M.A. / Statistics show an increase in the number of cases of abused and neglected children handled by the Child Protection Unit. These particular statistics indicate only the number of reported cases, which according to Lewis (1999) and Starke (1995) should be tripled to estimate the true number of children being abused every day. Action research was selected for this study to assist the parents and the children in extending their understanding of their situation and thus resolve problems that confront them. A high percentage of parents are aware that abuse and neglect exists in their relationships; they are also aware that behavioural problems may be exhibited by their children as a result of exposure to abuse and neglect. There is a growing need for counselling, guidance and support amongst the youth to be assertive, and be safe in their contexts. The psycho-education programme was based on the model of psychoeducation. Psycho-education as an alternative does not focus on sick or abnormal behaviour but rather has as its core a preventative focus-training in skills to solve problems now and in the future. During group work the children were trained to collectively experience, explore and communicate their feelings, and to learn alternative ways of dealing with abuse and neglect in their different contexts. The programme's effectiveness was evaluated. All the children acquired prevention concepts after the exposure to the programme. Fifty six percent of the parents observed some improvement in their children's behaviour, and eighty percent of the children reported that they were still afraid to talk to their parents about issues of discipline, for example corporal punishment.

This Participatory Action Research (PAR) project focused on “holistic learning” which includes “social” and “spiritual” learning and “whole-brained” learning. Broadly interpreting and applying the four-quadrant brain model of Herrmann (1994), and other models of the brain, my study seeks to understand whether, to what extent and how learning can be advanced by deliberately employing holistic learning strategies to narrow the gap between theory and practice, between left-brain and right-brain learning, and between cognition and emotion. I introduced tri-dimensional (3-D) practice as the combination of using holistic learning strategies in cooperative learning groups within spiritual learning environments. The site of this PAR study was the network of cooperative learning groups in Mozambique within the educational system of the Church of the Nazarene. Facilitators were trained to use six specific “holistic learning strategies”: group discussions of various types, praxis (as reflection-dialogue-action), teamwork, rehearsing integrity, singing-for-learning and classical spiritual disciplines within cooperative learning groups, also a holistic learning strategy. These aspects are typical of the widely used model of Theological Education by Extension (TEE), refined in this study. According to data gathered in a large hybrid survey, 97% of the 595 respondents to this question responded favourably in terms of the skills of these facilitators even though the average number of years of their formal schooling, 7.7, would normally be considered “minimal”. The study generates findings to support the position that holistic learning strategies enhance the quality of adult learning, at least in settings like those in Mozambique in which the facilitation of learning was 1) bilingual (Portuguese and maternal language), 2) focused on learners who are leaders-in-training, 3) deliberate in spiritual content and ambient, and 4) conducted by minimally-schooled facilitators in cooperative learning groups. The findings, from the responses recorded in qualitative phases of the research, corroborated by descriptive statistics, indicate that the efficacy of holistic learning strategies is related to certain modes of mental activity like whole-making, categorising, and others. This PAR project was conducted within an original research framework, Arboric Research, which takes into account the dynamic, fluid and organic nature of human systems, recognising that infrastructures in which the research takes place are different at the end of the study than at the beginning, like observing the “sap” within a growing grapevine or a tree. / Thesis (PhD (Curriculum Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

