QUALITY TEACHING PRACTICES AS AN ASPECT OF ORDER AND

DISCIPLINE: IMPLICATION FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF

TEACHER COMPETENCE

BY

VICTOR SIPHO SHOBA

A RESEARCH ESSAY

Submitted in partial fulfilment

of the requirement for the degree

MAGISTER EDUCATIONIS

IN

EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT

IN THE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND NURSING

AT THE

RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY

SUPERVISOR: DR BR GROBLER

NOVEMBER 1997

(i)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The writer's gratitude is expressed to all those who contributed towards the

success of this treatise. Among other people the writer feels greatly indebted to:

The Almighty God for giving him courage and the necessary insight without

which this study would have been a failure.

The vulnerable Dr. Bennie Grobler, his promoter for his devoted and sympathetic

guidance, his enthusiastic encouragement and his constructive suggestions.

The lecturers, professors, teachers and librarians for furnishing him with the

necessary information pertaining to this study.

Members of the library staff of Vista University (Daveyton), RAU and UNISA for

their harmonious cooperation during the period of research and for getting sources

for the writer from other establishments.

Mrs. Rita Marnewick who devotedly and diligently worked at this manuscript in

spite of personal commitments.

(ii)

DEDICATION

To my late mother Mabel Ntolo Shoba

My three charming daughters Fortunate (Nonhlanhia), Victrix

(Nompumelelo) and Happiness (Sonwabile) Shoba.

(iii)

SINOPSIS

Hoofstuk een konsentreer op die definiering van die probleem sowel as die

metodiek wat aangewend moet word.

Hoofstuk twee fokus op die literere oorsig van:

Die aard en wese van bevoegdheid wat bale kortliks die volgende aspekte insluit,

naamlik:

die onderwyser se vermod om effektief met leerlinge en ander te

kommunikeer;

besitting van die noodsaaklike vaardighede en kennis van die inhoud van hul

vak;

professionele etiek in alle interaksies;

die vertoon van positiewe waardes en houdings;

vertroud wees met die effektiefste metodiek en kiaskamer bestuurtegnieke;

vermod om te beheer;

evaluering van leerlinge se werk en; Iaastens

die vermod om orde en dissipline effektief te handhaaf.

Orde: voorsien struktuur en sekuriteit. Elke student in elke kiaskamer benodig

beide order en vryheid en die sleutel tot die vestiging van order is om 'n ewewig

(balans) tussen vryheid en verantwoordelikheid te bereik. Elke individu is aan

(iv)

homself en ander verantwoordelik (kyk 1.5.2 p.7-8).

Dissipline: behels die leiding en beheer van 'n student se gedrag wat die regte

van ander aantas; korrektiewe maatreels by die oortreding van skoollreels; die

oplossing van konflikterende behoeftes en die beskerming van leerlinge teen

mekaar (kyk 2.3 p.13).

Doeltreffende onderrigpraktyke konsentreer op die teorie en praktyk van onderrig.

Doeltreffende onderrigpraktyk poog om teorie en praktyk te vermeng deur

belangrike navorsing te rapporteer en te analiseer. Daarna word praktiese

prosedures en aanpasbare strategies vir onderwysers aangebied, byvoorbeeld:

wat doen suksesvolle onderwysers om 'n les te begin? Hoe moniteer hul

klaskameraktiwiteite? Hoe hanteer hul oproerige leerlinge? Die antwoorde op

hierdie vrae hang of van ons toepassing van die teorie wat ons in ons kursus met

betrekking tot die klaskameromgewing geleer het.

Die ontwerp van die navorsingsprojek word in hoofstuk drie verduidelik tesame

met 'n bespreking van die vrae rondom doeltreffende onderrigpraktyke as 'n aspek

van orde en dissipline. Al die vrae met betrekking tot orde en dissipline, het 'n

hoe gemiddelde telling - tussen 3,72 en 4,41 - tot gevolg gehad.

Die analise, interpretasie en bespreking van die empiriese data word in hoofstuk

vier bespreek en laastens word die opsomming, bevindings en aanbevelings in

hoofstuk vyf bespreek.

(v)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (i)

DECLARATION (ii)

SINOPSIS (iii)

TABLE OF CONTENTS (v)

LIST OF TABLES (viii)

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.2 THE PROBLEM THAT SERVES AS A MOTIVATING FACTOR 2

1.2.1 A world wide problem 2

1.3 AIM OF THE RESEARCH 4

1.4 SCOPE AND METHOD OF THIS STUDY 5

1.4.1 Delimitation of scope 5

1.4.2 Method of research 6

1.4.2.1 Literature survey 6

1.5 CLARIFICATION OF CONCEPTS 7

1.5.1 Teacher competence 7

1.5.2 Order 7

1.5.3 Discipline 8

1.5.4 Micro teaching 8

1.5.5 Quality teaching practices 9

1.6 ORDER OF DISCUSSION 10

CHAPTER TWO

2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 1 1

2.1 INTRODUCTION 1 1

2.2 OVERVIEW OF COMPETENCE 1 1

2.2.1 Teacher competence 1 2

2.3 DISCIPLINE 13

2.4 AN INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY TEACHING PRACTICES 16

2.4.1 Relationship between the teacher and the quality of teaching 17

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2.4.2 The teacher-pupil relationship 18

2.4.3 The learning content (subject matter) 19

2.4.4 Methodological principles (lesson approach) 19

2.4.4.1 Teaching methods 20

2.4.4.2 Media of instruction 20

2.4.4.2.1 The first generation media 21

2.4.4.2.2 The second generation media 21

2.4.4.2.3 The third generation media 21

2.4.4.2.4 The fourth-generation media 22

2.4.5 Presentation of lessons 23

2.4.5.1 The post-interactive phase 24

2.4.6 Classroom management 24

2.4.6.1 Meetings 25

2.4.6.2 Group management and group techniques 25

2.4.6.3 Climate creation 26

2.4.7 Total quality management as an aspect of quality teaching practices 26

2.5 SYNOPSIS ON ORDER AND DISCIPLINE 27

2.6 SUMMARY 28

CHAPTER THREE

3 THE RESEARCH DESIGN 29

3.1 INTRODUCTION 29

3.2 THE INSTRUMENT OF RESEARCH 29

3.2.1 The design of the questionnaire 29

3.2.2 Discussion of quality teaching practices as an aspect of order

and discipline 32

3.3 THE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION 34

3.3.1 Respondents 34

3.3.2 Biographical details 34

3.3.3 The research group 35

3.3.4 Return of questionnaires 35

3.4 SUMMARY 35

CHAPTER FOUR

4 THE ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF A SELECTED SAMPLE OF THE

EMPIRICAL DATA 37

4.1 INTRODUCTION 37

4.2 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY 37

4.3 HYPOTHESES 39

4.3.1 Comparison of two independent groups 39

4.3.1.1 Differences between primary and secondary school teachers

relative to educative and collaborative competence 39

4.3.2 Comparison of three or more independent groups 41

4.3.2.1

Differences amongst teachers with regards to the perception

of their school image in respect of educative and

collaborative competence 42

4.4 BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FACTOR

MEAN SCORES IN TABLE 4.5 48

4.4.1 Educative competence 48

4.4.2 Collaborative competence 50

4.5 SUMMARY 53

CHAPTER FIVE

5 SUMMARY, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 55

5.1 INTRODUCTION 55

5.2 SUMMARY 56

5.3 IMPORTANT FINDINGS 58

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS 60

5.4.1 Quality teaching practices 60

5.4.2 Educative competence 61

5.4.3 Collaborative competence 61

5.4.4 Topics for further research 62

5.5 CONCLUSION 62

BIBLIOGRAPHY 64

(viii)

LIST OF TABLES

PAGE

TABLE 3.1 ITEMS ASSOCIATED WITH ORDER AND DISCIPLINE 31

TABLE 4.1 COMPOSITE HYPOTHESES WITH PRIMARY AND SECONDARY

SCHOOL TEACHERS AS THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE 40

TABLE 4.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRIMARY AND

SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS REGARDING THE

FOLLOWING FACTORS:

EDUCATIVE COMPETENCE

COLLABORATIVE COMPETENCE 41

TABLE 4.3 COMPOSITE HYPOTHESES WITH GROUPS REFLECTING THE

TEACHERS PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMAGE OF THEIR SCHOOL

AS INDEPENDENT VARIABLE 43

TABLE 4.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GROUPS

REFLECTING THE IMAGE OF THE SCHOOL IN RESPECT

OF THE FOLLOWING FACTORS:

EDUCATIVE COMPETENCE

COLLABORATIVE COMPETENCE 44

TABLE 4.5 MEAN SCORES OF SOME OF THE INDEPENDENT GROUPS IN

RESPECT OF EDUCATIVE AND COLLABORATIVE COMPETENCE 47

1

CHAPTER I

1.1 INTRODUCTION

In this dynamic research topic it is hoped to conceptualize, clarify, utilize and

assess teacher opinion on teacher competence as panacea for developing and

sustaining a conducive culture of effective teaching and learning at schools.

The above-mentioned will also be fulfilled with the greatest priority accorded to

developing teacher competence through the use of order and discipline as the

main contributory factor.

Teacher competence is a global topic which amongst other aspects comprises

factors like the learning environment, professional commitment, order and

discipline, educational foundation, teacher reflection, cooperative ability,

efficiency and leadership style. In this particular research project an emphasis will

be placed on quality teaching practices as an aspect of order and discipline.

Some statutory changes like the advent of the Bill of Human Rights and the draft

of the South African Schools Bill which proposes the outlawing of corporal

punishment has negatively affected the maintenance of order and discipline in

schools and has become a problem to practising teachers. According to Bayliss

(in Oosthuizen, 1994:59) scripture sanctions the right of a teacher to mould the

pupil, thereby placing him on the right path and even allows corporal punishment

as the most severe form of discipline. The critical researcher, when reflecting on

the words of the South African Democratic Teachers Union president, in the

(Anon, 1996:6) that teachers who continue using corporal punishment should be

jailed or fined and that this disciplinary measure is cruel and inhumane, is left with

some amazement. The question still remains unanswered in South African

secondary schools namely: "How can the teacher maintain discipline amongst

overcrowded classes who believe in coercive powers of AK47, necklacing, toy-

2

toying and drug addiction"?

