Browsing by Author "Rajah, Dharamrajh Sunderajh."
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Item Curriculum theory and teacher education.(1991) Rajah, Dharamrajh Sunderajh.; Jardine, R. W.It will be generally accepted that teacher education is an important factor underpinning the quality and success of the schooling system in South Africa. Key agenda items in the debate and discourse on the provision of teacher education, in parliamentary and extra-parliamentary circles, include teacher empowerment and professionalization, and teacher education curricula, programmes and policies in the context of an apartheid society in transition to a future democracy. The present study is a contribution to that debate. It focuses on selected aspects of the pre-service teacher education curriculum at one university Faculty. Data de rived from questionnaire surveys and documentary research are analysed and interpreted within the parameters of the critical paradigm of curriculum inquiry as these are given operational definition by the transformative model of teacher education. The analyses of student and staff perceptions of the curriculum and of curriculum and instructional structures show that the dominant form of teacher education in the Faculty embodies a technocratic rationality that serves to encourage acquiescence and conformity to the status quo in both schooling and society. It is argued that such a curriculum is an anachronism, given the prospect of a "new South Africa" that has become apparent since February 1990. In that context, the dissertation makes an attempt to offer a conceptual basis for an alternative framework in the reconceptualization of teacher education.Item Self-evaluation programmes in academic staff development.(1991) Naidoo, Kogilam.; Jardine, R. W.; Rajah, Dharamrajh Sunderajh.Tertiary institutions, in striving towards achieving academic excellence, have realised the need for the professional development of human resources. Staff development thus now features in most institutions' strategic plans. In this study, which has as its context the M L Sultan Technikon, an attempt was made to develop and implement an evaluation programme for academic staff to determine relevant staff needs. Adopting a 'grass-roots' approach to staff evaluation, the evaluation programme was initiated and launched by the Staff Development Unit. Phase 1 of the programme was experimental and voluntary and consisted of student-feedback, a self-evaluation form and a head's evaluation form. Staff response to the programme and their input to a revised evaluation programme occurred as a result of meetings with staff, the administration of feedback questionnaires and a survey of all heads of department. One of the goals of the evaluation programme was to contribute to a relevant staff development programme based on academic staff needs, generated as a result of engaging in the self-evaluation, resulting in needs as indicated in staff's personal development plans. Although the evaluation programme was developed with formative intentions, it has been adapted by the Management for summative purposes, the outcomes of which are also focused upon in the study.