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Phenomenological study of practitioners’ lived mathematical play practices in an early childhood care and education setting
(University of the Free State, 2022) Baloyi-Mothibeli, Seipati Lydia; Okeke, C. I. O.; Ugwuanyi, C. S.
Globally, research indicates growing interest in mathematics-related play in early childhood settings; this is also the case in the informal settlements of Mangaung in the Motheo District. This interest has its roots in the poor performance of learners in mathematics when they reach formal education, particularly in the foundation phase. The aim of this study was to carry out a phenomenological investigation of practitioners’ lived mathematics play practices in early childhood care and education settings.
The study is located in Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory, which maintains that children acquire knowledge best if there is scaffolding and mediation by more knowledgeable others. Vygotsky defined the more knowledgeable other as someone who has a better understanding or higher ability levels than the child on a particular task, process, or concept. Therefore, language and environment play a major role in the child’s process of new knowledge creation. Vygotsky believed that knowledge is first acquired interpersonally, as the child learns from others, then internalises knowledge; the process takes place in the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Vygotsky explains ZPD as the distance between what children can do by themselves, and what they can achieve with competent assistance by more knowledgeable others.
Additionally, the study employed an interpretive qualitative research paradigm and a phenomenology design. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and journal entries by the researcher. A purposeful sample of 10 practitioners who were teaching in five early childhood care and education setting took part in the study. Data generated were analysed through the lens of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and a thematic approach, through which subthemes emerged. The finding of this study is that practitioners’ lived mathematics play practices in ECCE settings were compromised, as they are not adequately qualified in this context. It is concluded that, through proper teacher development programmes and obtaining adequate qualifications, practitioners’ lived mathematics play-based learning can be enhanced. Therefore, it is recommended that local higher education institutions design and offer a qualification that is adequate for ECCE practitioners, and which incorporates curriculum content that is supposed to be taught to children in this environment to enhance mathematics play-based learning.
The value of Technetium-99-Metastable-Ethylenedicysteine-eoxyglucose (⁹⁹ᴹTC-EC-DG) imaging in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis
(University of the Free State, 2023) Evbuomwan, Osayande; Horn-Lodewyk, Je'nine; Labuschagne, Mathys J.; Driver, Cathryn H. S.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease that is usually associated with synovitis that can lead to progressive joint damage if not managed appropriately. Prompt diagnosis and early treatment offer a good prognosis in patients with RA. However, treatment monitoring remains challenging for the rheumatologist as it is sometimes difficult to differentiate true remission from subclinical disease. Several modalities are available for assessing disease activity in patients with RA. This usually involves a combination of the clinical assessment of involved joints, laboratory and imaging investigations. Imaging with ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are considered to be among the most sensitive methods of assessing disease activity. However, these modalities are not without shortcomings. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of technetium-99-metastable ethylenedicysteine-deoxyglucose (⁹⁹ ͫ Tc-EC-DG) in the management of patients with RA. Using ⁹⁹ ͫ Tc-EC-DG to identify synovitis and offer prognostic information was investigated. Its usefulness in assessing treatment response compared to US and the diagnostic accuracy of identifying the disease compared to US was also investigated.
A prospective study was conducted at the Department of Nuclear Medicine of the University of the Free State/Universitas Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Twenty-two participants seen at the Rheumatology Unit of the Department on Internal Medicine, diagnosed with RA, were enrolled according to the American College of Rheumatology/ European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) classification criteria. Participants were injected with 20–25 millicurie (mCi) of ⁹⁹ ͫ Tc-EC-DG. Flow, blood pool, whole body, delayed static, and SPECT/CT images were acquired. Known disease sites were qualitatively assessed for the intensity of uptake, and disease severity was graded (Grade 0–3). On the same day, US imaging of the most affected joints was performed in addition to blood samples being obtained from each participant for baseline C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody titre. All imaging and laboratory investigations were performed at baseline, six weeks and six months follow-up after baseline findings in 20 of the participants.
