Helene Muller

The extent and practice of inclusion in independent schools in South Africa

In line with international trends in education, South Africa has embraced inclusive education as the means by which learners who experience barriers to learning will be educated. As inclusion is beginning to be realised in South African schools, a gap in the emerging research base on inclusive education is that of inclusion in the independent sector. A study was undertaken to establish the extent to which learners who experience barriers to learning are included in independent schools belonging to ISASA (the largest independent schools association in South Africa) and the practices that facilitate inclusion. The results of a survey administered to principals were analysed quantitatively and reveal that most ISASA schools include learners who experience various barriers to learning and employ inclusive practices that are described in the international literature. We report on salient aspects emerging from the study and focus on the diversity of learners found in ISASA schools, as well as the inclusive practices found at school-wide, classroom, and individual levels. The practices described are the provision of on-site specialist personnel, support for teachers, building modifications to ensure access by persons using wheelchairs and various instructional practices and assessment adaptations. Recommendations arising from the study may give direction to South African schools pursuing inclusivity. South African Journal of Education Vol. 29 (1) 2009: pp. 105-126

Validating the profile of a successful first year accounting student

The sustainability of higher education institutions is affected various things, particularly by student satisfaction and the financial stability of the institution. An analysis of student attrition and retention plays a vital role in assessing the sustainability of a higher education institution. Using suitable analysis techniques to do success profiling of prospective and current students is crucial for students and institutions alike. Success/risk estimation is essential for any higher education institution (HEI), because determining such factors can assist higher education institutions in fulfilling their obligation to provide support, guidance and interventions for their prospective and existing students. Strategic decisions in this regard, by both students and institutions, should be based on valid and reliable profiles. The validation of established profiles increases the accuracy of existing profiles and increases the efficiency of institutional strategic planning. This article reports on the validation of a success profile for first year Accounting students established by the authors of this article in an earlier study in an open and distance learning (ODL) environment at the University of South Africa.

‘You can train us until we are blue in our faces, we are still going to struggle’: Teacher professional learning in a full-service school

AbstractTeacher educators internationally are concerned with how best to prepare and equip teachers to be pedagogically responsive to an increasingly diverse learner population. This concern is echoed in South Africa as inclusive education is entrenched in the school system, with many teachers claiming that they do not have the knowledge and skills needed to teach in classrooms that represent diverse learners and learning needs. This article reports on research conducted with teachers in a full-service (inclusive) school in South Africa regarding their perceptions of a workshop on multilevel teaching. Participants completed questionnaires immediately after the workshop, and selected teachers engaged in focus group discussions eight months after the workshop. The collected data support Opfer and Pedders (2011) complexity theory of teacher professional learning and we argue from our findings that teacher education for inclusion must consider individual teachers, the learning activities presented to teacher...

Emotionally intelligent learner leadership development: a case study

A case study was conducted with a student leadership body of a private multicultural international secondary school in North- West Province , South Africa, to indicate that the emotional intelligence leadership development challenges of student leaders can be identified through a questionnaire as a measuring instrument, which can then be utilized in promoting training and development of student leaders. The questionnaire results were used to construct emotional intelligence leadership profiles for the 12 participating student leaders, followed by semi-structured interviews with them to verify the results qualitatively. The results of the questionnaire and two of the interviews are reported. It was established that it was possible to develop a reliable instrument to measure the emotional intelligence leadership development challenges of student leaders, which can be used in promoting their training and development. Keywords : emotional intelligence; emotional intelligence student leadership profiling; emotionally intelligent student leadership; student leadership; student leadership development; student leadership questionnaire

The impact of a quality, technology-enhanced teaching support medium on student success in a first-year financial accounting module at an open distance learning institute

In South Africa, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET) has expressed grave concerns about the poor pass rate of first-year accounting students. In an attempt to improve performance, the University of South Africa (Unisa), an open distance learning (ODL) institution, has developed a DVD for the first-year semester module, FAC1502, in financial accounting. This module forms the cornerstone of financial accounting at Unisa and is a prerequisite for all bachelor degrees in commerce and many related courses. FAC1502 has a total annual average registration of 13 000 students. The DVD, a multimedia, technology-enhanced learning support tool, complements flexible teaching and learning and presents a practical workshop for students to study at their own pace and equip them with the necessary basic theory, practical applications and financial accounting skills which underlie further course work. This article reports on the impact of student utilisation of the DVD as a probable effective multimedia intervention towards an improved student pass rate in the FAC1502 semester module. The assessment of the DVD effectiveness takes the quality of the DVD into consideration, as measured against quality standards of regulating bodies such as the College of Economics and Management Sciences (CEMS) of Unisa, SAQA standards and outcomes based guidelines of Unisa and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET). The fact that, barring DVD utilization, other factors – such as a success/ at-risk student profile – might affect student performance and confound the effect of DVD utilization on performance, was catered for in the sampling technique applied in the study. In an ODL environment, a teaching and learning support tool which promotes practical accounting knowledge in a real-life context ensures an innovative way of teaching and supporting students.