However, while experts argue that corporal punishment is wrong, there are

thousands of adult Zimbabweans who feel that their success today was brought

about by the painful smacks and beatings they got from their parents and

teachers while they were still young. They feel that this form of 'tough love' was

necessary in order to make them "straighten up and fly right". They further argue

that most of the disciplinary problems experienced in the schools today, as well

as in society at large, are a direct result of liberal school systems and humanistic

research programmes which grant immature and irresponsible children

unwarranted rights thus losing touch with long standing African traditions (Zindi,

1995:104).

Professor Pheko, a Zambian High Court advocate (holding two doctorates in

Jurisprudence and Theology) and a Pan Africanist Congress deputy president in

his speech, during the recent Vista University graduation ceremony in Kempton

Park, was quoted as saying: "Africans live under agonizing and psychologically

crushing conditions. Eurocentricity in this country is reflected in the constitution

of South Africa. This country is given a constitution which will make Africans

perpetual paupers and slaves of ignorance". Pheko pointed out that teachers now

face imprisonment for punishing students despite the overt lack of discipline in

schools, while parents face the same fate (Anon, 1996:1).

Having briefly introduced the topic of discussion, the problem of this research will

now be discussed.

1.2 THE PROBLEM THAT SERVES AS A MOTIVATING FACTOR

1.2.1 A world wide problem

From the foregoing introduction it becomes clear that teacher competence which

3

includes the skill of effective teaching, has become a pivotal problem. This is so

because systems of education are ever-changing together with societal demands

and educational needs. The rapid rate of technological change, makes the

planning and the implementation of dynamic-teaching programmes a matter of

extreme urgency. Furthermore, contemporary education and teaching

programmes are also a matter of crucial importance. Additionally, contemporary

education and teacher practice require a high standard of training in both theory

and practice.

Political reasons, among other things, have contributed to the maintenance of

order and discipline in schools becoming a problem. Without discipline no school

can function properly. The ability to maintain order and discipline is one of the

most important characteristics of the successful and competent teacher. Poor

discipline is one of the causes why a teacher is sometimes unsuccessful in his/her

task (Engelbrecht and Lubbe, 1979:192). In this particular research the following

questions will be investigated and answered:

What is the nature of teacher competence and how does it relate to order and

discipline in the school?

What is the importance of order and discipline relative to quality teaching

practices as an aspect of order and discipline?

What are the teachers opinions of the role played by quality teaching practices

in teacher competence?

Is it possible to formulate a strategy regarding the use of quality teaching

practices which will in turn enhance teacher competence and improve order

and discipline and teaching effectiveness?

According to the De Lange report (Human Science Research Council, 1981:40),

4

another problem which 'bedevils' research workers is the fact that in spite of the

importance of the teaching profession there is insufficient research about this

noble profession, especially in teacher education programmes in the Republic of

South Africa. This is a world-wide problem that defies instant diagnosis and

remedy.

Contemporary decision-makers and course designers should recognize the new

societal and educational needs and an attempt should be made to improve the

quality of teacher training programmes. These factors, especially the last one,

lead to the aim of this research.

1.3 AIM OF THE RESEARCH

In the light of the problem questions and the underlying factors formulated above,

the general aim of this research project is to:

Investigate the components of teacher competence and how these can

enhance teaching effectiveness.

To fulfil this main objective, the group dealing with order and discipline will:

* Investigate the composition of order and discipline and how this can enhance

teacher competence.

As a member of the group dealing with order and discipline, it is the specific aim

of this research paper to

- explore the contribution of quality teaching practices towards sustaining order

and discipline;

- to gather teacher opinions as to the extent which teachers use quality

5

teaching practices to enhance order and discipline; and

devise a strategy whereby quality teaching practices can facilitate order and

discipline, enhance teacher competence and improve teaching effectiveness.

To achieve all these aims a special 'modus operandi' has to be employed in

this study project.

1.4 SCOPE AND METHOD OF THIS STUDY

1.4.1 Delimitation of scope

(a) The profession and the sample used

The profession that is involved in this study is teaching and more specifically the

administering of questionnaires at urban and rural schools in Gauteng and

KwaZulu-Natal. 4 000 questionnaires will be issued for completion at a random

sample of schools, namely

1 500 on teacher competence;

1 500 on feedback competence; and

1 000 on managerial communication.

These will be returned to Rand Afrikaans University for evaluation and feedback

by the statistical consultation service.

Some of the members of staff of the Department of Educational Sciences at the

Rand Afrikaans University involved have already undertaken a pilot study by using

a structured questionnaire which produced data from 1 264 persons mostly from

Gauteng. Data analysis suggested that eight factors are involved in teacher

competence as listed in the introduction of this research. In July 1995, each

student chose a particular factor to be researched in the context of the group.

6

Each group had to investigate a particular topic in detail by means of a literature

survey which will be incorporated into Chapter Two of the final script. The

literature survey will be used to draft a structured questionnaire.

1.4.2 Method of research

In the context of this research paper teacher competence is seen as the diligent

execution of teaching activities, beneficial to the learner and geared towards

unleasing the best from every learner. The competent teacher thus carries out

his or her duties effectively, efficiently and in a professional way and is able to

use quality teaching practices to induce learning.

1.4.2.1 Literature survey

The writer will review literature dealing with

competent teaching;

micro-teaching and teacher competence development; and

techniques of evaluating teaching.

Before this review of literature can be undertaken in Chapter Two it is, however,

necessary that certain concepts be illuminated.

Basic concepts such as teacher competence, order, discipline, micro-teaching and

quality teaching practices are repeatedly used in this study. It is therefore

necessary to make explicit explanation of these concepts.

7

1.5 CLARIFICATION OF CONCEPTS

1.5.1 Teacher competence

Bartlett (1991:3) defines competence as the ability or skill of a person in fulfilling

the professional role effectively and/or expertly; while the Oxford Advanced

Learners Dictionary (1992:235) defines a competent teacher as the one having

the necessary ability, authority, skill, knowledge, etcetera.

This means the ability of a teacher to behave in pre-determined ways within a

social context, with the purpose of producing empirically demonstrated effects

approved by those in the environment in which he/she functions. Teacher

effectiveness and teacher competence are classified as teacher properties, and,

therefore the properties of the teacher which produce agreed - upon educational

effects are similar to properties of teacher competence.

The given definitions of teacher competence reflect on the idea that the empirical

relationships between teacher abilities (the independent variables) and agreed-

upon - educational tasks (the dependent variables) can be determined.

1.5.2 Order

Order can be defined as the comprehensive logical or methodical conditions or a

prescribed arrangement among component parts that lead to a proper functioning

of schools. It can also give rise to proper working conditions (Oxford Advanced

Learners Dictionary, 1992:872) in schools.

Professionalism is associated with various mechanisms specifically aimed at, or

necessarily having a side effect of creating order within the profession. The

selection of entrants to the profession, the training of candidate professionals and

the drafting of a code of conduct are all measures which can be regarded as a

8

means of providing for order in a profession in a sense that they narrow down the

group of people to be controlled and prescribe definite patterns of conduct.

Should a person fail to live up to the standards expected of the members of a

particular profession, there is provision for sanction or penalties that will ensure

the restoration and continuation of order within that profession. It goes without

saying then that one of the reasons why the law allows a profession to regulate

the behaviour of its members is that a vitally important function of the law is to

create and maintain order and harmony (Beckmann and Van der Bank, 1995:5).

1.5.3 Discipline

The word (tug, Afrikaans) is derived from Dutch and means "discipline" in

English: systematic training in "obedience to regulations and authority; ... the

state of improved behaviour, etcetera, resulting from such training or conditions,

... punishment or chastisement" (Collins Dictionary, 1986:439; in Oosthuizen

1994:58).

Discipline is essential for the smooth functioning of any school. Many people

have a misconception of discipline as they see it as punishment used against

children for misbehaving. Others see it as punishment given without reason.

Discipline in classrooms means setting limits for students until they are able to set

limits for themselves. They can choose whatever behaviour they want bearing

in mind the possible consequences. Good behaviour always brings desirable

consequences. When teachers teach this concept to pupils, they are teaching

pupils to behave in ways acceptable to society.

1.5.4 Micro teaching

The prefixal morpheme 'micro' means very small. Thus micro-teaching means

miniature, that is the practice of real teaching in a simplified teaching learning

situation (Engelbrecht and Lubbe, 1979:143).

9

Although micro teaching is scaled down in terms of class size, focus, subject

matter and time, it is also scaled up in one respect, that is after practicing several

teaching skills one after the other, a teacher is ready to present a full-scale lesson

in a macro-class in which a whole range of skills are employed and there is the

provision of performance feedback (Yule et. al., 1983:26-28).

Micro teaching is, thus, a concentrated experience designed to develop teaching

and learning competencies, that is, it assists teachers to acquire a range of skills

in an environment simpler and more controlled than the average classroom.

1.5.5 Quality teaching practices

Quality teaching practices include all those habits, strategies, techniques and

practices employed to reap an effective and fruitful didactic situation.

According to Curzon (1983:14) quality teaching practices is "... a system of

activities intended to induce learning, comprising the deliberate and systematic

creation and control of those conditions in which learning does occur".

No matter how much potential you have as a teacher, if you are unable to control

the students in your classroom, little learning will take place. Quality teaching

practices deal with, amongst other things, with measures a teacher would take

in order to maintain order and discipline so that effective classroom teaching can

take place. It focuses mainly on the following aspects, namely:

How can Total Quality Management (TQM) enhance quality teaching?

