Faculty of Humanities (ETDs)

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    An exploration of Business Studies Teachers' integration of Information and Communication Technologies to equip Grade 12 learners with critical business skills
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Gcabanshe, Nduduzo Brian; Ndlovu, Nokulunga Sithabile
    Business studies is a subject that in South African schools to equip learners with skills that would enable them to operate effectively in contemporary business environment, either as employers or employees. However,there is a general concern that learners who are produced by these schools do not possess skills that are relevant to current business environments. This is partly due to the impact of technological developments that continue to cause a shift in skills needed by businesses. Therefore, there is a need for an exploration on how best business studies teachers integrate ICTs in their classrooms to equip learners with skills that are required by the contemporary business environment. This study explored ICT integration by business studies teachers to equip Grade 12 learners with critical business skills that are required by the contemporary business environment. Social Constructivism Theory and Functional Context Theory were adopted as the theoretical lenses of this study. Social Constructivists emphasize the need for interaction, collaboration, active learning, and autonomous learning in the learning context for meaningful learning to occur. Functional Context Theory, on the other hand, advocates for a learning environment that reflects the world for which learners are being prepared for. The proponents of this theory advise teachers to integrate resources that learners would use upon joining the real world of work. This is a qualitative study underpinned by the interpretive research paradigm. A multi case study research design was deemed suitable for this particular study. Face-to- face individual interviews and classroom observations were adopted to collect data. Six Business Studies teachers who use ICTs to teach were selected from six secondary schools located in Kwa-Zulu Natal province of South Africa were iv purposively sampled. Data that was collected were analyzed using hybrid thematic analysis. Findings of the study were that: i. teachers see value in ICT integration in their business studies pedagogical practices. teachers see ICTs as tools that assist in exposing learners to authentic learning activities that help them to acquire critical business skills needed by the contemporary business environment. business studies teachers adopted various learner-centred teaching methods to create learning environments that promote the acquisition of critical business skills. iv. most teachers integrated different ICTs to nurture learners’ critical business skills. teachers mainly relied on their personal teaching experiences and their generic technological skills. Based on the findings of this study, Technology Integration Model for Business Studies teachers was developed. The developed framework can play a role in helping business studies teachers integrate ICTs in a systematic way that would lead to learners’ acquisition of critical business skills. Based on the key findings highlighted above, the study recommends that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) should develop coherent professional development programmes to expose all business studies teachers to novel pedagogies, learning activities and ICTs that can be used to nurture learners’ critical v business skills. This will help to reduce teachers’ over reliance on their teaching experiences and what they think is suitable for learners to acquire critical business skills, which sometimes can be inconsistent with the objectives of the business studies curriculum.
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    Using Mnemonic and Sub-lexic Reinforcement Techniques to Enhance Reading Abilities among Grade Three Learners with Dyslexia in Primary Schools in Mpumalanga: Analysis of Age and Gender Differences
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Zindoga, Lilian; Aloka,Peter
    Learners with dyslexia (LWD) have difficulties in accurate and fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities. Such learners also face challenges in various areas. In addition, dyslexia is linked with experiences of stigmatization and lowered self- concept. However, every learner in the society including those with dyslexia who have been excluded from the formal education system, must get access to quality education without discrimination. In South Africa, White Paper 6 outlines a national strategy for systematically addressing and removing barriers to learning through establishing full- service schools, converting special schools into resource centres, training education managers and teachers, and developing institutional and district support structures and pursuing a funding strategy. However, several studies report that LWD are still many and disadvantaged in the inclusive school set-ups. LWD continue to face academic, social, and psychological challenges in school and therefore early interventions are crucial for the development of these learners. This study aimed to examine effectiveness of mnemonic and sub-lexical reinforcement techniques in enhancing reading abilities among grade three LWD in two public schools in Mpumalanga, South Africa and was guided by two theories: Skinner’s reinforcement theory and the Information Processing Theory (IPT). The study was also informed by the Human Rights Model of Disability and the Inclusive Pedagogical Approach. This study was anchored on pragmatic research paradigm. Within the mixed methods methodology, the Sequential Triangulation design