Factors affecting grade 6 learners’ performance in mathematics in the East London Education District
- Authors: Kwateng, Jesse
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Primary) Mathematics teachers Education, Primary
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12837 , vital:39383
- Description: Mathematics is one of the most important subjects rooted in many fields of study but has also been one of the greatest challenges for learners in every country, most especially in the Republic of South Africa. There have been attempts to curb the challenges that have bedeviled the success of mathematics education by governments, the Department of Education and many other stakeholders who have not enjoyed positive results in mathematics in the district of East London. Therefore, this study examines factors affecting grade 6 learners’ performance in mathematics in selected schools within the East London education district. There were three hundred and fortyfive (345) grade 6 learners and 12 teachers drawn through a parallel mixed methods sampling. Stratified random sampling was used to select participants for the quantitative strand while purposive sampling was used for selecting 60 learners and 12 teachers for the qualitative strand. The researcher used the mixed method research approach. The instruments used in collecting data were structured questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to elicit information from grade 6 learners and teachers. Information gathered from the learners and teachers included: biographical information, factors affecting teaching and learning of mathematics and suggestions. The quantitative data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics of percentage from the responses of learners. The quantitative analysis was done by using excel 2010 to formulate data into percentages and qualitatively, voice recordings from the respondents semi-structured interviews were reduced through thematic analysis. The findings of the study revealed that some of the qualified mathematics educators preferred to work in another profession. Quality of teaching and learning were less effective due to overcrowded classrooms, inadequate teaching and learning resources, poor monitoring of educators, some of the learners were not adequately motivated and many others. For performance in mathematics to improve in the primary schools in East London Education District, the study made some recommendations from the findings to the stakeholders in education such as the Department of Education, principals, the government, educators and learners. These recommendations might virtually assist in finding lasting solutions to grade 6 learners with mathematics challenges.
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“Culture” as an Agent of Societal Regeneration: A Study of Selected Dramatic Literature by Soyinka, Osofisan and Rotimi
- Authors: Megbowon, Funmilola Kemi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Literature English drama
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15826 , vital:40530
- Description: Contemporary Yoruba society is laden with the burden of diverse societal misconducts and perversions which are seen to be entrenched in the fabric of the individuals’ daily lives and the society. These misconducts have alarming patterns and worrisome future implications. In this study, it is argued that while all-round forward progress is essential in a society, a simultaneous disconnect with some conventional and traditional element stimulates these aforementioned delinquencies. This therefore calls for societal regeneration of the contemporary Yoruba society in view of achieving a sustainable future. The study further argued that societal regeneration could only be achieved by looking backward into some indigenous cultural elements that made the traditional society a relatively non-perverted society. This argument is presented by examining contemporary dramatic works by Nigerian playwrights whose writings are done in the light of the past. Their works are imperatives because literature is viewed as one of the means of preserving and educating the society of their history, culture and beliefs, and also mirroring the present and projecting into the future. Specifically, the objectives of this study are: 1) To evaluate the levels of cultural and moral values in contemporary Yoruba Society; 2) To examine the key moral and cultural paradigms of the traditional Yoruba tribe of Nigeria; 3) To examine the position of the writers as vanguard of moral and cultural values in contemporary and future Nigerian Society; 4) To examine challenges that arise against their efforts to resuscitate traditional morals and culture among the Yoruba people of Nigeria. These objectives were achieved using textual and interpretative analytical procedures in the texts written by Soyinka, Osofisan and Rotimi. These texts which includeThe Swamp Dwellers, Death and the King’s Horseman, The Trials of Brother vi Jero, The Women of Owu, Kurunmi and The Gods are not to Blame, are all examined within the context of postcolonial theory. The historical endowment of examined playwrights motivated their desire to assert their cultural identity and to preserve their traditional values. The playwrights reflect common concern of the need to appreciate and where necessary to retain traditional cultural values as well as the need to rid society of those traditions that hinder human and society's growth. Each author approaches these concerns from a cultural perspective, they emphasise the rationality and need of establishing their national identity, thereby stressing the importance of traditional values in the process. In a society like the Yoruba where each segment has been affected by extended agents of colonisation, the hope of restoration also lies in the hand of the playwrights who have constantly emphasised through their writings the role of the essentials of Yoruba culture in societal development. The examination of the key moral and cultural paradigms of the traditional Yoruba people of Nigeria, which is objective two of this thesis, is presented within the context of each of the six selected texts. They are discussed in Chapters three to five of the study with respect to each of the authors of the play and the identified relevant sociocultural issues. From the examined literary texts, it is seen that the traditional Yoruba moral and cultural paradigms are distinctive and diverse. Some of these key paradigms represented in the texts include religious practices, language, clothing, respect for elders, chastity before marriage, marriage, justice, marital fidelity, hard work, and leadership accountability. All these key paradigms centre on interpersonal relationships and communal interaction together with the irreplaceable position of the vii gods which are observed to have been imperative in the workings of the traditional Yoruba society, making it a less perverse one. In Chapter six, inferences on the inferred pivotal position of playwright as vanguard of indigenous culture and the conflicts that arise against playwrights’ efforts to resuscitate a moral culture in the Yoruba society of Nigeria which are the objectives three and four of the study are explored. It is identified in the chapter that the battle for lost identity and cultural values is being fought on numerous fronts. Some of the key issues identified as confronting and silencing playwrights’ influences in the society include evolving diversities in ideologies, education, technology, the entertainment industry, and urbanisation. This study recommends the necessity of looking into the economic, social, and cultural development of the Yoruba people in the process of cultural recovery via dramatic literary writings and presentations. The playwrights should use their knowledge to spur the people into action, and foster through his writings the hope of a better future. The playwrights are not only responsible to their national culture, but to the nation as a whole, whose culture is, after all, but one aspect. This is also believed to be relevant in the fight against several social anomalies in the African community, thereby aiding the continent’s development
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Women and volunteerism in environmental management : a case study of wildlife and environment society of South Africa (WESSA), East London, South Africa
- Authors: Nyamahono, James Donald
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Environmental management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Sociology
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15100 , vital:40175
- Description: The literature on community participation in development processes has established a high level of consensus around the fact that the sharing of the burdens and benefits of participation is devoid of equality or equity. While some have emphasised the imperative of participation, others have highlighted the inherent contradictions in the process, describing it as an avenue for manipulation and exploitation. Still some have questioned the usefulness of the broad-based grassroots participation. This study is located within this debate and focuses on female volunteers‘ involvement in coastal protection in East London, South Africa. A survey was carried out with 100 unemployed women volunteering under a major environmental protection non-governmental organisation in addition to key-informants within the study organisation. The female volunteers‘ motives and their overall perspectives on their participation as volunteers were uncovered using the Volunteer Function Inventory (VFI) questionnaire, while in-depth interviews were conducted with key officials of the study organisation to access their perspectives on why institutional stakeholders engage women as volunteers in environmental management. The findings revealed that voluntary environmental participation was driven by multiple, but contradictory, impulses. While the volunteers attached great importance to environmental management, hence, their involvement, factors such as age, educational background, employment status, income level, dependency, population group membership, social ties and other psycho-social dynamics played a role in their decision to work as volunteers. The data also revealed a crucial shared sentiment among the volunteers: they all felt people in the higher echelons of the organisation were unfairly ―profiting‖ from their unpaid labour. When these perspectives were analysed against the views of the officials of the study organisation, the contradictions of voluntary environmental participation became stark. The study concludes from the findings that in the crucial arena of environmental participation, participation is not the same thing as voluntary environmental participation, and voluntary environmental participation is not the same thing as voluntary environmental participation by women.
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