Browsing by Author "Dharsey, Zorina"

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    Implementing a resource based inset programme: a case study of natural science teachers
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2007-03) Dharsey, Zorina; Reddy, C. P. S.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Curriculum Studies.
    This thesis analyses the potential of resource materials to facilitate NCS (National Curriculum Statement) curriculum development processes related to the teaching of Natural Science in the Primary School. The resource, We Care learning support materials, was presented to teachers within the context of an INSET programme. During the course of investigating two teachers’ curricular activities as they engaged the We Care materials, their professional development is traced as an outcome that parallels their curriculum activities. Case study research, consistent with the interpretive paradigm, served this study. With respect to the evidence acquired, the curriculum development activities and associated indications of teacher learning were scrutinized concomitantly. Working within a guiding framework, I chronicled the teachers’ involvement with the We Care learning support materials and detailed their curricular processes. At the same time, I monitored indications of professional development that associated with these processes. Likewise, professional development indicators were used to establish teacher learning.
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    PSP’s support of science education through teacher development : a case study
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-12) Dharsey, Zorina; Reddy, Chris P. S.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Curriculum Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An analysis of a teacher development programme known as the Cluster Project is central to this research. Study of the form, processes and outcomes of the project model draws attention to teacher professional development (TPD) as a critical strategy for improving science education in primary schools. High quality teaching at the foundational level supports children develop the appropriate level of knowledge that would allow them to take up and succeed at science at higher levels. With the object of strengthening primary science education the Primary Science Programme (PSP) implements a Cluster Project in Western Cape schools. The project model offers training workshops, classroom guidance and essential resources to support teachers develop both their knowledge and teaching competencies to teach science well. Training workshops are designed to build teachers’ understanding of critical science concepts, improve science content knowledge, and offers guidance with curriculum implementation and assessment of learning. In-classroom support and team-teaching, supported with teaching and learning materials and other resources, assists with improving teaching practice in context. This interpretive case study analyses the Cluster Project model and its processes within three theoretical frames: activity theory, complexity theory, and a research-developed qualitative framework to trace teacher professional development. Activity theory is applied to the purpose, organization and function of the Cluster Project, while complexity theory probes the meaning and implications of educational change for teachers and TPD. The qualitative framework with its five critical indicators of autonomy, knowledge, practice, and collaboration and continuing development analyses empirical evidence of TPD with respect to six teacher participants. Activity theory draws attention to the use of flexible adaptive teacher professional learning models which can accommodate frequent change to curriculum and context, and further highlights the importance of promoting collaboration and reducing contradictions in order to improve learning outcomes. Complexity theory expands understanding of teacher professional learning through its focus on the critical concepts of pedagogy, holism, learning as a nonlinear process, the unpredictability of teaching and learning, networking and connectedness, change by emergence and self-organization, changing environments, and teacher development programmes as open, complex adaptive systems. This research observed the six teacher participants were able to improve aspects of their teaching of science, thereby achieving a measure of professional development, although this was not a general observation within the Cluster Project teacher population. Research findings show that teachers’ active participation in meaningful practical science experiences promotes teacher learning, improves practical science in the classroom, and encourages the ready take-up of helpful and innovative science teaching ideas and strategies. This research recommends that practical science teaching, integrated with language and mathematics teaching, should form an essential part of education and training programmes for both pre-service and in-service primary and high school science teachers.