guided the data collection process. The sample size consisted of 43 learners: 23 grade three LWD from the intervention and 20 learners from the control schools. Pre-and post- tests were administered to the learners during the first three months and during the second half of the research period which took 6 months using the quantitative sample of 43 LWD. The initial test was the Bangor Dyslexia test that was administered to all grade three learners from both the experimental and the control schools. The study’s qualitative data, in the form of interviews, was also undertaken in the second phase of the data collection period where 6 parents of LWD were selected using purposive sampling and 3 English Grade three teachers, plus the principal and the deputy principal underwent semi- structured in-depth interviews. The research tools used were reading tests, short reading comprehension passage, questionnaires, and interview guides. Validity of questionnaires was ensured by Keyser Meyer Oklin test while reliability was ascertained by use of xv Cronbach’s alpha. Quantitative data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics whereas the qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The study findings indicated that the use of mnemonic reinforcement techniques to enhance reading abilities among grade three learners with dyslexia in primary schools is highly effective. The findings further revealed that repeated reading as a form of sub- lexical reinforcement techniques is effective in enhancing reading abilities among learners with dyslexia. The findings also revealed that there is a significant effect of gender in influencing enhancement of reading performance by mnemonic intervention, with the female learners having better scores than males. The findings indicated that girls had comparatively higher improvement in performance than the boys in the two components of reading ability (reading and comprehension) and in the overall reading ability, after having gone through sub-lexical intervention. The findings further indicated that generally older children in the intervention group had relatively higher improvement in performance in overall reading ability and its two components (reading and comprehension) than the younger children in same group. The findings indicated that there was statistically significant difference in reading scores between younger and older children among grade three LWD who received sub-lexical treatment, with older learners having higher scores than younger learners. The study recommends that the Department of Basic Education should revise the policy that reading is tested from grade one, instead of from grade three, and that those who are not able to read do not proceed until and unless they are able to read. Moreover, the Department of Basic Education should organize workshops that train teachers in various approaches on how to improve reading of learners with reading problems because the workshops would help teachers by equipping them with the most widely used approaches to reading instruction to enhance learners’ reading abilities of learners in early years.
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    Family-based adverse childhood experiences as a determinant of learner drug abuse in Soweto high schools: implications for early intervention
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Mnyamana, Nzukiso Theophillus; Aloka, Peter
    Drug abuse is the excessive, maladaptive, or addicted use of drugs for purposes other than those prescribed by a doctor, even if this usage may lead to social, psychological, and physical issues. Learners who abuse drugs have a higher risk of developing mental health issues, such as depression, conduct issues, personality disorders, suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, and suicide, than learners who do not. Resounding evidence suggests that despite all the restrictions put in place by schools regarding substance abuse, it is nevertheless pervasive on school grounds in the Soweto region. It has been reported that alcohol, tobacco, and hallucinogens are the most often used drugs and substances among teenagers in Soweto. Additionally, it has been reported that drug misuse among learners in secondary schools in the Soweto district of South Africa is on the rise. Despite previous research having been done to address drug abuse among learners, there is still very scanty research on the effect of family based adverse childhood experiences. The main goal of this study was to examine the effect and correlation of family based Adverse Childhood Experiences and the escalating learner drug abuse among learners in township High schools in Soweto. The study also looked at the kind of support that are available at home for learners who are involved in drug abuse and early home based intervention strategies that could be adopted to assist learners who abuse drugs. Finally, the study sought to develop a structural equation modelling that can explain the relationship between biographical factors, familial psychological and familial social factors and learner drug abuse. Within the mixed methods research paradigm, concurrent triangulation research design was adopted. Thus, by adopting a mixed methods research methodology, target population comprised 80 High School learners at the selected four Soweto High Schools in Gauteng Central District. For the quantitative phase, 80 High School learners from four Soweto High Schools were obtained using a census sampling technique. A sample size of 16 High School learners was chosen for interviews during the qualitative phase of the study using the purposive sampling method. Parental Behavioral Control Scale, Parent-Child Attachment Patterns Scale, Emotional Breakdown Scale, Induced Psychological