This study focused on foundation phase educators‟ understanding of emotional intelligence and how this understanding influenced their teaching. The concept of emotional intelligence has emerged from the growing realisation that there are factors beyond cognitive performance which contribute to success in life. Emotional intelligence may be described as the recognition and management of emotions in oneself as well as in others. It has been found to be beneficial in a wide variety of settings including that of education. The study was qualitative in nature and was located within the interpretive paradigm. In order to investigate the understanding of the concept by the foundation phase educators and how this understanding impacted their teaching, the data production tools of semi structured interviews, questionnaires and observations were utilised. The findings were analysed and discussed according to themes. The findings revealed that the foundation phase educators had an inadequate understanding of many aspects of emotional intelligence which consequently-impacted their teaching accordingly. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

There is a dearth of knowledge on rural South African children’s perspectives of hope, and how their hope can be nurtured, shaped, and strengthened. Guided by a qualitative approach, and located within a critical transformative paradigm, this study explores the following research question: How could visual participatory methodology as ‘research as intervention’ enable rural South African primary school children to explore their conceptualisations of hope, as well as strengthen their hope? To answer this question I pose two sub-questions: Firstly, what are rural primary school children’s conceptualisations of hope? Secondly, how could using visual participatory methodology to explore their hope also strengthen the children’s hope? Hope plays a key role in the lives of people, influencing decisions and behaviour, as well as coping skills and wellbeing. The socio-economic and cultural contexts in which rural South African children find themselves are critical in enabling hope and influencing their psychosocial wellbeing. While international hope research boasts a diversity of theories, there is scarce representation of such research from an African perspective. Unable to turn to an Afrocentric theory of hope this study is framed by two theories from the global-North: Scioli’s (2007) Integrative theory of hope which provides a description of the individual’s hope process, and Prilleltensky and Prilleltensky’s (2007) Framework of psychosocial wellbeing which provides a broader context in which to view this process. Over a period of a year I engaged with twelve purposively selected 9-13 year old Basotho children, beneficiaries of a children’s programme situated in a rural village in the QwaQwa region, Free State, South Africa, to explore their hope. Using visual participatory methodology, data was co-constructed through four visual data generating tools (collage-making, drawing, Mmogo-method®, and photovoice), as well as individual interviews, a group interview, and notes and photographs kept in my research journal. A qualitative thematic analysis was followed, and a literature control conducted to re-contextualise the findings. The results of this study are presented in themes. The first three themes, Hope is having a better life; Hope is community participation and togetherness; and Hope is weakened by others and by one’s environment, combine to represent hope as a multi-layered, multi-dimensional experience towards attaining a better life on a contextual, personal, relational, and collective level. These levels of hope are all inter-related, interdependent, and influenced by cultural factors and the children’s belief system (or worldview). I therefore conclude that, according to these rural South African school children, hope is an internal process of being that develops within the individual, with assistance from external resources, and then extends outwardly through hopeful beliefs, feelings, and behaviours to promote togetherness, care, and respect in one’s community. The last three themes, Strengthened personal hope; Enhanced relational hope; and Mobilised collective hope, show that using visual participatory methodology to engage the participants in an exploration of hope potentially strengthened, enhanced, and mobilised their hope across three inter-related and overlapping levels: Personal, Relational, and Collective. The participants expressed a growing understanding of their hoping process, increased sense of autonomy, and improved coping skills for strengthening their own hope. They also began to refer to themselves as Hope Champions - able to foster hope in others by behaving in a hopeful manner, teaching others about hope, and offering care and support. I therefore conclude that this shifting view of themselves as competent and valuable members of the community mobilised their collective level of hope as they began to formulate ideas of how they could be active citizens in their community, pursuing collective wellbeing for themselves and other members of the community so that everyone could live a better life. The findings have several implications for educational psychologists working with marginalised and vulnerable children’s hope, for fostering hope in school contexts, and for educational hope research with marginalised children in rural South African communities. While this study cannot presume to have achieved long-term social change, it does certainly lay the foundation for proposing that ‘research as intervention’ has promising potential as ‘research as hope-intervention’ in educational contexts. In responding to the research question, I argue that visual participatory research methodology, when focused on hope, is in and of itself a hope-enhancing intervention. Consequently, combining visual participatory methodology with hope-focused explorations enables ‘research as hope-intervention’, facilitating a strengthening of the participants’ hope, and resulting in meaningful personal transformation. I conclude that using ‘research as hope-intervention’ with rural South African children holds many possibilities for mobilising a ‘pedagogy of hope’.

A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master in Communication Science at the University of Zululand, 2004. / In this dissertation the researcher uses cognitive science and communication science to develop an integrative motivational learning framework for teaching intermediate phase learners to solve problems in the subject domains of mathematical literacy, language literacy, natural science, economic and management sciences, social sciences, technology, arts and culture and life orientation within the South African Outcomes-based Education curriculum.

Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Orthpedagogics)

Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Orthpedagogics)

The study assessed the Emotional Intelligence/Ubuntu understanding in sixteen learners aged 11-14 from both the Low SES and High SES levels, which includes the peri- urban/disadvantaged/informal settlements and the urban/privileged areas. The research motivated towards the conception that an inclusive Eurocentric and African approach towards education could benefit South African adolescent learners emotionally, socially and academically. Notwithstanding, providing an Emotional Intelligence framework that includes tenets of the African Philosophical paradigm of Ubuntu could enable adolescent learners to feel more empowered when confronting their socio- economic challenges. Hence, the purpose of this study was to ascertain whether the lack of formal EI/Ubuntu skills training in schools leaves learners without the competences to surmount the many challenges adolescents face during the turbulent phase of early adolescence. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of EI in a sample of adolescents from both SES levels. Qualitative methods were used in order to ascertain the impact of Western and Ubuntu epistemologies/worldviews on the adolescent learners’ Emotional Intelligence. This study also sought to determine the impact of education and role models on this sample of adolescent learners' EI/Ubuntu levels. This research also investigated how the merged EI/Ubuntu concepts can be incorporated into a life skills programme aimed at enhancing EI/Ubuntu in South African adolescent learners. In this study both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using the convergent parallel mixed method study and the paradigms that informed the study includes pragmatism, interpretivism, positivism and post-positivism. The objectives of this study includes identifying the emotional needs and EI status of adolescent learners and to investigate to what extent these are being met in the current educational system in South Africa. The research noted the contextual factors that influence EI in adolescent learners. The research explored how adolescents align their behaviour with the values and virtues of EI and Ubuntu. The following tools were used to accomplish the aforementioned objectives; a short introduction to Ubuntu, the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire - Adolescent Short Form (TEIQue-ASF) questionnaire was utilised to obtain a measure of the individual learner’s EI. A biographical questionnaire was given to all learners in order to establish what contextual factors impact on EI/Ubuntu consciousness. An Ubuntu style 10-item questionnaire to obtain insight into individual learners’ conceptualisation of EI. A short paragraph of approximately 300 words allowed for the narrative of each learner to be explored and a 22-item semi-structured parent/teacher interview from both SES groups. Role-playing scenarios were enacted to assess the depth of EI through the identification and understanding that took place between the players and draw a person diagrams (DAP) were utilised and assessed for EI aspects such as self-esteem, levels of confidence and awareness of self. The most pertinent aspects that were revealed by this study was that Low SES learners, especially those that lived in corrugated housing felt a sense of helplessness, fear and social alienation when challenged by their extreme living conditions. The study also revealed that the High SES group struggled at forming meaningful relationships and felt panicked and stressed regarding their academic responsibilities and outcomes. Hence as both groups struggled socially, they relied on technology and Western materialism to fill the void. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)