Studies on health and incarceration have extensively demonstrated that incarcerated women have poorer health statuses than non-incarcerated women and than incarcerated men, both as a result of confinement and of the intersection of abuse, poverty, homelessness and addiction that are simultaneously pathways to criminalisation and to poor health. Without denying the reality of disease, physical and mental suffering experienced by women in prison, this thesis conceptualizes the “problem of health in prison” by framing it as a vehicle of and effect of power relations. By studying neoliberal rationalities and technologies that constitute health, poststructuralist scholars have demonstrated how neoliberal subjects are enticed to continuously pursue health and to adhere to the imperative to be healthy. Demonstrating the intersection of neoliberal health governance and penal governance, criminologists have shown how prisons produce the subject of a healthy prisoner, who is a self-regulated woman, freely working towards her rehabilitation. Rather than studying programs, public policies and archives, this thesis innovates by examining the experiences and narratives of the subjects who are being governed and enticed to be “healthy.” Specifically, my research provides a contextualized analysis of how women negotiate and manage their health during incarceration and upon their release from prison. The first article focuses on tensions between this work’s conceptual framework and its methodology, i.e. participatory action research. An emerging literature has been building bridges between poststructuralism and participatory action research, highlighting the latter’s potential for transformative action. Using examples from participatory action research projects with incarcerated or previously incarcerated women, the article discusses how “participation” and “action” can be redefined by using a poststructuralist definition of subjectivity. The second article tackles the issue of how women “do” health in prison. Using three issues—access to health care services, smoking, and the management of body weight—the article explores how participants adopted different embodied subjectivities, which conflicted or aligned with neoliberal governmentality. It describes how, through failure to conform to neoliberal ideals of “health,” mechanisms of self-surveillance and self-regulation are relayed by feelings of guilt, shame, and anxiety, even when incarcerated women attempt to conform to imperatives to be healthy. Finally, the last article focuses on how, upon prison release, participants attempted to “undo” the imprint of penal governance on their bodies and health. Through the exploration of corporal practices, such as taking care of one’s appearance, the use of psychoactive medications, and defecating, the article shows how women attempt to “undo” prison in order to pursue health. Though these two articles focus on different periods of participants’ lives and rely on different yet related concepts—embodied subjectivities and corporal practices—the common thread between the two is to show the attempts by participants to “undo” prison from their embodied selves, and to “do” health as incited by the ethical imperatives to be healthy. The thesis concludes with a discussion about the pursuit of health, and its effects on the populations deemed as “at risk” and “unhealthy.”

With the current drive of both academia and practice to ensure that there is an appropriate degree of collaboration to ensure mutual benefit, any study undertaken that has the application of theory as one of its objectives, should therefore be able to make a contribution to both areas. From a strategic ICT planning perspective the ability to apply a planning process in a cohesive and coordinated manner throughout diversified or complex organisations has been one of the challenges that faced both academics and practitioners. This becomes especially relevant in view of the drive to ensure alignment between business and ICT so as to ensure that the potential utility of ICT can be leveraged and sustained to contribute towards the competitive advantage of the organisation. This situation is also relevant to the South African Department of Defence as a particular kind of diversified organisation. With this in mind the initiative was recognised to establish an appropriate strategic ICT planning process for the department and to apply it to the point where a corporate strategic ICT master plan could be institutionalised. A progressive and longitudinal action research process resulted in not only the development of an appropriate process of definition and alignment, but also on the ability to apply and manage the strategic ICT planning function with full collaboration of all role players and stakeholders. The conclusion from this research was that it is indeed possible to develop and apply an appropriate strategic ICT planning process that recognises the strategic – corporate and business unit level – environment of a diversified organisation, but that it is largely dependant upon the ability to ensure collaboration and participation within a clear and distinct construct of functions and responsibilities. Without appropriate management arrangements and mechanisms, it was found to be very difficult indeed due to issues relating to the semi-autonomous nature of the respective business units in relation to corporate management. / Thesis (PhD(IT))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Informatics / unrestricted

abstract: The purpose of this action research study was to help medical students normalize feelings of shame related to academics and to respond to these feelings in more adaptive ways. Several cycles of research informed this study, which investigated the influence of an educational innovation. The innovation focused on helping medical students understand feelings of shame, foster self-efficacy in shame resiliency practices, and encourage help-seeking behaviors. In short, the study sought to understand how these medical students responded to feelings of shame related to academic performance before and after participation in the educational innovation. A total of 14 second-year medical students participated in this concurrent mixed-method study. The educational innovation was designed by this action researcher and informed by Brené Brown’s shame resilience theory. Three sources of data were used to answer the research questions, including a pre- and post-innovation survey, interviews, and student journals. Major findings suggested that the educational innovation was effective in enhancing the study participants’ knowledge of shame, increasing perceptions of self-efficacy in the practices related to resiliency to feeling of academic shame, as well as, promoting help-seeking behaviors. The data also revealed a range of academic shame triggers identified by these medical students. This action research study validated the need to normalize feelings of shame and support medical students developing practices for resiliency to this powerful feeling. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2020