Disorders Scale, Parent–Adolescent Relationship Scale, Sibling Influence Scale, Parental Influence Scale and Home Based Support scale were used to collect quantitative vii data from learners. Semi-structured interviews with learners were conducted to gather information for the qualitative phase. The Keyser Meyer Oklin test was used to guarantee the validity of the questionnaires, and Cronbach's alpha was used to determine their reliability. Additionally, the trustworthiness of qualitative data was ensured. The findings of the study indicated that the biographical factors such as family type, family size, parental level of income, and parental level of education had a significant influence on learner drug abuse. Furthermore, familial psychological factors such as cognitive factors, behavioural factors, emotional factors, parental behavioral control, parent-child attachment patterns, emotional breakdown and induced psychological disorders also had a significant influence on drug abuse. Moreover, the study equally revealed familial social factors, such as parent related factors, sibling related factors, and finally, community related factors to have a significant effect on learner drug abuse. The findings also indicated that familial social factors and familial psychological factors were significant predicators of drug use among the learners. Overall, the results revealed that the variables investigated in this study are suitable for use in structural equation for escalating learner drug abuse. In conclusion, the family systems model is appropriate and fit for demonstrating the structural relationship between psychological, social factors and learner drug abuse among High School learners. From the findings aforemetioned, the study proposes a 6-stage intervention Model which could assist learners in High Schools as far as drug abuse is concerned. The study recommends that the school counsellors and management should perform psychological assessment on learners to identify those that are at risk of indulgence in drugs. The psychological assessment on learners to identify those with birth order that are at risk of indulgence in drugs would help them to evaluate their own cognitive, intellectual, and problem-solving abilities so as to counter psychological patterns susceptible to drug abuse. The study recommends that the school management should provide parents with the essential educational support and advice about familial social issues that may have a bearing on learner drug abuse
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    Researching graduate employability and graduate employability skills of non-traditional graduates in Nigeria
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Sodeinde, Mojisola; Hutton, Timothy; Ojo, Emmanuel
    The outbreak of the coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in the global adoption of strict lockdown protocols implemented to curtail the proliferation of the virus. The Internet emerged as a leading tool for working remotely, e-teaching, online collaboration, gaming, and for video streaming and conferencing. This study aimed to investigate Nigerian employers' perceptions of hiring graduates who received their degrees from non-traditional modes of learning such as e-learning. The global pandemic became a transformational experience that opened the guardrails for innovative ideas on education and instruction, helping to accelerate the use of distance and virtual instructional tools at educational institutions such as universities during the lockdown. COVID-19 has thus changed how people work, teach, and learn worldwide. The over-arching question of this research was: What understanding do employers have of graduate employability and employability skills, and how does the degree delivery mode factor into recruitment decisions in Nigeria? Furthermore, the subsequent sub- questions were formulated to guide the research process: (1) What perceptions do employers have of graduates who obtained their qualification through alternative modes of learning such as online or e-learning? (2) How does the course delivery mode affect employers’ understanding of graduate employability, and employability skills in the Nigerian labour market? (3) What do employers of labour in Nigeria consider as key factors, with respect to competencies of e-learning and traditional classroom graduates, in recruitment decisions? (4) Using the USEM model of employability as an employability framework, how do the four key descriptors measure within the Nigerian labour market? Explanatory sequential mixed methods were utilized in this doctoral research, collecting quantitative data from one hundred and ten (110) Nigerian human resource professionals and collected qualitative data in semi-structured interviews from five (5) human resource professionals. The doctoral study found that Nigerian employers are more concerned with the personal attributes of graduates than they are with the delivery mode for instruction and learning in the academic institution of the graduate. While employers overwhelmingly view e-learning as comparative to the traditional mode of instruction and thus agree that there is tangible difference between the two modes, about half of all employers prefer to recruit graduates from a traditional on-campus mode of learning. iv Using USEM as the conceptual framework for employability and employability skills, personal attributes emerged as the most desirable set of skills for Nigerian employers, more important than subject matter knowledge. The consensus among employers indicates that there is no discernible distinction in the educational achievements between graduates who have completed their academic pursuits through conventional means and those who have opted for the virtual modality.