The median (interquartile range) age was 59 (49–68) years, and the majority (n=21; 95.5%) of patients were female. An abnormally increased uptake of ⁹⁹ ͫ Tc-EC-DG was noted in the majority of the sites of known disease, including unknown sites. SPECT/CT imaging localised tracer uptake specifically to the synovial space. Fourteen (63.6%) of the 22 participants had elevated RF and anti-CCP antibody titres. A significant correlation between higher grade uptake and increased levels of RF and anti-CCP antibodies (p=0.031) was observed. A total of 404 joints were evaluated by ⁹⁹ ͫ Tc-EC-DG and US imaging. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and diagnostic accuracy of ⁹⁹ ͫ Tc-EC-DG SPECT/CT imaging were 86%, 60%, 61%, 85% and 73%, respectively, using US as the gold standard. A sensitivity of 100% was noted in the identification of synovitis in the carpal and knee joints. Disease activity in the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints was not observed with either ⁹⁹ ͫ Tc-EC-DG or US imaging. The level of agreement between US and ⁹⁹ ͫ Tc-EC-DG imaging in assessing therapy response was 33.3 %, 11.6 % and 6.67 % for the knees, hands and wrist joints, respectively.
⁹⁹ ͫ Tc-EC-DG is a safe radiopharmaceutical that can effectively assess disease activity in the joints of patients with RA, with a strong correlation between high-grade disease on imaging and the presence of RF and anti-CCP antibodies. It has a high sensitivity in detecting synovitis when compared to US imaging. However, it has a poor correlation in the assessment of treatment response in comparison to US findings, which might be attributed to its ability to better detect subclinical disease. Using ⁹⁹ ͫ Tc-EC-DG offers facilities with only SPECT or SPECT/CT cameras an opportunity to investigate patients with RA.
Activation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein by 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 secreted proteases
(University of the Free State, 2023) Mjokane, Nozethu; Sebolai, O. M.; Pohl, C. H.; Albertyn, J.; Gcilitshana, O. M. N.
The thesis is not structured in a classical way. As such, it is composed of a literature review section (Chapter 1) and two research chapters (Chapters 2 and 3). A general discussion section (Chapter 4) and addendums are also included. As some chapters are in a publication format, repetition of essential information could not be avoided.
Chapter 1 reviews the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and its impact. In particular, it considers the co-infection of this virus with respiratory fungal pathogens, which are major independent risk factors that complicate COVID-19 by causing a more severe infection resulting in higher mortality than that of either infection on its own. These fungal pathogens secreted furin-like proteases to further their virulence during host invasion. In this context, the thesis argues that it is foreseeable that the virus could also access these fungal furin-like proteases and pervert them in order to activate its latent spike protein. Therefore, this set up a number of questions, which are addressed in the thesis concerning the possible activation of the viral latent spike protein by fungal furin-like proteases.
In Chapter 2, it was sought to characterise 𝘊𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴 (𝘊.) neoformans proteases and assess if they could theoretically bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. To be specific, previous papers reporting on cryptococcal serine proteases were perused, and this made it possible to select a number of proteases, namely cryptococcal serine carboxypeptidase (CNBF4600), cryptococcal cerevisin (CNBJ2870) and cryptococcal peptidase (CNBA1340), cryptococcal peptidase (CNAG_00150) and cryptococcal cerevisin (CNAG_04625). By designing specific primers, it was possible to show that these serine proteases were expressed in 𝘊𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 H99, the prototypical cryptococcal strain used in this thesis. Therefore, the expressed gene products were expected to be secreted into the culture media. This was important for the work that follows in Chapter 3. Through using the computational programme, High Ambiguity Driven protein-protein DOCKing (HADDOCK), it was possible to show that some of the selected cryptococcal serine proteases could interact with the coronavirus spike protein and yield a binding affinity greater than and comparable to furin.
However, as HADDOCK is a computational programme, the predicted binding affinities might not correlate with the experimental binding affinities in solution, more so since the used 𝘊𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 proteases structures were predicted and not solved. To account for this, Chapter 3 sought to provide enzymatic evidence using the collected culture media – in the form of supernatant. To do this, a mimetic fluorogenic peptide of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was designed and modified to have intra-molecular fluorescence quenching capability using 7-methoxycoumarin-4-yl acetyl (MCA) at the N-terminus and N-2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP) at the C-terminus. The assay was performed using the cryptococcal supernatant. For reference, recombinant furin was included as this is the serine protease present in humans that catalyses the activation of the spike protein. Here, it was determined that cryptococcal serine proteases present in the supernatant could cleave the mimetic spike protein at S1/S2 site with biochemical efficiency comparable to furin. To test the veracity of these data, SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirion containing a full-length spike protein was used. It was possible to show that the pseudovirion could be transduced into HEK-293T cells in the presence of the cryptococcal supernatant.
