Browsing by Author "Campbell, Bridget."

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Challenges when writing English: a case study of Grade 8 Second Language learners in a rural school in KwaZulu-Natal.
(2019) Ndlovu, Prince Excellent.; Pillay, Ansurie.; Campbell, Bridget.
The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the challenges facing grade 8 English Second Language (ESL) speakers in a rural school of Siyazimelela District in KwaZulu-Natal when writing in English. This study was underpinned by the interpretive paradigm. The intention of interpretive paradigm is to comprehend and clarify the world of the participants using their own perceptions. Hence, I used it to discover from participants’ point of view what challenges they faced when writing in English, why they face such challenges and how they cope with the challenges when writing in English. Data was generated through questionnaires, dialogues and informal letter writings. Total population sampling, a type of purposive sampling where the total population or all participants are included in data generation was used. This study was also shaped by three research objectives: To explore the writing challenges faced by Grade 8 English second language learners at a rural school in KwaZulu-Natal, to understand why Grade 8 learners at a rural school in KwaZulu-Natal face writing challenges and to explore how Grade 8 learners at a rural school in KwaZulu-Natal coped with the challenges when writing English. The findings revealed the challenges faced by ESL learners when writing, the reasons for such challenges and how they dealt with them were interwoven. Participants lacked comprehension skills, had mother-tongue deficiency which transferred itself to the ESL, lacked understanding of grammatical rules, punctuation skills and spelling, and there were inadequacies of teacher methodology which affected learners’ abilities to write in English. The reasons for ESL learners facing these challenges were linked to the fact that most of them did not attend early childhood development (ECD) centres, low self-esteem/ motivation, did not read English at home and lacked the resources needed to enhance writing. Lastly, the findings revealed that participants coped by seeking assistance from family members and fellow classmates, and sometimes, in frustration at their perceived lack of skills, they would just not write anything. The study proposes that Department of Basic Education (DBE) turns its attention on rural education particularly ECD programmes so that strong foundations for our learners are laid. Key words: Krashen Monitor Model, English Second Language (ESL), Writing, Challenges, Rural, Thematic analysis.
A comparative study of learner and management perceptions of ABET English level 4 in selected companies in Durban.
(2002) Campbell, Bridget.; Lyster, Elda Susan.
This is a qualitative, comparative study of management and learner perceptions of ABET English level 4 in a range of companies around Durban. South Africa's past is characterized by separate and unequal education and an ABET policy has been created in an attempt to address these educational inequalities. The legislation surrounding ABET creates a consistent approach intended to achieve economic growth and social transformation. During a long period of involvement in ABET, it appeared that the problems with and complaints about English level 4 were the same in all companies. In order to investigate and compare learner and management perceptions and expectations, a qualitative study was conducted with interviews being the main means of data collection. Twenty-seven learners and ten managers participated in the research with education levels ranging from Standard 5 to a post matric qualification. The interviewees were drawn from employees within the manufacturing, shipping, commercial and hospitality sectors. It was found that the expectations of managers and those of learners are often unrealistic and are not aligned and there is disillusionment when these expectations are not met. There is a complete lack of understanding as to the nature of English level 4 and I ascribe this to the perennial problem of the perceived value of soft skills in this profit driven business and production environment. Recommendations are made as to how the expectations surrounding English level 4 can be more realistic and how the situation can be improved.
An exploration of my teaching practices when teaching writing to high school learners: a novice teachers’ self-study.
(2021) Brijmohun, Seshen.; Campbell, Bridget.
The purpose of this study was to explore my experiences of teaching and learning of writing, as a novice teacher. My research questions were: What are my learning experiences of writing? What are my teaching experiences of writing? and How can knowing my experiences of writing enhance my teaching of writing? My study was guided by three key concepts, which are Socioculturalism, Pedagogy, and Culturally Responsive Teaching. Pertinent literature which underpinned this study, included the nature of being a life-long learner, the preparedness of novice teachers, how writing affects confidence and the teaching of writing. Taking a self-study approach enabled me to compose and analyse my experiences of teaching and learning of writing to become cognisant of the constructive and undesirable influences on my Pedagogy, with the hope of building a more effective, and meaningful Pedagogy. This methodology was apt for my study as I delved into my own experiences of learning, how I was taught writing and my own teaching of writing. In doing so was critical of how I was taught writing as well as my past and current teaching practices. I acknowledged that there is room for improvement and worked with critical friends to alter my practices. Data generation strategies stemmed from reflective practice and were inclusive of narrative journaling, lesson reflections, source document retrieval and critical friend conversations and peer reviews. As the study progressed, I explored various ways in which to improve my teaching of writing from what I had learned through revisiting and adjusting my teaching practices. Learning from my past and present experiences, enabled me to adapt my current teaching practices and to explore ways of being more responsive to my learners. The themes that emerged, through thematic analysis, are parental involvement, a supportive teaching and learning environment, pedagogic practices, and the use of teaching resources when teaching writing. This self-study journey has not just made me an improved teacher of writing, but more culturally relevant teacher overall. Being a meaningful teacher denotes that I need to be au fait with my learners, their lived experiences and the environments with which they are familiar, as well as how to communicate with them within a setting of supportiveness. New challenges mean fresh possibilities will continually arise and I will never stop questioning and trying to improve upon my Pedagogy.
