Browsing by Author "Klaasen, Danoven"

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    'n Poging om die loopbaan vooruitsigte van leerders by ‘n VOO-Landelike skool te verbeter: ‘n Deelnemende aksienavorsingsbenadering
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Klaasen, Danoven; Esau, Omar; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Curriculum Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The disposition within which rural schools function and the challenges it poses to rural learners have significant consequences for the prospects of rural learners (Nelson Mandela Foundation, 2005; Jansen, 2011). In this thesis, I share the participatory action research project I undertook at the school where I teach and the community that it serves. This research was an attempt to improve the career prospects of learners at a rural school. The study was a critical inquiry characterized by democratic processes and principles of empowerment and collaboration, embodying the fundamental characteristics of Participatory Action Research (PAR). This was done with the aim of bringing about transformation by exposing the restrictive factors that undermine positive change and thus improving my general practice in Career guidance within the rural school environment. General practice in this context refer to my practice inside and outside the classroom which also includes formal and informal teaching. In an effort to answer the research questions related to the topic of this study, data were collected through interactions with my cooperative research group, focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, field notes, participant observation, triangulation, and the presentation of lessons. During the recruitment and selection of participants, I used purposeful sampling. When purposeful sampling is combined with Participatory Action Research methods, new opportunities are promoted to engage community members in research on social issues and the use of research findings within community contexts (Palinkas et al., 2015). Data were analysed in an ongoing and iterative process and were informed by theories on which this study was based. The analysis of the study indicates that: - The inherent characteristics of the rural environment leave school, learners, parents and guardians in a disposition, - A strong correlation exists between the socio-economic circumstances of the learner and his/her attitude towards his/her future and academic progress. - The lack of ambition that matriculants demonstrate is fuelled by a lack of positive role models. - Factors such as uninvolved parents, unemployment, low levels of literacy of parents and the community, gang elements, early school leaving, unqualified career guidance teachers and other defective elements of the school and community contribute to a weakened frame of reference, which impacts negatively on the rural learners because the learners operate in an environment of low expectations. The above results seem to contribute to a trajectory of the learner that is consistent with that of the community within which he/she finds himself/herself. This dissertation recommends that there should be closer collaboration between the school and the community. It also suggests that classroom practice becomes more cooperative in nature, so that learners can have greater participation. It also wants to emphasize the sentiment that the rural learner will remain oppressed by the restrictive localized characteristics of the rural environment, if the influences to which the learner is exposed are not managed. Changing the trajectory of the rural learner requires a sustainable intervention that improves the career prospects of the rural learner.
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    ’n Poging om my klaskamerpraktyk in beroepsvoorligting by 'n landelike VOO-skool te verbeter : 'n aksienavorsingsbenadering
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) Klaasen, Danoven; Esau, Omar; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Curriculum Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this mini-thesis I share the action research that I undertook at the school where I teach. This research was an attempt to improve my practice in career guidance, a sub-division of Life Orientation. The need for a study of this nature was developed out of my experiences with matriculants who appear to be confused about their future careers they intent pursuing. It appeared that they lacked the capacity to do self-planning and did not really comprehend how to plan their future careers. In reflection on career guidance, in general, and my own teaching practice in particular, I came to the conclusion that there is a real problem in terms of the effectiveness of career guidance and that I, in my technicist attitude towards policies of the education department, perhaps unconsciously, became part of the maintenance of a fruitless practice. Although I dutifully carry out the curriculum according to the required education policies, there remain an uncertainty and a concern regarding the practicality surrounding career guidance and more so when it comes to disadvantaged students from rural areas. This compelled me to do some introspection about the way I was teaching and involving the learners in my career guidance classes. This introspection lead me to the realisation that the instrumentalist and technicist way of teaching (‘talk and chalk’ method of teaching) and my endeavour to finish my content and assessment tasks within a certain prescribed timeframe, were at odds with creative career guidance teaching. My classroom practice was trapped in the old methods, and I was caught up in the old traditional ways while teaching a 21st-century learner. In an effort to address the above-mentioned issues of concern, I address the following critical questions, namely: - How can career guidance be used as a tool to improve the life skills of learners from a poor rural school? - How can I improve my classroom practice? In Chapter one I explore my background and provide reasons why I got involved in this project. In my literature review, I suggest that the principles of the National Curriculum Statement Grades R–12 (2012) and the outcomes that the learners have to achieve have certain implications for classroom practice. This is in line with Cuseo’s (1996) view that basic education is guaranteed by not only giving form to the structure of the curriculum, but also to what happens between learners and teachers in the classroom. A detailed description of the two action research projects that were undertaken with Grade eleven learners at my school is given in Chapters four and five. In the final chapter of this thesis, I reflect on the research engaged in the classroom and I also reflect on the future of teachers as researchers. I believe that any attempt to improve the education and conditions of our rural and disadvantaged schools would go a long way in addressing the inequities prevalent in our society.