Abstract
M.Ed.
This investigation is part of the group project that a research team from the Department
of Educational Sciences of the Rand Afrikaans University conducted. The project
investigated the responsibilities of the teachers. The aim of this project was to determine
the input by teachers in carrying out their professional responsibilities.
The professional responsibilities that were investigated included inter alia the provision of
a sense of security for learners, building of the learner's self-concept, the learner's
cognitive development, the learner's social development, parental guidance, career
orientation and the view of the future of learners, evaluation responsibilities, lesson
preparation and presentation, maintenance of authority and discipline as well as remedial
work. Each member of the team has investigated the input made by teachers with respect
to a particular aspect of the teachers' responsibilities. This particular investigation focuses on the provision of a sense of security for learners as
an aspect of the teachers' responsibilities. Teachers from both primary and secondary
schools were asked to complete the questionnaire. They were specifically chosen
because the research topic focused on the teachers' responsibilities. With those involved,
it would be possible to determine the input that they make in carrying out their
professional responsibilities.
The results of the empirical research indicate that the provision of a sense of security for
learners is regarded as very important by teachers. This is one responsibility that is
attended to by teachers. The following specific findings have been made:
• No statistically significant relationships were found with respect to viewpoints on the
provision of a sense of security for learners between teachers of different age groups,
teachers who use different languages in teaching, teachers who occupy different
professional ranks and teachers with different marital status. Statistically significant relationships have been detected between teachers with different
teaching experience, teachers whose mother tongue differs, teachers with different
educational qualifications, teachers who teach in different subject fields and also
between teachers who have high and low average number of children in their classes.
No statistically significant difference was found regarding viewpoints on the provision of
a sense of security for learners between the proportion of teachers who have their own
children and the proportion of teachers who have no children of their own.
Statistically significant differences were found regarding viewpoints on the provision of a
sense of security for learners between the proportion of male and the proportion of
female teachers, and also between the proportion of primary and the proportion of
secondary school teachers. A larger proportion of female teachers than male teachers gives a larger proportion of
input with respect to the provision of a sense of security for learners.
It was also found that a larger proportion of primary school teachers than secondary
school teachers give a larger proportion of input with respect to the provision of a sense
of security for learners.
The study finally revealed that the provision of a sense of security for learners is one of
the responsibilities to which teachers give a high proportion of their input.