Influences on, and possibilities for, my English pedagogy: a narrative self-study.
(2017) Campbell, Bridget.; Pithouse-Morgan, Kathleen Jane.
This thesis reports on a narrative self-study through which I explore the influences on and possibilities for my pedagogy. Throughout the 32 years of my working life, I have been in the field of English education and have always felt that the pedagogy which I enact is quite ordinary. Over the years, I have taught English as a first language and as a second language in secondary schools in South Africa. I have also been actively involved in other phases of education and have taught in the field of Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET). I lectured Communication at a University of Technology and am currently employed on a permanent basis as an English teacher educator at a university in Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. I aspire to model purposeful pedagogy that will inspire my students. In an attempt to make my enacted pedagogy congruent with that to which I aspire, my starting point was to write my personal history narrative in an attempt to understand my current practice and to identify possibilities for future practice. I was the main participant in the study and the other participants were my sister, my critical friends, my pre-service undergraduate students who volunteered, and my 2015 and 2016 honors students. My research text was my personal narrative and my reflective diary, conversations with my sister, peers and students as well as critical friend feedback served as my field texts. Additional field texts were student emails, assignments and lecture reflections. In the analysis of my personal history narrative, I used my disciplinary knowledge as I juxtaposed my personal narrative with literature and film. In the first layer of the analysis, my personal history narrative was analysed in the same way as I would analyse any other literary text and what was revealed was that more depth was required. This led to a second layer of analysis wherein I juxtaposed my personal history narrative with literature. The second layer of analysis revealed twenty-eight themes which I collapsed into three major dimensions of my pedagogy. A third layer of analysis followed and in this, there was juxtaposition of my personal narrative and film. My original methodological contribution is that of two creative analytic practices. The first being my layered literary analysis. After the layered analysis, I examined my undergraduate and post graduate pedagogy in an attempt to use the influences that had been expose to identify possibilities for current and future pedagogy. In doing so, I used a method of multi-layered pedagogic reflection which is my second creative analytic contribution.
Possibilities for playful pedagogy: a creative arts teacher-educator’s self-study.
(2023) Bele, Nosipho Precious.; Campbell, Bridget.; Pithouse-Morgan, Kathleen Jane.
I am an emerging female academic at the School of Education in a research-intensive university in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. When I assumed the teacher-educator role, I assumed I would excel due to my prior experience as a freelance artist and highschool teacher. However, I had never reflected on the skills and understanding needed to teach preservice teachers about teaching. I soon realised that my experience was insufficient for my current role. Suddenly, how I taught Creative Arts became as crucial as what I taught. I became motivated to focus this research on teaching Creative Arts through playful pedagogy due to self-reflection and observation of the preservice teachers I taught. What I noticed was that they lacked demonstration in their Creative Arts teaching. This observation inspired me to improve my teaching practice and learn about integrating playful pedagogy into my practice. The theoretical perspective of becoming guided this doctoral study, and assisted me in weaving the pedagogical threads of my becoming a teacher-educator. The research questions necessitated transparent reflections through memory-work and arts-based methods. In my initial reflections, I identified the salient idea of play and how it had been evident throughout my life. This approach provoked the concept of teaching through playful pedagogy. I explored the impact of play on my life and from my memories, identified ways in which I could teach more effectively. I also sought to understand the possibilities of playful pedagogy in my teaching practice, and learnt about practical ways of integrating playful pedagogy into my practice. My learnings translated into lessons that I integrated into my teaching practice; these benefitted me as a teacher-educator, the students I taught and will continue to teach and, by extension, the learners they will teach one day. This thesis details the methodological and theoretical explorations of my learning and experiences as they were employed to support my doctoral journey. In this quest to integrate playful pedagogy into my teaching practice, my most valuable highlight was the self-discovery and confidence I gained through the process of reimagining and becoming a teacher-educator.