The background section should provide general information about the topic of your proposal.

1. BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
R E S E A R C H P R O P O S A L

2. WRITING BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
• Provide general information about the topic of your research
and pay attention to main aim/s of your research proposal,
• Summarise your interpretation of previous research and
suggest that which your study intends to achieve,
• Discuss your findings in a chronological manner to point out
the progress in the field and the missing points that need to
be addressed

3. QUESTIONS ADDRESSED
•What is known about the broad topic
•Gaps or missing links that need to be
addressed
•Significance of addressing those gaps
•What are the rationale and hypothesis of your
study/proposal?

4. COMPONENTS OF GOOD RESEARCH
BACKGROUND
• Have reviews of the area being researched
• Have currently available information about problem of
study/proposal
• Capture previous studies on the issue
• Must indicate the history of the issue of study from previous
research done on subject

5. SOME SUPPORTING EXAMPLES
Teaching and Assessment in Accounting: An Exploration of Teachers’ Experiences in a Rural KwaZulu-Natal School
Jabulisile C. Ngwenya and Suriamurthee M. Maistry
BACKGROUND
An extensive body of literature (Bell and Cowie 2001; Black and Wiliam1998; Black and Wiliam 2006; Elswood and Klenowski 2002; Stiggins 2
Taras 2007) has shown that formative assessment can lead to improvements in learning for children. This is in line with the assessment polic
National Curriculum Statement (DoE 2003), which emphasises continuous formative assessment which is integrated into the process of teac
learning.
These changes in assessment procedures are likely to affect teachers’ understandings of the new expectations and what they may imply for
practice as teachers of Accounting. This is particularly the case for teachers, whose previous experiences may be different from the new
This article reports on findings from a study (informed by the changes in the teaching and assessment of Accounting) which sought to expl
Accounting teachers’ understandings of assessment in general and formative assessment in particular.
Assessment becomes formative in nature if it provides information that teachers and their learners can use as feedback in assessing themse
another and in modifying and enhancing teaching and learning (Black et al. 2003). According to Black and Wiliam (2006), assessment is fo
the evidence about student achievement is elicited, interpreted and used by teachers, learners or their peers to make decisions about the n
in instruction. The emphasis is on the ongoing provision of feedback and learner support. However, teachers’ conceptions and understandi
assessment have been shown to be mediating factors in assessment practices.
While there are countries where formative assessment is well understood and implemented successfully, for example, the United Kingdom,
and New Zealand, implementation is more challenging in contexts where teacher-centredness and summative assessment are still dominan
Research shows that there are still problems with teachers’ understandings and interpretations of formative assessment in schools (Lambert
2000).

6. SOME SUPPORTING EXAMPLES
Instructional functions in large, under-resourced science classes: Perspectives of South African teachers
GILBERT ONWU AND NEWTON STOFFELS
BACKGROUND
The extensive body of research on curriculum reform abounds with compelling evidence that changing
classroom practices is a difficult, slow, uneven and for some even impossible assignment (Fullan, 1996; Cohen,
1990; Mclaughlin, 2000). The process is even more complex with comprehensive 'second order changes'
1993), which entail major shifts in the knowledge, skills, attitudes and classroom routines which teachers have
developed over a number of years. Following intensive classroom-based research on instructional change,
(1990, 63) concludes that teachers are 'historical beings,' who cannot just simply divorce themselves from
ingrained routines, practices and beliefs cultivated over a number of years. Moreover, as they attempt to reach
out to practice an innovation, 'they reach out with their old professional selves, including all the ideas and
practices therein' (Cohen, 1990, 64).
These insights have important implications for teacher change and development in the context of teaching
classes, for they mean that to assist teachers to make sense of instructional changes, there has to be an
understanding of the 'old professional selves 'of teachers. This also suggests that before we can even begin to
proffer guidance, we need to understand what exactly teachers are doing in their classrooms, why they are
it, what their particular constraints are, and how they deal with them. It is against this backdrop that this study
attempts to look at how science teachers who have to grapple daily with the unique challenges presented by
poorly resourced large classes, cope with phenomenon. We believe the outcomes of the investigation would
provide useful insights with practical implications for teacher education. This, given that South Africa is
phasing in more progressive, outcomes based instructional policies, known to be inordinately challenging to
implement in large classes (Fullan, 1996; Onwu, 1998; Hargreaves, 2001). Marnewick and Spreen's (1999)
comment, for example, that the prime reason why OBE reforms have not been very successful is because they