Chapter 4 takes into account the obtained results and provides a summary of the major observations. Of note, the thesis theorises that yeast kexin proteases are responsible for the observed activity. This is because there is a functional homology between yeast kexin proteases and furin (both are convertases); thus, it is reasonable that the supernatant (which contains yeast kexin proteases) could activate the latent SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The thesis further proves that other respiratory fungal pathogens have yeast kexin proteases that activate the spike protein. This evidence is documented in Addendum no. 1. All things considered, the findings point to the regulation of protease activity as a viable approach to control the activation of the spike protein by either mammalian protease or fungal proteases. To this end, protease inhibitors could be used to control unwanted proteolysis. Addendum no. 2 attempted to show this. Here, it was possible to show that the South African-based medicinal plant Artemisia tea infusion extract and its active compound artemisinin could control the activation of the mimetic SARS-CoV-2 spike protein by furin but not the supernatant. The latter highlights the need to purify the supernatant and isolate yeast kexin proteases. The idea of exploring the control of unwanted proteolysis is also an interventional measure considered by Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company. This American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation successfully piloted Paxlovid to control SARS-CoV-2. This drug contains an anti-protease (PF-07321332) that inhibits the protease (SARS-CoV-2 3CLp) responsible for viral replication.
An assessment approach for competency-based nursing education in a low-income country
(University of the Free State, 2023) Mukurunge, Eva; Nyoni, C. N.; Hugo-Van Dyk, L.
𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: Nursing education institutions in Lesotho were directed by the government to adopt a competency-based curriculum, which required a paradigm shift in assessment methods from traditional to programmatic assessment. However, the implementation of the new assessment approach faced several challenges. Firstly, most nurse educators were unfamiliar with programmatic assessment since it was not included in their formal nursing training. Secondly, during the preparatory stages of programmatic assessment implementation, nursing training institutions could financially afford the initial training opportunity for nurse educators by the assessment experts, which, unfortunately had no follow up trainings. Lastly, unclear programmatic assessment implementation guidelines and a lack of support posed challenges to most of the institutions.
𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲: The study sought to develop a contextually relevant assessment approach for competency-based nursing education in a low-income country.
𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀: The development of the assessment approach was guided by multiple methods, which were informed by the Design Science Research methodology. The approach was developed through a multi-phased process. In the first phase, a mapping review was conducted to synthesise literature on the various assessment approaches that have been used in health professions education since the year 2000. The second phase involved engaging with nurse educators to describe the contexts of the nursing education institutions in Lesotho where programmatic assessment was implemented. In the final phase, the findings from the first two phases were used to develop a contextually relevant assessment approach, which was then validated by a panel of assessment experts.
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀: The outcome of this study was a contextually relevant assessment approach for competency-based nursing education in a low-resource countries.
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: To successfully implement educational innovations, it is important to have a clear understanding of the context of nursing education institutions. This enables the development of relevant implementation strategies that take into account the specific needs and challenges of the institution. Moreover, the development of educational innovations should be based on scientific methodology and should incorporate strategies that have been proven to work. Nursing education institutions in low-income countries need to take an active role in developing contextually relevant educational innovations, rather than relying solely on innovations developed in high-income countries.
Evaluating the impact of government support programme on the development of land reform farms in South Africa
(University of the Free State, 2023) Mphahlele, Ramakgodu Benjamin; Qwabe, Q. N.; Swanepoel, J. W.
Concerns have been raised in various studies regarding the unproductive use of agricultural land acquired through land reform programme. Given the vital role of agriculture in creating jobs and ensuring food security, it is essential to make concerted efforts to promote the development of land reform farms for commercial purposes. This study aims to evaluate the initiatives undertaken by various stakeholders to facilitate the commercial use of land reform farms and contribute empirical evidence to shape support programs.
The study is guided by the development theory, which emphasises the importance of considering the actors and structural powers in the development process, as their influence plays a pivotal role in the relevance of policies. The researcher sought to demonstrate how the development theory has informed the existing policies related to the development of land reform farms. To gather comprehensive data, a mixed-method approach was employed, allowing for the triangulation of findings from various sources. Quantitative data was collected from 122 participants using survey questionnaires, while qualitative insights were obtained through three focus group discussions with farmers and four open-ended discussions with commodity organizations. For data analysis, Microsoft Software Package (Version 2020) was utilised, and a Pearson Correlation Coefficient approach was applied to examine the nature, strength, and direction of the key variables being measured. Additionally, a correlation coefficient was used to assess the frequency and direction of interactions between these variables.
