Browsing by Author "Dube-Xaba, Zanele Heavy-Girl Winnie."
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Item Curriculum decision-making in the selection of new subjects in schools: a qualitative study of the adoption of tourism as an elective in selected KwaZulu-Natal high schools.(2016) Dube-Xaba, Zanele Heavy-Girl Winnie.; Moletsane, Relebohile.Following the introduction of Tourism in the South Africa secondary school curriculum, there has been a swift growth in the number of schools offering the subject nationally. Using the adoption of Tourism as a subject in selected schools in KwaZulu-Natal curriculum, the study reported in this thesis examined the nature of curriculum decision-making, the factors that informed it and the extent of stakeholder participation in the process. The study was located within an interpretive paradigm and employed a qualitative approach to research. A case study design focusing on curriculum decision-making involved in the selection of Tourism as a new subject was utilised in this study. From the four schools used, key stakeholders, including the principal, Heads of Departments, tourism teachers and parent members of the SGB were interviewed, based on their vested interest in both the subject and curriculum decision-making. In addition, several documents from within and outside the schools were analysed. Three theoretical frameworks informed data analysis in the study. First, Obanya’s (2004) functional curriculum theory suggests that curriculum decision-making in schools is influenced by macro-political and economic factors as well as factors within the school context. Second the stakeholder theory, as proposed by Freeman (1984) posits that all stakeholders should participate in the decision-making process, including in adoption of new subjects. Thirdly, Walker’s (1971) model of curriculum development posits that schools must engage in deliberations and discussions that are participatory and involve school communities in making curriculum decisions. Informed by these frameworks, the findings from the study suggest that, first, the curriculum decision-making involved in selecting Tourism as a new subject in the participating schools was influenced by both macro-policy and institutional forces. Second, the principals were largely responsible for the decisions made, with minimal involvement of teachers and parents, and a total exclusion of learners. Informed by these findings and literature from previous studies, this thesis proposes a framework for effective/desirable curriculum decision-making in schools. The framework posits that curriculum decision-making, particularly the selection of new subjects in schools can only be effective when it involves the full participation of all stakeholders. Such stakeholders must not only recognise and endorse the rationale for the decision, but must also understand their expected roles in the process and be trained and supported to enact them effectively. This is likely to lead to informed decision-making in the school, and in turn, to the full support and effective implementation of the decision made, including effective teaching and learning in the classroom and, linked to this, positive educational outcomes.Item Examining learners’ perceptions of formative assessment in tourism as a subject.(2020) Ngiba, Siza.; Dube-Xaba, Zanele Heavy-Girl Winnie.This study focuses on the learners’ perspectives of formative assessment in Tourism as a subject in South African secondary school. This study, therefore, includes the voices of the learners in the Tourism classroom which has been missing and unheard. This study examines learner’s perception and uses of formative assessment to enhance learning within their Tourism class by using the constructivist theory as it lens to guide the study. The study followed the qualitative approach and adopted the interpretive paradigm in conducting a case study research in one secondary school in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The semi structured interviews and focus group discussion were used to generate data from eight Grade 11 learners. The findings in this study revealed that learners perceive formative assessment in Tourism through its nature and purpose of formative assessment. The findings further revealed that learners use formative assessment for various reasons such as summative benefits; to monitor their ability and progress; use feedback from formative assessment; and that the learners use of formative assessment as a means to learn in different ways. The study concludes that the learners in Tourism are benefiting from formative assessment and that it has a great potential to enhance their learning.Item Exploring factors that affect the teaching and learning of woodwork and carpentry in Form V involving pre-vocational students at a high school Swaziland : an ethnographic case-study.