3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The 'social' in Piaget's genetic epistemology(2014-04-04) Court, JenniferIn opposition to the historically accepted view that Piaget failed to theorise the ‘social’ in his theory of cognitive development this research report shows that the ‘social’ is central to his genetic epistemology and that his conceptualisation of the ‘social’ has interesting implications for educational thinking. Specifically, the report shows that not only did Piaget include the social dimension in his genetic epistemology but that his understanding of the role of the ‘social’ in the development of cognition raises interesting possibilities for future psychological and educational research.Item A socio-cultural case study of a primary school system in Venda, South Africa.(2008-12-22T09:38:02Z) Muthivhi, Azwihangwisi EdwardThe present study examines the relationship between the practices of schooling and classroom teaching and learning on the one hand and learners’ cognitive development and functioning on the other. The study uses innovative system of ideas in developmental and educational psychology, originally formulated by Lev Vygotsky to investigate the interrelations between learning, instruction and development. Carried out in a rapidly changing socio-cultural context of Venda, South Africa, the study examines the realities of schooling practices that exhibit both continuity with the past practices of society and some profound transformations that together lead to a multi-dimensional and a complex picture of cognitive development in learners. By examining the relations between the cultural practices of schooling and its socio-historical context on the one hand, and the consequent psychological process on the other hand, the present study offers an opportunity for exploring processes that may be more opaque in relatively stable socio-cultural contexts of schooling. The observations on the history of schooling in South Africa in general, and in Venda in particular, support the theoretical formulation that particular practices of schooling, themselves originating from and continuing larger social-historical processes, represent contexts in which learning and development take place and are shaped. The empirical investigations revealed that even the socio-cultural contexts of schooling characterized by strong ruptures, such as in South Africa, nonetheless carry on some vestiges of their past practices that affect today’s learning and development of learners. The study concludes, extending the prevailing theoretical formulation, that the social and cultural setting of schooling in Venda is multifaceted; manifesting xvi. instances of indigenous practices, the traditions of past missionary practices, as well as the traditions of the past, apartheid schooling. By taking into account these socio-cultural influences, the study provides crucial insights into the regularities of cognitive and conceptual developmental processes taking place in conditions of rapid social change in the course of the schooling of today’s children in Venda. The study furthers our understanding about the regularities of the socio-cultural and historical processes of schooling in conditions of rapid social change, and concludes by proposing ways of improving contemporary educational practice in South Africa, grounded in sound psychological knowledge and research about school transformation and classroom teaching and learning improvement.Item Learning with/from others : teachers' perceptions of peer collaboration and group work in the OBE classroom.(2008-09-10T13:36:27Z) Byers, NicolePost 1994 the South African education system has focused on creating education for all under a single core syllabus. It also stressed the need for a shift from the traditional teacher-centred approach to a learner-centred approach. As a result, the shift was made from an aims-and-objectives education to Outcomes Based Education (OBE). OBE has placed a different set of demands on teachers and the way in which they assess. Specifically teachers are required to use peer collaboration to bring about learning and simultaneously assess that learning has transpired. However, many teachers are left feeling uncertain about the efficacy of OBE. This report reviews the relevant literature as well as theories needed to understand the process learning. The objective of this research report is to establish teacher’s current perceptions are of OBE. More so, the research aimed to ascertain how useful peer collaboration is in facilitating learning. The results from this study show that teachers are uncertain about the efficacy of OBE. Although a significant number of teachers strongly agree with the underlying principles of OBE they feel that implementation as intended by policy makers is idealistic. Furthermore, they are conflicted about the notion that peer collaboration can sufficiently facilitate learning. Lastly, the findings of this study suggest that in implementing peer collaboration successfully, tenets from social psychology such as group dynamics need to be considered.