The increased emphasis on implementing effective integrated STEM education calls for indepth student understanding of the nature of each separate discipline. This study examined how South African Grade 9 and 10 students who had completed 'Natural Sciences and Technology' as a school subject, perceived technology and its relationship with science in a South African context. Data were collected using a questionnaire with open-ended and Likerttype questions. We utilised Mitcham's typology of technology to analyse students' descriptions of technology, in combination with Gardner's framework to analyse how students perceived the relationships between science and technology. The results indicate that students hold narrow views of technology, mostly referring to technological objects and activities in their descriptions of technology, but neglecting technology as knowledge and volition. In terms of their perceptions of the relationship between science and technology, students hold several misconceptions. If we are to develop students' scientific literacy and technological capability, we need to ensure that students have opportunities to reflect and engage with the nature of and interactions between science and technology.
The extant literature evidences the link between incivility and workplace culture. Both have a symbiotic relationship whereby a change in one influences the other. When workplace cultures develop dysfunctional values and beliefs, negative traditions, and caustic ways of interacting, they have become “toxic cultures.” This study examined Irish post-primary school teachers’ experiences of incivility and toxic culture in the workplace through in-depth interviews with forty-two participants. Results show that toxic work culture had a negative impact on both the personal and professional lives of the participants. We conclude that antecedents in toxic school culture are linked to epistemological assumptions, group dynamics, and deficiencies in leadership, and we suggest that they act as causes and/or facilitators of workplace bullying.
The focus of this research was to explore school leadership in post-primary schools using an adapted Schmidt Toxic Leadership Scale ©, which the authors recalibrated to examine both constructive and destructive leadership, the impact on individuals professional and personal lives, and on staff morale. Using a mixed methods approach, data were collected from 111 teaching professionals via online survey. Findings indicated a notable emergence of toxic leadership experiences which is reported in this paper. In addition, participants reported various and concerning negative consequences including: decreased job satisfaction, professional agency, and staff morale; reduced performance; increased attrition; increased negative behaviours including incivility; stifled career development; reduced self-confidence; depression; stress and anxiety; fear; tearfulness; humiliation; anger; mistrust; exhaustion; burnout; health issues; migraines; weight gain; substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, as well as, negative consequences on personal/home life. The results indicate that the quality of leadership was perceived to influence the health of respondents and had a bearing on their occupational wellbeing. Further research is needed to understand the nature of toxic leadership in education and its effects on organisational members.
This study investigated the developmental influence of collaborative games in the Grade 6 mathematics classroom. Development in areas such as awareness of mathematics, confidence, competence, curiosity, love for mathematics, appreciation of mathematics, creativity, recognition of mathematics, understanding, and knowledge and skills was investigated. The following three data collection methods were used: intervention, observations, and interviews. For the intervention, a quasi-experimental design was used to assign two out of four classes to an experimental group, and the other two to a comparison group. Fifty-one Grade 6 learners participated in the intervention, which covered the following four mathematics topics: multiplication, nets of 3D-objects, symmetry, and division. Each topic included a pre-test and post-test, with learners being observed during the completion of the post-tests. For the posttests, the comparison group completed the textbook activities individually as they usually would. The experimental group completed the same activities, but in a gamebased worksheet format while collaborating in heterogeneous pairs. The results revealed that the experimental group increased 4.28% more from the pretests to the post-tests than the comparison group. This implies that there was a developmental difference, which can be ascribed to the implementation of collaborative game-based worksheets. The Game Object Model, which was the framework used in this study, provided essential information regarding designing educational games that are conducive to learners' mathematical development. The experimental group increased the most in multiplication and division, which required skills in routine procedures. Low-achieving learners benefited the most from collaborating in heterogeneous pairs in their achievement in mathematics. The experimental group showed a high level of collaboration as they helped each other frequently. A need for support was noted in the comparison group when they asked for assistance from the teacher or a group leader according to the classroom seating arrangements, even though they were instructed to complete the activity individually. Although collaborative games have positively influenced learners' development in mathematics, observations also show that the teacher plays an important role in learners' development in mathematics with regard to focus, motivation, and stirring up a love for mathematics in the learners.
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