3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Inclusive education through the eyes of South African teachers.(2018) Mbatha Stainbank, YolandaThis study explored the attitudes of teachers in three types of South African schools (Mainstream, Full-service, and Special school) towards inclusive education in relation to the support that they are receiving in the implementation of inclusive education in their respective schools. Participants in this study were selected purposively from mainstream, full-service, and special schools within the Johannesburg South district. Data in the research was collected through individual teacher interviews. Data obtained was interpreted using qualitative methods. Participants were coded (in relation to the type of school they are from) in order to ensure anonymity in the results. Data was analyzed using Thematic Content Analysis. Thematic Content Analysis allowed the researcher to descriptively identify, analysis, and report themes. It involved the identifying of common themes throughout the text which describes significant aspects of the data in relation to the research question. The computer programme ATLAS was used in order to assist with the Thematic Analysis. Following the analysis of data, it was found that the attitudes of mainstream and full-service teachers towards inclusive education are mostly negative in comparison to that of teachers in special schools as a result of the discrepancies in the level of support each teacher receives to implement inclusive education (depending on the type of school they are in). The former has implications in terms of how effectively inclusive education is implemented in all schools in South Africa because in accordance to this study's findings support for teachers should not be based on only the type of school teachers are in but also the type of support teachers needs individually. Also, it was found that the ideals of inclusive education is not fully accepted by all stakeholders (more specifically the different units within the district) within the education department and this has influenced how teachers view the relevance of inclusive education policies. Considering the finding of the study, an exploration of how all stakeholders in the education system view and practice the policy of inclusive education is seemingly required in future research to better understand the state in which inclusive education is currently progressing in South Africa. Furthermore, due to teachers being major stakeholders in the implementation of inclusive education, it is important that continuous exploration of their attitudes and that which may influence their attitude towards inclusive education is done. Consequently, issues such as discrepancies in support towards teachers due to differences in types of school need to be further investigated.Item Teachers' approaches to teaching Patrick Flanery's novel Absolution to Grade 12 learners at two IEB schools in Johannesburg(2017) Pooley, Megan LisaAs a prescribed Grade 12 IEB (Independent Exams Board) English Home Language (HL) text, Absolution written by Patrick Flanery (2012) has proven to be a very difficult text to teach. It is for this reason that I have chosen to conduct research into the various ways that Grade 12 teachers have approached the teaching of this novel. In my experience as a Grade 12 English teacher my engagement with a vast variety of IEB prescribed English texts has been wholly accessible to learners and teachers, offering complete engagement and understanding of the various concepts explored within each text. As IEB (Independent Exams Board) prescribed English texts remain prescribed for the duration of two years, each year provides an opportunity to further develop my experience in conveying the nuances relating to theme, character and style. In my experience, such a process has always been achievable, satisfying and highly rewarding; however the option to select Absolution as the Grade 12 English Home Language set text for 2015 and 2016 presented challenges due to the complexities of both style and content inherent in this text. The unusually dense nature of this text has made it extremely difficult for Grade 12 learners to engage with the novel in a profound way. It is for this reason that I would like to conduct research into the methods and underlying models for teaching literature that IEB English teachers have used when approaching the teaching of this specific text in their Grade 12 English classrooms. Drawing on the models for teaching literature as first proposed by Ronald Carter and Michael Long (1991) as well as Gillian Lazar (1993), various teacher approaches will be investigated. Using a qualitative method of research, questionnaires were completed by two teachers from an independent school for girls and three teachers from an independent school for boys. Focused group interviews were conducted with one teacher from each of the schools as a way of clarifying certain responses to the questionnaire that was initially completed. Careful analysis of the data provided through both the questionnaire and the focused group interview, led to the conclusion that understanding literary theory as well as the context in which the novel is set is fundamental in allowing for an intensive study of the novel as well as a clear understanding of the nuances contained within the novel.