The study indicates that most farmers gained income from farming due to land access and support. Partnership effectiveness was insufficient for enhancing most farmers' skill sets. Although Land Development Support (LDS) fulfilled most of farmers' desires for commercial farming, farm sustainability might suffer due to insufficient entrepreneurial aptitude. Additionally, comprehensive stakeholder consultation in policy development could enhance policy relevance for addressing potential challenges in farm sustainability. Land size and its utilisation (r= -0.2700); Funding sufficiency for farm production (r=0.1775); Income derived after LDS ( r=0.5212); Aspirations of farmers (r=0.0757); Partnership arrangement and sustainability of production (r=0.0044) emphasises the importance of remodelling the partnership arrangement to cub its current challenges.
In conclusion these findings underline the need for a more streamlined approach that involves the active participation of relevant stakeholders, a well-defined funding model, and the selection and capacity building of farmers involved in developing land reform farms. This holistic approach is essential to address the challenges associated with unproductive land use and to foster the successful development of land reform farms for commercial purposes, thereby contributing to enhanced food security and job creation.
Physical science teachers’ perspectives on information and communication technology professional development in Lesotho secondary schools
(University of the Free State, 2023) Dlamini, Maserialong; Jita, T.; Bada, A.
Recent studies show that integrating ICTs in the teaching and learning of Physical Science may contribute towards the improvement of learners’ academic achievement. However, education systems in developing countries need help to afford educational opportunities for the 4th Industrial Revolution. Professional development programmes are essential in equipping teachers with ICT knowledge and skills for improving teaching and learning. Education reforms in Lesotho have the expectation that ICT be used to expand access to education as well as improve the quality of education. As a result, this research aims to investigate Physical Science teachers’ perspectives of ICT professional development. This case study also aims to fill a gap in the research on ICT integration by giving insights into the effectiveness of the professional development of Physical Science teachers in Lesotho. Data were collected using interviews with four (4) purposely selected Physical Science teachers who had at least five (5) years of teaching experience and have been involved in at least one (1) professional development activity. The qualitative research approach located within the contours of the interpretive paradigm was employed to facilitate a more focused exploration of the research questions. The study’s theoretical frameworks are Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and the Concern-Based Adoption Model. Data were coded and thematically analysed. The findings show that more professional development towards ICT integration is needed to ensure the provision of ICT practices in teaching activities. Teachers regard inadequate professional development toward ICT integration as the cause of unpreparedness to integrate ICT in instruction. The findings also revealed that teachers use ICTs to gather and disseminate information and rather insignificantly for effective teaching practice. The study recommends providing hands-on activities-training for in-service teachers. The study considers a well-developed professional development for in-service teachers’ to be included in Lesotho Physical Science syllabus guidelines.
Enhancing skills acquisition in electrical infrastructure construction studies
(University of the Free State, 2023) Lehlakola, K. D.; Tlali, M. F.; Dlamini, M. E.
This study was a qualitative study with the aim to contribute towards the enhancement of skills acquisition in electrical infrastructure construction (EIC) among youth with the purpose of providing them competences that have the potential of heightening chances of their employability. The study achieved the identified aim by responding to the research question: How can youths’ acquisition of skills in EIC be strengthened to empower them to be self-employed and employable?
The problem in this study was that a significant percentage of the South African workforce, which includes technical and vocational education and training (TVET) students who are accessing higher education, lack specific technical skills and this results in poor employability prospects. The delivery of quality TVET courses and content is dependent on the competences of the lecturers for enhancing skills acquisition in EIC studies. The framework guiding this study was critical emancipatory research for it is transformative and emancipatory. Youth participatory action research was used as method of data collection with critical discourse analysis to analyse the data according to discursive, textual and social settings. The findings of the study may empower TVET colleges to prepare students with skills for the EIC industry and contribute to socio-economic development of the economy of South Africa. The workforce needed comprises engineers, technicians and the tradesmen from South African universities and TVET colleges.