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    Effectiveness of blended teaching on learning engagement and academic achievement in Organic Chemistry: A case study of South Africa Grade 12 Learners
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Chakawodza, Josphine Munyaradzi; Kizito, Rita N.; Nakedi, Mpunki
    Globally, the use of blended teaching has increased tremendously, particularly at university level. However, there is a dearth of research on the use of blended teaching at high school level and in a developing nation, as well as on the efficacy of blended teaching at high schools, particularly those that are least advantaged. These under-resourced schools where traditional face-to-face teaching is prevalent, cater for the largest learner cohort in South Africa. This study focused on Organic Chemistry, a Physical Sciences topic which most South African learners generally find difficult resulting in poor academic achievement. All this requires that innovative teaching methods be employed. When designed effectively, blended teaching comes with several benefits, such as catering for learner diversity, self-directedness, and flexibility, thereby increasing learning gains (Armellini & Rodriguez, 2021, Halverson & Graham, 2019). The main aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of blended teaching in developing learning engagement and academic achievement in Organic Chemistry in Grade 12 learners at one of the least advantaged High schools of South Africa. A mixed method approach in the form of sequential explanatory design was utilised. Two existing groups (resembling quasi experimental design in which the subgroup sample assignment depicted elements of random sampling), one experimental (n=100), and another control (n=100), comprising Grade 12 Physical Sciences learners from one school participated in this study. Quantitative data collected through surveys and Organic Chemistry test were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics as well as moderated regression analysis while qualitative data (interview data from six boys, six girls, and two teachers) were analysed using thematic, content, and comparative analyses. This showed that blended teaching was significantly more effective in developing learning engagement and improving academic achievement in Organic Chemistry. It was concluded that the ‘blend’ used in this study was effective for the broader South African high school context. Additionally, two out of three learning engagement sub-constructs had significant moderating effects on the relationship between blended (or traditional face-to-face) teaching and academic achievement while the third one did not.
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    Investigating how teacher educators create opportunities for preservice teachers to learn biology
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Thomas, Naomi; Nyamupangedengu, Eunice; Msimanga, Audrey
    This study explored the opportunities created by four teacher educators in a teacher education programme to bring about meaningful learning. The study sought to understand the complex communicative approaches employed by teacher educators to provide preservice teachers with a platform for engagement with biology concepts in large lecture settings. A case study methodology was adopted for the study. The main purpose of this research was to find out how teacher educators can promote productive discussion and learning experiences in their lectures when teaching selected biology topics. Data sources involved observations of lessons taught by four biology teacher educators in 2017 and 2018 and individual interviews on teacher educators’ teaching practices. To generate data for my study I observed four teacher educators teaching four different topics: population ecology, environmental studies, cell biology, and biochemistry of respiration. A total of fifteen lessons were observed and audio recorded. Data were analysed using the opportunities for the learning model. Results yielded eighteen categories of opportunities provided by teacher educators in their lectures. Findings suggest that teacher educators’ lectures were interactive with a varying spread of elaborative prompts and probing that is supportive of preservice teachers’ cognitive engagement with biology content. I discussed opportunities created by educators in their lecture spaces with a large student population and its implication for teacher education.
