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- As the standard of education in South Africa deteriorates, one solution considered that has brought success in various countries is chess. Numerous studies have been conducted across the globe proving that chess is the perfect intervention. Studies conducted in America, Italy, Denmark, India and other parts of the world have focused on the game of chess and its incorporation into the curriculum but rarely on the experiences of the teachers who are the key role players in incorporating this game in their teaching. A focus on the teachers helps ensure that the intervention is effective and that assistance is available to the teachers whenever they need it. This article explores the challenges that teachers encounter when incorporating chess in their classrooms. Data in this qualitative study were collected in the province of KwaZulu-Natal by observing and interviewing 14 teachers from various schools in which the Tsogo Sun Moves for Life programme has been incorporated. The findings of this study show that teachers are faced with many challenges which hinder the successful integration of chess in their teaching.
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- 2021| OpenED NetworkThe COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of online learning and self-directed learning to motivate and engage students. Therefore, this study sought to determine how online learning fostered self-directed learning at a South African university during this period. Higher education institutions worldwide had to shut down indefinitely following guidance from health experts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since education is regarded as a pillar of development for all countries, some means had to be found to keep teaching and learning going irrespective of the ongoing health crisis. Hence, online learning made it possible for university students to continue learning during the emergency university closure. This was a period of reckoning, however, as many students began experiencing challenges related to poor internet connectivity and accessing digital learning devices. Despite these challenges, the solution was to reach out to all students to ensure that they were not excluded from the learning process. The sudden transition to online learning meant that students could no longer follow a well-coordinated, structured learning schedule that was guided and supervised on campus; rather, online learning meant they had to become more independent in their learning. Independent learning encourages students to be proactive and independent, a philosophy aligned to self-directed learning (SDL). This study explored the experiences of third-year student teachers in navigating SDL through online learning platforms. The study was underpinned by self-directed learning theory and adopted a qualitative case study research design, generating data from ten student teachers using a Zoom app focus group discussion. Data were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis framework. The study found that although SDL is appropriate because it promotes learning independently, the majority of student teachers encountered several challenges when adopting online learning, catching them off guard because they were not formally introduced to it.
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- 2019| IFE Centre for Psych...The study investigates the implementation of Annual National Assessments on teaching and learning in King Cetshwayo district primary schools in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.The Annual National Assessments as a form of standardised test is not a new phenomenon within the education systems, especially in developed countries. The Department of Basic Education in South Africa resorted to Annual National Assessments as a strategy to respond to the national outcry about the quality of education in the country. Of great concern was the learners’ poor performance in English and Mathematics. This study employed a qualitative design to gather systematic, comprehensive and in-depth information. Data were collected using focus group interviews from twenty grade six English and Mathematics teachers. Data collected was transcribed, categorized and presented as themes with verbatim quotes from the participants to support the themes. The findings reveal that most teachers lack requisite knowledge of English and Mathematics ANA to improve learners’ performance. Findings further revealed that teachers lack the knowledge to use ANA data to improve learners’ performance. This can be attributed to the fact that teachers were neither involved in the implementation and development of English and Mathematics ANA to improve learner achievement. The study also confirms that there are inadequate teacher development programmes for English and Mathematics to regularly capacitate them on how to improve learner results in English and Mathematics ANA. The study, therefore, recommends that the Department of Basic Education should ensure that educator developmental programmes are conducted as frequently as possible in cluster, circuit and in district level to enrich teachers with pedagogical knowledge that they need to improve their learners’ English and Mathematics’ ANA performance. Curriculum advisors and School Management Teams should strengthen their supervision and monitoring in schools to help motivate teachers and learners to work more efficiently and effectively.
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- 2021| Italian e-Learning A...The aim of this paper was to explore learners’ perspectives on how their schools are preparing them to prosper in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) era, which is powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Taking cognizance of the learners’ perspectives on how South African schools are preparing them is essential for enabling the education fraternity to ascertain its level of effectiveness and efficiency, hence improving its state of readiness to face the challenges of the 4IR. Therefore, the exploration of the level of preparedness, in line with 4IR challenges, can assist educational policy makers and planners to be more proactive and craft mechanisms to ameliorate the obstacles and discrepancies inhibiting the acquisition of the 21st-century educational competences and skills. Employing a qualitative paradigm, semi-structured focus group interviews were used to solicit data from a sample of 30 grade 10 and 11 learners. Findings reveal that computer technology was irregularly and insignificantly used, indicating that South African schools are highly ineffective in dispensing grade-appropriate skills, thus producing ill-prepared learners to prosper in the 4IR world of work.
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- The increase in student populations in higher education institutions means faceto-face service delivery is now very expensive. Most institutions are therefore exploring the possibility of online learning on a massive scale, which the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic have now expedited. This study aims to investigate the extent to which pre-service teachers use Moodle to enhance learning. The study used a quantitative approach in which quantitative data were gathered using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire developed by the researchers, using previous studies. A stratified sample of 400 pre-service teachers selected from a population of 4 000 participated in the study. A total of 332 participants successfully completed and returned the questionnaires, giving a return rate of 83 per cent. The study used the Technology Acceptance Model as its theoretical framework. The results indicated that seven of the 13 hypotheses were statistically significant, leading to the adoption of all six model constructs. The coefficient of determination of the model was a substantial 69.8 per cent, which explained the extent to which pre-service teachers use Moodle to enhance learning. By using moderation, it was established that all three demographic factors of the study did not influence the pre-service teachers’ use of Moodle. The results indicated that the developed model is valid, robust and suitable for use by stakeholders. Pre-service teachers are therefore encouraged to use Moodle to enhance learning. Future research could be done to establish the 30.2 per cent of factors this model did not capture.