Which teaching methods are conducive to reap the envisaged goals?

What measures can be taken to improve teaching?

10

Which good qualities should a competent teacher maintain in order to succeed

in his/her practices?

How can creativity in the classroom be maintained?

After having explained the various contextual terms we turn to the order of

discussion.

1.6 ORDER OF DISCUSSION

In Chapter one the introduction, problem formulation, general and specific aims

of the study, research methodology and elucidation of basic concepts is

discussed. Chapter two will place particular emphasis on the utilization of quality

teaching practices to maintain order and discipline. Chapters three and four will

be an analysis of the results of the quantitative survey and eventually Chapter

five will provide a summary, conclusion and some recommendations on the

research topic.

Chapter two which is a literature survey, now follows.

11

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

2.1 INTRODUCTION

In this literature study the writer determines the contribution of quality teaching

practices towards maintaining order and discipline and devises strategies whereby

effective quality teaching practices can support order and discipline, enhance

teacher competence and improve teaching performance. An overview of

competence will be the first aspect to be discussed.

2.2 OVERVIEW OF COMPETENCE

As a point of departure this research attempts to enhance the definition of

competence given in Chapter one. What is actually meant by competence?

Searching the dictionary for a clear definition is of little avail.

Fletcher (1991:32) defines competence as "the ability to perform activities within

the occupation". Carr (1993:50) makes a very important distinction between

competence as a capacity and competence as a disposition. In the capacity sense,

the term is employed broadly when we evaluate individuals as more or less

successful in realising their aspirations to the standards of whatever professional

activity they are engaged in (Carr, 1993:256). This is the sense in which we

might speak of a competent electrician, plumber, lawyer or doctor. There is,

however, the narrower or more atomistic dispositional sense of competence in

which the term is used to label particular abilities or mark episodes of casual

effectiveness with respect to these abilities (Carr, 1993:257). In this more

restricted sense we might speak of a competent piece of driving or writing, or use

competent performance or handling of a situation. Against this background, there

are good grounds for arguing that the capacity sense of the term normally applies

12

to the evaluation of person whereas the dispositional sense refers to activities, and

that it is the former, which is more properly connected with 'competence' and the

latter with 'competency'. On this account, 'competences' would presumably be

used to pick out broad groups of general capacities and 'competencies', would be

a label for specific performances or aspects of activities. As an example, quality

teaching practices would serve as a competence and be specified by the following

competencies:

the ability to get pupils to understand why they are expected to behave

according to certain norms;

the ability to help pupils to become independent learners; and

the responsibility of sharing the disciplining of pupils with management.

2.2.1 Teacher competence

A competent teacher can be defined as an efficient, yet flexible person. They

show that they care about their students by doing what they can to make learning

interesting, exciting and satisfying. Their pupils learn well, admire and respect

them, and usually like them personally.

According to Hyland (1994:22-24) teacher competence

is concerned with the teaching-learning performance;

is a performance capability needed by teachers;

entails the ability to perform teaching activities; and

embraces the possession and development of sufficient skills, knowledge,

appropriate attitudes and experience to enable one to teach successfully.

Assister and Shaw (1993:53) believe that if qualifications simply enabled teachers

13

to receive credit for existing competence then such qualifications would have very

limited value. Their real value is used as a tool for self development. It is

important to note that in all cases the end result is a portfolio containing evidence

of competence.

Jarvis (1983:79) mentions that knowledge, skills and attitudes together form the

essentials of professional practice. The teacher who is weak in one of these

dimensions is incompetent because each, in its own way is a vital constituent to

teach. The training of teachers is incomplete unless the curriculum has provided

the recruit with the opportunity to learn and acquire competency in all these

spheres. In this regard Jarvis (1983:79) suggests that assessment of a recruit's

competency should, in some way, include appraisal of these attributes. Having

orientated the reader to a definition of competence, discipline will now be

discussed.

2.3 DISCIPLINE

Discipline is essential for the smooth functioning of any school. Many people have

a misconception of discipline as they see it as punishment used against children for

misbehaving. Others see it as punishment given without reason.

According to Charles (1992:63) good discipline, however, has little to do with

punishment. Discipline requires freedom of choice and the understanding of the

consequences. It is not imposed by authority figures, but rather on individuals by

themselves. By choosing to behave in certain ways, individuals learn to gain

acceptance from others and, consequently, acceptance of themselves.

According to Ginott (in Charles, 1992:48) discipline is a series of little victories,

brought about when teachers use sane messages that address the situation rather

than the student's character - to guide students away from inappropriate behaviour

towards behaviour that is appropriate and lasting.

14

According to the Ginott model of discipline (in Charles, 1992:40) teachers are a

decisive, powerful element in the classroom. They create and maintain the

environment and they have the power to humanize or dehumanize their students.

Their effectiveness depends of their ability to create an educational climate that

promotes optimal learning. Children who are in constant emotional turmoil cannot

learn. To reduce this turmoil, Ginott advocates using congruent communication,

as a harmonious and authentic way of talking, in which teacher messages to

students match students feelings about situations and themselves. This really

improves the child's self esteem.

Smith and Rivera (1984:16) defines discipline as "order among pupils so learning

can take place without competition from unproductive factors. It is a system of

rules for conduct and a mechanism for ensuring that conduct codes are followed".

Educators know that for learning and success to occur, a system of order must be

in place that establishes parameters for acceptable student behaviour and provides

appropriate consequences for behaviour and inappropriate behaviour. The system

of order is achieved optimally when educators strive to practice principles of

effective discipline.

These include the following:

Create a positive climate.

Lay the foundation for a positive learning environment.

Focus on prevention.

Work as a team with other educators for school-wide effectiveness.

Communicate with other professionals and establish partnerships.

15

Match intervention to infraction.

Define target behaviours, implement an intervention, and utilise an

evaluation plan to frequently monitor student progress.

By incorporating the principles of effective discipline into their instructional

repertoires, educators can foster a climate for success and learning. In this way

more instructional time will be spent on teaching which would benefit the students.

Many reasons are cited for the lack of discipline in school settings such as:

low salaries;

inadequate financial support for public education;

large school complexes;

insufficient parental support; and

general disregard for authority by the students themselves.

Many other reasons for behavioural problems in school settings could be listed,

such as gang warfare, violent crimes, weapons and substance abuse. Most of our

educators today complain about the latter problems which are beyond their control.

These complaints by teachers frequently become excuses as a reason for poor

discipline. Armed with these excuses, some educators make no attempt to alter

negative situations that they believe are beyond their sphere of influence. This

attitude shown by educators is definitely not a constructive one as it surely

increases the discipline problems and leads to the deterioration of learning

environments.

It is important to remember that the vast majority of students do not engage in

disruptive behaviour. Most are well behaved. However, even a small percentage

of students can influence the learning environment negatively. Clearly, educators

must keep a constant vigil on the learning environment and continually work

16

towards its improvement. Discipline problems can be reduced to a minimum if

school personnel work as a team to consistently and systematically use

educationally sound procedures.

Having discussed the question of discipline, we can now move on to the various

aspects of quality teaching practices.

2.4 AN INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY TEACHING PRACTICES

In the teaching learning situation (didactic situation), the teacher and the child

communicate with each other by means of the subject matter. The subject matter

also determines the method that the teacher is going to use in teaching that

specific lesson. Quality teaching practice, which results in learning, is therefore

not merely the assimilation of knowledge but also the unlocking of reality for the

child and the unlocking of the child for reality (Steyn et. al., 1988:5).

Stone (1994:i) writes that true quality teaching is achieved only by sensitivity to

the interplay between the processes by which children acquire knowledge, the

structure of knowledge within the subject being taught and the context in which

the teaching is being done. The quality of the teacher's performance is likely to

reflect the match of his/her skills to the teaching situation he/she is placed in (a

reflection of management policies), and his/her personal capacities to deliver a high

standard.

Wilson (1988:18) defines quality teaching practices as planning, delivering and

evaluating the optimum curriculum for the individual pupil in the context of a range

of learners.

Besides having appropriate subject knowledge of what he/she has to teach and

adequate training for teaching pupils at the stage concerned, the teacher must also

have sufficient time and appropriate resources to accommodate teaching/learning

17

materials.

When teaching one wants pupils to learn but it usually happens that a teacher

gives a logical explanation of something without the pupils learning. This happens

when the teacher does not evaluate the pupils' reactions or when the evaluation

procedure is wrong and thus his/her explanation is not pedocentric. As a result

his/her logical explanation is unacceptable in terms of didactic-pedagogical criteria.

Therefore, the quality of teaching can be developed by teaching practicing teachers

to improve both the logical and strategic acts of teaching in order to avoid poor

teaching. Thus for the attainment of teacher competence the need for paying

attention to using both the logical and strategic acts of teaching cannot be over

emphasized.

In the light of this information it becomes clear that the task of a teacher is not just

to impart information and assume that it has been fully received or understood.

To ensure effective learning one has to plan those conditions and activities which

are collectively known as control. According to Curzon (1983:87) lesson control

is the teacher's ability and technique to react swiftly and appropriately to a

changing classroom situation. Effective control is based on monitoring

(measuring), assessing and adjusting specific tasks which are central to successful

classroom teaching.

According to Muller (1986:33-42) without planned control, effective classroom

guidance and accompaniment cannot be operationalized, that is the progression of

the guiding - accompanying actions that are being utilized by the teacher, will not

be demonstrated.

2.4.1 Relationship between the teacher and the quality of teaching

According to Mittman and Snow (1985:160) instructionally effective teachers

18

benefit students at all levels of aptitude. If teachers begin with appropriate

expectations and instruction to help students make rapid progress, this progress

will propel students towards higher levels of mastery as success improves

motivation.

Brophy (1983:66) argues that positive teacher expectations cause student

achievement to improve by about 5 %.

Fuller and Clarke (1994:205), find that appropriate academic instruction and the

quality of teaching significantly affect academic achievement. The success the

pupil achieves serves as a measure of the success the teacher has obtained in

his/her task.