The Factor Structure and Reliability of a Six-Item Sense of Coherence Measure

The study investigated the factor structure and reliability of a six-item sense of coherence (SOC) measure. Participants were a South African white collar employee sample (n=7185) purposively selected from over 300 different companies across various business sectors. The sample constituted 34% male and 66% female and 34% Black, 18% Coloured, 11% Indian and 37% White employees. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used for the structural analysis. The reliability of the scores was also estimated. A unidimensional structure seemed to best represent the six-item SOC measure. The internal reliability of the scores from the measure was high.

Assessing second phase high school learners' attitudes towards technology in addressing the technological skills shortage in the South African context

Abstract This article argues the case that the decline in the numbers of school leavers entering science, technology, engineering and mathematics study courses worldwide and in South Africa in particular, is linked to negative attitudes towards Technology. The issue is regarded as critical since a negative trend in new entrants into the technology sector contributes to the technological skills shortage experienced locally and abroad. The purpose of the research was to determine learners’ perception of the concept of technology in general; their current attitude-status on seven dimensions of attitude towards technology; and factors that affect attitude. To this effect the article reports on the results of a technology perceptions-and-attitudes survey (derived from the PATT-US attitude-questionnaire) conducted on 95 Grade 10-to-12 learners during the 2009 National Science Week initiative held in the Northwest Province of South Africa. The initiative was hosted to promote science and technology awareness amongst the school going youth of the Northwest Province. The Grade 10-to-12 group included in the research represented future school leavers in the Northwest Province who would possibly consider entering into a technological career. The results of the study indicated that age, gender and grade-level of learners presented as factors that statistically significantly affected attitudes towards and perceptions of technology. The findings of the study raised the question whether the various dimensions of attitudes measured in the study influence learners’ choice of a career in technology in different ways.

Investigating the Effect of Program Visualization on Introductory Programming in a Distance Learning Environment

Program visualization (PV) is one of the approaches to assist novices in introductory programming courses. We investigated the effect of a newly developed PV tool to teach tracing to first-year programming students at a South-African university. The tool takes the form of an interactive computer-based tutorial that teaches students how to draw variable diagrams (VD). All students registered for the introductory C++ module, received the tutorial with their study material and could use it to help answer assignment questions. To determine the effect of using the tutorial, students did an assignment for which they could use the tutorial and completed a questionnaire. Through the questionnaire we acquired biographical data, found out how students used the tutorial and also how they experienced using it. We then correlated these data statistically with their assignment marks. We found that time spent using the tutorial, programming experience and certain biographical properties contributed to higher marks. Drawing their own VDs to understand and debug programs also contributed to better marks.

Student satisfaction with short learning programmes at a distance learning institution

Abstract The relevance of short learning programmes as an alternative to full time tertiary degree courses at open and distance learning institutions forms the primary focus of this article. A new kind of student is on the increase in higher education: the mature student who prefers to study part-time in order to combine his or her studies with the advancement of his or her professional life. This kind of student is often interested in short duration, non-degree courses, such as short learning programmes, which have a high degree of specificity in order to update or expand the knowledge needed to enhance their occupational lives. Course applicability and effectiveness, evaluated as student satisfaction with these programmes, are vital in terms of the strategic planning of institutions. This article reports on an analysis of the dimensions that determine satisfaction with short learning programmes at a distance learning institution. Data was obtained by an electronic survey of students who had completed short learning programmes. Findings indicate that teaching staff, teaching methods and course administration are key elements to achieving satisfaction, and students’ loyalty to the institution is expressed in their intention to continue with their studies and to recommend the programmes to other prospective students.

Staff perceptions of professional development and empowerment as long-term leadership tasks of school principals in South African schools: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT This article reports on the perceptions of school staff of professional development and empowerment as part of the long-term leadership task of principals. The long-term leadership model was used as a theoretical framework to quantitatively determine the perceptions of 118 teachers and education managers in approximately 100 schools throughout South Africa. The findings indicated how principals perform, and indicated those aspects in need of attention in improving the quality of leadership relating to professional development and empowerment. A further finding was that there was a positive, and statistically significant, relationship between the respondents’ sense of empowerment and their perceptions of professional development.