Educational philosophy

• What do you see is the grander purpose of education in a society and community?
• What, specifically, is the role of the teacher in the classroom?
• How do you believe students learn best?
• In general, what are you goals for your students?
• What qualities do you believe an effective teacher should have?
• Do you believe that all students can learn?
• What do teachers owe their students?

Your educational philosophy can guide your discussions in job interviews, be placed in a teaching portfolio, and even be communicated to students and their parents.

THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Department has partnered with stakeholders to supply Grade 10 and 12 learners with user-friendly learning materials, for revision purposes, through radio programmes,newspaper supplements and DVD. We encourage you to get the weekly supplements and visit this website on a regular basis to download the materials...Read more

The School Experience

Education is just a transfer to the student or discovery by the student of knowledge from the past. Dewey noted the issue was not in what education is, but in how it is done. Being a proponent of positive educative experience, he noted that progressive education and traditional education provide experiences. This makes the issue not whether experience is provided or not but what sort of experience the educator will use to have the student acquire knowledge. Dewey framed the question in his book as follows: "How shall the young become acquainted with the past in such a way that the acquaintance is a potent agent in appreciation of the living present?" (23). According to Dewey, traditional education would just funnel the knowledge accumulated through history into the student through books and instruction from a teacher without connecting the past to the reality of the student. Acquiring the knowledge became the end goal of the education process. Dewey expressed the view that the present should always remain in focus. By keeping the present at the core, the student and teacher would avoid the pitfalls of creating a disconnect between what is being taught to the reality of the student.

EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Since 1994, after the introduction of compulsory education in South Africa, the number of children attending school has risen sharply.  However, structural problems in the education system have resulted in many poorly prepared high school graduates and high numbers of dropouts in the final grades.
In December, the South Africa government hailed the 70 percent pass rate for percent high school final exams, as a major achievement.  It has risen every year since 2008 when 62.5 percent of students passed.
These statistics, although reflecting an improvement in South Africa’s basic education system, mask some major shortcomings that concern many education specialists here.

Educational needs

 

The research reflected in this volume indicates that in South Africa there are almost three million youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who are not in education, training or employment – a situation which points not only to a grave wastage of talent, but also to the possibility of serious social disruption. The authors in this work paint a picture of the enormous reservoir of human talent which exists in the country, but is not provided with the means to develop.

The special needs of Learners in Education

what are special educational needs?

If your child has more difficulties than most children their age with schoolwork, communication or behaviour, plenty of help and advice is at hand from special educational needs specialists, teachers and voluntary organisations.

What 'special educational needs' means

The term 'special educational needs' (SEN) has a legal definition, referring to children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn or access education than most children of the same age.
Many children will have SEN of some kind at some time during their education. Help will usually be provided in their ordinary, mainstream early education setting or school, sometimes with the help of outside specialists.
If your child has special educational needs, they may need extra help in a range of areas, for example:

• schoolwork
• reading, writing, number work or understanding information
• expressing themselves or understanding what others are saying
• making friends or relating to adults
• behaving properly in school
• organising themselves
• some kind of sensory or physical needs which may affect them in school

visit my educational web site for mathematics and physical sciences

https://sites.google.com/site/mbedu93/

In order to support and improve the quality of education in schools (Grades 10 to 12) and FET colleges, the Department provided key support in the

development of Grade 12 assessment tasks for all 16 subjects with a practical component for 2010. These were translated into Afrikaans and sent to

provinces for distribution to schools. Additional copies of preliminary examination question papers were sought from provinces and were uploaded onto

the Thutong website. 8 000 Teacher Guides for Grade 12 Life Orientation were printed and distributed to schools. The National catalogue was upgraded

to include textbooks screened in Life Sciences, technical subjects and Arts. The report on Subject Advisor training was completed and the report finalised.

NCS policy documents on the amendments of regulations were gazetted, and the audit of Technical High Schools by KPMG was completed.

What do we think leadership actually is?

At one level a leader is the person who not only influences what happens but is able to make things happen by initiating changes, organising how change happens and making all the necessary structures, decisions and activities meaningful. But, accepting this view of leadership shouldn’t mean that we manipulate colleagues and change their behaviour to fit our prearranged norm. It does mean that to be an effective leader we need to be able to give colleagues a sense of understanding of what they are actually doing in the school.

