Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 2014
The study examines the effects of the feedback given to students by lecturers as learning support... more The study examines the effects of the feedback given to students by lecturers as learning support. It was conducted with undergraduates in an educational theory course in a South African university. The thesis was that although some of the feedback messages transmitted to students regarding strengths and weaknesses in learning get easily decoded and turned into action to improve performance, some messages are misconstrued by the students making the process of giving feedback complex. Data was collected through a cross-sectional feedback survey utilizing focus group interviews with 50 Bachelor of Education pre-service students conveniently sampled. The data analysis followed a thematic approach with superordinate themes used to structure the discussion of findings. The study found that student feedback needs to be culturally responsive for it to foster metacognition in them. The conclusion was that unless lecturers provide feedback that is simple, meaningful and clearly focused, stud...
Herein the argument advanced is that excellent shepherd leadership practices serve as a condition... more Herein the argument advanced is that excellent shepherd leadership practices serve as a condition necessary for affording South African university students easy access to the required book chapters instead of enduring the burden of having to buy the full books. In order to embellish this viewpoint, relevant data were collected through focus group interview discussion sessions (FGIDs) with a sample of 40 purposefully sampled participants from a target population of university students, lecturers and local text books sales personnel. These participants were first categorised into 4 focus groups of 10 members each and were interviewed for a duration of between 40 minutes and one hour per focus group. By adopting an interpretivist paradigm, utilising a qualitative research approach and descriptive phenomenology as strategy of enquiry (design genre) the study was able to explore the lived experiences of the participants. The two key research questions guiding the study were; how can the ...
In this conceptual paper I present an analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Th... more In this conceptual paper I present an analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT analysis) of a school of thought called the Sociology of knowledge-a brainchild of Karl Mannheim (1893 – 1947) and one of the youngest branches of sociology. The analysis unfolds with a brief focus on its (sociology of knowledge) genesis and development, premise, fundamental tenets and its educational promise. Theoretical frameworks - Marxist, functionalist, phenomenological, interactionist and feminist approaches are employed in this discourse. Since the paper adopts a swot approach to the analysis of this subject, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (swot) of the sociology of knowledge paradigm are explored and brought to the lime light with a view to clarifying and justifying “doing a sociology of knowledge” in schools, colleges and universities
The low enrolment, lack of interest, exacerbated by the general poor performance in physical scie... more The low enrolment, lack of interest, exacerbated by the general poor performance in physical science in South Africa paints a gloomy picture about the status of physical science in the country. Despite the fact that there might be other factors at play, one factor which cannot be ignored is the discourse about the use of language in the science classroom as viewed by physical science teachers. In the study reported on here a quantitative methodology was followed in which a closed-ended questionnaire survey was used as data collection tool. In the study we examined South African physical science teachers’ perceptions about the language use in science classrooms, and the study was informed by the Vygotskian socio-cultural theory (SCT). The target population from which a sample size of 37 physical science teachers was systematically sampled was high school classroom teachers and learners in Grades 10, 11 and 12 in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district of the North West province of South Afr...
The study explored teachers’ perceptions of the degree of association between the curriculum foll... more The study explored teachers’ perceptions of the degree of association between the curriculum followed by Zimbabwean secondary school girls and their career aspirations or choices. A sample size of 40 participants comprising 20 secondary school teachers and an equal number of Sixth Form girls participated in the study. The sample was conveniently and purposively selected from eight schools in the Central Masvingo District of Zimbabwe. The study adopted a quantitative research design and utilized a questionnaire as the instrument for collecting data from the participants. The study found that the girls’ curriculum as determined by the school subjects studied at school have a great impact on their resultant career preferences. Other aspects of the hidden culture curriculum that were found to impinge upon the girls’ career aspirations include their teachers’ attitudes and expectations towards them, their socio-economic backgrounds and parental or siblings’ influences. The study conclude...
This conceptual paper proffered critical examination of the subject of educational policy analysi... more This conceptual paper proffered critical examination of the subject of educational policy analysis and the factors, theories and methods that shape the process. The paper thus begins with an overview of major debates in policy sociology including the conceptualizations of policy as process, text anddiscourse before delving into the discussion of the models of policy-analysis often articulated in social and political science disciplines. The factors influencing policy-making are highlighted and so are the shifts in education policy with examples drawn from the South African context of education. In doing so, the paper also explores the various conceptions, methodsand theories of educational policy and policy analysis. This implies that the paper alsooutlines what constitutes educational policy and methods of policy analysis in a country. In this regard, the views of Steven Ball on policy as discourse and astext are employed to demonstrate how the social agentive nature of people as a...
