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This thesis questions what it was like for pre-service teachers registered in a Bachelor of Education program to experience Kpanlogo, a West African dance from Ghana. Over a period of two years, the primary researcher introduced this dance to her peers first as a pre-service teacher, and then as a graduate student in a variety of ways: 1) practicing it for a performance at a community building talent show on campus, 2) learning it through a professional development workshop, and 3) teaching it to intermediate students at a local school, on two different occasions. Five pre-service teachers responded to an invitation to participate in a phenomenological study about their experiences. The two research questions which guided the interviews were: 1) What was it like to experience Kpanlogo, a West African dance, as a pre-service teacher? 2) What was it like as a pre-service teacher to teach students Kpanlogo? The conceptual framework of Sankofa Cyclical Waves, situated in a collectivist African Worldview orients us to the philosophy of Ubuntu, which posits that humanness is found and cultivated within community. Sankofa, a Ghanaian proverb which encourages its people to go back, physically or spiritually, to retrieve what was once lost or forgotten was used as a particular path to analyze the lived experiences of the pre-service teachers. In this thesis the Sankofa Cyclical Waves provided a structure to identify their various levels of understanding Ubuntu. Experiences analyzed as being novice in nature were awkward at the start, then as the dancer moves towards the end of the continuum, towards Ubuntu, the dancer moves through a series of waves as they become more familiar with rhythms, movements, African dance attire, and becoming a part of the whole; the Other‘s community.

Women’s procreative capacities and the appreciation of birth experiences have always been recognised in civil society and the early days of psychology. Given that our culture is one that emphasises a woman’s capacity to bear children as one of the greatest social achievements, the social responsibility to procreate and ensure collective survival becomes a potent mandate, especially so for Black African women. To fulfil this social responsibility, traditional African culture dictates a very specific process of pregnancy which involves a series of watershed moments, each of which requires that social support, of whatever form, should be available. This study explored the role that social support from significant others and health professionals play in mediating psychological issues during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatally among Black African women in Madadeni Township in KwaZulu-Natal. The study was rooted in the interpretive, qualitative paradigm and a phenomenological research design was used. Purposive sampling was used to select participants who were aged from 18 to 25 years with a baby older than two weeks but less than six months. Semi structured interviews were conducted in the mother tongue of the participants until the point of saturation where no new information arose from the six participants interviewed. Thematic content analysis was used to extract recurrent themes across participants. The results indicate that social support, especially from parents and partners, plays a defining role in helping women to cope with the stress experienced during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatally. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology: Research Consultation)

Women’s procreative capacities and the appreciation of birth experiences have always been recognised in civil society and the early days of psychology. Given that our culture is one that emphasises a woman’s capacity to bear children as one of the greatest social achievements, the social responsibility to procreate and ensure collective survival becomes a potent mandate, especially so for Black African women. To fulfil this social responsibility, traditional African culture dictates a very specific process of pregnancy which involves a series of watershed moments, each of which requires that social support, of whatever form, should be available. This study explored the role that social support from significant others and health professionals play in mediating psychological issues during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatally among Black African women in Madadeni Township in KwaZulu-Natal. The study was rooted in the interpretive, qualitative paradigm and a phenomenological research design was used. Purposive sampling was used to select participants who were aged from 18 to 25 years with a baby older than two weeks but less than six months. Semi structured interviews were conducted in the mother tongue of the participants until the point of saturation where no new information arose from the six participants interviewed. Thematic content analysis was used to extract recurrent themes across participants. The results indicate that social support, especially from parents and partners, plays a defining role in helping women to cope with the stress experienced during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatally. / Psychology / M. A. (Psychology: Research Consultation)

This study was undertaken to explore the indigenous religious identities of African adolescents in selected secondary schools in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The empirical investigation used a qualitative, phenomenological collective case study design. The framework for the study was provided by constructivist theory and African indigenous knowledge and was justified by an extensive literature study. Purposive sampling was used to select forty-two learners from Grades 8 to 11, thirty- three of whom were from African initiated churches, eight belonged to various Christian denominations and one was an atheist. The most significant finding was that the indigenous religious identities of adolescents are not adequately accommodated and supported in South African secondary schools. Accordingly, recommendations were made for affirming adolescents’ indigenous religious identities in the implementation of RE in the classroom. / Lolu cwaningo lwenziwa ngenhloso yokuhlaziya nokuhlolisisa izimo nezici zobunjalo bentsha empisholo esesigabeni sokuthomba (adolescents) elandela izinkolo zomdabu noma zendabuko efunda ezikoleni ezingamasekhondari ezikhethiweyo esifundazweni saseMpumalanga, eNingizimu Afrika. Lolu cwaningo obelugxile ezintweni eziphathekayo nezibonakalayo lwasebenzisa idizayini yocwaningo lwezigameko ekhwalithethivu ebhekisisa isigameko ngasinye ngenhloso yokuhlaziya izimo kanye nezinto ezinokufana okuthile phakathi kweqoqwana lwezigameko ezimbadlwana (phenomenological collective case study design). Uhlaka locwaningo kwahlinzekwa yitiyori egxile ekutheni abantu bakha ulwazi kanye nokuqonda kwabo ngokususela ezimweni abadlule kuzona futhi abahlangabezane nazo ezimpilweni zabo (constructivist theory) kanye nolwazi lwendabuko lwase-Afrika, futhi lokhu kwasekelwa kwaphinde kwafakazelwa ngohlaziyo olubanzi lwemibhalo ephathelene nezihloko ezihlobene nalokhu. Kwasetshenziswa indlela yokukhetha ababambiqhaza ngokubheka izimo nezici zabo kanye nezinhloso zocwaningo (purposive sampling) futhi ngaleyo ndlela kwaqokwa abafundi abangama-42 abafunda iBanga lesi-8 kuya kwele-11; futhi abangama-33 kulaba bafundi ngabalandeli bamabandla endabuko ase-Afrika, kanti abayisishiyagalombili bebevela emabandleni obuKhrestu ahlukahlukene, futhi bekunomfundi oyedwa ongumhedeni (ongakholelwa kuNkulunkulu). Umphumela osemqoka kakhulu owatholwa ocwaningweni wukuthi azibhekelelwa futhi azisekelwa ngokwanele nangokugculisayo izimo nezici zobunjalo bentsha esesigabeni sokuthomba elandela izinkolo zendabuko efunda ezikoleni ezingamasekhondari eNingizimu Afrika. Ngenxa yalokho-ke kwenziwa izincomo zokuthi kumele zibhekelelwe izimo nezici zobunjalo bentsha esesigabeni sokuthomba elandela izinkolo zomdabu ekufundisweni kwesifundo sezenkolo (RE) ekilasini. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)