In trying to clarify leadership in simple terms – it is useful to summarise some of the common traits that characterise effective leaders.

This kind of summary can be divided into specific areas and include how leadership has to be concerned with:

• a sense of responsibility

• the need to complete tasks

• being willing and able to take risks

• having the capacity to handle stress

• being able to influence and coordinate the efforts of colleagues.

Jongisile Mbedu

Jongisile Mbedu

Evaluating the Efficacy of School Based Financial Education Programs

Surveys on financial knowledge and behavior have revealed that individuals in both developed and developing countries around the world lack adequate knowledge to make informed financial decisions. Empirical evidence demonstrating correlations between financial literacy and various measures of well-being has directed service providers, donors, and policymakers to include financial training and business education programs as part of broader anti-poverty strategies. Financial education, especially when provided in the early stages of life, has the potential to create long-lasting impacts. Intuitively, financial education provides useful tools to people of all ages, yet empirical evidence for this impact is thin and often mixed. This project tests two financial education curricula for primary school students. Specifically, it measures the impact of financial education on student behavior attitudes, and outcomes.

The Education of the 21st Century

As educational leaders, classroom teachers, students and parents will agree, 21st century teaching carries with it acomplicated mix of challenges and opportunities. Challenges include the issues of teacher turnover, accountability, changing student population and student expectations, mounting budget pressures, and intense demand to build students’ 21st century skills.

 

John Clause said "We want our teachers to be highly effective. A teacher can be highly qualified but still not very effective. That’s why we had to start thinking more comprehensively about how we are going to step into a digital learning environment to strengthen our professional development and support."

Quality of South African schools

The known barriers to quality education were also

cited in the  Rooyen, referred to the lack of parental support as

an added barrier to the attainment of quality

education and good matric results. She wrote that

South Africa’s education system as well as some

parents are failing their black children, who are

matric results were once again marked by a striking

shortage of black pupils among the country’s top

achievers. The majority of those with multiple

distinctions were mostly white with a fair spread of

Indian candidates.

My intention and commitment as a prospective Mathematics teacher

I as a mathematics future teacher intend to provide education that is fair and will help my students prepare for their future and become successful. Before the class my intention is to write a lesson plan with some objectives, to teach learners to be independent and become critical thinkers.

I as a teacher hahve to act in a value free way, for I education should inform certain values and embracess commitment to:

• Respect for persons.
• The promotion of well-being.
• Truth.
• Democracy.
• Fairness and equality.

Educational revolution in South Africa

Over the last decade, consensus has grown about the kinds of changes needed if learning is to occur seriously,The Convention on the Rights of the Child guides us towards a more child centred model of teaching and learning, one in which students participate actively, thinking and solving problems for themselves. Learning for life in the 21st century requires equipping

children with a basic education in literacy and numeracy, as well as the more advanced, complex skills for living that can serve as the foundation for life. 

If the success of education is to be gauged by what and how children learn, better ways must be found to measure the quality and relevance of education.

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED)

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED)  is responsible for public schooling in the province from Grades 1 to 12, they also provide various specialised education services and subsidise Grade R and adult education.The WCED primary objectives are to build solid foundations in literacy and numeracy in primary school, improve learner pass rates, and to improve the number and quality of our matric results.

IMPORTANCE OF ICT IN EDUCATION

Literacy Bridge saves lives and improves the livelihoods of impoverished families through comprehensive programs that provide on-demand access to locally relevant knowledge. At the heart of the programs is the Talking Book – an innovative low-cost audio computer designed for the learning needs of illiterate populations living in the poorest areas in the world.

Simple and actionable instructional messages that are repeatable and can be played when needed enable people to learn and adopt new practices to fight poverty and disease.

Overview

Spread Health & Agriculture Info

We partner with local experts to produce, record and distribute relevant information in native languages and dialects. The easy, on-demand access to health and agriculture information leads to learning and behavior changes that are life-saving and life-changing.

Listen, repeat, share

Users navigate simple audio menus in any language then listen to the information they are interested in — from 35 to 140 hours. They can repeat audio as needed, play it back for family and friends, or simply lend the small, durable devices out.