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    The conceptualization of teacher professional knowledge for enabling digital pedagogical transformation of content using animations for the topic of electromagnetism
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Van der Merwe, Denise; Mavhunga, Elizabeth
    Electromagnetism as a topic in the Grade 11 Physical Sciences syllabus in South Africa appears to be a difficult topic to teach and understand. The abstract nature of the concepts and the two dimensional representations in textbooks have contributed to the difficulty in teaching the topic. The COVID-19 pandemic brought home the need to adapt teaching and learning at a faster rate than before, demanding that teaching and learning move onto online platforms at an exponential rate. Traditional theoretical constructs for teacher knowledge like TSPCK have been useful in traditional classrooms settings, however, are becoming insufficient to support the teacher effectively in digital classroom settings. Thus, this study explored the conceptualization and implementation of a refined conceptual framework that acknowledges the development of teacher digital competences and the cognitive load demand on learners who learn through multimedia. Firstly, a new construct was argued for which had its foundation in TSPCK but harnessed the technological knowledge required to digitally transform content and learning principles of multimedia learning. An iterative literature meta-synthesis enabled the amalgamation of three complementary frameworks to promote content transformation on a digital platform. Secondly, the new construct informed an intervention with practising Physical Sciences teachers with knowledge of using technology in the classroom. Results indicated that the participating teachers only possessed TSPCK, a requirement for the development of digital-TSPCK, before the intervention. The analysis of their animation planning, creation and reflections of the process indicated emerging levels of digital-TSPCK in each of the participating teachers. The nature of the component interactions of the amalgamated frameworks indicated that, not only did the components within each framework act together in the planning and creation of the animations, but III also there was visible interaction between the components of the different frameworks, which held potential for further investigation across other science topics. In conclusion, this new construct could empower teachers to become the creators of their own pedagogically reasoned online content in the form of animations. Furthermore, this study opens the floor for future studies in other science topics, and with pre-service teachers to enable them to enter the teaching profession armed with the knowledge to teach as content creators in the 4th Industrial revolution.
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    Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) mathematics teachers` professional noticing of students` productive struggle in calculus tasks
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) William, Hlako Mmachuene; Makonye, P.J
    Research has shown that mathematics students have difficulties understanding calculus concepts. This situation is mainly attributed to the poor and ineffective traditional methods of teaching and learning mathematics in schools and institutions of higher learning. In attempting to improve this situation, mathematics education researchers are calling for research on innovative constructivist methods of mathematics teaching and learning. This study explored productive struggle and professional noticing as new pedagogical strategies of teaching and learning of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College mathematics, calculus in particular. Three constructivist theories of APOS, Concept Image and Concept Definition and Self-directed learning are discussed, merged and used in the study. Two groups of TVET College lecturers were formed with one as the experimental group and the other as a control group. Experimental group lecturers underwent training on productive struggle and professional noticing new strategies of TVET College mathematics teaching and learning. The control group did not get training on these new teaching strategies and was kept as the benchmark point of comparison. These participating lecturers from the two groups were purposefully sampled as lecturers offering TVET College mathematics in exiting levels of N5 and N6 mathematics classes. Data collection was done through a triangulation approach of using observations, interviews and document analysis in the form of term test scripts. This study found that productive struggle and professional noticing strategies of teaching and learning mathematics were superior to traditional methods of mathematics teaching and learning and were also found effective in enhancing calculus understanding in students. The study has put up a pedagogical framework that can be used by TVET College mathematics lecturers when teaching complex calculus topics. This study recommended in-service training for TVET College lecturers on productive struggle and professional noticing new teaching strategies. Again, the department of higher education and training should make bursaries available for these TVET College lecturers to further their studies in mathematics education.