(2019) Hlophe, Tolly Mabonga.; Dube-Xaba, Zanele Heavy-Girl Winnie.This study sought to explore factors that affect the teaching and learning of Woodwork and Carpentry as a pre-vocational subject involving Form V students at a selected rural high school in Swaziland. The researcher adopted a qualitative approach and employed an ethnographic single case study design. The theory of classroom teaching as developed by Mitzel (1969) guided this study. The location of the study was a rural high school offering pre-vocational subjects. Purposive sampling was used to select one rural high school, selected educators, and eleven Form V participants. Semi-structured interviews, a focus group discussion, observations and document analysis were used to collect the data that were thematically analyzed. The results showed that various factors negatively affected the teaching and learning of Woodwork and Carpentry such as a lack of adequate teaching and learning resources, inadequately qualified teachers, a lack of proper infrastructure, poor and limited funding, poor parental/guardian cooperation, and limited industrial participation and government support to sustain adequate educational outcomes for this subject. Based on the findings, it is recommended that a strategy to forge partnerships with private and public concerns be established to improve funding for the Woodwork and Carpentry subject. Moreover, industrial attachments that involve both teachers and students should be considered; sufficient instructional resources such as consumable materials, reference books, tools and machinery should be provided; and appropriately qualified teachers should be employed. Finally, the teaching and learning of this subject should be supervised and monitored by qualified officials on a regular basis. Key Words: Woodwork and Carpentry, TVET, pre-vocational subject, teaching and learning.Item Learners’ voices in school based assessment: a case of one school in the Uthukela District.(2019) Xulu, Rosemary Busisiwe.; Dube-Xaba, Zanele Heavy-Girl Winnie.Guided by my understanding of the importance of SBA in Tourism, my main aim was to determine if both summative and formative assessment helped learners to master the required SBA tasks. My desire to pursue this study emanated from my personal interest in and professional experiences of teaching Tourism in Grades 10-12. In my experience, new curriculum changes resulted in the introduction of new assessment practices. This study was framed by the learners’ (or students’) conceptions of assessment theory (SCoA) that was developed by Brown, Irving and Peterson (2008) as a theory that aims to understand learners’ conceptions of assessment. According to Brown and Hirschfeld (2012), learners have at least four major conceptions about assessment as revealed in the Student Conception of Assessment model. Although this theory that was developed by Brown and colleagues was suitable for a survey, this study adapted it as a suitable theoretical framework for a qualitative study on learners’ experiences of SBA in Tourism. Learners who participated in this study demonstrated wide ranging perceptions of SBA, and many of these perceptions contributed to their learning. All participating learners also perceived SBA as a means of improving their ability to be promoted to the next grade at the end of the year as they emphasised the importance of SBA marks for promotion. They also highlighted the challenges that they faced when required to complete SBA tasks; such as time constraints, poor feedback and lack of resources. In general learners commented favourably on the role of SBA in their learning.Item Teachers’ understandings and uses of the case-based method to teach Tourism in Grades 10-12.(2021) Dlamini, Mlungisi.; Dube-Xaba, Zanele Heavy-Girl Winnie.The current national curriculum for secondary schools in South Africa envisages learners who can think critically and will be able to solve problems in the real world of work. To achieve this goal, the case-based methodology is often used as a teaching strategy because it provides a fertile ground to apply theoretical concepts to real-world situations while enhancing learner participation and developing critical skills. Given the practical nature of Tourism as a subject in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase in schooling in South Africa, the study examined teachers’ understandings and use of the case-based method in teaching Tourism in Grades 10-12. A qualitative case study methodology and interpretive paradigm were used. Three teachers from one school participated in this study and were purposely selected. Data were generated using semi-structured face-to-face interviews, lesson observations, and teachers’ reflective writings. The findings indicated a paradox in teachers’ understandings of the case-based method of teaching Tourism. On the one hand, they understood the case-based method as a valuable teaching strategy while, on the other hand, they perceived this method as complex and difficult to apply. It was evident from the data that the teachers predominantly used the traditional way of classroom instruction (often referred to as the ‘chalk and talk’ method) as they did not engage in active learning strategies such as discussions of case studies, which are required in the case-based method in teaching and learning. This suggests that the teachers did not provide opportunities for the formation of a learning community in which the learners could explore tourism concepts while also engaging in the collaborative construction of knowledge using the case-based method. The implication is that teachers’ use of case-based methodologies as a teaching and learning strategy in Tourism classrooms is dependent on their understanding of the case-based methodology. Therefore, this study concludes that these Tourism teachers did not possess adequate skills in transmitting the required knowledge of Tourism as the case-based method was not appropriately applied.