Faculty of Arts and Design

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Physical sciences teacher attributions to their pedagogical practice and how they influence their professional growth in Umzinyathi District Secondary Schools
(2023) Shumba, Christopher; Mukeredzi, Tabitha; Thamae, Mamothibe
Science subjects are critical for any country’s economy and South Africa is no exception. The MeerKAT radio station in the Northern Cape, Southern Africa Large Telescope in Sutherland, Northern Cape (largest optical telescope in the Southern hemisphere), and South African Laboratories for Accelerator Based Sciences in the Western Cape are clear testimony of Physical Sciences’ contribution to the South African economy. South Africa’s Department of Basic Education (2003) stresses that sciences not only prepare learners for economic activity, critical thinking, and problem solving, but also channel them towards applied sciences, medical and engineering fields (Collins and Calhoun 2014; Parker 2017). Thus, sciences set the precedence for success as a stepping stone into prestigious occupations. However, this may only happen if their teachers possess appropriate attributions. Attributions are key to classroom pedagogical practice and learner achievement as they influence teacher pedagogic strategies, choice of materials, content and learner activities. Literature abounds on Physical Sciences teachers, however, questions around their attributions to their pedagogies, have not been adequately investigated. Thus, developing an in-depth understanding of Physical Sciences teacher attributions to their pedagogical practice is vital. This study explored Grade 12 Physical Sciences teacher attributions to their pedagogical practices and how these attributions shape their professional growth. Through a multiple-site case study within an interpretive paradigm, data were generated from 16 purposively sampled Physical Sciences teachers in selected rural, township and urban secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal, UMzinyathi district, through face-to-face interviews, document reviews and lesson observations. Data were transcribed and manually analysed through an eight-step open coding process. Two theories – Weiner’s (2005) causal attribution theory and Bell and Gilbert’s (1996) Aspects of Professional Learning – enabled unpacking, understanding, and explaining the data. Findings indicate that Physical Sciences teachers attributed their pedagogical practices to both internal and external factors. The teachers attributed pedagogical practices to their internal, unstable and controllable attributions related to professional knowledge (pedagogical and subject content knowledge), which they could manipulate. External and uncontrollable attributions to their pedagogy related to learner ability, infrastructural and material under-resourcing (which forced them to ‘make-do’), learner attitudes and family background. Findings also revealed that Physical Sciences teacher attributions related to networking, improvisation and innovation influenced their professional growth in pedagogical knowledge and practices, pedagogical content knowledge, as well as context and curriculum knowledge. While the Physical Sciences teachers experienced professional growth, severe under-resourcing in rural schools studied limited their growth. Given the ‘make do’ frame of mind that teachers adopted, this has a bearing on the teaching and learning of Physical Sciences. This study suggests a need for resource support. In relation to the theoretical framework, Weiner’s Attribution theory and Bell and Gilbert’s Aspects of Professional Learning theory in combination make a useful lens to understand attributions to pedagogical practice and teacher professional growth. What I found was that attribution theory on its own was inadequate for understanding attributions and their influence on professional growth. I needed a theoretical way to understand, describe, and analyse data to establish how these attributions influence teacher professional growth. Consequently, Bell and Gilbert’s (1996) theory was adopted. This thesis, therefore, suggests a need for more comprehensive research into the nature of Physical Sciences teacher attributions in their pedagogy and their influence on professional growth, drawing on this combined framework and developing it further to determine its applicability beyond this particular inquiry.
Evolution in online learning : implications for South African higher educational institutions in post COVID-19
(Bussecon International Academy, 2024) Maome, Itumeleng Judith; Usadolo, Sam Erevbenagie; Mbinda, Bukelwa Bellinda
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift to online learning, leading to significant changes in higher education institutions in South Africa and across the world. The importance of online learning has increased, and institutions are now challenged with providing a high quality, adaptable, and accessible education in a digital setting. In order to fully embrace online teaching and learning, this demands institutions to make investments in digital infrastructure and reevaluate pedagogical practices. In this literature review paper, we use PRISMA methodology to examine the discipline of online teaching and learning, the strategies used by universities during the epidemic, and the online teaching and learning strategies used in the post pandemic period. We explore how the Covid-19 epidemic has altered the online learning environment in South African higher education institutions in the post pandemic period. The review results established that in order to provide high-quality education to students across the country, South African higher education institutions need to make a flexible and accessible education, rethink pedagogical methodologies, and implement best practices in online learning. We recommend that higher institutions, policymakers, and stakeholders must work together to ensure that online learning remains a viable and successful modality of instruction in the post-Covid-19 era.
Scaffolding preservice engineering graphics and design teachers’ interpretation ability of assembly drawing
(African Journals Online (AJOL), 2021) Singh-Pillay, A.; Sotsaka, D.
This study focuses on first-year Pre-service Engineering Graphics and Design teachers (PSEGDTs), as studies on the spatial-visual abilities of PSEGDTs is absent in mainstream spatial-visual literature. This paper reports on a teaching resource designed to support PSEDGTs' reading and interpreting AD. Data is presented in response to the following research questions, Does the comprehension of Assembly Drawing by PSEGDTs, alter after exposure to the teaching resource, if so how and, what contributed to the change? Twenty-one first-year PSEDGTs who participated in the authors' more extensive study were deliberately chosen to partake in this research. Individual interviews and focus group interviews were employed to develop data. Content analysis was embraced to elicit meaning from the data. The results highlight a significant improvement in most first-year PSEGDTs ability to read and interpret assembly drawings after the teaching resource. The research proposes an innovative strategy for teaching and learning of assembly drawing.

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