Browse
Recent Submissions
Now showing 1 - 5 of 49
- ItemEffectiveness of the financial management practices by high school principals promoting teaching and learning in eSwatini(University of Zululand, 2023) Nonjola, Daphne Bethusile; Kutame, A. P. and Ngidi, T. Z.High school principals‟ financial management practices have been under discussion by various authors. Effectiveness of teaching and learning relies heavily on proper financial management practices of school principals. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of high school principals‟ financial management practices in promoting teaching and learning in eSwatini. The study employed a mixed method approach in the collection data. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires from randomly sampled principals in the four regions of eSwatini and qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews from purposefully sampled high school principals and regional in-service officers. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS and displayed in tables showing frequencies and percentages and inferential statistics. For qualitative data thematic analysis was employed. The main findings were that some principals had challenges in practices such as budget monitoring; compliance with some items of school financial management legislation which may inhibit teaching and learning. They cited lack of continuous training in school financial management; insufficient finances; late disbursements of OVC grants; and outdated school financial management legislation as a barrier to effectiveness. Most principals also cited lack of financial management skills as fostering negative attitudes towards school financial management. Anxiety, fear and worry were found to be part of the emotional trauma experienced by principals when managing school finances. Other findings were that some principals neglected their financial management duties and delegated most of them to school secretaries. Principals recommended school-based assistance and continuous financial management training; and internal auditing to be used as a preventative control measure as main strategies to improve school financial management. The recommendation was that they manage school finances together with School Management Teams.
- ItemEvaluating the effects of integrated quality management system (IQMS) in enhancing teaching and learning in King Cetshwayo District High Schools(University of Zululand, 2024) Sibeko, Lindubuhle Effort; Ngubane, P.B. and Maphalala, M.C.Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) is a nationwide policy to enhance teacher productivity in South Africa. It is a school quality management system with a two-fold objective of fostering teacher professionalism and bolstering responsibility inside educational institutions. Encompassed in teacher professionalism is improved curriculum delivery to improve learning outcomes. However, there is a gap in research that assesses the impact that is being made by the IQMS, particularly in the King Cetshwayo District context where this study was conducted. Hence, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the IQMS in enhancing teaching and learning in King Cetshwayo District High Schools in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Total Quality Management (TQM) theory was used to underpin this study. The theory outline seven principles that are critical in the quality implementation. The first and the critical principle is customer care. To achieve the research objective, data were gathered via a semi-structured interview questionnaire from a total of 17 participants located in five Circuit Management Centres within the King Cetshwayo District. The interview data were transcribed into Word documents. The transcribed data underwent coding, thematic analysis, and interpretation to extract meaning and address the study research questions. This study found that the IQMS was inadequately implemented to improve teaching and learning in King Cetshwayo high schools. While the findings revealed that teacher’s academic growth was accomplished using IQMS evaluations, as it reflected the teaching proficiency of teachers, teachers were in disagreement with the view of connecting IQMS scores with learner pass rates which is at the centre of teaching and learning. This is because it could potentially put teachers at a financial disadvantage, particularly for those teachers whose learners perform poorly. The findings neglected a critical beneficiary element, which is the client in their capacity as a learner. Another finding of this study is the singular evaluation and focus that comes with the implementation of IQMS. The single assessment yields malicious compliance as it is exclusively carried out to provide scores for IQMS evaluation submissions. The findings further identified time as the limitation in the implementation of IQMS. Participants observed that the excessive amount of paperwork and assessments are not evenly dispersed throughout the year, leading to a time constraint. The implementation of IQMS is expedited to acquire scores promptly. Based on the research findings, the Department of Education should conduct performance assessments between supervisors and supervisees, using agreed-upon assessment standards that include the learner pass rate. The supervisor should provide on-the-job training and offline training to correct any performance gaps discovered during formal examinations. Future studies could follow up on these recommendations to determine their effectiveness.
