An exploration into the school related factors that causes high matriculation failure rates in Physical Science in public high schools of Alexandra Township
The exploratory study investigated school related factors responsible for high matriculation failure rates in physical science in public high schools of Alexandra Township in South Africa. The target population included all Further Education and Training (FET) science educators and learners in Alexandra Township. An extreme-case sampling method was used to select a sample of two schools. Data was collected through two different closed questionnaires, one for educators (n=10) and the other for learners (n=250). The results were analyzed using mainly descriptive statistics. The results, according to the views and opinions of educators and learners showed that the main causes of high failure rates are poor educator qualifications, outdated teaching methods, massive workloads, high levels of absenteeism and acute deficiencies in aspects related to: resources, subject content, classroom management skills, proficiency in language of instruction and assessment, motivation and perseverance. Recommendations for practice and policy are suggested.
411 AN EXPLORATION INTO LEARNING DIFFICULTIES EXPERIENCED BY PHYSICAL SCIENCES LEARNERS IN SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS
one of the National Development Plan’s (NDP) goal for the year 2030 is to reach a target of 450 000 learners who will be eligible for a bachelor’s programme in Mathematics and Science. However, a plethora of studies and reports indicate that Physical Sciences is one of the most difficult subjects in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination. The study investigated learning difficulties experienced by Grade 12 learners in the learning of Physical Sciences. Diagnostic and examination reports from the past five years were examined to identify common challenges experienced by learners. The investigation revealed that learning difficulties experienced by learners were related to Proficiency in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT), conceptual understanding, questions that require explanations and higher order thinking skills, difficulties in comprehension and analysis of questions, and mathematical skills. The study recommends that appropriate pedagogical approaches and practices be identified in order to address these challenges.
In-services and empty threats: The roles of organizational practices and workplace experiences in shaping U.S. educators' understandings of students' rights.
This paper applies theoretical frameworks from organizational sociology and sociolegal studies to examine factors associated with educators' conceptions of students' rights to due process in disciplinary actions. We analyze a unique representative data set of 402 teachers and 200 administrators in U.S. high schools to investigate how educators understand the rights to due process articulated in the Supreme Court case of Goss v. Lopez (1975). We then examine whether individual characteristics and participation in organizational processes are associated with educators' understandings of students' due process rights. Findings suggest that educators' understandings of students' entitlements to due process vary with educators' level of education, experience of school-related legal threats, and participation in district or diocese in-service training programs on students' rights. Results point to organizational climate as a key factor in shaping educators' rights conceptions and the role of law in American schools.