2.4.2 The teacher-pupil relationship

Although the teacher is an authority figure, a relationship of trust must exist

between the teacher and the pupil. There must be a feeling of security in their

relationships before the child is able to achieve (Van Zyl, 1975:175-179;

Yamamoto, 1972:60).

To be successful, the child must have the will to learn. This must be stimulated

and supported. The teacher can motivate the child by implementing various

strategies like arousing interest and curiosity. This can be done by a meaningful

presentation of subject matter. The experience of the successes can also

contribute greatly to increasing the will to learn (Lamprecht, 1989:55; Butler-Por,

1987:10).

We can now move on to discuss the learning content (subject matter) as the media

of communication between the teacher and the pupil.

19

2.4.3 The learning content (subject matter)

In every lesson the teacher teaches the pupils a selected learning content, that is

selected facts, concepts, skills, attitudes, values and norms. Whatever he/she

chooses is geared towards the achievement of operational and educational

objectives (Brown, 1975:222).

The learning content should suit the development level, needs and interests of the

learners. Moreover, subject matter should not be too little or too much for the

lesson (Duminy, 1972:99).

The teacher should arrange the subject matter in an orderly and logical fashion in

his/her preparation.

The various lesson approaches can now be discussed.

2.4.4 Methodological principles (lesson approach)

There are two approaches which contribute to the effectiveness of a lesson,

namely the inductive and deductive approaches.

In the inductive approach one proceeds from the example to the general. The

generalizations, rules or principles established in this way by pupils themselves,

under the guidance of a teacher, are better understood and appreciated than when

the teacher just gives the pupils all the information when they are passively

listening (Van der Stoep & Van der Stoep, 1973:154-155). In the deductive

approach one proceeds from the general to the particular, for example when the

teacher explains a concept or a rule, and then asks the pupils to apply the given

rule or concept (Van der Stoep & Van der Stoep, 1973:89). The deductive

approach is suitable for science students because it encourages observation,

20

analysis, synthesis and generalizations in scientific enquiry. These two approaches

add to the quality of the lesson structure and they have the lasting effects on the

pupil's understanding and mastery of the learning content.

2.4.4.1 Teaching methods

Successful teaching depends on the teacher's use of effective methods. Some of

the methods frequently used by the teacher are the question-and-answer method,

the lecture method, discussion method, the textbook method and many others

which will not be discussed in this study (Steyn et. al., 1981:29-43; Duminy and

Sohnge, 1981:57-77; Duminy, 1972:52). When properly used by the teacher,

methods contribute to the arrangement of the lesson and they promote effective

learning. The methods used should not just suit the teacher's needs but they must

also be chosen according to the pupil's developmental stage, needs and interest

not excluding the nature and structure of the content to be taught (Behr,

1976:91).

Teaching methods can be divided into two categories, namely ostensive methods

of teaching and the heuristic methods where the pupils are motivated to search for

facts under the leadership of the teacher (Duminy, 1972:52). In contemporary

teaching the pendulum sways from teacher centred methods (ostensive teaching)

to pedo-centric methods (heurostentic teaching) where the teacher's role is to

motivate the learners' potential ability to 'search' for the answer to the given

problems and by so doing perfect his/her skills of self-discovery and self-

actualization (Maarschalk, 1981:40).

2.4.4.2 Media of instruction

Everything that is used for transmitting the learning content in a lesson (either

visual or auditory or both) is called media of instruction: There are four generations

of media, namely:

21

2.4.4.2.1 The first generation media: which do not need any mechanical or

electrical contrivance. These are sub-divided into the following:

The auditory first generation media; which appeal to hearing

only and are used for individual or group instruction, for

example the voice of the teacher.

The visual first generation media; which appeal to sight only

and are used for individual or group instruction, for example

two-dimensional graphic material such as cartoons, charts,

maps and graphs. Secondly there are three dimensional non-

graphic material such as models and specimens.

The audio-visual generation media; which appeal to both sight

and hearing. They are used for group work such as

dramatization and demonstrations (Duminy, 1972:128-130;

Briel in Kruger et. al., 1981:132; Duminy and Sohnge,

1981:165).

2.4.4.2.2 The second generation media; which are only visual media, and are

used for individual instruction. Examples of these are workbooks,

textbooks and tests (Duminy, 1972:128-129; Duminy and Sohnge,

1981:165).

2.4.4.2.3 The third generation media

These were introduced after the first two from the nineteenth

century. They can be divided into the following:

The auditory third generation media: such as the record and

magnetic tape recorders as well as the radio.

22

The visual third generation media: include slides, photographs

and silent motion pictures.

The audio-visual third generation media: include sound motion

pictures. They involve the use of sound and motion and thus

presenting the learning content in a realistic way.

Moreover they can incorporate the first and second generation media

(Duminy, 1972:128-129; Duminy and Sohnge, 1981 :65).

2.4.4.2.4 The fourth-generation media

These were introduced relatively recently. They are categorized as

follows:

The audio fourth generation media: such as language

laboratories which play a significant role in linguistics and

language teaching.

The visual fourth generation media: such as programmed

instruction machines for individualized teaching.

The audio-visual fourth generation media: such as educational

television can also enhance the quality of teaching (Duminy,

1972:128-129).

Computers used for teaching: purposes are more than just a

fourth generation audio-visual media (with its visual being more

advanced than the audio part) because it is capable of the

great variety of many responses. It can provide suitable

instruction better than many of the above mentioned media

23

(Duminy, 1972:128-129; Duminy and Sohnge, 1981:65).

2.4.5 Presentation of lessons

In the final analysis of lessons the teachers' presentation should also be looked

into. Preparation which has a great influence on their presentations and

accompaniment is the first important aspect of a lesson. During lesson

presentation the logical acts observed are explaining, deducting, concluding,

justifying, showing the relevance of new knowledge with real life situations,

associating the difficulties and accompanying them (Gresse in Muller (ed.),

1986:40-50). These can be determined by using various classroom interaction

analysis instruments in order to objectify the validity of the findings concerning the

influence pattern of the teacher and pupil's responses (Muller, 1986:6; Gresse in

Muller (ed.), 1986:13-15).

The strategic acts observed during presentation of the lesson are focusing,

motivating pupils, varying the stimulus when necessary, varying the pace of

lesson; questioning, accepting feelings and/or using pupils' ideas, evaluating,

disciplining and using teaching aids (Green, 1971:2-5; Hyman, 1975:11-12;

Calitz in Muller (ed.), 1986:71-96).

During presentation, teacher-pupil interaction is of great significance because their

activities are intended for the success of the lesson and achieving of the stated

objectives. Some of these activities of the teacher are grouped together. Others

are treated as they are, while still others are further subdivided in different

components of basic teaching skills and their components. The basic skills are:

Set induction and closure as well as their components.

Stimulus variation (acting skills of teaching and learning).

Questioning and obtaining learners' participation.

The skills of explanation and illustration with examples.

24

The skills of reacting and reinforcement.

2.4.5.1 The post-interactive phase

Ultimately, the total lesson procedure must be re-evaluated in the light of the

results achieved. If the results are good it should be established to what the

success can be attributed (Muller (ed.), 1986:37; Kruger and Muller, 1988:144-

146, 144, 157).

Discipline and maintenance of order are important aspects of teacher competence.

All teachers use quality teaching practices in their attempts at classroom

management.

2.4.6 Classroom management

Classroom management refers to those activities in the classroom which take place

in order to make educational instruction possible. Van der Westhuizen (1991:386;

in Smith 1992:3) refers to two approaches to classroom management. The first

refers to those pre-instructional activities aimed at effective instruction and learning

but excludes instruction as such. According to a second approach classroom

management also takes place during the teaching-learning situation. While Basson

(1982:12; in Smith 1992:3) is of the opinion that teaching in the classroom

demands much more than just the action of teaching. Effective teaching also

supposes the execution of management action such setting objectives, formulating

policy, planning, organising, control and supplying resources.

Classroom management is therefore tightly interwoven with the teaching-learning

situation. The management actions of the teacher before and during the

presentation of a lesson always prepare the way towards a successful teaching-

learning situation moment. The following management strategies are discussed:

25

2.4.6.1 Meetings

Man as a social being happily socializes with others and moves into relationships

with others, so the skilful teacher should exploit this desire and search for

fellowship and cooperation. One of the ways in which to exploit this is by means

of meetings. Meetings in the classroom should not degenerate into disorder and

chaos. Meetings can be used with excellent effect in almost all areas (classroom

policy, subject matters, guidance matters, fund-raising, etcetera) as this involves

group dynamics.

2.4.6.2 Group management and group techniques

In essence group management means that the pupils in the class are involved in

the decision-making process and also other matters which concern them directly.

Pupils who are consulted on matters will obviously be more motivated than those

who are forced to act in a specific prescribed manner.

The teacher should in this regard pay serious attention to the following

the functioning of groups - the group, the group aims, group techniques,

group spirit and group loyalty;

group abilities and taking of group decisions;

the characteristics of groups and group behaviour - the influence of

endogenic and exogenic factors;

manner of conforming;

group consensus, majority decisions and group cohesion;

26

constant evaluation of group interaction; and

group productivity.

There will however not be much success with group management, or classroom

management for that matter, if serious attention is not paid to climate creation.

2.4.6.3 Climate creation

The spirit or climate which reigns in the classroom depends mainly on the teacher

as manager and it is very closely linked to the personality of the teacher. The

teacher therefore has to put everything in motion to create a supportive climate.

It can only occur if he/she lives and lets live in an appreciative, supportive and

benevolent manner. According to Taute (1987:26; in Smith 1992:30) classroom

climate is important because it directly involves the primary task of the teacher

namely quality educational teaching. A favourable classroom climate results in

better pupil achievements. We now turn to Total Quality Management as the

feasible approach to the improvement of pupil achievement.