Interactive reading

Learning becomes more self-directed when users can adjust the speed of the audio to suit their pace or be prompted by ‘audio links’ to hear word definitions and answer multiple choice questions.

Connect and exchange audio

Any two devices can be connected to copy audio from one to another. With no additional services or technology, new information is able to spread wherever people have Talking Books at hand.

Record on-demand

Anyone can record their own audio onto the Talking Book to expand on existing ideas, share new information, or relay feedback to the organizations that provided the devices.

Durable and accessible

The Talking Book is small and portable so it is easy to transport and share. The device was also built to survive life in dry dust storms and tropical rain.

REFERENCE

http://www.literacybridge.org/talking-book/?gclid=CJi-h-2a1bACFSghtAod9x1Jzw

A comment made by communication minister

The minister of Communication Dina Pule

Communications Minister Dina Pule says "Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can help governments across the continent improve services given to citizens, by improving the quality of health care services as well as connect schools to the Internet to improve the quality of education".

It is been years since the ICT programme planned to improve the quality of life in South Africa but still, it is not yet being improved.

 

THE THREE (3) TYPES OF LEARNING IN EDUCATION:

1. E-LEARNING

2. BLENDED LEARNING

3. OPEN & DISTANCE LEARNING

   DEFINING EACH LEARNING IN SIMPLER TERMS 

E-LEARNING

E-LEARNING

e-learning is commonly associated with higher education and corporate training, and therefore it encompasses learning at all levels, both formally and informally.e-learning uses an information network—the Internet, an intranet (LAN) or extra-net (WAN)—whether wholly or in part, for course delivery, interaction and/or facilitation. Others prefer the term online learning.

 

 

BLENDED LEARNING

BLENDED LEARNING

blended learning refers to learning models that combine traditional classroom practice with e-learning solutions.For example, students in a traditional class can be assigned both print-based and online materials, have online mentoring sessions with their teacher through chat, and are subscribed to a class email list or a Web-based training course can be enhanced by periodic face-to-face instruction. (Tinio, 2010).

OPEN & DISTANCE LEARNING

OPEN & DISTANCE LEARNING

Open and distance learning is defined by the Commonwealth of Learning as “a way of providing learning opportunities that is characterized by the separation of teacher and learner in time or place, or both time and place; learning that is certified in some way by an institution or agency; the use of a variety of media, including print and electronic; two-way communications that allow learners and tutors to interact; the possibility of occasional face-to-face meetings; and a specialized division of labor in the production and delivery of courses.

THE EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA.

according to me wducation is a way of life, a life without education i regard it as a waste (useless) although there are people who can survive without education and success but in south africa there are less chances of successful kife with out education. i also believe that education is the sing most important activity on earth,if there is good education then everything else will take care of itself in every level including personal,family,business,community,state,region and national levels. I have faith thatmost of our problems like economic disasters,international and intercultural strife, and even climate problems can ultimately be solved by a well (good) education (Jones, 2011).

Through education,we learn how to learn, we learn how to think critically and find solutions to unexpected challenges. in schools we learn Mathematics and Physics which is gonna help us in future, well we may not be asked to solve for x to get a job or to be a good parent but you may need it to gather facts and evaluate information.

The feeling about the test

The test was a lilttle bit challenging,were by I had only an hour to complete it,during that given time I had to do practicals on it to prove whether am I right on not.Trully speaking the whole test was quite fair although I would not admit it.We were allowed to go through internet for help and to browse the computer.if i may be given a second chance i may score above 90% this time.
The only thing I can say about the test is that,it was too long for that given time but atleast I have managed to pass i.e I got above 50% in it.

THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) HAS MADE EDUCATION MORE EFFICIENT,COMPARE EDUCATION OF THE 21st CENTURY AND THE PRE-COLONIAL EDUCATION.

THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY HAS ALTERED EDUCATION AN VARIOUS WAYS FOR EXAMPLE; EASY COMMUNICATION, EASY TO COPY DATA FROM ANOTHER APPLICATION, EASY TO SHARE INFORMATION, DEVICES ARE MORE PORTABLE,TRANSPORTABLE, AND SO ON...

 THE TWENTY FIRST EDUCATION IS...