Browsing by Author "Isaacs, Akeda"

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    Analysing educational leadership in relation to deliberative democracy: towards a defffensible form of school leadership
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-12) Isaacs, Akeda; Waghid, Yusef; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Education Policy Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Debates about developing a more equal society should consider evaluating the role of education by reimagining school leadership’s nature and scope in developing the foundations for a just society where human equality is an ideal norm. While there is a growing unease with the neoliberal agenda of education, visible through state policies and practices, not much research exists on school leadership’s role in developing cosmopolitan norms through a cosmopolitan- oriented education that enhances and teaches democratic citizens to thrive in a globalised world. I believe school leaders play a critical role in advancing social justice and democratic citizenry in education as they are ideally placed for developing and enacting just school policies and developing spaces for deliberation in the school environment. The current neo-liberal debates of leadership as an instrument of control and risk management has led to politicisation of school leadership’s role as one of compliance and local power distribution. More than two decades after democracy, South African schools continue to be poles apart. After apartheid, policy reforms facilitated the democratisation of schools addressing challenges of social justice through equity and redress. The Curriculum Assessment and Policy Statement (CAPS), developed as part of the democratisation process, emphasises the development of academic ability, but the implementation thereof reduces opportunities for critical thinking and deliberation in the classroom. The curriculum’s aim to deliver quality teaching and learning is not clearly evident with many learners struggling to read. Another decentralisation mechanism, school-based leadership, inclusive of governing bodies, was established to manage schools. Although, one of the main functions of the school governing bodies is the development of school policy in line with the constitution, research highlights the inequalities at school level. Two decades after apartheid, public schooling is tormented by dysfunctionality and increased violence. Learners most at risk of being affected by violence are from disadvantaged schools. Schools cannot be divorced from their communities and they carry the legacy of their apartheid histories. Democratisation through its policies, cannot obliterate the discourse of violence inherent in apartheid, unless the curriculum creates the space for different pedagogical encounters, and teacher training is adapted to address the challenges, and in so doing, creating alternative philosophies and worldviews. This dissertation explores the concept of forgiveness to frame deliberative encounters with others, creating a curriculum of refuge, thus paving the way for a re-orientating that can foster healing in a society with historical conflict between different groups. I advance an argument for reconceptualising the philosophical framework and foundational principles of school leadership via the inclusion of deliberative democracy, cosmopolitan education, and the concept of forgiveness in teaching and learning. The dissertation explores the concept of deliberative democracy and cosmopolitan education. Furthermore, it examines the commensurability with a defensible form of school leadership, examining the implications for the development of democratic citizens. I analyze the concept of deliberative democracy as a philosophical framework to assist leadership in understanding the practical implementation of the moral and ethical dimensions of schools. This deals with diversity, identity, and an understanding of the role of leadership in advancing democratic education systems. The dissertation explores the development of democratic citizenship, with its claims of justice for all individuals, as a prerequisite for cosmopolitanism, and for cosmopolitan education to develop the recognition and acknowledgement of rights and responsibilities. One of the research’s main findings is the role of school leadership with a cosmopolitan orientation, inclusive of deliberation and a social justice ethic, as a contributor to a democratic and more peaceful world. Another is the inclusion of forgiveness, as a concept and lived experience in pedagogy, contributing towards democratic education. Forgiveness taught as both a normative value and concept, and from the perspectives of the forgiver and perpetrator. The significance of its inclusion in the education of a pluralistic society, seeking to advance democracy and to live in a peaceful world, whilst recovering from the ravages of apartheid, colonisation and its consequences of continuing violence and poverty, is explored. I examine leadership’s role in creating cosmopolitan spaces for iterations and engagement to enable an understanding of the relationship of the self and the other. Iterations and engagements foster the development of critical thinking and imagining a peaceful, forgiving, and democratic society that can be shared.
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    Evaluation of the use of resource kits in professional development in science teaching
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009-03) Isaacs, Akeda; Reddy, C. P. S.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Curriculum Studies.
    The research was done in a period of curriculum transformation and reform in South Africa, a period during which teachers attended many interventions by service providers other than the education department to sharpen their skills. In this study, I investigate teacher professional development and professional development programmes using two case studies, MTN-SUNSTEP (Mobile Telecommunications Network – Stellenbosch University Schools Technology in Electronics Programme) and SWAP (Schools Water Project). These INSET programmes were intended to assist with the improvement of science teaching in terms of the new curricula suggested for the country. The study proceeds by way of two case studies within an interpretive paradigm. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the two programmes based on the criteria developed through a literature review and to understand and give meaning to the process of teacher professional development that might have occurred in the programmes. This process is framed by my research question, “can resource kits enable professional development in science teaching”. Data was collected at various stages by way of field notes, questionnaires, interviews and observations at workshops. Teachers generally found the processes useful but do indicate dissatisfaction with certain areas of the programmes. Issues that emerged from the study were that teacher development processes need to be organized over a long period, the development of teacher networks needs to be nurtured, and support at school level was essential to ensure implementation. An important insight was that the research, once again, emphasized a key aspect of effective teacher development programmes. Effective programmes require a team consisting of three agents that bring their own expertise to the process namely, teachers, district officials and university staff. This team has to take into account the factors that ensure effective teacher professional development and should occur within the parameters of accepted professional development practices and learning support materials play an important role in supporting this process.