Faculty of Arts and Design
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Item 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, MamothibeScience 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.Item 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 BellindaThe 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.Item 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.Item Student evaluations of teaching as a tool for making summative personnel decisions at a tertiary institution(2000) Harrison, Janet Elizabeth; Prosser, Julia JudithA random sample of learners and educators, at a Technikon, was surveyed with regard to the teaching behaviours that most contributed to effective learning. Variables included in the survey were identified by a focus group of educators and learners who negotiated the content of the survey questionnaire over a six-week period. This methodology ensured that learners were able to voice their interests in what should be assessed in a summative learner evaluation of teaching. Educator opinion on what feedback they would be prepared to receive from learners was a necessary touchstone to ensure compliance with legislative and administrative requirements for good practice in performance appraisal. Educators and learners agreed on thirteen of fourteen significant educator behaviours which learners felt contributed to effective learning. These findings suggest that a) learners and educators may not be as dissimilar in their teaching and learning agendas as previously thought and b) that participant meanings regarding teaching and learning practice may playa large role in defining teaching competence. Supervisor: MRS J. PROSSER Department of EducationItem An evaluation of the suitability of the course Communication Skills 1, for engineering students at technikons in Natal(1997) Narsee, Sheila Devkaran; Dobie, B. A.The title of this research dissertation includes the appellation 'Natal'. Since the work began in 1989, the name of that province has officially become 'KwaZulu-Natal'. However, the previous designation has largely been used interchangeably with the present one, mainly because the course evaluated was and has been identified with Natal. This research was inspired by the assumption that the Communication Skills I course presently being offered to engineering students at technikons in South Africa did not appear to satisfy the workplace needs (in terms of content and time) of the engineering industry. This assumption arose out of a pilot study undertaken by the writer in 1989. In this pilot study, engineering companies were visited, and interviews were held with managers/directors/training managers, to ascertain the communication skills requirements of engineering technicians in the workplace. Many criticisms were made regarding the communication competency of engineering technicians in the workplace. According to the findings of the pilot study, engineering practitioners hold the view that the literacy skill demands of jobs are increasing while the basic skills of the available workforce, eg. reading, writing and speaking are decreasing. Employers expressed concern with the large numbers of workers who lack such skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing and thinking, and believe that this limits their chances of upward mobility in the workplace as well as their ability to adapt to workplace changes. All these factors, according to employers, have a negative impact on productivity levels. It was, as a result of the pilot study, suggested that engineering curricula, specifically the Communication Skills I course, should be fully evaluated to see to what extent they meet the workplace requirements of industry. What seems important is that the engineering technician should practise what has been learned and for the lecturer/instructor to bring practitioners and the workplace experiences into the classroom.