Curriculum and Instructional Studies

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Browsing Curriculum and Instructional Studies by Author "Govender, S."

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    The nature and pedagogical implications of English first additional Language writing among FET phase learners in the Pinetown district
    (University of Zululand, 2018) Ngubane, Nomalungelo. I.; Ntombela, B.X.S.; Govender, S.
    Writing remains central to effective learning. It is through writing that learners are able to access knowledge, express their ideas and thoughts in different subjects across the curriculum. Through writing, learners are also expected to display the acquired knowledge in their assessments and examinations. Competency in writing is therefore crucial for learners, especially in the last three years of schooling, prior to them entering the demanding writing contexts of higher education. Despite this, writing continues to be a challenge for the majority of learners in South Africa, especially those learners writing in their second language in which they are not competent and confident. Thus, this calls for the special attention to how writing is taught and learnt, specifically at the FET levels. This study, therefore, investigated the nature and pedagogical implication of English First Additional Language Learners (EFAL) writing among Further Education and Training (FET) phase learners in the Pinetown District. Guided by the Socio-cultural Learning Theory, I observed the writing lessons, analysed the types of writing produced by learners and explored the quality of writing among FET learners to understand the extent to which the writing practices and pedagogy meet the expectations of the curriculum. Five FET schools in the Pinetown District were purposively selected to participate in this study. Underpinned by the qualitative framework, the study employed the interpretative paradigm to understand the human experiences of writing within the natural classroom contexts. To gain insights into the writing activities and classroom pedagogy, five writing lessons were observed and recorded using a video camera. To understand the types of writing and the quality of learners’ writing, learners’ written tasks were collected and analysed. Findings from the analysis of the sample of written tasks collected from the five schools indicated that learners produced different types of writing: narrative essays, formal letters, friendly letters, formal letters, obituaries, diary entries, directions, interviews, invitation cards and covering letters. The study also found that this is in line with the curriculum which suggests that learners should be exposed to different types of texts to develop their cognitive and creative writing skills. The study found ii that the learners’ writing contained recurring incorrect spelling, misuse of capitalisation, violation of punctuation rules and incorrect use of tenses. Even though the analysis of the learners’ written tasks revealed that such incorrect use of writing mechanics does not necessarily affect comprehension or meaning of the learners’ texts, they, however, affect the overall judgement of the learners’ writing. Data from classroom observations, lesson analyses and analysis of the curriculum show that, at most, the writing approaches used by the teachers were in line with the writing approach suggested by the curriculum. Findings from the analyses of the writing lessons indicate that teachers mostly used the question and answer method to teach writing in the five schools. This method entails the teachers controlling the interactions in the classrooms through nomination-response cycle. The findings from the analyses of lessons suggest that teachers creatively employed code-switching for pedagogical and pastoral purposes. The study found code-switching to enhance learners’ understanding and thus fulfils an academic purpose, especially in situations where switching to isiZulu explained concepts better. The study concludes that the effectiveness of any curriculum and pedagogy depends on the teachers’ knowledge and understanding of writing and approaches to writing. For the effective development of the learners’ writing, teachers must, firstly, understand their curriculum and implement it in their classrooms. Secondly, the researcher believes that successful teaching and learning of writing also depends on the effective instruction methods that embrace the socio-cultural learning perspectives. Lastly, the researcher found code-switching to be inevitable in second language writing classrooms where the teachers and learners are competent in more than one language. The study recommends collaborative writing activities in the learners’ Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and the recognition of learners’ home language for the learning of second language writing skills.
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    Perspectives on a mediating role for effective teaching and learning of Life Orientation in the Further Education and Training (FET) Band in schools under the Pinetown District of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa
    (University of Zululand, 2016) Zulu, Gladstone Khulani; Mashiya, N.J.; Govender, S.
