Effectiveness of facilitation methods to motivate adult learners to participate in ABET programmes : a case study of the adult centre at Ekurhuleni

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the facilitation methods used in the adult centre to motivate adult learners to participate in Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) programmes, as the majority of South Africans have a low level of literacy. The illiteracy could not be viewed independently of the apartheid policies that were in place before democratisation in 1994. After the democratisation the African National Congress (ANC) policies, prioritised the provision of ABET. The policy was for ABET provide education including basic literacy, numeracy to a level equivalent to the General Certificate of Education to adults who have had little or no formal schooling. ABET is viewed as a means to educate and train adults and is regarded as a force for social participation and economic development. The researcher was prompted to investigate the effectiveness of the facilitation methods to motivate adult learners to participate in learning or not. Adults’ participation in learning programmes will help them towards social participation and also to develop them economically. If adults are economically developed, South Africa will not be facing such huge rate of unemployment, poverty and illiteracy. As there are a number of development programmes that are offered at Ekurhuleni to equip adults with relevant skills required for development and equipping them with the skills to face economic challenges of the country, motivation becomes essential because if learners are not motivated to participate, they are not going to be involved in them and get the necessary education. The focus is also on the facilitation methods that are used in the learning centre. Qualitative research has enabled the researcher to gather enough data through employing interviews. Individual interviews, focus group interviews as well as observation were the tools used in this study. It reveals that facilitation methods that are used are not effective enough to motivate adult learners’ participation in ABET programmes. Thus recommendations and suggestions were made to assist the i facilitators in rendering effective facilitation methods for the benefit of the adult learners.Educational Leadership and ManagementD. Ed. (Education Management

Behavioural Manifestation of Discipline: A Case Study in Secondary Schools in Heidelberg Gauteng Province

Learner behaviour has become a major problem in most secondary schools in South Africa. A new political dispensation in South Africa in 1994 brought drastic changes and challenges to the education system. The abolition of corporal punishment in 1996 necessitated a shift towards alternative discipline methods. The establishment of the South African School’s Act 84 of 1996 (SASA), Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996, new policies in the Department of Education, all brought uncertainty to most schools. This study has anchored the intuitionism theory as a template to discuss acceptable and non-acceptable behaviours in SA schools. Discipline is problematic to parents, teachers and learners in secondary schools in East Rand District. This paper investigated the problems and challenges emerging from indiscipline of learners and recommends ways in which parents and schools could collaboratively manage indiscipline in schools. The study explored policies, codes of conduct, and other documents relevant to discipline of learners. A qualitative research design was employed and data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Three focus group interviews with 81 respondents were engaged in the data collection. Finally recommendations were handed to the participating schools. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p83

Cross-fertilization in Teaching and Learning between Institutions after COVID-19 Shutdown: A Collaborative Effort

Research reported in this article investigated the effectiveness of collaborative effort between schools to bridge the existing gaps that erupted during the outbreak of COVID-19. There are gaps in teaching and learning within the previously privileged institutions and the marginalised institutions in South Africa. Such gaps might have a negative impact on how teaching and learning are conducted. The purpose of this article was to investigate the creative and constructive ways of managing the anxiety related to socio-economic impacts in schools, amongst which were the introduction of online teaching and learning technologies, new methodologies and contents. This article is underpinned by the concepts of the establishment of advantageous strategies for collaboration, knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer. Qualitative document analysis has been adopted as a methodology to collect information for this study. The outbreak of COVID-19 has evoked inequalities amongst the communities. However, the re-opening of schools exacerbated multiple challenges. While teaching and learning is the centre of the education project in South Africa, which the country has to adapt to, most institutions were faced with a number of challenges. This study’s major finding revealed that collaboration is synergistic and can bring out the best contribution that might currently perceive partnership within the school system. This article recommends ways of bridging the gap between schools through developing partnerships between institutions through cross-fertilisation

Blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning

This book on blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning highlights the focus on research conducted in several teaching and learning contexts where blended learning had been implemented and focused on the fostering of self-directed learning. Several authors have contributed to the book, and each chapter provides a unique perspective on blended learning and self-directed learning research. From each chapter, it becomes evident that coherence on the topics mentioned is established. One of the main aspects drawn in this book, and addressed by several authors in the book, is the use of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework when implementing teaching and learning strategies in blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning. This notion of focusing on the CoI framework is particularly evident in both theoretical and empirical dissemination presented in this book. What makes this book unique is the fact that researchers and peers in varied fields would benefit from the findings presented by each chapter, albeit theoretical, methodological or empirical in nature – this, in turn, provides opportunities for future research endeavours to further the narrative of how blended learning environments can be used to foster self-directed learning

Blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning

This book on blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning highlights the focus on research conducted in several teaching and learning contexts where blended learning had been implemented and focused on the fostering of self-directed learning. Several authors have contributed to the book, and each chapter provides a unique perspective on blended learning and self-directed learning research. From each chapter, it becomes evident that coherence on the topics mentioned is established. One of the main aspects drawn in this book, and addressed by several authors in the book, is the use of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework when implementing teaching and learning strategies in blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning. This notion of focusing on the CoI framework is particularly evident in both theoretical and empirical dissemination presented in this book. What makes this book unique is the fact that researchers and peers in varied fields would benefit from the findings presented by each chapter, albeit theoretical, methodological or empirical in nature – this, in turn, provides opportunities for future research endeavours to further the narrative of how blended learning environments can be used to foster self-directed learning

Management of learner discipline in secondary schools: a collaborative effort

The focus of this paper is on the management of the learner discipline in the secondary schools. Two secondary schools were sampled for data collection. A qualitative research design was used engaging four focus group interviews with the learners, two focus groups for educators with eight participants each, as well as two one on one interviews for the principals and the other eight educators from both the schools for in-depth interviews. A total of 74 participants were involved. This study considered the collaborative effort in managing learner discipline in secondary schools. It is concluded that educators are experiencing difficulties and constrains to manage the learner behaviour and to handle the nature of learner misconduct in the school and in the classroom. Recommendations were made to assist the principals, educators and the learners to deal with learner misconduct and implement alternative strategies to manage discipline in schools