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- Artificial Intelligence (AI) has ushered in a transformative era in education, particularly in the context of Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL). This paper explores the role of AI-powered e-tutors and their potential to revolutionise self-directed learning among students in ODeL courses in South Africa. Self-directed learning, a fundamental pillar of distance education, requires students to be proactive, independent, and motivated. Numerous studies in the fields of AI, ODeL, and Self-Directed Learning (SDL) were reviewed, including case studies involving ODeL institutions, to understand the role of AI powered e-tutors. This research provides practical insights into using AI-powered e-tutoring to foster self-directed learning. The study allowed for the collection of relevant literature on the given topic that fits the pre-specified eligibility criteria and answers the formulated research questions. The findings underscore the transformative potential of AI-powered e-tutors, including personalised learning experiences, adaptive feedback, real-time support, increased learner engagement and motivation, and enhanced academic performance. The paper also addresses the practical challenges and limitations of implementing AI-powered e-tutoring, such as technology access, data privacy, and the continuous improvement of AI algorithms. The study contributes to the expanding knowledge of AI in education, providing practical insights for academics, policymakers, and technology developers, equipping them with the necessary information to leverage AI to strengthen self-directed learning in ODeL environments. It also outlines the practical implications for future research and practice, highlighting the potential of AI to revolutionise distance learning and empower learners to take control of their educational journeys.
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- The aim of this study was to examine if any pedagogical paradigm shift has taken place in enhancing authentic teaching and learning in secondary schools. It explored the pedagogical practices currently employed in secondary schools. The theory underpinning the study was the 21st century pedagogy for teaching and learning. A qualitative research design was adopted and data was generated from three secondary schools, consisting of 30 learners through focus group discussion and six teachers using semi-structured interviews. This sample was purposively selected by virtue of having and using digital computer technologies. An observation of 6 lessons was conducted and data was analyzed using an inductive thematic framework. By adopting an interpretivist paradigm, this data was collected using participant observation, as the main data-collection instrument for this study, triangulated with semi-structured teacher-and learner-focus group and interviews. The findings revealed that ‘old’ teacher-centered pedagogies continued unabated as the common instructional style and promoted learner passiveness. It compromised on active learner-academic performance and making a meaningful significant intellectual achievement. This resulted in production of ‘mediocre’ human capital ill-prepared to face the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) challenges. This article recommends further research in areas pertaining to pedagogical shifts in line with digitalization of the world economy and education.
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- The emergence of learning technology in higher education is an interesting phenomenon that continues to gain acceptance. While South Africa is regarded as one of the leading African nations with quality higher education, there is a need for her tertiary institutions to fortify their technological learning spaces to meet the needs of today's upwardly-mobile higher education students. This study adopts a single case qualitative study design in the form of a survey to examine the state of technological learning spaces in a comprehensive university. The actual data for the study was collected from eight (8) academic staff in a rural-based university in South Africa. Data were collected through focus group interviews to allow for rich descriptions of the true state of technological space of learning in the institution. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The main variables of technological learning spaces were broken down into sub-themes to address key research issues raised
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- 2021| Society for Research...The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of pre-service teachers’ computer self-efficacy on their use of computers. The research used a quantitative design whose data were collected by using a structured five-point Likert scale questionnaire with responses ranging from 1(strongly agree) to 5(strongly disagree). Simple random sampling was used to select a representative sample of 400 participants from a population of 4000 pre-service teachers, of which 332 of them were successfully returned, yielding a response rate of 83%. The study employed the Technology-Acceptance Model with eight constructs, namely; demographic influence (DI), social influence (SI), basic computer skills (CS), access to computers (AC), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), computer self-efficacy (CSE), and actual computer use (AU). Factor analysis was used to analyse the data generated from the survey, with the help of PLS-SEM, using the SmartPLS software version 3.0. The findings of the study indicated that each of the identified factors in the model had a significant effect on CSE. In essence, the identified explanatory variables explained 73.7% of the variance in CSsE. The four independent variables explained 45.4% of the variance in PU of computers and 66.5% of the variance in PEOU of computer use. The CSE model also explained 60.6% of the variance in computer use. In order to develop a strong CSE for pre-service teachers, it is recommended that higher education institutions ensure that all students have access to the necessary computers, proper connectivity, and skilled technicians.
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- The emergence of COVID-19 necessitated the need for lockdown and social distancing. It presented additional challenges for teachers and learners with disabilities (LwDs), whose life and active learning engagements depend largely on social interaction with teachers, caregivers, therapists and peers. COVID-19 presents anxieties associated with teaching and learning processes, potential relapse of previously gained learning outcomes and aggravated disabling condition. However, there seems to be less teachers’ capacities to continually foster learning among their LwDs during the lockdown because there are low teachers’ morale and pedagogical gaps for digital teaching. Based on the current realities, it is evident that there is need for a shift in teacher preparation to be able to teach LwDs in crisis situations. Hence, this reviewed intellectual piece advances the need to modify the existing teacher education curriculum to extensively build on teachers’ morale while incorporating the use of technology in teacher preparation programmes in Africa.
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