2.4.7 Total quality management as an aspect of quality teaching practices

The focus on quality teaching practices for the pupil has led to the development

of a body of theory, tools and applications that has become known in management

as TQM-total quality management (Murgatroyd & Morgan 1992:ii). The most

significant leaders and managers in the school are teachers. They alone are

responsible for the processes in the classrooms that enable learning and are

consequently the real leaders of performance. They should continuously search for

improvement in their teaching.

Total Quality Management refers to the systematic management of an

organisation's customer supplier relationships in such a way as to ensure

27

sustainable, steep-slope improvements in quality performance (Murgatroyd &

Morgan, 1992:59).

According to Murgatroyd and Morgan (1992:xiii), the intention of Total Quality

Management in a school is to -provide insights, understandings, frameworks and

tools from which the readers can develop their own strategies for making our

schools totally dedicated to high performance, quality and the satisfaction of

parent and pupil expectations. An important assumption that can be made is that

teamwork can enhance school effectiveness. Effective schools are staffed by

teachers who value teamwork and realize that co-operation and shared experiences

are more beneficial than working alone. Emphasis is therefore placed on the

"whole school" approach to school management in which the individual teacher is

a member of a team that work together to achieve common goals.

2.5 SYNOPSIS ON ORDER AND DISCIPLINE

As schools move away from corporal punishment, it is evident that there is no one

alternative to maintaining order and discipline in schools. Teachers need to be

innovative and creative when faced with discipline problems. Quality teaching

practices are perhaps one of the ways in which order might be obtained.

Discipline problems are often a result of pupils not identifying with the school

because of a lack of consultation and involvement. Schools should create

cooperative environments in which teachers successfully function in an atmosphere

that is not only productive but pleasant for all. It is necessary for teachers to set

behaviour guidelines in their classrooms and monitor students compliance with

these guidelines (Frieberg, Stein, Parker, 1995:438). Rather than have 'good

discipline' as a goal in and of itself, schools must focus on all aspects of the school

environment. Rather than stressing punishment and encouraging conformity,

schools must recognise the individuality of students and make the classroom and

the school community places where students can not only learn but places where

28

they are glad to be.

The application of quality teaching practices may be one of the ways in which

order and discipline can be effectively maintained. Thus principals should

encourage teachers to make this an important aspect of their discipline

programmes. This could also be used to assess how effective a teacher is in

disciplining his/her pupils and in the management of teacher competence.

2.6 SUMMARY

In this chapter the essence of teacher competence, the importance of order and

discipline as well as the use of quality teaching practices to maintain discipline in

schools have been explored. The next chapter will deal with the empirical research

that was undertaken and the analysis of data will be discussed.

29

CHAPTER THREE

THE RESEARCH DESIGN

3.1 INTRODUCTION

The literature study in Chapter Two formed the framework for the empirical study.

The specific aim of this study was highlighted in Chapter Two as quality teaching

practices as an aspect of order and discipline and its implication for the

management of teacher competence. A brief discussion of the design of the

research instrument now follows.

3.2 THE INSTRUMENT OF RESEARCH

3.2.1 The design of the questionnaire

The design of the empirical investigation was based on research done by Van der

Merwe and Grobler (1995). This research indicated that teacher competence was

designed around the theoretical constructs of:

The learning environment.

Professional commitment.

Order and discipline.

Educational foundation.

Teacher reflection.

Co-operative ability.

Leadership.

Subsequently groups of students were assigned to investigate each of the above

constructs in greater detail. This resulted in 108 questions designed to obtain the

perceptions of members of the teaching profession as to how often they

30

demonstrated certain behaviours (see Appendix A).

Although this particular research paper deals with quality teaching practices as an

aspect of order and discipline all the questions formulated by this group are

represented in table 3.1. The questions relevant to quality teaching practices are

indicated by means of an asterisk:

31

TABLE 3.1 ITEMS ASSOCIATED WITH ORDER AND DISCIPLINE

Item no Description Mean score S.D. Rank order

B103 Show a clear understanding of their subject matter 4,41 0,92 1

B60* Ensure that the classroom environment is well organised so effective learning can Occur 4,23 0,99 13

B48 Maintain an orderly yet relaxed classroom climate 4,23 0,95 15

B104 Get pupils to understand why they are expected to behave according to certain norms 4,21 0,09 16

B97 Help pupils in ways which assist them to become independent learners 4,20 0,96 18

B96* Choose those specific teaching methods that best achieve their lesson objectives 4,19 0,94 19

B85* Create interest in their lessons by using stimulating and thoughtful lesson plans 4,15 0,99 28

B10 Attempt to make pupils realise that education is something you acquire for yourself 4,15 1,12 29

B74 Make use of rules to protect the majority of pupils against the behaviour of some fellow pupils 4,08 1,05 39

B59 Enforce rules in such a way that the desired behaviour is obtained 4,01 1,03 44

B19 Demonstrate that discipline is directed primarily at correction and not retribution 3,99 1,01 47

B3 Ensure that respect for each other is entrenched in disciplinary actions 3,94 1,17 50

B86 Share the responsibility with management of disciplining pupils 3,93 1,21 51

B75 Use positive rewards as an educational aid 3,90 1,13 59

B47 Manage their learning environments by using rules and routines 3,72 1,12 76

denote items involved with quality teaching practices as an aspect of order

and discipline

32

Having displayed the various items involved in order and discipline only those items

relevant to this research paper will now be discussed.

3.2.2 Discussion of quality teaching practices as an aspect of order and discipline

Each question was formulated in such a way that the respondents could indicate

how often they demonstrated a particular behaviour, for example:

In you opinion how often do you:

B60 ensure that the classroom environment is well organised so that

effective learning can occur?

B96 Choose those specific teaching methods that best achieve their lesson

objectives?

B85 Create interest in your lessons by using stimulating and thoughtful

lesson plans?

The above questions are the actual questions pertaining to the use of quality

teaching practices as one of the ways in which order and discipline may be

enforced. These questions will now be motivated and discussed together with the

outcome of the empirical survey undertaken.

QUESTION B60:

When a teacher is successful in creating a classroom climate where pupils know

exactly how to behave, the consequences of misbehaviour and the diligent

observation of the rules set out, then he/she has overcome one of his greatest

obstacles towards effective teaching, namely, discipline. Once discipline has been

achieved, teaching and learning becomes more effective as the classroom

33

environment is orderly.

When one looks at the results of the questionnaire the mean score of this question

was 4,23 which indicates that teachers considered this aspect as important in their

discipline plan. However this question ranked 13 out of 108 questions. This

shows that other means of discipline are just as important, for example, to ensure

that the classroom environment is well organised to maintain a relaxed classroom

climate.

QUESTION B96:

Successful teaching depends on the teacher's use of effective methods. When

properly used by the teacher teaching methods contribute to the arrangement of

the lesson and they promote effective learning.

For the teacher to be an effective deliverer of the curriculum she/he must

understand what the pupil currently knows, have a capacity to devise appropriate

learning situations in the light of that knowledge and skill, in managing them so

their potential for promoting learning is realized (Wilson, 1988:67). To achieve his

or her teaching goals the competent teacher should be a master of quality delivery

of his/her subject matter. Successful teachers vary their teaching strategies and

employ global methods in their realization of their aims. This question ranked 19

in 108 with a mean score of 4,19 to make a convincing argument that quality

teaching methods are indispensable in the competant teacher's routine work.

QUESTION B85:

To be a successful teacher, who assists students in the mastery of the material

under study, you must plan thoroughly (Jacobsen, 1985:120). All teaching begins

with some kind of planning. At this point a teacher asks himself: "What do I want

the students to know, understand, appreciate and be able to do?"

34

Whenever a teacher plans his/her lesson, he/she must bear motivational tactics in

mind. The introduction, most of all, must be interesting, thought-provoking and

directed at stimulating the learning process.

This question ranked 28 out of 108 questions meaning that lively and well planned

lessons are the cornerstones of teaching. This question had a mean score of 4,15

denoting that successful lessons can motivate pupils to creativity and self-

discovery.

Having discussed each of the questions on quality teaching practices as an aspect

of order and discipline in the school it is now necessary to describe the empirical

investigation.

3.3 THE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

3.3.1 Respondents

Respondents were chosen from the various post levels of the teaching profession.

It was felt that the perceptions of the teachers at the various post levels relative

to teacher competence should vary and hence it was important to sample as wide

a range of post levels as possible (see Section A, question 2 of the questionnaire).

3.3.2 Biographical details

The following biographical details were requested:

Gender, post level, age, teaching experience, highest educational qualification,

province in which you are presently teaching, religion, primary or secondary school,

mother tongue, gender of the principal of your school, attendance of pupils,

attendance of teachers and the image of your school.

35

It was reasoned that these aspects could be related to teaching competence and

could influence teachers perceptions on how often they demonstrated such

behaviours.

3.3.3 The research group

Questionnaires were distributed to members of the teaching profession especially

in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal. However, teachers from the other provinces were

also involved. Schools were selected on the grounds of their accessibility to

members of the research team and all provinces except the provinces from the

Cape were represented in the sample.

Principals were approached in order to obtain their cooperation. The questionnaires

were handed to principals by a member of the research team and personally

collected again after completion. Cooperation in most instances was excellent and

this enabled a good return of questionnaires to be obtained.

3.3.4 Return of questionnaires

The following figures summarise the information relevant to the questionnaires on

teacher competence:

Handed out

Returned-useable Percentage return 1 500

1 112 74,13 %

The questionnaires were now sent to the statistical consulting services of the Rand

Afrikaans University where the data was transcribed and processed.

3.4 SUMMARY

In this chapter a description of the empirical investigation was provided. The

36

questionnaire was discussed and the course of the research was briefly indicated.

In Chapter four the following aspects will receive attention:

reliability and validity of the instrument; and

some aspects of the data flowing from the statistical analysis will be

examined, tabulated and interpreted.

