*SENKONENG, Kegodisitswe Gedion
(with specialisation in Education Management)

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP TO SUPPORT TEACHING AND LEARNING: A CASE STUDY OF A PRIMARY SCHOOL IN THE NORTH-WEST PROVINCE

Supervisor: Dr M M Nkoane

Internal Co-Supervisor: Mr BO Plaatjies

DEAN’S MEDAL
AWARDED TO THE BEST MAGISTER DEGREE STUDENT IN THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION

MTHIYANE, Ncamisile Parscaline (with specialisation in Psychology of Education)

With her thesis, CHRONICLES OF THE EXPERIENCES OF ORPHANED STUDENTS IN A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION IN KWAZULU-NATAL, the promovenda makes a significant contribution to the realisation of the complexity and the increasing rate of orphanhood as a social challenge in a higher-education Institution. However, orphaned students are either invisible or not known in an HEI. Orphanhood in an HEI cuts across a myriad of fields, for example, psychology, education and sociology. She attempts to address the phenomenon, taking into account orphaned students’ capabilities and employment of bottom-up intervention processes that are more participatory, empowering, transformative, and collaborative to all role players in an HEI in addressing the experienced issues of power, injustice, inequality, isolation, discrimination, and oppression when dealing with  orphanhood.

The positive results of this study serve as an indication that for an HEI to be able to serve all students in a safe social space, HEI policies and practices should also speak to the needs and challenges of the marginalised and orphaned students. This in turn enhances development of psychosocial empowerment, which facilitates students’ retention instead of dropping out, which is currently an unavoidable choice.

PROMOTER: Dr MM Nkoane

CO-PROMOTER: Dr C Beyers

TSHELANE, Molaodi David (with specialisation in Curriculum Studies)

With his thesis, ENHANCING THE PRINCIPAL'S LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE USAGE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AT SCHOOL, the promovendus discusses the use of an innovative methodology of participatory action research to develop a model for enhancing leadership practice in support of improved teaching and learning through the use of ICTs at one secondary school in the Free State. The candidate makes the case that effective use of ICTs for teaching and learning in schools requires not only structural and organisational interventions, but also deliberate and distributed leadership practice by the principal. Molaodi's study makes a major contribution to leadership practice in education and advances knowledge on professional curriculum practice in relation to the way ICTs can be used to improve teaching and learning in schools.

The study addresses the challenges and possibilities of ICT leadership in South African schools by exploring three emerging themes, viz., (i) the pedagogical dimension, (ii) the technological dimension, and (iii) the collaborative dimension. These three dimensions form the basis of the framework that the candidate develops and tests with real data in the school. The thesis offers valuable theoretical insights and practical knowledge for curriculum leaders and policymakers to consider in relation to the integration of ICTs for teaching and learning, and the  way leadership and collaboration by stakeholders matter in the integration processes. Two peer-reviewed papers have already been published in accredited journals on the framework and its application.

PROMOTER: Prof LC Jita

CO-PROMOTER: Prof MG Mahlomaholo