3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The impact of access to educational technology and educator’s attitudes towards educational technology on the use and integration of educational technology in South African schools.(2017) Daya, AvikaEducational Technology (ET) is fast becoming a part of South African classrooms. Educators play a major role in the effective and successful integration of this technology within the classroom. This study explores the relationship between educators’ level of access to ET, their attitudes towards ET and their use of ET for various teaching related purposes. The factors of perceived competence, cultural relevance and perceived usefulness are also explored. Roger’s Diffusion of Innovations Theory and Ajzen and Fishbein’s Theory of Reasoned Action and Theory of Planned Behaviour were used as the theoretical framework for this study. A convenience sample of 119 educators from various schools in Gauteng (both public and private) completed a questionnaire consisting of a demographics section, the Attitudes towards Computer Scale (ACTS) and the Information and Communication Technology Survey. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regressions. The study found that while educator’s attitudes towards ET are positive, levels of use and integration of more complex ET items are still low. Varying levels of access were recorded for different ET items at home and at school. Both, perceived usefulness and levels of access were found to be the most significant predictors of educators ET use and integration. These results are in keepings with both Roger’s Diffusion of Innovations Theory and Ajzen and Fishbein’s Theory of Reasoned Action and Theory of Planned Behaviour as attitudes were shown to predict use and integration of ET. This research has potential to contribute to teaching policy, practice and research in South African schoolsItem The impact of democracy on leadership and management styles in primary schools in the city of Johannesburg : a case study in the Gauteng Porvince of South Africa.(2014-01-07) Vergie, ClaudeThis study explored the impact of democracy on the leadership and management styles in two previously coloured primary schools in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province of South Africa. The report uses a case study as well as an interactive qualitative analysis research methodology. It explores how principals and educators use post-apartheid legislation policies and practices to address complex challenges in order to effect change. I argue that despite tensions between coloured and black educators, change is evident. The people learn to work together, respect each other and forge ahead. These challenges brought about by desegregation contribute to shaping a future non-racial, non-sexist South Africa. We see how mentalities of superiority and inferiority play itself out and how one group exercises its hegemony over another sometimes reflecting the social constructs of society during apartheid. The findings reveal that the Constitution of South Africa (1996) and the South African Schools Act (SASA) (1996) are not used sufficiently and substantively to influence change. Discretion and common sense are often used to resolve problems and to find each other. Desegregation and integration create a space where tolerance, acceptance and forgiveness have been able to be practiced in different ways. The leaders have worked with their staff, students and communities to make headway on the path from the received apartheid past to a brighter more integrated future.” While schools discuss embracing the ten fundamental values of the Constitution of South Africa, living up to them continues to remain a challenge in practice.