37

CHAPTER FOUR

THE ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF A SELECTED SAMPLE OF THE

EMPIRICAL DATA

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Due to the limit imposed on the length of the research essay a detailed discussion

of the various statistical techniques is impossible. Hence the discussion will be

limited to the following:

a discussion on the validity and reliability of the research instrument;

a comparison of one of the independent pairs by stating appropriate

hypotheses and interpreting the statistical tests involved; and

a comparison of one of the independent groups containing three or more

groups by stating the hypotheses and analysing the appropriate statistical

data.

4.2 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY

The ensure content validity the questions were designed within the framework of

the relevant theory using the eight constructs described by Van der Merwe and

Grobler (1995). Several experts in the research field from the Department of

Educational Sciences and from the Statistical Consulting Service of the Rand

Afrikaans University also reviewed the questionnaire to judge the relevancy of each

item.

The construct validity of the instrument was investigated by means of successive

first and second order factor analyses performed on the 108 items. The first order

38

procedure involves a principal component analysis (PCA1) followed by a principal

factor analysis (PFA1). These procedures were performed using the BMDP 4M

program (Dixon, Brown, Engelman, Frane, Jenrich & Toporek, 1985:448-454) in

order to identify a number of factors which may facilitate the processing of the

statistics.

The nine factors obtained from the first order factor analysis were now used as

inputs for the second order procedure. This consisted of a PCA2 with varimax

rotation and orthogonal axes followed by a PFA2 with doblomin rotation.

These procedures resulted in the 108 items being reduced to two factors namely:

educative competence consisting of 81 items with a Cronbach-alpha-

reliability coefficient of 0,978 with no items rejected. The 81 items can

thus be regarded as one scale with a maximum value of 81 x 5 = 405 and

a minimum scale value of 81 x 1 = 81; and

collaborative competence consisting of 27 items with a Cronbach-alpha-

reliability coefficient of 0,918. The 27 items can thus be regarded as one

scale with a maximum scale value of 27 x 5 = 135 and a minimum scale

value of

27 x 1 = 27.

Both scales are thus valid with high reliability and could thus serve as a basis for

evaluating teacher competence in the form of educative competence and

collaborative competence.

Now that the validity and reliability of the instrument has been established the

appropriate statistical analysis can be discussed.

4.3 HYPOTHESES

Hypotheses were formulated in respect of all the independent groups. The

comparison of two independent groups will now follow.

4.3.1 Comparison of two independent groups

At the multivariate level two groups can be compared for possible statistical

differences by means of Hotelling's T 2 test. This implies that the vectors of the

mean scale scores of the two groups are compared in respect of the two factors

taken together. Should a significant difference be found at this multivariate level

then the Student t-test is used in respect of each of the variables taken separately.

Possible differences between the opinions of primary school teachers and

secondary school teachers in respect of educative and collaborative competence

will now be discussed.

4.3.1.1 Differences between primary and secondary school teachers relative

to educative and collaborative competence

39

40

TABLE 4.1 COMPOSITE HYPOTHESES WITH PRIMARY AND SECONDARY

SCHOOL TEACHERS AS THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

Dimension Variable Symbol Description Test

Differences at the multivariate level

School type HoT There is no statistical significant difference between the vector mean scale scores of primary and secondary school teachers in respect of the two competence factors taken together.

Hotelling T2

HaT There is a statistical significant difference between the vector mean scale scores of primary and secondary school teachers in respect of the two competence factors taken together.

Differences at the univariate level

Hot There is no statistical significant difference between the mean scale scores of primary and secondary school teachers in respect of each of the factors taken separately namely:

Student t-test

Hot 1 Educative competence Hot 2 Collaborative competence

Hat There is a statistical significant difference between the mean scale scores of primary and secondary school teachers in respect of each of the factors taken separately namely:

Hat 1 Educative competence Hat 2 Collaborative competence

41

TABLE 4.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRIMARY AND

SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS REGARDING THE FOLLOWING

FACTORS

Factors Group Factor average p-value (Hotelling)

p-value (Student)

Educative competence Primary 322,61 0,2165 Secondary 326,62 0,0000 —

Collaborate competence Primary 89,23 0,0001" Secondary 84,28

Ni (Primary School Teachers)

681

N2 (Secondary School Teachers) = 431

: Significant at the 1 % level

** : Significant at the 5 % level

Tables 4.1 and 4.2 indicate that there is a statistical significant difference (p =

0,0000) between the vector mean scale scores of primary school and secondary

school teachers in respect of the two factors considered together. The null

hypothesis HoT is thus rejected and the alternative hypotheses HaT is supported.

In respect of differences at the single variable level between the two groups the

average scale score of the primary school teachers is significantly higher than that

of the secondary school teachers in respect of collaborative competence only (p

= 0,0001). Thus Hot 1 is accepted because there is no significant difference

between the two groups relative to educative competence. However, Hot 2 is

rejected in favour of Hat 2. Primary school teachers are thus significantly more

collaborative than their secondary school counterparts.

4.3.2 Comparison of three or more independent groups

In respect of three or more independent groups multivariate differences are

investigated by means of MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance) in respect

42

of educative and collaborative competence considered together. The vector mean

scale scores are compared and should any differences be revealed at this level then

ANOVA (analysis of variance) and the Scheffe test are used to investigate this

difference at the single variable level.

An example of differences between three or more groups, that is, various teacher

perceptions of the image of their school groupings are considered.

4.3.2.1 Differences amongst teachers with regards to the perception of their

school image in respect of educative and collaborative competence

43

TABLE 4.3 COMPOSITE HYPOTHESES WITH GROUPS REFLECTING THE

TEACHERS PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMAGE OF THEIR SCHOOL AS

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

Dimension Variable Symbol Description Test

Differences at the Image of the HoM There is no statistical significant Manova

multivariate level school difference between the vector mean scores for the four groups reflecting teachers perceptions of the image of their school taken together.

HaM There is a statistical significant

difference between the vector mean scores for the four groups reflecting

teachers perceptions of the image of their school taken together.

Differences at the single variable level

HoA The average scale scores of the four groups reflecting teacher perceptions of the image of their school do not differ in a statistical significant way from one another in respect of the following factors taken separately namely:

Anova

HoA 1 Educative competence

HoA 2 Collaborative competence

HaA The average scale scores of the four groups reflecting teacher perceptions of the image of their school do differ in a statistical significant way from one another in respect of the following factors taken separately namely:

HaA 1 Educative competence HaA 2 Collaborative competence

HoS There are no statistical significant

differences between the average scale scores of the four groups reflecting

teachers perceptions of the image of their school compared pair wise in

respect of the following factors namely:

Scheffe

factor : average.

p-value (Manove)

pa-value (Aniava)

A B C D

EDUCATIVE A 326,89 A

COMPETENCE B 325,12 0,3837 B

C 320,06 C

D 318,27 D

A 86,83 0,0070 — A

COLLABORATIVE B 89,10 0,0038 — B *

COMPETENCE C 85,35 C

D 80,76 D

44

FACTORS PAIRS OF GROUPS

AvsB BvsC CvsD AvsD AvsC BvsD

Educative competence HoS.AB1 HoS.BC1 HoS.CD1 HoS.AC1 HoS.AD1 HoS.BD1

Collaborative competence HoS.AB2 HoS.BC2 HoS.CD2 HoS.AC2 HoS.AD2 HoS.BD2

Diff. at the univariate level

Image of school

HaS There are statistical significant differences between the average scale scores of the four degrees of the perception of school image groups when compared pair-wise in respect of the following factors, namely:

FACTORS PAIRS OF GROUPS •

AvsB BvsC CvsD AvsC AvsD BvsD

Educative competence HaS.AB1 HaS.BC1 HaS.CD1 HaS.AC1 HaS.AD1 HaS.BD1

Collaborative competence HaS.AB2 HaS.BC2 HaS.CD2 _ HaS.AC2 HaS.AD2 HaS.BD2

TABLE 4.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GROUPS

REFLECTING THE IMAGE OF THE SCHOOL IN RESPECT OF THE

FOLLOWING FACTORS:

A = 278 Excellent

** = Significant at the 1 % level

B = 548 Good

* = Significant at the 5 % level

C = 244 Average

D = 62 Disturbing

45

Using Tables 4.3 and 4.4 it follows that HoM is rejected at the 1 % level of

significance. A statistical significant difference thus exists between the vector

mean scores of the four groups of perceptions that teachers have of the school

taken together.

On the single variable level the deduction can be made that there is no statistical

significant difference between the average scale scores of the four groups

reflecting the teachers' image of their school A, B, C, D in respect of the educative

competence only. The null hypothesis HoA 1 is thus accepted in favour of the

alternative hypothesis HaA 1. In respect of collaborative competence there is a

statistical significant difference between the scale scores of the four groups at the

5 % level of statistical significance. HoA 2 is thus rejected and HaA 2 is accepted.

Regarding the pair-wise comparisons of these groups the following conclusions can

be made:

there is a statistical significant difference at the 5 % level between the

average scale scores of group B (Good) and Group D (Disturbing) in respect

of collaborative competence. HoS BD2 is thus rejected in favour of HaS

BD2. HoS.AB2, HoS.AC2, HoS.AD2, HoS.BC2 and HoS.DC2 however,

cannot be rejected. Teachers who perceive their school's image as

disturbing perceive themselves as less collaboratively competent compared

to teachers who perceive the image of their school as above average and

excellent. This could be due to the fact that in schools where teachers have

a good image of their schools, there is a greater degree of consultation,

collaboration and co-operation compared to schools where teachers have a

poor image of their schools. These schools are mainly characterised by a

lack of co-operation and teachers often work on their own with little or no

assistance from one another.

Significant statistical differences were also found between most of the other

46

independent groups investigated. Due to the limits in length imposed by a research

essay these differences are summarised in Table 4.5 and are discussed briefly.

