1,720,968 research outputs found
An exploration of grade 4 teachers' understanding and practice of formative assessment in Mathematics
No full textA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Education, In the Faculty of Humanities, Wits School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024This qualitative case study examined grade 4 teachers' understanding and implementation of formative assessment in mathematics at a South African private school. The study employed semi-structured interviews with three teachers and observations of nine lessons to develop insights into how educators conceptualize and apply formative assessment strategies. Thematic analysis revealed that while teachers demonstrated strong theoretical knowledge of formative assessment during interviews, classroom practices showed inconsistencies and missed opportunities for effective integration. Key findings indicated gaps in translating conceptual understanding into consistent, high-quality formative routines. Instruction often conflated formative and summative purposes, with an over-reliance on teacher judgments rather than eliciting student thinking. Despite recognizing the value of descriptive feedback, crucial opportunities were missed to provide specific guidance to advance learners' mathematical comprehension. Challenges in implementing formative assessment stemmed from time constraints, difficulties managing differentiation, and determining appropriate pedagogical responses based on assessment insights. The overarching issue was the struggle to operationalize theoretical understanding into routines that unveil and responsively scaffold students' emerging mathematical proficiencies. The study highlights the need for ongoing professional development, collaborative planning, and coaching to bridge the theory-practice divide. Leveraging technology and resources could alleviate logistical constraints. Recommendations aim to foster a culture of continuous learning and responsiveness to students' evolving needs. Effective formative assessment has the potential to enhance engagement, conceptual understanding, and achievement in mathematics.MM202
Exploring students experiences of receiving e-formative feedback during emergency remote learning: A case study of first-year students at a teacher education university in South Africa
No full textA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy, In the Faculty of Humanities, Wits School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated an abrupt transition to Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERT&L) across the higher education landscape globally, including teacher education programs in South Africa. This seismic shift profoundly disrupted conventional assessment approaches dependent on face-to-face teaching and continuous formative assessments. Consequently, instructors were compelled to reconceptualise formative assessment for the realities of remote learning, adopting digital tools to administer e-assessments and provide e-formative feedback. Concurrently, first- year student teachers faced monumental challenges accessing and productively responding to digitally-mediated formative feedback amidst the isolating remote context lacking traditional supports. Against this backdrop, this qualitative case study explored the lived experiences of thirty- six first-year Bachelor of Education students receiving e-formative feedback through a university’s Canvas Learning Management System during ERT&L conditions in South Africa. Framed by an interpretive paradigm combining Social Constructivist, Feedback Intervention, and Feedback Design theoretical tenets, the study aimed to explore how students perceived and engaged with e-formative feedback to facilitate their self- regulated remote learning. Through Thematic Analysis of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, findings unveiled diverse student realities shaped by multifaceted technological, cognitive, and motivational barriers. Prominent obstacles included lack of digital access, connectivity issues, deficient computer literacy skills, and unfamiliar vocabulary – factors impeding feedback reception. Moreover, untimely and unspecific feedback further undermined its value, with many students prioritising marks over substantive comments. Ultimately, suboptimal design coupled with insufficient feedback literacy and self-regulation capacities among this vulnerable population severely constrained productive feedback engagement and autonomous learning progress during the emergency transition. This study’s findings highlight the need for reconceptualised e-formative feedback approaches that holistically account for technological equity gaps, targeted skills development, and psychosocial support mechanisms to foster meaningful feedback utilisation during disruptions. Crucially, it calls for elevating student voices to better understand their contextualised needs, informing responsive interventions. Emergent insights illuminate opportunities to enhance digital feedback literacy, diversify feedback modes, accelerate feedback turnaround, and nurture conducive ecosystems where first- year students thrive as empowered, self-regulating learners even amid crises. Such learner-centric innovations have lasting relevance for optimising equitable, sustainable assessment design across evolving educational futures.MM202
Empowering through feedback: Economics teachers\u27 motivations for assessment practices in public schools
Full text linkResearch on assessment feedback practices in economics education within South African public schools has been limited, particularly in terms of teachers\u27 motivations and approaches. This study addresses this gap by exploring the reasons and motivations behind Grade 10-12 Economics teachers\u27 use of assessment feedback in three public schools in South Africa. A qualitative case study design was employed, involving three teachers at different career stages. Data was collected through semi-structured individual interviews and document analysis of feedback samples. Thematic analysis, informed by the concept of feedback literacy, was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed two primary motivations: using assessment feedback for academic growth and providing feedback for real-world application. Teachers viewed feedback as a crucial tool for enhancing students\u27 understanding of economic concepts and preparing them for future academic and professional challenges. The study concludes that teachers\u27 feedback practices align with contemporary educational theories and demonstrate a commitment to contextualising economics education within the South African environment. Recommendations include implementing targeted professional development programs to enhance feedback literacy, revising curricula to incorporate opportunities for meaningful feedback, and conducting further research across diverse educational contexts. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of assessment practices in Economics education and has implications for teacher professional development and curriculum design in South African public schools, ultimately aiming to develop economically literate and critically engaged citizens
Gender representation in four SADC high school Business Studies textbooks.
