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Item Open Access Are Grades 10-12 physical sciences teachers equipped to teach physics?(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012-09) Basson, Ilsa; Kriek, JeanneSouth African schools have been confronted with educational reform since the mid-nineties and the process is still continuing. The concomitant changes put a very high demand on physical sciences teachers and also have an impact on teacher behaviour. The purpose of this study was to probe whether teachers could be considered equipped to teach the physics part of the FET physical sciences curriculum. A revised framework on teacher behaviour, which includes three factors, namely teacher knowledge, teacher views and beliefs, and teacher attitudes, was used in conjunction with a questionnaire and a survey to analyse the data from individual and focus group interviews. A total of 68 FET physical sciences teachers from urban, township and rural schools participated in the research. Our findings indicate that teachers are positive about the curriculum. However, the problems identified with training, support and resources as well as the lack of teachers’ subject content knowledge, particularly in rural and township schools, cannot be blamed on the curriculum and therefore cannot be fixed by curriculum changes.Item Open Access Mathematical literacy teachers’ engagement with contextual tasks based on personal finance(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012-09) Bansilal, Sarah; Mkhwanazi, Thokozani; Mahlabela, PatisizweThis article reports on a study carried out with a group of 108 practising Mathematical Literacy (ML) teachers who participated in an Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) programme. The purpose of the qualitative study was to identify and describe the teachers’ varying levels of engagement with mathematics tools and resources. The teachers were given questions based on financial mathematics as part of a routine assessment, including questions based on other aspects of the module. Their written responses to the selected test items were analysed. Thereafter 13 teachers were interviewed individually with the purpose of confirming or disconfirming the categories identified by the initial script analysis. The analysis identified varying levels of skill in using the mathematics and contextual resources and tools. The study also found that success in the items required flexible participation in both the mathematics and contextual domains.Item Open Access The animal experimentation controversy: ethical views of prospective teachers(Faculty of Law, University of the Free State, 2012-09) De Villiers, RianVivisection (live animal experimentation) is a controversial issue for many people. The purpose of this case study is to examine the attitudes of prospective teachers toward vivisection in education and research, to determine if gender has an influence on these attitudes, and to discuss the implications of these attitudes with regard to teaching of the disciplines in the life sciences. A sample of 100 prospective life sciences and natural sciences teachers from a South African university responded to a questionnaire on vivisection in education and scientific research. The responses were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The results showed that most prospective teachers are in favour of animal rights and that females are more averse to vivisection than males. A number of suggestions are made with regard to vivisection in schools and tertiary institutions.Item Open Access Difficult conversations: lessons learnt from a diversity programme for pre-service teachers(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012-09) Le Roux, Adré; Mdunge, PercyPremised on the notion that any educational programme for pre-service teachers pursues excellence in both academics and social justice, teacher educators must capacitate student teachers to work in areas of social justice. Pre-service teachers must subsequently be assisted to become professionally qualified teachers who are prepared to move outside their contingent practices and assumptions to recognise and counteract oppressive practices, especially their own. However, to get pre-service teachers to challenge their own assumptions, to question what they know and to seek new understandings involves entering a field that contains complex, incongruous and even conflicting perspectives. In this reflective article we draw on our reflective notes, our observation and student journals to reflect on the lessons we have learnt from a diversity programme offered to final-year pre-service teachers. This article not only foregrounds how teaching for social justice is partial, but also makes room for considering some implications for teacher education.Item Open Access Learning concepts, language, and literacy in hybrid linguistic codes: the multilingual maze of urban grade 1 classrooms in South Africa(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012-09) Henning, ElizabethFrom the field of developmental psycholinguistics and from conceptual development theory there is evidence that excessive linguistic ‘code-switching’ in early school education may pose some hazards for the learning of young multilingual children. In this article the author addresses the issue, invoking post- Piagetian and neo-Vygotskian ideas on children’s cognitive development and its interplay with language in an argument for a linguistically ‘stable’ pedagogy that prepares learners for the world of written language in which they have to express most of their learning in school. She argues that language development, literacy learning, and the development of concepts are intertwined phenomena in a child’s development and that semantically and semiotically unambiguous and systematic classroom communication is therefore vital for learning success in the early grades when the foundations for cognitive academic language proficiency are laid. She calls for longitudinal research of young children’s learning, investigating how language hybrids in classroom communication may impact it. Taking cognisance of linguistics theory that posits language as fluid, she hypothesizes that if language use, in mixed code, is excessive, it may lead to cognitive instability and insecure academic discourse.Item Open Access Policy analysis of the English graduation benchmark in Taiwan(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012-09) Shih, Chih-MinTo nudge students to study English and to improve their English proficiency, many universities in Taiwan have imposed an English graduation benchmark on their students. This article reviews this policy, using the theoretic framework for education policy analysis proposed by Haddad and Demsky (1995). The author presents relevant research findings, and concludes that this policy does not achieve the intended goals. It is suggested that policymakers reconsider this English graduation benchmark.Item Open Access The effectiveness of students redrafting continuous assessment tasks: the pivotal role of tutors and feedback(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012-09) Dube, Cecilia; Kane, Sandra; Lear, MiriamIn order to improve academic language competence, students in two academic literacy modules at the University of Johannesburg were given opportunities to resubmit continuous assessment tasks utilising tutor feedback to improve performance. Despite the potential benefits to the students, not all of them were taking advantage of this opportunity. The main purpose of this study was to establish the reasons for this and to describe a strategy that could be used to enhance learning. Performance records were kept on each student to determine the number of