Zimbabwe Open University has churned a very high percentage of graduates since its inception in 1... more Zimbabwe Open University has churned a very high percentage of graduates since its inception in 1994 through its Distance and Open learning Programmes. This has encouraged many people to continue to study at their own pace. Given the depressed and shrinking nature of the Zimbabwean labour market from 1999-2011, the institution has thus produced more graduates than can be absorbed by Zimbabwe's labour market since not all of the graduates find employment in their respective fields of qualifications. This study adopted a mixed methods approach utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analyses procedures. Its goal was to establish the extent to which graduates from the Open University find employment in their fields of specialization. The study revealed that many graduates who undertook studies anticipating employment in their field of specialization are failing to do so as most of the employers are hesitant to employ people who are highly qualified, when the...
This conceptual paper presents the position that the primary changes in human history are the fou... more This conceptual paper presents the position that the primary changes in human history are the four social revolutions (domestication, agriculture, industrialization, and information), the change from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft types of societies, capitalism and industrialization, modernization and global stratification. Ethnic conflicts and social movements indicate cutting edges of social change. Sociological approaches such as William Ogburn’s theory of social change, which asserts that technology is the basic cause of social change are fully explored and applied in this discourse. A great deal of effort is made in this paper to identify the many and varied existing forms of technology and the effects changed technology has on society and culture. The major characteristic of traditional and modern societies are also brought to the lime light in a bid to show the major cultural changes that have occurred or are occurring in society. It is these socio-cultural changes from traditional to modern types of society that Ferdinand Tonnies (1988) refers to as changes from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft respectively. In discussing how technology changes society, the major thesis is that because technology is the organizing force for social life, when it changes, its effects can be profound. The computer, for example is changing the way people practise medicine, learn, work and how they relate or even think. The information superhighway is likely to perpetuate social inequalities at both national and global levels. The article also avers that besides technology, capitalism and modernization, theories such as the conflict and evolutionary help sociologists to account for the phenomena of social changea shift in the characteristics of culture and Society. It is important to point out that this paper is embedded in a Western understanding of technologies and its impact on society.
Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 2014
The study examines the effects of the feedback given to students by lecturers as learning support... more The study examines the effects of the feedback given to students by lecturers as learning support. It was conducted with undergraduates in an educational theory course in a South African university. The thesis was that although some of the feedback messages transmitted to students regarding strengths and weaknesses in learning get easily decoded and turned into action to improve performance, some messages are misconstrued by the students making the process of giving feedback complex. Data was collected through a cross-sectional feedback survey utilizing focus group interviews with 50 Bachelor of Education pre-service students conveniently sampled. The data analysis followed a thematic approach with superordinate themes used to structure the discussion of findings. The study found that student feedback needs to be culturally responsive for it to foster metacognition in them. The conclusion was that unless lecturers provide feedback that is simple, meaningful and clearly focused, stud...
Herein the argument advanced is that excellent shepherd leadership practices serve as a condition... more Herein the argument advanced is that excellent shepherd leadership practices serve as a condition necessary for affording South African university students easy access to the required book chapters instead of enduring the burden of having to buy the full books. In order to embellish this viewpoint, relevant data were collected through focus group interview discussion sessions (FGIDs) with a sample of 40 purposefully sampled participants from a target population of university students, lecturers and local text books sales personnel. These participants were first categorised into 4 focus groups of 10 members each and were interviewed for a duration of between 40 minutes and one hour per focus group. By adopting an interpretivist paradigm, utilising a qualitative research approach and descriptive phenomenology as strategy of enquiry (design genre) the study was able to explore the lived experiences of the participants. The two key research questions guiding the study were; how can the ...