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    The challenges faced by school-based role-players in the implementation of SIAS: A comparative study
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Iturralde, Inge; Bekker, Tanya
    The policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) (DoE, 2014) is an inclusive policy enacted at school level which is designed to support inclusive education imperatives of Education White Paper 6 (DoE, 2001). The effective implementation of SIAS correlates with successful provisioning for learner support to enable access to quality education for all. However, it appears that there are multiple challenges experienced by school-based role-players to the implementation of the SIAS policy in schools, hindering it from achieving intended outcomes. Although limited research on challenges to SIAS implementation is available, a disjunct between policy and policy implementation is evident in literature regarding other inclusive education policy implementation in South Africa, setting the expectation that the SIAS policy is no different. This qualitative research study used a comparative case study design to determine the challenges to SIAS policy implementation experienced by school-based role- players at one mainstream school and one Learners with Special Educational Needs (LSEN) school in Gauteng. Participant perceptions, collected through the use of focus group interviews and open-ended questionnaires, were analysed using thematic content analysis in order to understand common challenges, as well as to identify challenges that were unique within each school context. The theoretical framework used the medical model of disability and the social model of disability as a lens through which to view the SIAS policy. The study findings demonstrate a complex interplay between the social and medical models of disability in how they inform teachers perceptions- and subsequent implementation- of the SIAS policy as a challenge to its enactment. Additionally, findings highlighted challenges with teacher perspectives and understandings of inclusion and the purpose of the SIAS policy, training and support of teachers and School Based Support Teams (SBSTs), communication and support amongst stakeholders, relationships and collaboration amongst stakeholders, form completion and documentation, variations in implementation procedures, class sizes and human resources, and policy incongruence with other policies. iv At present, there is a gap in available literature on the implementation of the SIAS policy as current literature tends to focus on the challenges experienced by District Based Support Teams (DBSTs). This study positions itself to address this gap by focussing on challenges faced by SBSTs and teachers themselves. Furthermore, this study expands on understandings of challenges to inclusive policy implementation. In doing so, the recommendations made intend to improve aspects of SIAS policy implementation in order to better support inclusive education imperatives and to secure more efficient and effective support for learners at the school level to ensure quality and equitable education is an accessible reality.
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    The Principals’ Instructional Leadership Practices in Well-performing and Underperforming Secondary Schools in One Township, in Ekurhuleni: A Case Study
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Mosimango, Lebogang; Mthembu, P.E.
    In recent years, educational leadership has received its fair share of debate in different sectors and for several reasons. Teaching, learning and learner achievement results are at the core of education in schools. As a result, school principals have appeared to be at the centre of it all. When the Minister of Basic Education announces the National Senior Certificate results, the results are either celebrated or criticised based on how their schools have performed. Evidence from empirical studies suggests that a school principal concerned with learner performance ought to subscribe to an instructional leadership style. This study explored principals’ instructional leadership practices in academically well-performing and underperforming schools. The literature used in this study provides evidence that the instructional leadership concept is not new to leadership but has developed over the years. This leadership style is associated with school learner performance given that it defines the purpose of teaching and learning, sets comprehensive school realistic goals, advocates for supervision and evaluation of teaching and learning processes, and provides resources needed for teaching and learning to occur. This study has adopted a qualitative approach via a case study research design. The study is located within the interpretive paradigm. Participants for this study were six secondary school principals in one township in Ekurhuleni district of South Africa. Furthermore, this study used face-to-face, semi-structured interviews as a data generation method. In addition, Webber's 1996 instructional leadership model was used as a theoretical framework for this study. Findings revealed essential instructional leadership practices in academically good performing schools and that, although there were areas and elements of good instructional leadership practices in poor academically performing schools, there is room for improvement. These practices include, among others, developing a clear, realistic vision, creating an environment that allows teaching and learning, supervision and monitoring, and, most importantly, sharing teaching and learning resources. Another finding is that adequate instructional leadership practices are lacking in underperforming schools. v The research concludes that South African secondary schools require good leaders with goals for their schools and leaders who can direct their followers to achieve the desirable results. This implies that the Department of Basic Education is critical in capacitating school leaders who can contribute to the National Development Plan: Vision 2030.