    The inclusion of the subject, Life Orientation, in the school curriculum for a democratic education dispensation was the realisation of the recommendation of the National Education Crisis Committee or NECC (1992) in its research for a curriculum model for a post-apartheid society (CUMSA) and Educational Renewal Strategy (ERS). The NECC (1992: 79) emphasised that lifestyle education was essential for a post-apartheid curriculum in order to incorporate knowledge of and guidance on religion, economic education and physical education, to be directed at norms, values, personal convictions and attitude to life (including an emphasis on openness to and acceptance of the convictions and attitudes of others). However, studies have highlighted that Life Orientation is generally considered an appendage, an additional subject that is perceived as being of lesser importance in the school curriculum (Chisholm, 2000; Jansen, 1997; Christie, 1999). Such claims are based on the following facts: Life Orientation has the least number of periods in the school timetable; there is no formal assessment of the Life Orientation knowledge, skills, values and attitudes; learners’ performance in Life Orientation counts for less on their school-leaving certificates, than their performance in other subjects; and there is no accountability on the part of teachers with regard to learners’ performance in the subject. Therefore, results obtained in the subject do not add value in the certification process of the learner in the Further Education and Training (FET) Band. While reforms and changes have been introduced in the South African schooling curriculum for a democratic political and social dispensation, educational researchers (Chisholm, 2000; Jansen, 1997; Christie, 1999) have highlighted the challenges facing the successful implementation of the new curriculum. This study considers the mediation of the subject curriculum to be the main challenge in the successful implementation of the national curriculum statement, which provides teachers with guidelines on why, what and how classroom practice ought to be. Through the lens of the tuition of a specific subject, this study considers the competence of teachers in mediating Life Orientation in the FET Phase. This study attempted to answer the following research questions: • What paradigm informs the mediation strategies of teachers of Life Orientation? • How do teachers’ mediation strategies align content, intended outcomes and assessment for daily learning activities? • Why do teachers perceive their mediation strategies as being congruent with the attainment of the Life Orientation curriculum statement and learning outcomes? This study targeted teachers involved in the teaching of Life Orientation in the FET Phase: that is, Grades 10, 11 and 12 teachers in schools in the vicinity of the Pinetown District. A mixed method design was used to investigate teachers’ perceptions and competencies in teaching Life Orientation in the Further Education and Training band. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments were used to collect data from the participants. The researcher used open-ended questionnaires for data collection with regard to the perspectives on a mediating role for the effective teaching of Life Orientation in the FET band. The research was conducted with Grades 10, 11 and 12 Life Orientation (L.O.) teachers. There are 167 secondary schools under Pinetown District and the questionnaires were administered in 30 of the 167 secondary schools. A total of 60 teachers, that is, 2 teachers per school, teaching Grades 10, 11 and 12 were used as respondents to the questionnaires in order to answer the research question. The purpose of the survey questionnaire was to collect information regarding L.O.’s academic value, L.O. teachers’ preparedness and L.O. mediation strategies. Interviews were also used to collect qualitative data from the participants who were teachers who teach Life Orientation in the FET phase. According to McMillan and Schumacher (2010), in-depth interviews use open-response questions to obtain data on participants’ meanings regarding how individuals conceive of their world and how they explain or make sense of the important events in their lives. According to the collected data, the participants felt very strong about the importance and the academic value of the subject LO in the FET curriculum. They emphasised that the subject was invaluable in the effective teaching of the learners at this stage in order to prepare them for future careers and as future citizens. They felt a need for the subject to be recognised and to be treated with some degree of the value it deserves within the curriculum. It was mentioned by the participants that the teachers who teach the subject have to be well-prepared and trained, and also that they need to have a specialised knowledge and understanding for the effective teaching and learning of the subject to happen. Over and above they have to be passionate about the subject, and be willing to sacrifice their time and talents to develop themselves and to teach better. A variety of mediation strategies that are learner-centred were identified as the best strategies to teach the subject, in order to improve and develop learner knowledge and understanding around the subject. Strategies that keep learners fully involved in their learning and development were seen as the best strategies. Participants felt that learners learn better when they find information on their own and when they interact with others to develop knowledge and understanding. This study recommends that Life Orientation must be treated in the same manner as other subjects in the curriculum and that this needs to be shown in the allocation of time to teach the subject. It is very disturbing to learn that this subject is sacrificed a lot to benefit other priority subjects in the FET curriculum. It should always be remembered that this subject was introduced for the purpose of a holistic development of the learners. With the identified academic value of the subject, L.O., it is without doubt that the subject is indispensable within the FET curriculum.