In this conceptual paper I present an analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Th... more In this conceptual paper I present an analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT analysis) of a school of thought called the Sociology of knowledge-a brainchild of Karl Mannheim (1893 – 1947) and one of the youngest branches of sociology. The analysis unfolds with a brief focus on its (sociology of knowledge) genesis and development, premise, fundamental tenets and its educational promise. Theoretical frameworks - Marxist, functionalist, phenomenological, interactionist and feminist approaches are employed in this discourse. Since the paper adopts a swot approach to the analysis of this subject, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (swot) of the sociology of knowledge paradigm are explored and brought to the lime light with a view to clarifying and justifying “doing a sociology of knowledge” in schools, colleges and universities
The low enrolment, lack of interest, exacerbated by the general poor performance in physical scie... more The low enrolment, lack of interest, exacerbated by the general poor performance in physical science in South Africa paints a gloomy picture about the status of physical science in the country. Despite the fact that there might be other factors at play, one factor which cannot be ignored is the discourse about the use of language in the science classroom as viewed by physical science teachers. In the study reported on here a quantitative methodology was followed in which a closed-ended questionnaire survey was used as data collection tool. In the study we examined South African physical science teachers’ perceptions about the language use in science classrooms, and the study was informed by the Vygotskian socio-cultural theory (SCT). The target population from which a sample size of 37 physical science teachers was systematically sampled was high school classroom teachers and learners in Grades 10, 11 and 12 in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district of the North West province of South Afr...
The study explored teachers’ perceptions of the degree of association between the curriculum foll... more The study explored teachers’ perceptions of the degree of association between the curriculum followed by Zimbabwean secondary school girls and their career aspirations or choices. A sample size of 40 participants comprising 20 secondary school teachers and an equal number of Sixth Form girls participated in the study. The sample was conveniently and purposively selected from eight schools in the Central Masvingo District of Zimbabwe. The study adopted a quantitative research design and utilized a questionnaire as the instrument for collecting data from the participants. The study found that the girls’ curriculum as determined by the school subjects studied at school have a great impact on their resultant career preferences. Other aspects of the hidden culture curriculum that were found to impinge upon the girls’ career aspirations include their teachers’ attitudes and expectations towards them, their socio-economic backgrounds and parental or siblings’ influences. The study conclude...
This conceptual paper proffered critical examination of the subject of educational policy analysi... more This conceptual paper proffered critical examination of the subject of educational policy analysis and the factors, theories and methods that shape the process. The paper thus begins with an overview of major debates in policy sociology including the conceptualizations of policy as process, text anddiscourse before delving into the discussion of the models of policy-analysis often articulated in social and political science disciplines. The factors influencing policy-making are highlighted and so are the shifts in education policy with examples drawn from the South African context of education. In doing so, the paper also explores the various conceptions, methodsand theories of educational policy and policy analysis. This implies that the paper alsooutlines what constitutes educational policy and methods of policy analysis in a country. In this regard, the views of Steven Ball on policy as discourse and astext are employed to demonstrate how the social agentive nature of people as a...
Zimbabwe Open University has churned a very high percentage of graduates since its inception in 1... more Zimbabwe Open University has churned a very high percentage of graduates since its inception in 1994 through its Distance and Open learning Programmes. This has encouraged many people to continue to study at their own pace. Given the depressed and shrinking nature of the Zimbabwean labour market from 1999-2011, the institution has thus produced more graduates than can be absorbed by Zimbabwe's labour market since not all of the graduates find employment in their respective fields of qualifications. This study adopted a mixed methods approach utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analyses procedures. Its goal was to establish the extent to which graduates from the Open University find employment in their fields of specialization. The study revealed that many graduates who undertook studies anticipating employment in their field of specialization are failing to do so as most of the employers are hesitant to employ people who are highly qualified, when the...
This conceptual paper presents the position that the primary changes in human history are the fou... more This conceptual paper presents the position that the primary changes in human history are the four social revolutions (domestication, agriculture, industrialization, and information), the change from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft types of societies, capitalism and industrialization, modernization and global stratification. Ethnic conflicts and social movements indicate cutting edges of social change. Sociological approaches such as William Ogburn’s theory of social change, which asserts that technology is the basic cause of social change are fully explored and applied in this discourse. A great deal of effort is made in this paper to identify the many and varied existing forms of technology and the effects changed technology has on society and culture. The major characteristic of traditional and modern societies are also brought to the lime light in a bid to show the major cultural changes that have occurred or are occurring in society. It is these socio-cultural changes from traditional to modern types of society that Ferdinand Tonnies (1988) refers to as changes from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft respectively. In discussing how technology changes society, the major thesis is that because technology is the organizing force for social life, when it changes, its effects can be profound. The computer, for example is changing the way people practise medicine, learn, work and how they relate or even think. The information superhighway is likely to perpetuate social inequalities at both national and global levels. The article also avers that besides technology, capitalism and modernization, theories such as the conflict and evolutionary help sociologists to account for the phenomena of social changea shift in the characteristics of culture and Society. It is important to point out that this paper is embedded in a Western understanding of technologies and its impact on society.
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