the experimental group were taught by applying the mKWL strategy with a specific chart. The chart consisted of columns: T – What I think and what I know, Q – What questions I have, H – How can I find out, L – What I Learned (TQHL chart). The students in the control group were taught (the same physics curriculum) by using the traditional teaching model, without this TQHL chart. A questionnaire on metacognition was used for the evaluation of sixth-grade students’ metacognition. The statistical analysis of data included descriptive statistics, as well as paired sample t-tests and independent sample t-tests. Research results, based on the scores obtained using the questionnaire on metacognition, imply that the use of the proposed mKWL strategy increases students’ metacognition. Considering the positive effect of this teaching strategy on students’ metacognition, its further application in other teaching subjects is planned as well as the training of a large number of elementary school teachers for its application.

Exploring intervention of e-textbook in schools: Teachers’ perspectives

2023-03-24T04:15:13+00:00

As an innovative educational tool, e-textbooks has gained wide interest – especially with the growth of e-learning. As with any new technology, understanding how users adopt these technologies is still unclear. In the study reported on here we proposed a theoretical model shaping the determinants of teachers’ attitude toward e-textbooks. Specifically, we identified three contextualised factors (ease of use, usefulness, and concerns) as the factors of adopting e-textbooks. In addition, we examined teachers’ use of e-textbooks. A mixed-methods research design was used in which quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed. The results show that teachers held positive attitudes toward using e-textbooks in their teaching and used them as instructional aids. The results might inform education decision-makers who are planning to integrate e-textbooks into their schools in line with digital transformation and the knowledge society.

Philosophy of ubuntu and collaborative project-based learning in post-apartheid South Africa: A case study of underperforming learners at Hope Saturday school

2023-03-24T04:17:03+00:00

Utilising a qualitative case study, we set out to investigate how learners at Hope Saturday School evoked the principles of ubuntu/humanity as they collaborated during project-based learning. The article is part of a broader study in which a mix of semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, observations, document analysis and field notes were used to capture data. The learner participants were Black, and almost all of them resided in informal settlements, townships, and farming communities. Data were analysed using content analysis. The philosophy of ubuntu was used to underpin this study. The finding of this study shows that values like interdependence, sharing, caring, teamwork, solidarity, unity and helping one another were evoked as learners collaborated in project-based learning. The article concludes that a supportive environment that aids the development of ubuntu values can improve learning experiences of underperforming learners.

The relationship between school-related gender-based violence and absenteeism: Evidence from 14 Southern and Eastern African countries

2023-03-24T04:18:43+00:00

Children in sub-Saharan African countries face higher exposure to gender-based violence (GBV) compared to their counterparts in other world regions (United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF], 2014). When GBV occurs in schools, it severely endangers access to education. Using the third round of data of the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) from over 60,000 Grade 6 learners across 14 countries, we examined the relationship between GBV in primary schools and learners’ absenteeism. Findings indicate that sexual harassment perpetrated by teachers significantly increases learners’ absenteeism. In contrast, effects were less clear when the perpetrator was a fellow learner. Effects found are similar in magnitude for girls and boys. Violence prevention education programmes and stricter punishment for offenders are needed to establish a safer school environment and overcome harassment-related barriers to learning.