Masters Degrees (Education Studies)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/7176
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Browsing Masters Degrees (Education Studies) by Subject "Academic achievement--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal."
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Item Educational structural support and interventions to improve academic results of secondary schools confronted with poor inconsistent academic performance in KwaZulu-Natal.Maraj, Sarisha.; Buthelezi, Nontobeko Precious Angela.Recently, within the KwaZulu-Natal province, academic performance has been a matter of concern. Academic performance lacks consistency and fluctuates from good to poor. This study was conducted to investigate the factors contributing towards poor academic success and the strategies to overcome such factors. The sample composed of six office-based educational specialists who were selected by the technique of purposive sampling. This study used a qualitative research design and the data was collected with the use of face-to-face, open-ended interviews. These interviews were administered to office based educational specialists who are responsible for the implementation of the intervention strategies to improve academic results. The qualitative data was analysed using the method of thematic analysis. The individual interviews that were conducted culminated in findings of the challenges that contribute towards academic success and the established, revised and new strategy suggestions to enhance the academic performance of learners. Recommendations for future research are mentioned.Item Exploring learners' participation in school environmental clubs.(2013) Collings, Ursula Colette.; Mudaly, Ronicka.The United Nations declared 2005–2014 to be the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Environmental clubs (ECs) within an education system could play an important role in making positive change for sustainable environmental development in a society, by offering learners environmental knowledge and practical activities that they can participate in. This participation strategy is different from the learners receiving direct instructions on what to do from a teacher. The research questions that underpin this research are: Why do learners participate in environmental clubs and how do learners participate in environmental clubs? The theoretical framework that underpins this research is an adaption of the Contextual Model of Learning (CML) where learning is inextricably linked to participation. The CML is used to address the participation of learners which flows from the basic elements of personal, sociocultural and physical contexts, which overlap with one another. Insights from Agarwal’s typology of participation (2001) also inform the design and analysis of this study. This qualitative study is located in an interpretivist paradigm. The research sites were two schools in KwaZulu-Natal which had established environmental clubs. Executive members from the environmental club from one school, and executive and non-executive club members from another school, were purposively selected to form the sample in this study. Data collection methods comprised semi-structured interviews and observations. Data was analysed using the constructs from the CML as well as Agarwal’s (2001) typology of participation. The findings of this study are presented using the frames of sociocultural, physical and personal contexts, as explicated in the CML. The findings provide insight into how learners as EC members, participate in non-sequential learning, based on their prior knowledge, interests, and experiences. Their societies’ influence about what is valuable learning, within and outside of groups, as well as ways in which they navigate their learning environments physically and intellectually, offer insights into how and why learners participate in environmental clubs. Based on these findings, recommendations related learners’ participation in ECs are made.Item Institutional barriers to learning : a case study of a university in KwaZulu-Natal.(2015) Grant, Monica Jennifer.; Ntombela, Sithabile Surprise.This qualitative case study investigates the institutional barriers to learning encountered by students at one campus of a university in KwaZulu Natal. The objective of the study was to identify institutional barriers to learning from the perspective of students, and to ascertain how these barriers impact on student achievement. The overarching theory used to frame this study is Bronfenbrenner’s ecosystemic perspective. In addition, the notion of inclusion in education proved useful as a conceptual framework to the study. My interest in barriers to learning arose from my observation that many students experience difficulties in achieving their educational goals. While there are many kinds of barriers to learning that students experience, the focus of this study was on institutional barriers to learning, that is barriers arising from the educational institution. The study looked at the physical, psychological and social environment of the campus, the policies and practices of the institution, and the resources and facilities available to students at this campus. A mixed methods research design was employed in order to answer the research questions. Through questionnaires and follow up interviews, this study sought to unearth the institutional barriers to learning experienced by students at this campus. Study findings indicate that participants encountered barriers to learning related to overcrowding in classrooms, inadequate institutional resources, lack of access to information and the registration process. Findings from the study also indicate some enablers to learning, including the inclusive, welcoming atmosphere of the campus, the useful online learning websites and the fact that the library and computer rooms closed late in the evening, allowing students more time to work. Recommendations are provided to the focal university aimed at reducing the institutional barriers to learning identified by the participants of the study. Some of the recommendations are: to enhance the capacity of the university to cater for the number of students registered, to provide a longer and more effective orientation programme and to provide more efficient administrative procedures.