Wits School of Education (ETDs)

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    Investigating practising teachers’ willingness to teach genetics with the use of ICT
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Khanye, Mapaseka; Kavai, Portia
    This study aimed to investigate practising teachers’ willingness to teach the topic of genetics with the use of ICT. I wanted to find out if teachers consider themselves sufficiently prepared to use ICT in the classroom. The motivation for investigating practising teachers’ willingness to teach the topic of genetics with the use of ICT was to determine whether teachers appreciate the value of ICT and its relevance in the classroom. If teachers do not see the value and relevance of ICT in education, hopefully, this study will help the Department of Education in facilitating a better alignment between research and practice and provide training that will adequately train and prepare teachers for the use of ICT. The Department of Education supports the use of ICT in classrooms and this is also part of the current international drive for education. Data was collected through interviews and classroom observations. There were four participant teachers within the age range of 25- 50 years category; two participants were female and the other two were males. Participants had to teach grade 12 Life Sciences as a subject for them to be part of this study. Findings show that teachers in my study, both males and females, were willing to teach the topic of genetics with the use of ICT. However, only one teacher considered himself sufficiently prepared to teach with ICT. The study showed that although the other three teachers valued and appreciated ICT in the classroom, they still needed further training on how to incorporate ICT in their lessons. Findings also showed that teachers faced several challenges when using ICT. Issues such as load shedding and the internet either being slow or expensive are some of the cited challenges. The study recommends that during in-service workshops, teachers need to be provided with proper and adequate information about the function, usage and benefits of ICT. In addition, there is a need for the Department of Education to start investing and providing schools with backup generators so that lessons are not disturbed due to load shedding. Finally, free data or the internet needs to be made available and accessible so that teachers and learners may be able to view pre-recorded video lessons and access learning materials such as past question papers from various reputable websites.
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    Teachers’ understanding of advantages and disadvantages of implementing inclusive education in one selected mainstream primary school in Ekurhuleni South district
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Makama, Bathobile; Aloka, Peter
    Inclusive education was set to bring about change that has yet to be effective in the field. Many South African policies were created to guide it, but the contradiction has left many confused and teachers at the forefront with no support. This study aimed to investigate teachers’ understanding of advantages and disadvantages of implementing inclusive education in one selected mainstream primary school in Ekurhuleni South district. To achieve this goal, three research objectives were set to govern the study, namely: to explore teachers’ understanding of inclusive education in the selected mainstream primary school; to examine teachers’ understanding of the advantages of implementing inclusive education in the selected mainstream primary school and finally, to explore teachers’ understanding of the disadvantages of implementing inclusive education in the selected mainstream primary school. This study used the interpretive research paradigm. The design that was used in this study is a case study because it dealt with contemporary phenomena. The sample size of 7 teachers allocated to the intermediate phase from Grade 4- 7 were obtained by using the purposive sampling method. The research instruments adopted comprised of a semi-structured interview for three teachers and one focus group discussion for the other four teachers. The data was analysed by employing a thematic analysis framework to enable analysis of interview data. The findings of the study indicated that teachers have multiple understandings of what inclusive education such as; holistic teaching, team teaching, effective communication and understanding, accommodation of diverse learners, creation of special schools for learners with disabilities and dumb down content for support. The findings of the study also reported teachers understanding of advantages of inclusive education as; caters for diverse needs of all learners, enhances intrapersonal understanding of learners with special needs, enhances self-esteem of disabled learners and provides equal opportunities for all learners. The study highlights teachers understanding of implementing inclusive education to include; lack of teacher training, overcrowded classrooms, limited class time, overloaded curriculum, lack of support, lack of resources, incorrect infrastructure, teaching by trial and error amongst others. The study recommends that the Department of Education should provide continuous in-service teacher training on inclusive education.