students resubmitting and whether or not marks subsequently improved. Data was also gathered through a questionnaire to establish the reasons for taking advantage or not of the opportunities provided. Small group interviews were conducted to follow up on some questionnaire results. It was found that when students are provided with an opportunity to resubmit assessment tasks, they do benefit, provided that they are sufficiently motivated; clear, specific, constructive feedback is given; and tutoring is of a good quality.Item Open Access Editorial(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012) De Wet, CoreneAbstract not availableItem Open Access Research in a South African faculty of education: a transformative approach(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012-09) Engelbrecht, PetraNational and international developments in higher education and the resultant pressure on universities to demonstrate excellence, including excellence in research, had a far-reaching effect on faculties of education who had traditionally focused more on excellence in teaching than on research. In South Africa, as part of transformation policies after 1994, the South African government made a deliberate effort to restructure the higher education landscape, resulting in a number of enforced mergers between universities and teacher education colleges. These complex contextual issues had a profound effect on research development in education faculties. This paper focuses on a transformative approach to research development initiatives in a South African faculty of education over a period of three to four years.Item Open Access Conversations among Black staff members at a historically White Afrikaans university campus on issues of race, social justice and reconciliation(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012-09) Nel, WillyIn an ethnographically designed study, guided by a critical community psychology framework, Black staff members at a historically White Afrikaans university campus conducted email conversations relating to issues of race, social justice and reconciliation. The conversations were initiated by the author (Black) who mainly used prompts found in the local institutional context to elicit responses from colleagues. A critical discourse approach to thematic analysis of the email conversations was followed. The main findings are: Compared to the potential number of respondents (32 Black staff members or 18% of all faculty staff), very few colleagues (9 or 28% of Black staff members) responded via email to the invitations but, when met in person, all expressed strong views on the topics or prompts used in the initialising emails. The critical discourse approach revealed clear psychopolitical awareness and strong discourses of fear, powerlessness and bitterness, as well as a discourse of non-engagement. These discourses appeared in all three domains of analysis: local, institutional and societal. Theoretical explication is sought mainly in resistance theory for the discourse of non-engagement and the scarcity of responses located in the local domain. Transformative resistance is suggested so that alternative discourses are inculcated, at least, in faculties of education at some historically White Afrikaans university campuses.Item Open Access Educating for a plural democracy and citizenship – a report on practice(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012-09) Costandius, Elmarie; Rosochacki, SophiaThis paper presents an argument for the relevance of education for critical global citizenship, with reference to a graphic design module at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa as a case study. The first part of the paper argues that tolerance, cultural diversity, democratic participation and social cohesion are prerequisites for plural democracies. The second part argues that educational institutions, as prominent organisational structures, have an obligation to address these social issues. It is argued that addressing social inequality and developing conditions for democratic flourishing is particularly important in the newly democratised South Africa. Consequently, particular attention is paid to the South African higher education context. The paper then gives an account of an attempt at practically engaging university students in these issues through the university curricula, describing, in terms of its form and content, the above-mentioned graphic design module on critical global citizenship. Finally, it considers to what extent the module has been successful in promoting attitudes of tolerance and social cohesion in a racially and culturally mixed educational environment, using qualitative data collected from participants in the module, and reflects on the ethical and practical challenges that critical ci tizenship education might face.Item Open Access Drama education in the age of AIDS(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012-09) Singh, LorraineThis article arose out of my involvement in an undergraduate drama module at the School of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, where I made use of workshop theatre methodologies to explore how secondyear drama students construct knowledge and develop sociocultural understandings of critical issues in society. The workshop theatre project described in this article aimed to allow drama students to explore and expose the myths, practices and world view associated with the sexual behaviour of young people in two townships and on two campuses. The purpose was to ensure that, as prospective teachers, these students are prepared with knowledge and skills to engage their future learners on this topic in a relevant and effective manner. The article draws on the theories of applied drama and argues for workshopping as a cogent means of researching and representing social issues. The data-gathering process undertaken by students, and the plays constructed from the analysis are described. I conclude with a discussion on how the methodology reflected the beliefs and attitudes of the participants in a contextualised manner, exposing a flaw in their image of the sexually liberated and independent young woman. I also show how the approach allowed me to develop an emancipatory pedagogy which endows students with authority.Item Open Access Can low-cost support programmes with coaching accelerate doctoral completion in Health Science Faculty academics?(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2012-09) Geber, Hilary; Bentley, AlisonCareer development for full-time Health Sciences academics through to doctoral studies is a monumental task. Many academics have difficulty completing their studies in the minimum time as well as publishing after obtaining their degree. As this problem is particularly acute in the Health Sciences, the PhD Acceleration Programme in Health Sciences was piloted in 2009 by the Faculty of Health Science Research Office at the University of the Witwatersrand to provide deliberate support to staff members registered for a PhD to attain their goals. There is little research on such interventions using coaching and coaching-learning. This article discusses the programme structure, participants’ evaluation of the yearlong intervention and some longitudinal data, using semi-structured interviews in a qualitative paradigm. The findings indicate that staff found the research writing course the most valuable of the skills courses and noted that the individual, goal-directed coaching helped them in many different ways in completing the thesis and managing their professional lives simultaneously. This structured support programme with coaching provides a low-cost, sustainable innovation for full-time academics during doctoral studies.