47

TABLE 4.5 MEAN SCORES OF SOME OF THE INDEPENDENT GROUPS IN

RESPECT OF EDUCATIVE AND COLLABORATIVE COMPETENCE

NAME CATEGORY NAME MEAN SCORES

Fl F2

Gender Men 325,73 86,18 Women 323,54 87,76

Gender of principal Males 325,20 86,25 Females 320-95 90,50

Post level Teachers Teachers with merit awards

320,11** 325,16

1 85,65** 88,74

Heads of departments 340,22** 91,62** Higher promotion posts 334,32 92,84**

Highest qualifications Lower Std. 10; Std. 10 297,93** 89,17 Diploma 324,44** 87,55 Teachers' Diploma 331,38** 89,28*1 Diploma, degree 332,30** 83,48* Degree plus

Province Gauteng 327,19** 87,14 KwaZulu r312,44* 88,08 Other 1'328,30 86,91

Home language Afrikaans 338,97** 83,84* English 330,48 *83,54 Sotho F320,52** *90,58*

F

Nguni *316,72** **89,50* Indian 335,70 88,46

Attendance pupils Good 323,96 87,17 Average 325,03 88,09 ..7 Poor 317,06 80,74*

Attendance teachers Good 324,65 Average 324,66

88,07*1 87,26

Poor 314,13 80,29*

Religious groups Christian 322,86 87,66 Muslim 329,39 86,09 Hindu 337,81 87,06

F1 = Educative competence

F2 = Collaborative competence

** = Significant difference at the 1 % level

* = Significant difference at the 5 % level

48

4.4 BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FACTOR MEAN

SCORES IN TABLE 4.5

The differences in the factor mean scores obtained by the various independent

groups as summarised in Table 4.5 will now be discussed. In order to facilitate the

discussion the factors are considered separately with educative competence being

the first to be discussed.

4.4.1 Educative competence

Gender - according to the factor mean scores men perceive themselves to

be slightly more educatively competent than do women.

Gender of principal - teachers who have male principals perceive their

leaders educative competence to be higher than do teachers who have

female principals as leaders.

Post level - heads of department have the highest factor average and differ

statistically significantly at the 1 % level in their factor mean scores from

teachers. Heads of department are appointed to these posts because of

their subject expertise and one would expect them to be educatively more

competent than teachers. It is interesting to note that heads of department

even have a higher factor mean than teachers in promotion posts above that

of head of department.

Educational qualifications - educators with an honours degree or higher

qualification have the highest factor average and differ from the other three

groups at the 1 % level of statistical significance. Teachers perception of

their educational competence is directly proportional to their educational

qualifications. Hence teachers with the lowest educational qualifications

perceive themselves to be educatively least competent. The higher the

49

qualification the better the perception of educative competence.

Province - educators from KwaZulu Natal have the lowest factor mean score

and this scale score differs from Guateng educators at the 1 % level of

statistical significance and from educators from the other provinces at the

5 % level. Many of the schools in KwaZulu Natal are in rural areas and the

teachers at these schools are often not well qualified and hence they

perceive their educative competence to be lower than those from urban

schools. Factors such as a lack of educational facilities and overcrowded

classrooms probably also play a role in this perception.

Home language - teachers with Afrikaans as home language have the

highest factor mean score and they differ statistically significantly at the

1 % level from the Nguni speaking people and at the 5 % level from the

Sotho speaking teachers. Afrikaans speaking people have always attached

great value to educative competence and have also had the advantage of a

superior system of education relative to the Nguni and Sotho speaking

teachers. It is also a decided advantage to receive an education in your

mother tongue whereas Nguni and Sotho speaking teachers probably studied

via their second language, namely English. Teachers with English as home

language have the second highest mean score and differ from Nguni

speaking people at the 5 % level of statistical significance. The reason for

this difference is probably similar to those for Afrikaans speaking teachers.

Teachers who have Indian dialects such as Gujerati and Urdu as home

language also have a higher factor mean and thus also believe that they are

educatively competent relative to the other groups. The fact that there was

no statistically significant differences between Indian-speakers and other

groups was probably due to the small number of Indian-speakers sampled.

Attendance of pupils - teachers who perceive the attendance of pupils at

their schools to be average and good have the highest factor mean scores.

50

Teachers who have the perception that pupil attendance at their schools is

poor also have the lowest factor mean score and hence the lowest perceived

educative competence.

Attendance of teachers - teachers who perceive that attendance of teachers

at their schools to be good and average have the highest factor mean

scores. Teachers with the perception that teachers attendance at their

schools is poor also perceive themselves to be educatively least competent.

Religion - there is a statistical significant difference at the 5 % level between

the average scale scores of Christians and Hindus in respect of educative

competence. Teachers belonging to the Hindu religion perceive themselves

to be more educatively competent than Christian teachers. The relatively

high mean scores attributed to the Hindu group could be as a result of the

small number of Hindu teachers sampled compared to the Christian group.

It is obvious from the above discussion that many of the independent groups differ

statistically significantly from one another is respect of educative competence.

The fact that these groups were expected to differ from one another reinforces the

constructive and predictive validity of educative competence as an educational

construct.

A brief discussion of differences between the various independent groups in

respect of collaborative competence now follows.

4.4.2 Collaborative competence

Gender - woman perceive themselves to be slightly more collaboratively

competent than do men.

Gender of principal - teachers perceive women principals to be more

51

collaboratively competent than their male counterparts.

Post level - educators in promotion posts higher than heads of department

have the highest factor mean score and differ from teachers at the 1 % level

of statistical significance. Heads of department with the second highest

factor mean score also differ statistically significantly from teachers at the

1 % level. There thus appears to be a direct link between the educators

post level and collaborative competence. Educators in promotion posts can

only achieve their objectives if they possess collaborative competence and

it is thus hardly surprising to see that they have the higher factor mean

scores in respect of collaborative competence.

Highest qualification - educators with a degree and a teacher's diploma differ

in their factor mean scores at the 5 % level of statistical significance from

educators who have an honours degree and higher qualifications. The higher

the educational qualification the lower the collaborative competence.

Teachers who are well qualified are usually innovative, autonomous and

individualistic and probably do not need to be as participative as teachers

with lower qualifications.

Province - educators from KwaZulu Natal are more collaborative than

educators from Gauteng and other provinces, but not statistically

significantly so.

Home language - Sotho and Nguni speaking teachers have the highest factor

mean scores in collaborative competence and they differ from English

speaking teachers at the 1 % level of statistical significance. Sotho and

Nguni speakers also differ from Afrikaans speaking teachers at the 5 % level

of statistical significance. English and Afrikaans speaking teachers have the

lowest factor mean scores indicating that their collaborative competence is

not as good as those teachers belonging to the black population groups.

52

This difference is probably due to the perceptive characteristic known as

collective consciousness which derives from common experience and

contrasts with its opposite pole known as individualistic consciousness

which is generally operative in the context of the white population groups.

The Indian speaking people also have a high factor mean score indicating

that they also perceive themselves to be collaboratively competent relative

to the other groups.

Attendance of pupils - educators with the perception that pupil attendance

at their school is average have the highest factor mean score and differ at

the 1 % level of statistical significance from educators with the perception

that pupil attendance at their school is poor. Teachers who perceive the

pupil attendance to be good to average thus believe themselves to be more

competent in a collaborative sense than educators who perceive pupil

attendance at their schools to be poor.

Attendance of teachers - teachers with the perception that teacher

attendance at their schools is good have a statistically higher factor means

score at the 5 % level than teachers who believe that teacher attendance

at their schools is poor. It thus appears as if teacher attendance influences

collaborative competence in a direct way and teachers who teach at schools

who have good to average teacher attendance have the perception that they

are collaboratively more competent than teachers who teach at schools

where teacher attendance is poor.

Religion - there is no significant statistical difference between the various

religious groups in terms of collaborative competence.

Collaborative competence manifests itself where there are high levels of

collaboration among teachers and between teachers and principals and is

characterised by mutual respect, shared work values, cooperation and specific

53

conversations about teaching and learning (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 1993:103). It

is also obvious from Table 4.5 that many of the independent groups differ

statistically significantly from one another is respect of collaborative competence.

As many of the groups discussed above are known to differ from one another in

many of the aspects researched this reinforces the predictive and construct validity

of collaborative competence as a construct. Collaborative competence is also an

exciting construct as it is related to aspects such as open communication, trust,

support, learning on the job, getting results and job satisfaction (Sergiovanni &

Starratt, 1993:102). Collaborative competence thus seems to be essential in order

to be classified as a competent teacher or manager of a school.

The discussion of the differences between the factor mean scores of the various

independent groups is now followed by a brief summary of the chapter.

4.5 SUMMARY

In this chapter an analysis and interpretation of some of the empirical data was

undertaken. The construct validity of the research instrument was investigated by

means of two successive factor analyses which reduced the 108 items to just two

factors namely:

educative competence consisting of 81 items with a reliability coefficient of

0,978; and

collaborative competence consisting of 27 items a reliability coefficient of

0,918.

All the questions dealing with order and discipline fell within the ambit of the factor

of educative competence.

An instrument which has construct validity should also be able to distinguish

54

between groups which are known to differ from one another. It can be seen from

the data in Table 4.5 that many of the groups which one expects to differ

significantly from one another do indeed differ in their perceptions of educative and

collaborative competence.

The limited scope of a research essay rationed the research to a comparison of one

example of two and one example of three or more independent groups.

Hypotheses were set and multivariate statistics were used to analyse and interpret

the data.

From the research conducted it can be concluded that teacher competence

revolves around the constructs of educative and collaborative competence. Both

of these constructs were shown to have construct validity and high reliability and

could thus serve as a basis for measuring and developing the educative and

collaborative competence of teachers.

In Chapter five a summary of the research will be given. Important findings will be

discussed and recommendations will be made.

55

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 INTRODUCTION

The aim of this research was to investigate the components of teacher competence

and how these aspects could enhance the management of teacher competence.