- ItemEnhancing grammar accuracy for learners doing EFAL in Grade five in a selected primary school at uMfolozi circuit(University of Zululand, 2024) Maphumulo, Bonisiwe Happiness; Nkoane, M. M. Mngomezulu, T. P.A central concern in education, internationally and in South Africa, is to enhance learners’ grammar accuracy. However grammatical problems exist in spite of efforts tocounter this. Some researchers have explored the issue of grammar focusing on EFAL (EFAL) learners. There is, however, insufficient literature that looks into grammar difficulties encountered by learners doing EFAL, particularly in Grade 5. Hence this study investigated means of enhancing grammar accuracy for learners doing EFAL in Grade five in a selected primary school at uMfolozi circuit. The study investigated the deep and underlying realities relating to the challenges faced by EFAL learners in writing grammatically correct sentences and also the factors that contribute to these challenges, taking into account the issue of parental involvement and limited exposure to reading material, which seems to have a huge impact on performance. In exploring these issues, the study adopted a qualitative approach to ensure credibility and trustworthiness of the study. The data gathering process was in the form of semistructured interviews and thematic analysis. One school that uses EFAL as amedium of instruction medium in uMfolozi Circuit in the King Cetshwayo District waspurposively selected to form the context of the study. In this school English is taught as a subject in Grade five. There were 10 participants (6 Grade five learners and 4 Grade five English teachers who have been in the field for more than five years). The findings of the study revealed that EFAL learners have difficulties in grammar, particularly when writing. This came to light when participants shared their experiencesand struggles in understanding the rules of grammar when writing. It was also noted that some grammar challenges were influenced, among other issues, by learners’ heavy reliance on their mother tongue.
- ItemPedagogical Content Knowledge of Life Orientation Teaching of Life Skills Among Learners in the Vhembe East District(2023) Randela Rudzani JusticeLife Orientation teaching in the General Education and Training (GET henceforth) band in the Vhembe East District has been a challenge. The aim of this study was to investigate the pedagogical content knowledge of Life Orientation in the teaching of life skills among learners in the GET band in the Vhembe East District. The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches, collecting data through questionnaires and face to face interviews. The findings show that teachers must be masters of their subjects for them to be proficient and effective in delivering the content to learners. Life Orientation, if successfully facilitated may influence learners’ lives and redress the social and economic disparity of the post-apartheid era. Life Orientation assists learners to take right decisions when solving problems. The study recommends that teachers should be motivated towards furthering their professional qualifications in Life Orientation teaching.
- ItemExperiences of Teaching Reading in IsiZulu in Grade 3 in Ilembe District Schools(2023) Shozi- KunenePrisca HlengiweThere is much concern regarding learners who struggle with reading. The study aimed to look into teachers' experiences teaching reading in isiZulu in Grade 3 in iLembe District schools. All of the learners spoke isiZulu as their home language. The research was conducted qualitatively. The interpretive paradigm was the study's paradigmatic position. Individual teacher interviews, classroom observations, and content analysis were used to gather data. After the interviews were taped, transcribed, and analyzed, the data were grouped into themes. Three schools were chosen, each with three Grade 3 classes. Learners participated because the primary goal was to observe teachers' experiences teaching reading in isiZulu. The purpose of this study was to learn more about the teachers' experiences teaching reading in IsiZulu in Grade 3 classrooms, rather than to assess learners' performance. The goal of this study was to find out how teachers in isiZulu classrooms teach reading. The study's findings suggested that the teachers who took part had a weak understanding of reading skills. They saw teaching reading as a difficult task because they had no idea what reading tactics were or how to use them. Teachers spent little time with learners discussing reading, and there was no consistent approach to teaching reading among them. Teachers also demonstrated a lack of theoretical knowledge and practical expertise in teaching reading skills, which leads to teachers adopting a negative attitude toward their learners (who struggle to read). Although the participating teachers claimed to understand reading, interviews and classroom observations demonstrated no correlation between what they stated and what they performed in practice in their classes. Teaching reading has been an ongoing challenge in Grade 3 classrooms. These findings revealed that teachers' classroom practice was not consistent with current best practice and the modern theories of teaching reading. This factor negatively affects their expertise in teaching reading using the CAPS (2011) recommended reading methodologies in general. The challenges faced by applying different reading methodologies might be the reason for learners' inability to achieve successful reading outcomes in Grade 3 classrooms. They felt forgotten because the instructions were only in English and not African languages like isiZulu. As a result, there are no isiZulu teachings for teachers with isiZulu examples. Workshops had also been ineffective for isiZulu teachers. In other schools, the survey found a dearth of learning v | P a g e support tools, a scarcity of books, and a lack of a variety of reading materials for learners.