Full text linkDoctor of Philosophy in Social Science Education. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2017.This study assumes that text – the printed word and visual representations – is never neutral; it is always embedded with ideological representations. Textbooks, which are the dominant defining authorities of the curriculum in schools, can therefore be regarded as a key contributor to the curriculum as a site of ideological struggle. Significantly, there may be limited understanding among educators and educational authorities of the ideological nature of the contents of textbooks. As instruments of socialisation, textbooks are important vehicles in the construction of beliefs and attitudes about gender that may not be immediately apparent to the untrained eye.
The purpose of this study is to understand the way in which gender is represented in four Business Studies textbooks selected from countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and to theorise their particular representation. More specifically, the focus of this study is to understand how gender is represented in the four SADC textbooks and to develop a theoretical explanation for how the phenomenon presents. This qualitative study is located in the critical paradigm and engages the tenets of feminist critical discourse analysis as the key analytical frame.
The purposive sample comprised four contemporary Business Studies textbooks from the last phase of schooling preceding tertiary education. Feminist poststructuralist theory was used in order to examine gender representation in the selected textbooks. Both semiotic and textual representations were examined.
The findings reveal that the representations of women and men in these textbooks are indeed ideologically invested and contribute to the perpetuation of patriarchal constructions. At a semantic level, the mention of the male pronoun first in sentences and conversation and not the female pronoun endorses the principle of the firstness and superiority of the masculine. In terms of representation, intersectionality of race, gender and disability is pervasive in the four textbooks. This reinforces the ideology of the able-bodied, heterosexually masculine and white person as the norm for entrepreneurial success. Management, leadership and entrepreneurial knowledge are scripted almost exclusively in favour of the male gender. Representations related to sexual diversity are also absent, thereby endorsing a construct of the idealised businessperson as a white, heterosexual, able-bodied male, excluding females, those of another race or gender, and the disabled.
In terms of ‘ideal’ business personality traits, women and others are constructed as relatively incompetent and dependant, while men are portrayed as assertive and forthright. Gender and race bias in occupational roles and careers is also evident in the texts, with women and ‘others’ shown in low-paid occupations or domestic settings, whereas white men are shown in high-paying, high-status, technological occupations, and are mostly absent from domestic settings.
The four textbooks promoted Western ideals in which the Western male white canons were reinforced as the norm for business success. These Western ideals are responsible for the different manifestations of marginalisation stereotyping, silencing and limited representation of women and minorities in exceptional roles. This may not be done intentionally – textbook knowledge appears to be constructed ‘unconsciously’ or in ways that reflect oblivion to institutionalised prejudice.
The implication of these findings is that development of a more gender-inclusive curriculum is needed, where there is not only representation of the idealised businessperson as a white, heterosexual male. This research suggests that teachers, pre-service teachers and learners may need to engage with the textbooks critically and examine how particular texts are written and why they are written in particular ways.
Teachers, pre-service teachers and learners are encouraged to interrogate textbook content. There is also a need for textbook writers to question their own ideological assumptions of gender. This demands a robust introspection of possible stereotypes and uncritical assimilation of regressive gender ideologies that may be perpetuated. It is only by reflecting on and reworking oppressive gender norms, that a gender-inclusive curriculum might be contemplated
Gender representation in contemporary Grade 10 Business Studies textbooks.
Full text linkThesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.Since 2009 the textbook has emerged as a key educational resource in South African classrooms. This has been a direct response to rapid curriculum change, and real and perceived inadequacies in teacher content and pedagogic knowledge. Of significance though is that there is limited understanding of the nature of content selections that textbook authors invoke and the subtext thereof. The purpose of this study therefore is to understand how gender is represented in Business Studies textbooks available to teachers and pupils in the Further Education and Training (FET) band in South African classrooms. This qualitative study is located in the critical paradigm and engaged the tenets of Critical Discourse Analysis as the key analytical frame. A purposive sample of two contemporary Business Studies textbooks was selected to investigate the phenomenon of gender representation.
