A case study of Mathematics teaching and learning at a rural school in KwaZulu-Natal.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Abstract available in the PDF.Could not find the advisors second initial name. (de Villiers, Michael D

Starting with ourselves : addressing HIV and AIDS education through integration in a South African pre-service teacher mathematics education curriculum.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.The purpose of this study was to initiate integration of HIV and AIDS curriculum i

Connecting with pre-service teachers’ perspectives on the use of digital technologies and social media to teach socially relevant science

As an interdisciplinary team of educational researchers we explored pre-service science teachers’ perspectives on using digital technologies and social media to address socially relevant issues in science teaching. The rationale for teaching socially relevant science was embedded in the concept of renaiscience, thus underscoring the need for science to be perceived as a human activity. We drew on generational theory to consider the educational significance of digital technologies and social media. Two different activities were used to elicit the pre-service science teachers’ perspectives. First, we invited them to reflect on a digital animation that we had produced, and they highlighted the advantages of digital animation as a medium to communicate a socially relevant message more appealingly to the Millennial generation. We then engaged these pre-service teachers in a structured concept-mapping activity to consider how digital technologies and social media might be used to address social challenges in South Africa. They drew our attention to the affordances of digital technologies and social media as a means to facilitate critical thinking, cater for diverse learning styles, and make high-quality scientific knowledge more accessible. They highlighted that teaching socially relevant science using digital resources can be cheap, convenient, collaborative, and creative

‘Breaking out of the cocoon’: academics’ experiences of integrating HIV and AIDS into the curriculum

The South African Higher Education Policy Framework on HIV and AIDS tasks universities to address HIV and AIDS in teaching, research and community engagement. In a global economy, integration in academic disciplines is a cost-effective method, simultaneously allowing for multiple perspectives of engaging with the epidemic. This study uses a qualitative approach to explore the sharing experiences of academics who integrate HIV and AIDS issues into the curriculum. Academics from three South African higher education institutions were interviewed. Three themes emerged from an analysis of their experiences: to share or not to share; how academics view integration in terms of their role as an academic, and who is integrating what. The findings indicate that academics are taking up the challenge, but that they require collegial support

“Imaginative, embodied scholarly assemblages”: A poetic analysis of the Self-Reflexive Methodologies Special Interest Group scholarship

The Self-Reflexive Methodologies Special Interest Group (SIG) of the South African Education Research Association (SAERA) has been active since 2014, with over 100 academics from more than 20 higher education institutions participating. The 10th Anniversary SAERA special issue of Journal of Education prompted an analysis of the SIG’s educational scholarship presented in five journal special issues that have served as platforms for SIG research over the years. This study comprises a multilayered poetic analysis, combining pantoum poetry clusters, tanka poems, and a lantern poem. By revisiting and examining the special issues using increasingly concise poetic forms, the study highlights the contributions and variety of local and international scholarship arising from the explorations and conversations of the SIG since its inception. This wide-ranging scholarship addresses challenges in South African education, promotes educational development and justice, advances conceptual and theoretical understanding, and broadens research methodology

Connecting with pre-service teachers’ perspectives on the use of digital technologies and social media to teach socially relevant science

As an interdisciplinary team of educational researchers we explored pre-service science teachers’ perspectives on using digital technologies and social media to address socially relevant issues in science teaching. The rationale for teaching socially relevant science was embedded in the concept of renaiscience, thus underscoring the need for science to be perceived as a human activity. We drew on generational theory to consider the educational significance of digital technologies and social media. Two different activities were used to elicit the pre-service science teachers’ perspectives. First, we invited them to reflect on a digital animation that we had produced, and they highlighted the advantages of digital animation as a medium to communicate a socially relevant message more appealingly to the Millennial generation. We then engaged these pre-service teachers in a structured concept-mapping activity to consider how digital technologies and social media might be used to address social challenges in South Africa. They drew our attention to the affordances of digital technologies and social media as a means to facilitate critical thinking, cater for diverse learning styles, and make high-quality scientific knowledge more accessible. They highlighted that teaching socially relevant science using digital resources can be cheap, convenient, collaborative, and creative

Integrating HIV & AIDS education in pre-service mathematics education for social justice

