Department of Educational Psychology
http://hdl.handle.net/11394/53
2024-03-29T01:10:43ZFoundation Phase teachers’ perceptions and experiences of music integration in the classrooms
http://hdl.handle.net/11394/10594
Foundation Phase teachers’ perceptions and experiences of music integration in the classrooms
Stegman, Ann Rebecca
Music integration is widely accepted as being an important means of learning other subjects. Despite this, there are many different views about what it is and how best it can be done. While the intention of music integration may be to promote music within the classroom, a decline in the importance of music can occur in actual practice. According to Buthelezi (2016), despite it having been recommended by the South African democratic government that Arts and Culture be part of the school curriculum, many schools continue to avoid or ignore the teaching of this learning area. This study seeks to explore the Foundation Phase Teachers’ perceptions and experiences of integrating music into their lessons. A qualitative case study was used to explore teachers’ perceptions and experiences. Semi-structured interviews were employed to conduct the investigation. Four educators were purposely selected from two schools in the district. The findings showed that the majority of Foundation Phase teachers who participated in the research did not receive any formal music training and that they were only exposed to music during CAPS training at the district office. Furthermore, the teachers who participated in this study would only make the learners sing during the morning ring session before a bible story, the Life Skills (Beginning Knowledge) and Mathematics lesson as an effort to integrate music in their classrooms. Moreover, it became clear that Foundation Phase teachers need practice in their school base settings to hone their teaching skills in delivering meaningful music integration that enhances teaching and learning activities in their classrooms. Recommendations included the partnership between the Western Cape Education Department and the Universities, to make a concerted effort to offer compulsory Creative Art (music) courses to all Foundation Phase pre-service teachers to improve their music knowledge and pedagogy.
Magister Educationis - MEd
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZSchool guidance as a vehicle for prevention and health promotion in primary schools in South Africa
http://hdl.handle.net/11394/10374
School guidance as a vehicle for prevention and health promotion in primary schools in South Africa
Wilson, Vanessa Ann
The primary aim of this study is to conduct an analysis of the existing primary school guidance service in the House of Representatives Department of Education and Culture (Reps:DEC) schools in the Western Cape, and to make suggestions for a school guidance approach that optimises the principle of health promotion. The theoretical framework from which this study draws is that of prevention and health promotion. The research methods used in this study were, Literature reviews of school guidance and the theory of prevention and health promotion. Analysis of relevant policy proposals in South Africa. Semi-structured interviews: with heads of p schological services in Reps:DEC, and teachers in primary schools. An interview guide was used to structure this process. The questions formulated within the interview focus on the existing guidance service in Reps: DEC primary schools; and suggestions for a future school guidance service for primary schools. The analysis highlights that in some instances group guidance does exist in primary schools although the different areas of guidance are not implemented throughout the different phases of the primary school years - but the principle of prevention, which should be the cornerstone of any group guidance programme, particularly in the primary school, has not been clarified nor has it been fully developed.
Magister Educationis - MEd
1995-01-01T00:00:00ZAction research in the graphics classroom: reflections of educational change initiatives in two schools
http://hdl.handle.net/11394/10326
Action research in the graphics classroom: reflections of educational change initiatives in two schools
Cowan, Gillian Margaret;
This thesis is an account of my experiences as a Graphics teacher using critical action research to examine my educational practice while working with standard nine students in two white high schools in Cape Town. The subject that I taught, since it was predominantly a "practical" one, was primarily for students who were often labelled, not only by teachers but by the students themselves, as academically "weak" or "stupid" as well as "delinquent". While my initial intention was to try to improve my own educational practice and, as a consequence be better able to help my students, it became apparent that I could not begin to understand the emerging issues in isolation from the context in which the research was undertaken. Issues, which at first seemed relatively simple, became increasingly complex as the research cycles proceeded. Three particular issues are further discussed:
i) The problems of qualitative research, particularly those of data collection and narrative language; The value of "thick" description as opposed to the surface representations of positivistic research modes justifies the difficulty of following the qualitative research method.
ii) The ways in which the curriculum and school organisation can perpetuate social inequalities and injustices, which may be further reinforced by student resistance; my experience of my project students strongly suggested that for whatever other reasons they were doing so badly at school, it certainly was not because they were academically "weak" or "stupid".
iii) The value that critical action research has as a form of praxis or critical pedagogy. By closing the gap between theory and practice, it has enabled me to come to understand better the ideological nature of organised education and the consequences thereof.
Magister Educationis - MEd
1990-01-01T00:00:00ZDeveloping a strategy to support parents of children who experienced trauma in primary school contexts in the Eastern Cape
http://hdl.handle.net/11394/9858
Developing a strategy to support parents of children who experienced trauma in primary school contexts in the Eastern Cape
Nomhle, Mlonyeni
Trauma is identified as “the state of severe fright or shock that a person experiences when confronted with a sudden, unexpected, potentially life-threatening event over which the person does not have control and to which the persons are unable to respond effectively” (Dye, 2015, p.158). In South Africa, many children are exposed to traumatic events. Chil-dren therefore need support to deal with trauma. Past studies have shown that traumatised children in some contexts might get support from psychologists, psychiatrists and other health professional specialists. In other contexts, the child might only have the support of a parent. In view of the fact that schools are well positioned to refer children who have expe-rienced trauma, the role of schools in assisting parents to support their children seems im-perative.
Magister Educationis - MEd
2022-01-01T00:00:00Z