1,720,958 research outputs found
The influence of educators' life experiences on classroom discipline practices
Full text linkThesis (PhD (Education Management, Law and Policy))--University of Pretoria, 2008.The primary purpose of this study was to investigate how the life experiences of educators impact upon classroom discipline. The study considered the present situation regarding classroom discipline practice. As circuit manager directly involved with schools I was concerned to see that there were dysfunctional schools in my area because of the failure to manage classroom discipline effectively. The findings of the study indicate that classroom discipline practices can be improved if we understand the life experiences of educators. A qualitative narrative approach was applied and narrative interviews, observation and lived stories of educators were used to gather data from nine participants. All these educators were drawn from one circuit in the Nkangala Department of Education, a region in Mpumalanga Province, and are teaching in secondary schools. Purposive sampling was used to select the nine participants; all were prepared to share their lived experiences and ultimately, data analysis provided cogent answers to the research hypothesis. The research focused on issues such as recent South African studies conducted on discipline and corporal punishment, theories of discipline, how lived experiences impact on current behaviour. From what I have observed and heard, it has become clear, as is set out in this thesis, that the classroom discipline practices implemented by educators are indeed influenced by their own classroom experiences when they themselves were learners.Education Management and Policy Studiesunrestricte
Utilizing Blended Learning to Mitigate the Challenges Brought by Natural Disasters in South African Schools
Full text linkThis study investigated the potential benefits and challenges associated with the implementation of blended learning as a strategy for curriculum recovery and enhancement of student performance in Grade 12 science and mathematics education. Blended learning, which combines traditional face-to-face teaching methods with online learning, was recognized for its capacity to address educational difficulties. The research employed a theoretical framework integrating the Technology Acceptance Model and Sociocultural Constructivism theory to examine the viewpoints of teachers regarding technology adoption and the impact of personal and social interactions on learning outcomes. A qualitative interpretive case study design was employed, and interviews were carried out with four science and mathematics teachers. The findings revealed that teachers acknowledged the advantages of blended learning, including its potential to overcome barriers to learning and augment student engagement. However, external challenges about technology infrastructure, limitations of online platforms, and the necessity for professional development were identified. Teachers displayed varying levels of internal challenges, including familiarity and confidence in implementing blended learning. The study underscored the importance of continuous support, infrastructure development, and pedagogical training to effectively integrate blended learning into science and mathematics classrooms. Therefore, by addressing these challenges and capitalizing on the benefits of blended learning, the potential for improving curriculum recovery and enhancing student performance in the face of disruptions caused by natural disasters and other educational obstacles was emphasized
Professional development program for natural science teachers
No full textInstitute for Science and Technology Education (ISTE
Women principals’ reflections of curriculum management challenges in rural South African schools
No full textThis article reports on data from a qualitative study which explored the reflections of South African primary school principals and the challenges they encountered when implementing and managing the curriculum.Constantly changing educational processes put a great deal of pressure on primary school principals. This study reports the reflections of grade 6 rural primary principals in Mpumalanga province. A qualitative method of inquiry was used in this article, where data were collected using individual interviews with three principals and focus group discussions with the school management teams (SMTs) of three primary schools. The findings show that the techniques used to administer the Annual National Assessments (ANAs) are problematic; the timing of administering the ANAs poses a challenge to principals, as the national guidelines indicating which aspects need to be covered by the ANAs are not distributed to schools. The findings imply a need for greater capacity building amongst principals,as well as further research into continuous curriculum changes in the South African education system.Keywords: Annual National Assessments, management styles, rural primary schools, transformational leadership,women manager
Science beyond the Classrooms and Laboratories: An ODL Approach
No full textTo many, the teaching and learning of science is only achievable in the classroom and the laboratory in some cases. This notion has made many school learners and educators to abandon the teaching and learning of science or doing it haphazardly complaining that they lack the material and human resources. This paper examined the teaching of Saponification reactions in Organic Chemistry to undergraduates using special ODL strategies outside the classroom and organised laboratories. The strategies used are Skype technology and animation. The teaching involved both theory and practice and on evaluation, the learners proved to be as competent as if they taught in contact sessions. The study showed that sciences such as life science, physical science and related disciplines can be effectively taught and learnt through the ODL approach in schools, particularly at the University level
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Rationales for engaged scholarship projects in one college at a distance institution
No full textThis article aimed to explore engaged scholarship project leaders’ rationales for starting their engaged scholarship project in communities. Community engagement (or engaged scholarship) has become a required part of the academia and increasingly becoming a scholarly endeavor. Academics in the education faculty at one university in South Africa were asked to voluntarily participate in a study exploring their rationales for starting their engaged scholarship projects. Semi-structured interviews were held with project leaders. Responses indicated four factors in rationales, firstly, the context selected for project were closely linked to project leader’s early experiences in education, secondly, project leaders selected subjects that were known for being problematic to teach, thirdly, the challenges within the context motivated project leaders to become involved and lastly, project leaders indicated that their motivation to remain involved in the project stemmed from wanting to develop the project further. The study was limited to project leaders in one faculty and only focused on rationales. Engaged scholarship projects are closely intertwined with personal backgrounds. It is recommended that community engagement project leaders reflect on their rationales to build more robust projects
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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