In order to achieve this general aim the group dealing with order and discipline

investigated the composition of order and discipline and how this in turn could

improve teacher competence. However the specific aim of this mini-dissertation

was to:

determine the contribution of quality teaching practices towards maintaining

order and discipline;

obtain teacher opinion as to the extent which teachers used quality teaching

practices to enhance order and discipline; and

devise a strategy whereby quality teaching practices could serve as an aid

to teacher competence and improve teaching effectiveness.

The South African education system is presently fraught with numerous problems

of which order and discipline is but just one of the very important challenges facing

our schools today. The culture of teaching and learning has virtually collapsed in

most public schools. Vandalism, violence, insubordination, drugs, alcoholism,

gangsterism, bribery and corruption (The Gauteng Education Matric Examination

for 1996 has been reduced to a farce as pupils paid up to R2 000 per paper -

Mahabeer, 1996:1) has become almost impossible to control in schools around the

country. The school management has to further contend with poorly qualified and

incompetent teachers and thus the problem of poor discipline perpetuates itself.

56

This research has considered the causes of poor discipline, the various ways of

maintaining order and discipline and how order and discipline may be accomplished

by implementing quality teaching practices and social contracts. It also offers the

management of the school ways and means of assessing teacher competence with

the specific component of managing discipline in the school. The task of the

management personnel of the school, namely, the principal, deputy principal and

heads of department is two fold - that is managing the efficient running of the

school as well as to manage the different areas of teacher competence especially

that of order and discipline. Without order there is no discipline and without

discipline no effective teaching and learning can take place.

This being the final chapter, it is necessary to recapitulate the salient points of the

this research project under the following headings:

Summary

Important findings

Recommendations

Conclusion

5.2 SUMMARY

Chapter one was concerned with defining the problem, setting out the general and

specific aims of this research as well as the methodology to be implemented.

Chapter two focused on the literature review of:

The nature and essence of competence which very briefly includes the following

aspects - the teachers ability to communicate with pupils and others effectively,

having the necessary skills and knowledge of their subject matter, having the

relevant professionalism, having professional ethics in all his/her interactions,

displaying positive values and attitudes, being aufait with the most effective

57

teaching methodologies and classroom management techniques, the ability to

control, assess and evaluate pupils work and finally having the ability to maintain

order and discipline effectively.

Order which provides structure and security. Every student and every classroom

needs both order, freedom and the key to establishing order is to achieve a balance

between freedom and responsibility. Each individual is responsible to oneself and

to others.

Discipline involves the guiding and managing of student behaviour that disturbs the

rights of others, corrective measures for infringement of school laws, the resolution

of conflicting needs and the protection of pupils from each other.

Quality teaching practices focuses on the theory and practices of teaching. Quality

teaching practices attempt to blend theory with practice by reporting and analysing

important research, then presenting practical procedures and adaptive strategies

for teachers to use, for example, what do successful teachers do to start a lesson?

How do they monitor classroom activities? How do they deal with disruptive

students? The answer to these questions depends on how we apply the theory we

have learned in our course work to classroom setting.

The design of the research project was explained in chapter three together with a

discussion of the questions pertaining to quality teaching practices as an aspect

of order and discipline. All the questions relevant to order and discipline resulted

in high mean scores - that is between 3,72 and 4,41.

Finally the analysis, interpretation and discussion of the empirical data was

discussed in chapter four.

5.3 IMPORTANT FINDINGS

5.3.1 Findings from the literature in respect of quality teaching practices as an

aspect of order and discipline and the implication for the management of

teacher competence

Quality teaching practices are based on the competent teacher's efforts to

create and maintain a desire in his/her pupils to learn;

impart knowledge unselfishly;

motivate pupils to be creative and self-active;

use motivating methods in his/her teaching; and

employ total quality management tactics in his/her classroom.

Quality teaching practices assist in the process of self-discipline so that the

teaching-learning situation is one of authority but at the same time one of freedom.

Authority and freedom should complement one another. The teacher as the bearer

of authority, and the child as the subject of authority, have freedom which is

limited by certain factors. They cannot always do as they like (Engelbrecht &

Lubbe, 1979:20).

Quality teaching practices form the bridge from chaos to order in the classroom by

providing the following

effective lessons based on a well conceived curriculum;

good organisational skills;

good teacher/student relationships;

58

effective discipline (which is almost impossible to achieve unless the above

three conditions are satisfied ► .

59

The student's work should be interesting, involving plenty of varied student

activity. There should be something for every student to do all the time, and the

standard of the work should not be too difficult or too easy for any student in the

class. There should be ample and prompt reinforcement, such as praise and

encouragement for student's efforts. A teacher has to be competent in the

disciplining of pupils. A teacher who is unable to maintain order and discipline in

the classroom will in all probability be inefficient as well as ineffective.

5.3.2 Important empirical findings in respect of teacher competence

Teacher competence consists of two factors namely:

educative competence which is composed of 81 items with a Cronbach-

alpha-reliability coefficient of 0,978; and

collaborative competence, made up from 27 items with a Cronbach-alpha-

reliability of 0,918.

In respect of educative competence significant statistical differences were found

between the perception of educators as reflected in the mean factor scores of the

followings groups:

post levels, educational qualifications, province in which one is presently

teaching and home language.

In respect of collaborative competence the opinions of the following groups of

educators showed statistically significant differences:

school type, post-levels, educational qualifications, home language, pupil

attendance, teacher attendance, and image of the school.

60

Having listed the findings of this research essay the recommendations are the next

aspect to be discussed.

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS

The main aim of this research project was an investigation into the importance of

quality teaching practices as an aspect of order and discipline and its implication

for the management of teacher competence. In order to realise this aim a literature

survey was undertaken and this served as the foundation upon which the empirical

research could be based. The findings of this research are now amalgamated by

the following recommendations.

RECOMMENDATION 1

5.4.1 Quality teaching practices

Competent teachers should use quality teaching practices as this creates order and

assists in the formation of norms to create a culture of teaching and learning.

Since corporal punishment is unable to be practised teachers have to look to

alternate means of disciplining pupils.

Parents must now accept a greater responsibility for the discipline of their children.

The school manager should involve the parents via the parent-teacher bodies in the

daily running of the school. Teachers and parents must be encouraged to work

together. Principals should also invite experts on child psychology or on discipline

to talk to teachers on the ways and means of disciplining teenagers today. The

school manager must ensure that there is an effective induction programme for

new teachers on procedures to be followed regarding discipline. Every year the

discipline policy should be discussed and reviewed so that every teacher is familiar

with the programme and implements it consistently.

61

RECOMMENDATION 2

5.4.2 Educative competence

Teachers have to be educatively competent to be able to meet the challenges of

the present education system. Educative competence involves the creation of an

effective learning environment, professional commitment, maintenance of order and

discipline, ethical educational foundation, the ability to reflect on teaching

practices, co-operative ability, effectiveness and leadership qualities. These

aspects may be developed as one's teaching experience increases. However,

constantly reading and continuously studying to upgrade one's qualifications will

also enhance educative competence. The results of the survey reflected that

teachers with the highest qualifications were most educatively competent.

Therefore the implementation of the broad-banding policy and not acknowledging

teachers studying for further degrees and diplomas may have a detrimental effect

on the education department in the future as teachers may not be motivated

enough to study further. Since salaries will no longer play a part in motivating

teachers the school manager should concentrate on providing the conditions and

the school environment whereby teachers are motivated by feeling a sense of

achievement, higher self esteem, and enjoy job satisfaction. An emphasis on these

aspects will encourage teachers to be enthusiastic, to keep in touch with their

subject matter and to improve their qualifications.

RECOMMENDATION 3

5.4.3 Collaborative competence

Collaboration, co-operation, team work, caring and sharing are the keys to

successful institutions. Schools are people orientated; there is constant

interaction between pupil and pupil, pupil and teacher, teacher and parent, teacher

and management personnel, etcetera. Therefore for teachers to be collaboratively

62

competent is essential. The survey reflects that in schools where there was a

greater degree of collaboratively competent teachers, pupils attendance, teacher

attendance and teachers perceptions of their school image was far better than

schools that reflected a poor image and hence achieved a poor collaborative

competence. Thus the school management personnel should place greater

emphasis on collaborative competence. Principals should make every effort to

enhance their collaborative competence as this seems to influence teacher

attendance, pupil attendance and the image of the school.

RECOMMENDATION 4

5.4.4 Topics for further research

The use of quality teaching practices is just one aspect of order and discipline. The

other aspects, namely, values, classroom management, relationships and rules in

maintaining order and discipline which were researched by the other group

members will also be of great significance to teachers today. However, when one

reflects on the discipline problems in public schools, especially now in this period

of transition, issues such as violence, vandalism, gangsterism, drugs, alcoholism,

racism and religious intolerance are becoming paramount. Thus topics dealing with

the problems mentioned in relation to order and discipline as well as the

perceptions young people (learners) have of the education system that they are

presently subjected to would be interesting to research and will be of great value

to the educational community.

5.5 CONCLUSION

Teachers together with pupils, parents and the school administration should review

their discipline policies. The discipline policies should be integrated as far as

possible with their teaching methods. Teachers should realise that children come

to schools with rights. By allowing students to have the opportunity to engage in

63

a learning process that develops from the balance of students' rights and

responsibilities, they will become more self-disciplined and the general school

environment should improve. Teachers should become more democratic and

flexible when dealing with individual students. They should become facilitators and

negotiators acting more like student advocates rather than top-down managers.

Teachers should establish an overall positive climate and emphasis should be

placed on developing students into more responsible citizens in the classroom and

their communities (Mc Ewan, 1994:38).

This research project has considered the use of quality teaching practices as an

aspect of order and discipline and its implication for the management of teacher

competence. The school manager should encourage teachers to use quality

teaching practices as a greater part of their discipline practices. Since the use of

quality teaching practices in maintaining order and discipline can be assessed as

it is an observable behaviour, school managers should include it in their evaluation

and assessment of teacher competence and it should be a component in the

school's appraisal document.

64

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