Since 1999, many South African education policy documents have mandated integration of HIV & AIDS education in learning areas/disciplines. Policy document research has shown that although South African politicians and managers have produced volumes of eloquent and compelling legislation regarding provision for HIV & AIDS education, little of this is translated into action. The impact of HIV & AIDS permeates the social, economic and political arenas in South Africa. Integration of HIV & AIDS education across disciplines can serve as a strategy to further the ideals of social justice. This paper focuses on how integration in the teaching and learning of Mathematics Education provides opportunities to take action for social justice. The inquiry explores the following question: How can the myth that there is 'nothing we can do' about HIV & AIDS, which is linked to social justice issues, be addressed through integration of HIV & AIDS education in Mathematics pre-service teacher education? Drawing on self-study, the work of a Mathematics teacher educator who worked with pre-service teachers to integrate HIV & AIDS education at a higher education institution is described. By considering integration of HIV & AIDS education in Mathematics Education and taking action it is possible to develop strategies which directly relate to social justice

Beyond metaphor drawings to envisage integration of HIV & AIDS education: A self-study in primary Mathematics teacher education

Researchers using participatory methods that are engaging, purposeful and facilitate social change may need further pragmatic strategies to encourage the required change. Using pencil-and-paper drawings to introduce HIV & AIDS integration in a discipline such as Mathematics Education is an innovative participatory strategy to initiate change. However, following up on such innovations to encourage take-up of HIV & AIDS integration would benefit the initiative. The following research question guides this study: What pragmatic strategy could I use in pre-service Mathematics Education to further take-up of HIV & AIDS education integration in school disciplines? I explore HIV & AIDS integration in a pre-service Primary Mathematics Education module that I taught at a higher education institution in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, by studying the drawings and experiences of eight final-year pre-service teachers. I use a metaphor-drawing activity to disrupt the ‘comfort zone’ of teaching Mathematics, following up by providing the pre-service teachers with learner activities suitable for primary school classrooms. When asked if they were able to integrate HIV & AIDS in Mathematics classrooms, these generalist pre-service teachers appeared to rely on phase-specific teaching material in order to take up the initiative. There is a need to use innovative participatory methods to initiate change and to provide pragmatic support for this envisaged change

Beyond metaphor drawings to envisage integration of HIV & AIDS education: A self-study in primary Mathematics teacher education

Researchers using participatory methods that are engaging, purposeful and facilitate social change may need further pragmatic strategies to encourage the required change. Using pencil-and-paper drawings to introduce HIV & AIDS integration in a discipline such as Mathematics Education is an innovative participatory strategy to initiate change. However, following up on such innovations to encourage take-up of HIV & AIDS integration would benefit the initiative. The following research question guides this study: What pragmatic strategy could I use in pre-service Mathematics Education to further take-up of HIV & AIDS education integration in school disciplines? I explore HIV & AIDS integration in a pre-service Primary Mathematics Education module that I taught at a higher education institution in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, by studying the drawings and experiences of eight final-year pre-service teachers. I use a metaphor-drawing activity to disrupt the ‘comfort zone’ of teaching Mathematics, following up by providing the pre-service teachers with learner activities suitable for primary school classrooms. When asked if they were able to integrate HIV & AIDS in Mathematics classrooms, these generalist pre-service teachers appeared to rely on phase-specific teaching material in order to take up the initiative. There is a need to use innovative participatory methods to initiate change and to provide pragmatic support for this envisaged change

Preparing teachers for HIV/AIDS education: integrated and interdisciplinary pre-service teacher education

This article focuses on the views of pre-service teachers regarding an appropriate model for integrating HIV/AIDS education at a Faculty of Education. The final-year foundation and intermediate phase teachers were introduced to integrating HIV/AIDS education in Mathematics education and reflected on their four years of training. By using self-study methodology, the opinions and experiences of pre-service teachers of the two models of HIV/AIDS education in teacher preparation were explored, aiming to improve the manner in which pre-service teachers could be prepared to teach in the social and educational context of HIV/AIDS. The pre-service teachers indicated that they are under-prepared to teach in this context. Pre-service teachers were of the opinion that they could, however, be better prepared through HIV/AIDS teacher education that includes both discipline/subject and integrated models of teacher educatio