Schools In Gauteng Research Articles

Language matters in rural schools in South Africa: are educators making the implementation of the Language in Education Policy (1997) work?

In July 1997, the Language-in-Education Policy (LiEP) was introduced in South Africa. While the intention of this policy was to promote all 11 official languages and give individuals the right to choose the language of learning and teaching, the practical implementation has generally been fraught with challenges. However, language policy implementation cannot be understood apart from its social context or apart from the history which produced that context, as is apparent from our study of rural farm schools in Gauteng. Drawn from a larger study, this article examines the responses of teachers to the implementation of the LiEP in rural schools. It examines how teachers on rural commercial farm schools respond to the LiEP and its implementation and considers some of the concerns and challenges experienced. From the data it can be deduced that no fundamental change has taken place in the rural context to embrace the elements of the new language policy. However, in the rural context, Afrikaans has been dropped by the three schools in the study in favour of isiZulu. In School 4 Afrikaans continues to dominate as a Language of Teaching and Learning and no African languages are offered as subjects. It can be suggested that it is the isolation of rural schools that perpetuates the existence of pre-1994 language policies.

Exploring the origins of burnout among secondary educators

Orientation: Maslach and Leiter (1997) have suggested that burnout constitutes an erosion of the soul. Burnout is a non-discriminatory phenomenon with a pronounced negative impact on the individual employee and the organisation and is particularly prevalent among educators.Research purpose: This study aimed to explore the probable reasons for burnout among secondary educators. Study motivation: Several South African studies have focused on the phenomenon of burnout among educators but the probable reasons for burnout in this population have not yet received adequate attention. This study extended earlier international research that probed this facet.Research design, approach and method: A mixed-methods design with a predominantly qualitative methodology was employed to explore the probable reasons for burnout among 59 educators from three urban secondary schools in Gauteng, South Africa. Data comprised Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey protocols and rich data work descriptions. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the f ve participants who tested highest on the burnout indicators.Main findings: The results indicated that a negative learner profile and workload were the most frequently cited reasons for potential burnout.Practical/managerial implications: Burnout requires considered attention and aggressive context-specific intervention to contain its negative impact on both the educator and the student learning experience.

South African Teachers' Experiences of Children in their Classrooms who may have ADHD

This study focused on understanding and explaining how teachers experience children in their classrooms who may have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The study was a qualitative study in which 17 teachers from three different schools in Gauteng, South Africa, were interviewed. Content theme analysis was conducted on the textual data. Findings from the study indicate that (1) the teachers kept children who might have ADHD busy with different activities in order to manage their classrooms more effectively, (2) the teachers believed that children who might have ADHD challenged them, and (3) the teachers believed that they needed to share information with other teachers on how to manage and support children who might have ADHD and also that they needed outside assistance from a specialist. The study points to the complex experiences of teachers who have to deal with children with ADHD in their classrooms and recommends increased collaboration between professionals and teachers.

The Relationship between Senior South African Individual Scale — Revised (SSAIS-R) Subtests and Reading Ability

In this paper we discuss the results of a study that identified the relationships between different cognitive functions, as measured by selected subtests of the Senior South African Individual Scale — Revised (SSAIS-R) and the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability — Revised (Neale). The SSAIS-R subtests included Vocabulary, Similarities, Story Memory, and Coding. The Neale assesses three different components of reading, namely, rate, accuracy, and comprehension. The sample consisted of 32 Grade 2 boys attending an English-medium, private school in Gauteng and a matched group of girls attending the sister school. Moderate, significant correlations were found between the Vocabulary and Similarities subtests and components of the Neale for both girls and boys. The Story Memory subtest was correlated with components of the Neale for the girls sample only, while no significant relationship was found between the Coding subtest and any aspects of reading for either gender group. The boys scored significantly higher than the girls on the Vocabulary and Similarities subtests, as well as on the reading comprehension component of the Neale, while the girls scored significantly higher on the non-verbal Coding subtest. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Physical education: A qualitative study of grade 10 learners' perceptions

Modern sedentary lifestyles, an increase in the consumption of nutrient dense foods and declining levels of participation in physical activity progressing from childhood to adulthood have been implicated in the occurrence of many hypokinetic diseases including obesity and coronary artery disease (CAD). Despite this quality health and physical education (PE) programmes are not employed as a proactive preventative measure to address this issue. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate, using qualitative methods, the perceptions of grade 10 learners with regard to PE at schools and make recommendations thereon. Informal focus group interviews were conducted with 68 Grade 10 learners (n = 39 males and 29 females) from different high schools in Gauteng, South Africa. The interviews were conducted outside the formal classroom situation and PE lesson to access information regarding the perceptions of learners with regard to physical education (PE). Several underlying themes which included value, enjoyment, support, preferred PE activities and obstacles to involvement in physical activity emerged from the study. The descriptive information demonstrated that future physical education educators should be adequately prepared to guide their learners in the process of becoming physically active and healthy for a lifetime by focusing on lifetime activities and health-enhancing behaviors linked to health concepts and skills such as healthy eating, safety and stress management with less emphasis on athletic skills. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation & Dance Vol. 13 (2) 2007: pp. 184-195

An Investigation into Mathematics for Teaching: Insights from a case

This paper reports on a study that investigated the kind of mathematical work a specific teacher does as he goes about his teaching. The study involved the pedagogic practice of one teacher teaching linear functions to his class of grade 10 learners in a secondary school in Gauteng, South Africa. Drawing on a theory of pedagogic discourse, we worked from the assumption that pedagogic judgement is a necessary element of pedagogic communication, operationalised through evaluation (in the broad sense), and requiring appeals to some or other ground to substantiate meaning. We studied ‘evaluative events’ in this practice, and the kinds of appeals made by the teacher over time. We argue that these provide for a systematic description of mathematics for teaching in use in this practice. Implications for developing our understanding of the specificity of mathematics used in teaching are drawn, as well as for mathematics teacher education in a context of curriculum change.

A decade of entrepreneurship education in South Africa

To realise the ideal of a better life for all South Africans, the entrepreneurial energies of all our people (including children) should be harnessed to ensure that the country's full potential for economic growth is unleashed. This article describes some initiatives taken by roleplayers in both the private sector and the educational sector to engage in entrepreneurship education in South Africa over the past 10 years. Special emphasis is placed on a research project in Gauteng schools on the implementation of a pilot core syllabus for entrepreneurship and economic education for pupils in the intermediate school phase. This programme entailed the training of teachers, and the modification of the pilot syllabus. The perceptions of pupils who have recently been exposed to entrepreneurship education in Curriculum 2005 are also offered.

Exploring educator competence in teaching environmental education in schools in Gauteng

There is an abundance of research in support of interdisciplinary approaches to teaching Environmental Education (EE). Research has also supported the use of a holistic and systemic approach to the teaching and learning of environmental content. Curriculum planning in South Africa has followed a cross curricular approach to teaching Environmental Education whereby EE is infused across all Learning Areas in the Senior Phase. This is done with an assumption that, irrespective of their fields of speciality, teachers have been equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to teach Environmental Education effectively. This article explores educator competencies in teaching EE in accordance with the expectations outlined in the National Curriculum Statement. A quantitative study was undertaken to determine the nature of knowledge, skills and attitudes that teachers are currently equipped with to be able to teach EE holistically and systemically. The findings of this investigation emphasise the need to empower teachers with in-depth knowledge of EE so as to be able to teach it in an integrated manner.