Browsing by Author "Memela, Godfrey Khululekani Sihle."
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Item Novice teachers' management of learner discipline problems in a rural secondary school in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)(2013) Memela, Godfrey Khululekani Sihle.; Ramrathan, Prevanand.The study was an exploration of novice teachers' management of learner discipline problems in a rural secondary school in KwaZulu-Natal. Although the policy context for maintaining a level of discipline that will facilitate an environment that is conducive to learning seems to be in place in most functioning schools, learner discipline problems in South Africa and worldwide seem to persist despite these policy contexts and processes. The study intended to answer the following research questions: What is the various learner discipline problems novice teachers experience at school? How do novice teachers manage these learner discipline problems at school? In answering these questions, the researcher used a qualitative approach within the interpretivist paradigm. The exploration was a case study design using data gathered from a single secondary school and the instruments used were interviews with and observations of the participants who were novice teachers. The study was framed within the framework of Albert Bandura's social learning theory. Within the frames of this theory, the researcher aimed at understanding how novice teachers managed their behaviour through an understanding of the learners' disruptive behaviours. The findings of the study revealed that novice teachers, in their early years of their teaching, are usually settling in and during this period they are being confronted with, amongst other issues, the challenge of managing learners' discipline problems. The most profound finding relates to a "blame game‟ that is played by the novice teachers. Here the novice teachers blame, on the one hand, external contributors for learners' behavioural problems such as their parents, the community, the school and the learners themselves; on the other hand they also blame themselves. Furthermore, gendered issues related to learner discipline problems were evident. It was found that male teachers would take the initiative to discipline learners but that female novice teachers were reluctant to exercise strong disciplinary measures. A key recommendation is that education officials ensure that appropriate education legislation and guidelines are distributed to schools each year. Also, the researcher suggests that parents visit schools regularly in order to discuss the problems that occur at home. Finally, there should be school-based mechanisms to assist novice teachers not only to settle in, but also to manage learner discipline problems.Item School identity and learner performance: a school leadership perspective on their relationships.(2019) Memela, Godfrey Khululekani Sihle.; Ramrathan, Prevanand.School identity construction and learner performance continue to be of great concern in the South African education system. As the head of school management, the principal’s leadership influences the identity of the school and the academic performance of learners. This study explored the relationship between school identity construction and learner performance from a school leadership perspective. Since the advent of democracy, the South African education landscape has been plagued by poor learner performance. While the reasons are as diverse as the nation itself, the adverse effects of poor learner performance on the school system or the quality of education cannot be over emphasised. Some have argued that there are two education systems in South Africa, one being amongst the best in the world (quintile four and five schools) and the others being amongst the worst (quintiles one and two). This study explored the phenomenon of school identity construction from school principals’ perspectives from quintiles one schools which are considered to be amongst the poorest of them all. This exploration has been done in eight chapters. It unearthed a dearth of information on the perspectives of the principal on school identity construction and the effect of school categorisation on learner performance. As a result, this study explores school identity construction and learner performance as it relates to the leadership of the secondary school principals. To achieve this, this study was guided by one critical question and three sub-questions. The critical question was: How does the school principal account for its learner performance within the context of its quintile school categorisation and its school identity? The sub-questions were as follows: 1. How does the principal account for its learner performance since assuming school leadership responsibilities? 2. What engagements did the school principal embark upon to change the school’s image and identity? 3. What were the outcomes of school initiatives embarked upon by the school principal to change the identity of the school? To answer these questions, the researcher employed the qualitative approach to research, which created the platform for details which otherwise would be untapped. To enhance the search for rich and in-depth data, a case study design was used, and it accorded the researcher the opportunity to further probe into the nooks and crannies of how school principals’ account for their learners’ performance within the context of its quintile school categorisation and identity. To get the qualitative data required, data were generated using different approaches; narratives interviews (lived stories), observations and artifacts. Four school principals from rural high school participated in the study. Their schools were also observed and the artifacts in the school were also studied. These participants were sampled using purposive sampling. To make sense of the data, the interpretive paradigm, as well as trait, behavioural and situational leadership theories, were employed as the paradigm and theoretical framework, respectively. While the interpretive paradigm gave a general direction to the study, the leadership theories informed the analyses of the data. To this effect, grounded analysis was used for the actual analysis process. Using grounded analysis, the data generated was broken down into smaller units, and these units were then combined to form sub-themes, and the sub-themes were further merged to form different themes. These themes and sub-themes were then weaved together into the socio-ecological theory of school change. From the findings, it was clear that the relationship between learner performance and school identity categorisation centred around three key themes; complex nature of learner performance, school identity construction, and pathways to school transformation. The study recommends, amongst other things, that the rudiments of school categorisation be redefined to ensure that they do not set schools up for failure. It further recommends that the Department of Basic Education create both room and resources to cater for these challenges to ensure that principals can build or maintain the performance of the schools they find themselves in, for, without such resources, leaders would not be able to drive performance in their school the way it should go.