This is followed by the purpose of the study, the research design and the questions that this study seeks to answer. The TIMSS-R used the 'old' South African curriculum, Nated Report 550, because Curriculum 2005 had not been implemented in grade 8 at the time of the.
THE POLICY CONTEXT
It was clear that some kind of interim solution was needed (Bertram et al., 2000). The Ministry of Education produced a White Paper on Education and Training (1995) which called for education reforms that would address the imbalances of the past. Between July 1995 and June 1996, Outcomes Based Education (OBE) was adopted as the essential framework of the new school curriculum.
THE PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH
In 2001, 20 out of 35 students failed math - 7 had few skills and very little knowledge in math and 13 had some knowledge and skills and lacked others. In 2002, 23 out of 38 students failed math - 6 had few skills and very little knowledge in math and 17 had some knowledge and lacked knowledge in other areas.
DESIGN OF THE STUDY
The poor performance of learners in these subjects ultimately leads to the high failure rate of learners in the matriculation examination, where it becomes a concern for all stakeholders: parents, employers, institutions for higher education and the state.
STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS
This study reinforces the notion that teacher and classroom variables account for more of. The second point that Christie (2001) mentions is the importance of the structures and that they cannot be overlooked when studying the ethos of the school.
BERNSTEINIAN STUDIES
In her study, Hoadley (2005) compared teachers from working-class schools with teachers from middle-class schools in terms of whether teachers act as school code breakers and reinforcers and community code breakers. . Findings indicated that teachers from middle-class schools appeared to be school code enforcers and community code breakers.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
INTRODUCTION
CLASSIFICATION AND FRAMING
A very poor rating (C--) means that the teacher relies on community code/everyday knowledge in her explanation. Strong (C+) classification means that the teacher and students often move into each other's spaces.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN
- INTRODUCTION
- RESEARCH APPROACH
- The qualitative research approach
- THE CASE STUDY METHOD
- RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
- SELECTION OF THE SCHOOL
- ACCESS TO THE SCHOOL
- PERIOD OF TIME SPENT AT THE SCHOOL
- DATA ANALYSIS
- Indicators
- Classification
- Framing
Meighan (1981) notes that the interpretive approach focuses on action and the task of the researcher is to ascertain the actor's intentions and share his/her experiences in order to make the observed actions meaningful. This is one of the four qualitative research methods suggested by Gorman and Clayton (2005 p.39). When the researcher did the classroom observation, she sat on the right side of the classroom facing the front and took detailed notes of the activities during the lessons and recorded as much dialogue as possible.
In order to allow the freedom to speak, the interviews were recorded on tape and later transcribed. However, the transcription process and the procedure were time consuming. Each educator was given a questionnaire to fill in during the week. This can be referred in Appendix D. During the observations, the researcher recorded some of the things that took place, and this contributed to reliability.
Of the three types of validity, as suggested by Gorrnan and Clayton, the researcher used criterion validity, which occurs when the research establishes the accuracy of the results by applying an additional research method. At the meeting, where the teachers were present, she described the topic and purpose of the research, which ensured confidentiality and anonymity. In the next chapter, the context of the school and the teacher profile will be described, and an analysis of the data collected will be given.
ANALYSIS
THE CONTEXT OF THE SCHOOL: SCHOOL X
There were rules in the classrooms, which were neatly posted on the wall, but it seemed as if the teachers and students did not follow them, as the teacher never referred to them during the week of the researcher's visit. Of the 26 educators, there was one principal, one deputy principal, four heads of departments (HODs) and 20 1st level. Some educators were negatively affected in the process of rationalization and redeployment (R&D).
The majority of the families were without men because they had been murdered during factional fighting. The school was under the government's food scheme, and the children received food five times a week. However, the government's feeding of the students had a positive effect on this school. The absenteeism rate was very low. Some of the students came to school for the food.
The researcher understood that there had been a shoe factory (Bata) which was closed in 1995 which had employed about 70% of the parents. On the day of the researcher's observation, she participated in some of the activities that took place, which were soccer, netball, volleyball, women's soccer, drum majorettes, and cultural activities. The school was more successful in the cultural activities, especially indlamu (Zulu dance) for boys.
REPORT ON THE EDUCATOR PROFILE
The problem was that the school did not have a teacher qualified to teach computer skills. Legend for the qualifications: SPTD = Senior Primary Teacher's Diploma PTC=Primary Teacher's Certificate HDE=Higher Diploma in Education. During data collection, she only taught mathematics, PE and A&C in group 4.
During the period she attended workshops in Mathematics, Life Orientation and Art and Culture for the intermediate phase. During the time of data collection, she only taught 4th grade English, EMS and A&C. Out of the three educators observed, two were female and one was male.
Two of these educators attended secondary schools that were previously located in disadvantaged rural areas, while the other attended a secondary school in a location that was heavily affected during a period of political violence. As can be seen from the table, there was no correlation between favorite and main subjects. Educators who participated in this study felt that the RNCS was an improvement over C2005 in terms of terminology in various learning areas.
ANALYSIS OF LESSONS OBSERVED
At the end of the week, the teacher gave the students the assessment tasks she had planned. When students were working, the teacher would walk around their desks to make sure they were doing the work. Students followed the order used when revising the previous work.
The frame relationship III terms of the hierarchy between the teacher and the learners was very strong (F++). The learners responded by saying that: when we apply for a job; when we apply for birth certificates. The focus was on whether learners have any idea how to fill in a form. The coding here was C+. However, the focus was mostly on the work of the day when the learners' work was marked.
When the students were filling out the forms, the teacher discovered that they were using lowercase letters. This enabled students to make a connection between previous work and the new topic. Part of the work was left unfinished and the students were asked to finish it at home.
DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION
- INTRODUCTION
- SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND
- SCHOOL ORGANISATION
- TEACHERS' PEDAGOGIC PRACTICES IN THE CLASSROOM
- SUMMARY
- CONCLUSION
- OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH
- IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS
- IMPLICATIONS FOR STUDENTS' LIFE CHANCES
- LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
- ISSUES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
- RECOMMENDATIONS
The impoverished socio-economic background of the students at School The researcher now focuses on an analysis of the school and classroom factors that contribute to poor student performance. As Hill puts it, “Only they have the authority to bring about the degree of transformation required, and the ability to maintain oversight of the elements and ensure that each functions effectively and in alignment with all others” ( ibid). .
Disagreeing with Morais were the mathematics teacher's three practices that did not lead to adequate learning, weak framing or lack of evaluation criteria, strong interdisciplinary classification, and strong framing of hierarchical relationships. According to Morais, strong design of the evaluation criteria leads to children acquiring the subject's recognition and implementation rules (Morais, 2002). My observation of the lessons revealed that students were disadvantaged by a lack of conceptual understanding and progression, a lack of explicit evaluation criteria and feedback, and the very slow pace of knowledge.
One factor that caused the poor teaching was the poor qualifications of the teachers. In the next chapter, the implications of the findings, limitations of the study, questions for further research and the recommendations will be discussed. The learners' poor socio-economic background is at a disadvantage compared to pupils with advantageous socio-economic backgrounds.
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APPENDIX A
CONSENT FORM FROM PRINCIPAL
DECLARATION
APPENDIXB
CONSENT FORM FROM EDUCATORS
APPENDIXC
SEMI -STRUCTURED INTERVIEW
What assessment techniques do you use to assess whether students have achieved the learning outcomes.
APPENDIXD
TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE
Teacher education
Teaching experience