Balancing mathematics assessment tasks to accommodate problem-solving in Grade 7 classes
(University of the Free State, 2023) Bhekiswayo, Nomthandazo Moureen; Moleko, M. M.
The present South African mathematics curriculum, The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement, requires that learners be given the opportunity to acquire the ability to be systematic, generalise, solve problems, and think critically. These goals necessitate the use of assessment tasks that encourage learners' engagement in the development of mathematical thinking and reasoning. This means that teachers must exercise caution while designing assessment tasks and developing assessment strategies. Teachers must also be aware of the cognitive demands and nature of tasks and should include all in their assessment tasks. This study focused on to exploring how teachers balance mathematics assessment tasks to accommodate problem-solving and high-order cognitive demand in Grade 7. The model of mathematical task progression was adopted as a conceptual framework of this study. The selection of the model of mathematical tasks progression provided a lens through which the researcher could analyse the data and generate the empirical findings.
The research followed a qualitative approach guided by a descriptive case study. The study was carried out in five schools, four township schools and a school in an urban area. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, lesson observations document analysis. Social constructivism underpinned this study as it enabled the researcher to observe the participants in their own social settings. Through the use of thematic data analysis, the researcher was able identify themes. The findings revealed that teachers lack pedagogical content knowledge, that is, knowledge and skills in balancing their own assessments tasks; secondly, the study revealed that teachers excluded problem -solving in their assessment tasks as their understanding of problem-solving was limited; thirdly, teachers used textbooks as their source of assessment tasks and insufficient time was given to learners to work on tasks; fourthly, high-order questions were excluded during learning assessment and low-level cognitive demands were dominant in all the assessment tasks. Finally, teachers used only a teacher-centred approach and used teacher-learner dialogue as their teaching and assessment strategy. The challenges that emerged from the study had implications for assessment and thus required the assessment of mathematics in Grade 7 to be approached differently to enable learners to engage more in meaningful and balanced assessment tasks. Further training for teachers is needed in order to address the complexities that exist within the balancing of mathematics assessment tasks to include problem-solving.
Exploring how career guidance influence job fulfilment in later years
(University of the Free State, 2023) Muller, Natasia; Nieuwenhuis, Jan F.; Venter, Zettie E. P.
Through this study, I explored the influence of different levels of career guidance during secondary schooling and job fulfilment in later years. The literature review led to the developing of a theoretical framework highlighting important intrinsic factors and exploring career guidance that might influence the job fulfilment of young adults who participated in my study. I employed a qualitative approach and generated data through three phases of semi-structured interviews with each participant. The first interview focused on past experiences with career guidance, the second examined present job fulfilment, and the third explored participants' experiences on future job fulfilment influenced by career guidance. Participants were selected according to a purposive sampling approach. The participants and I also had the opportunity to use reflective journal notes that supported each interview. The interviews were transcribed, coded, and analysed using the NVivo software. Integrating this process with the theoretical framework developed during the literature review revealed themes such as belonging, feeling valued, a sense of meaning, and skilled operation. These findings contributed valuable insights to developing career guidance programmes in secondary schooling, particularly in the South African context.
Exploring EFAL teachers’ implementation of authentic assessment in selected Rammolutsi secondary schools
(University of the Free State, 2022) Tlhabanelo, Keabetswe Gabriel; Ntsala, S. A.
This study explored how EFAL teachers from Rammolutsi secondary schools in Fezile Dabi district employed authentic assessment. Purposive sampling was used in this qualitative case study of six EFAL teachers. Open-ended semi-structured interviews with six teachers were employed to generate data. Thematic analysis was undertaken to determine themes and subthemes. The findings reveal that EFAL secondary school teachers experience numerous problems when implementing authentic assessment due to a lack of guidelines. This study provided some insights into the preparations and use of authentic assessment as part of their teaching and learning process. Guided by the conceptual framework according to Hargreaves, Earl and Schimdt (2002), the study’s findings reveal that AA significantly increased teachers’ academic achievement and attitude toward educational measurement. Additionally, it is an approach that can serve to forge cooperation between theory and practice, which is a major problem in the field of teacher training in South Africa. Based on these findings, AA procedures can be integrated into teacher education as much as possible. Seminars, workshops, and courses can be organised to help teachers understand and use AA. Future research on it for other levels of education is possible. Future research could look into learners’ viewpoints to see how AA aids their learning. Studies on the effects of AA on various dependent variables are possible.