While there is a plethora of research on the church, healing and reconciliation, there is none that has taken cognisance of the need to find solutions to deal with tribalism between Ndebele and Shona clergy in the Pentecostal church of Zimbabwe. Clergy are deployed according to the language they speak, instead of the passion and call of Elohim upon their lives. Many Researches have been done on centuries of tribal conflict; however, they centred on socio-political influences instead of socio-religious influences and consequences of the tribal conflict between Ndebele and Shona clergy. Tribal conflict has transcended generations and crossed all social settings that it has found its expression even among the clergy and laity within churches across Zimbabwe. The main focus of this research is the conflict between Ndebele and Shona Clergy in the Pentecostal church in Zimbabwe and has sought to “lift the carpet” and remove all the hidden social and unspoken debris, that continues to split the church along tribal lines. The Researcher writes from the perspective of being a female clergy who is also born by a Shona father and a Ndebele mother hence she relates to both sets of people outside the church. However, within the conservative Pentecostal church setting, the researcher was made to feel like an outsider by both groups which was even aggravated by the fact that her denominational organisation doesn't ordain and recognise female ministers let alone those of mixed ethnicity. The research established a participatory action research process so as to promote both education (creating curricula that deals with tribalism) and action (speaking against tribalism from the pulpit). The Research Methodology that was initially proposed was a Mixed Methods Action Research (Ivankova, 2015: 45), however during the course of the study it was changed to a qualitative method of enquiry as it thoroughly investigated and interrogated the tribal status quo among the Pentecostal clergy (Ndebele & Shona) in Zimbabwe. The research demography was two of Zimbabwe's largest cities (namely; Bulawayo and Harare), and the reason for choosing these two cities, was because they are predominantly Ndebele and Shona concentrations, respectively. Zimbabwe is composed of these two as the major tribes and many other small tribes, however these small tribes seem to be insignificant to the social fabric of Zimbabwe compared to the two major tribes (namely the Ndebele and Shona). The effects of tribal differences between the Ndebele and Shona people was assessed, in order to ascertain their effect on pastoral care. An exploration of the history between the Ndebele and Shona tribes formulated part of this research, thereby creating an understanding of the underlying causes of the existing Tribal Conflicts. Most of the literature that deals with the Zimbabwean conflicts has not tried to bring to light the tribal conflict between the Ndebele and Shona clergy. An investigation on how this conflict began and what has been its contemporary influence among the Clergy of Zimbabwe was conducted via interviews, questionnaires, folk tales, books and journals. The power of the church as the custodian of reconciliation was discussed in order to harness and promote a visible pastoral care drive that will promote real Truth and Reconciliation while bringing healing to the church of Zimbabwe, in particular. An interrogation of the effectiveness of previous truth and reconciliation efforts assisted to lay the foundation for engaging of the Clergy. This research sought to understand whether the 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi incidents were clarion indicators of existing tribal tensions between the Ndebele and Shona people, in particular the clergy. / Dissertation (MTh)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Practical Theology / MTh / Unrestricted

Religious education involves learning about religion and the possibility of having religious experiences. Although measuring religious knowledge can be fairly straightforward, assessing whether students are having religious experiences can be more difficult. The purpose of this self-study is to develop clearer understanding of the interactions that might enable my students' religious experiences and how I might recognize when such experiences are occurring. I have written 10 narratives describing situations in which I believed students in my seminary had religious experiences. I interviewed those students to better understand their side of the narrative, and then used the Listening Guide to analyze the narratives and find whether and in what ways I was able to tell when a student was having religious experiences in my classroom. Four plotlines emerged from the data, which centered on what the student was doing to prepare for religious experiences. These ranged from simple attendance and participation to extensive outside seeking and preparation. Regarding my involvement in these experiences as a teacher, I found that common elements across the plotlines included taking time to know students and attending to intuitions about their needs. Implications of the present study are explored for both religious educators and teachers in other content areas who might be interested in helping students move beyond content knowledge toward meaningful engagement with a discipline.