Findings reveal that stereotypes of women and men are reinforced in the selected textbooks under study. Women were shown more frequently in home settings than were men. Men were shown in a wider variety of occupational roles than women. Textbooks portrayed men in a wide range of highly-paid, high-status occupations such as managing directors, doctors, lawyers etc. In both texts more males have been represented in leadership positions in government, economic and corporate institutions. The textbooks further represented women as being disabled and destitute. Males were portrayed as confident and educated in the usage of technology while women were portrayed as illiterate. Additionally men were portrayed as assertive and forthright business individuals, while women were also portrayed as emotional and as more reliant on, or needing, the advice of men to deal with business-related issues. Finally, the portrayal of firstness presented the male pronoun first in sentences and conversation as opposed to the female pronoun. The findings indicate that representations in the textbooks are gender-biased and gender-insensitive. Of concern is that these representations may be transmitted to school learners. A critical approach to the selection and use of textbooks is thus necessary. Much work needs to be done by key role players in the educational sectors to ensure that gender inclusivity becomes a feature of South African Business Studies textbooks
Navigating challenges and crafting solutions: Implementing CAPS for grade 7 natural sciences in rural South African schools
Full text linkThis qualitative study explores the implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for Grade 7 Natural Sciences in two rural schools in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The researcher uses semi-structured interviews and classroom observations with six teachers to investigate the challenges and adaptations in CAPS implementation within resource-constrained environments. The study reveals significant hurdles, including severe resource limitations, language barriers, and assessment difficulties. The findings highlight teachers\u27 remarkable creativity in adapting CAPS to rural contexts by using locally available materials and innovative teaching strategies. However, these adaptations often fall short of fully meeting curriculum requirements, which could potentially widen the educational gap between rural and urban learners. The study emphasises the need for context-specific professional development, flexible assessment guidelines, and tailored resources to support effective CAPS implementation in rural settings. It argues for a more nuanced approach to curriculum design and implementation that takes into consideration the unique socio-cultural and resource contexts of rural schools. This research contributes to our understanding of curriculum implementation in challenging contexts and provides insights for improving science education in rural South Africa
Student experiences with formative assessment feedback in one public university: from COVID-19 lockdown in 2021 to the new normal in 2024
Full text linkFirst-year university students continue to face challenges in adapting to evolving formative assessment practices, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined the evolution of first-year student experiences with formative assessment feedback from the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2021 to the new normal in 2024 at one selected public university in South Africa. Using a mixed-methods comparative case study design, the research involved 200 first-year undergraduate students (100 from each cohort) who completed the Formative Assessment Feedback Questionnaire (FAFQ), with 40 students participating in follow-up interviews. Quantitative findings revealed statistically significant differences between cohorts across all components of feedback experience (p<0.001), with the 2024 cohort reporting higher mean scores in Feedback Delivery, Engagement, Application, and Satisfaction. Factor analysis identified these four components as explaining 42.186% of the cumulative variance in feedback experience. Qualitative analysis highlighted a shift from predominantly text-based feedback in 2021 to diverse, multi-modal approaches in 2024, including video and audio feedback. The 2024 cohort reported enhanced interactivity and personalization in feedback practices, improved feedback literacy, and better integration of technology through AI-assisted feedback and learning management systems. However, some students reported feeling overwhelmed by the diversity of feedback methods and experienced technical challenges. The study concludes that while there has been a significant positive evolution in student experiences with formative assessment feedback from 2021 to 2024, continued support is needed to help first-year students adapt to these new practices. Universities should maintain investment in diverse, interactive, and technology-enhanced feedback methods while supporting feedback literacy development among students and instructors
Challenges in providing feedback to grade 4 second language learners: A case study of English teachers in Gauteng’s public primary schools
Full text linkThis qualitative research article examines the challenges faced by English teachers in providing effective feedback to Grade 4 second language learners within public primary schools in Gauteng, South Africa. The study aims to inform and enhance feedback practices in multilingual educational settings by exploring the real-life experiences of English teachers. Specifically, the research focuses on understanding the challenges encountered by teachers in their role of providing feedback to second language learners transitioning to English as the medium of instruction. The study adopts an interpretivist paradigm and utilizes thematic analysis to analyze the perspectives of four English teachers from two distinct public primary schools within Gauteng. Participants were purposively selected, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. Thematic analysis was employed to identify recurring themes and patterns within the data generated from the participants\u27 responses. The findings reveal several challenges teachers face, including significant time constraints, diverse language proficiency levels within classrooms, and limited resources for providing effective feedback. The study is framed by Vygotsky\u27s sociocultural theory and Hattie and Timperley\u27s model of feedback, providing a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding the complexities of feedback provision in this context. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on feedback practices in multilingual classrooms and offers insights for policymakers, school administrators, and teacher educators on improving feedback strategies for second language learners in South African primary schools
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
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