This study used action research to study the implementation of Critical Chain methodology in a multi-project environment. It used a medium sized company, which is an original equipment manufacturer, but due to the complexity of the equipment each is executed as a project. This creates a multi-project environment.The object of the research was to find the contributing and inhibiting factors to CC implementation. It further sought to discover improvements in business performance due to CC methodology.The study found resistance to change prevented CC implementation. The resistance to change was supported by incorrect application of CC principles and a false sense that CC is contributing to the business. On business performance improvements it was found that order intake improvements of thirty seven per cent year on year and reduction in lead time of projects due to implementation of CC principles. The latter also opened new markets which strategically benefitted the company. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

A persistent shortage of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students, teachers, and professionals is seen by many as a threat to the nation’s global economic standing. Deficits in these areas are often attributed to a lack of quality K-12 STEM education, which is due in large part to a high rate of teacher turnover. Moreover, such teacher attrition has been shown to occur far more often in high-need schools and districts; thus serving to further marginalize disadvantaged members of society. This study occurs within the context of The Robert Noyce Scholarship Program at our research-intensive university in the southeastern US. The program seeks to improve the recruitment, preparation, and retention of STEM teachers in high-need middle and secondary classrooms, and is likewise partnered with a large, local, title I school district. Central to this program’s approach is, the offering of financial, cohort and mentor support to highly qualified STEM degree holders and majors, who wish to supplement their undergraduate degree, with a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT). As Noyce scholars work towards their degrees, they also, intern, work, and learn alongside peers, university faculty, district teachers and staff, as well as other science education professionals, in what amounts to a professional support network. It is hoped such a multi-tiered support will allow Noyce graduates to persist beyond their inductive teaching years and develop into highly qualified education practitioners. This research was designed to explore the beliefs expressed, explored, and developed by Noyce scholars as they participated in a collaborative action research (CAR) based instructional intervention. The Noyce CoP as it was known, centered on a journal club, which was embedded within a master’s level science education field practicum course. Students engaged with literature and gained understanding relevant to the influence of belief systems on how we construct our identity, perceive the conditions in which it happens, and view ourselves and others as we go through the collective process. Access to these new teachers’ beliefs was gained via an online literature discussion board, reflective writings, surveys, and face-to-face collaboration during four “CoP meetings”. The latter proved to be invaluable in promoting opportunities for these new teachers to recognize, critique, and challenge their beliefs, and those of others as well. Accordingly, the CoP served as a research-focused arena for collaborative autobiographical self-reflection, which I contend is ideal for studying new teacher beliefs. This research follows the path of other science education researchers who recognize the potential of studying new teachers’ beliefs’, to help overcome a perceived cultural disconnect, which has been credited with inhibiting K-12 science teaching and learning. To do so, I position the Noyce CoP as quintain, whose story is told using three themes I constructed: 1) new teacher beliefs about identity and science teaching and learning; 2) new teacher beliefs about home-life and science teaching and learning; and 3) new teacher beliefs about sociocultural-interactions and science teaching and learning. Throughout I incorporate elements of portraiture to not only give you a better idea of who the CoP members are, but also to allow you a view into our CoP meetings, and how we collaborated to construct new knowledge. Qualitative analysis revealed that during the CoP, the scholars and I were able to generate considerable understanding regarding the cultural divide that can exist when teaching science in high-need schools. Moreover, there is also evidence that the CoP served to help these new teachers develop personal and professional ties they can incorporate into their larger support network, and perhaps help them persist through their inductive years of teaching. keywords: STEM, new teacher beliefs, action research, Noyce, community of practice

This research investigates the use of action research and Whole Brain Teaching© for beginner teachers’ professional development through the use of peer mentoring. Five beginner teachers formed part of a peer mentoring group. Whole brain learning and action research provided the theoretical framework for the informal mentoring project. It was used as content for professional learning and as core theories for the research design. Action research principles were applied by the mentor and the participants. In the first instance action research was used by the beginner teachers to consider their own teaching practice, while Whole Brain Teaching© was implemented as an innovative idea to consider its effect on whole brain learning and classroom management. The mentees were empowered to transform their teaching practice by implementing the principles of whole brain learning as a means to acting out the role of facilitator; and to take responsibility for developing scholarship of teaching as it is aligned with the role of scholar and lifelong learning. The practical mentoring sessions with the beginner teachers and the effect of the programme were evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively. As part of collecting quantitative data, the Hermann Whole Brain Instrument (HBDI) was used. The instrument was used to determine the learning styles of the peer mentor and the mentees. The brain profiles were used as baseline data. Qualitative data were collected during and after the five mentoring sessions conducted over a period of two months. It included feedback questionnaires, observations and video en photographic evidence. The findings indicate that the peer mentoring programme contributed successfully to the professional development of the beginner teachers. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Curriculum Studies / MEd / unrestricted