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The purpose of this research activity is to determine how cultural astronomy manages natural disasters in the local communities. Study Area: Mahikeng in North West Province among the Barolong boora Tshidi. Indigenous people have contributed the least to world greenhouse gas emission and have the smallest ecological footprints on Earth. Yet they suffer the worst impacts not only of climate change, but also from some of the international mitigation measures being taken. Impacts on climate change affect people negatively, these may include droughts, floods, increased diseases in people, plants as well as animals, biodiversity extinct, high mortality rate, increased food insecurity to mention a few. This study aims to describe how knowledge of cultural astronomy manages natural disasters within our local communities. In this dissertation the history of Barolong using their knowledge of cultural astronomy to manage natural disasters is gradually fading away because of non-recognition of our knowledge custodians as they do not hold any formal education and those who have it only ended at primary level. Democracy brought a sense of mental decolonization unto us as South Africans. This brought light to some of our village members to acknowledge their identity which includes their customs and beliefs. This study unearthed that local communities have the rich indigenous knowledge to sustain their lives that is how some villages are able to prepare and manage natural disasters without the knowledge of cultural astronomy only. They practice other measures which also sustain them and are also easy to be passed on orally from generation to generation. In Barolong communities the knowledge of sky readers is regarded to be very important, it is information that can be relied on because sky readers are always correct. In addition, African traditional religious nature and structure endorses the practice to be acknowledged and be taken as African identity. In the light of the above, and after taking comments by the members of the communities, recommendations are made for an integrated study framework between the local knowledge and modern technologies or information of astronomy. It is also recommended that there should be proper documentation which is not distorted before it can be totally extinct. / Thesis (M.(Indigenous Knowledge Systems) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2014

Adolescents face many challenges in their communities, families and individually during the complex developmental stage of adolescence. It is during this time that their sense of self and an identity apart from their parents become more strongly developed and they become more autonomous. As adolescents separate more and more from their parents they move progressively towards their peer relationships, which is an important part of identity formation. However, during this period they are exposed to many healthy and unhealthy influences in the community, especially when engaging with their peers and other social structures outside of the family. During childhood they were less likely to engage in undesirable or risk behaviour for fear of disapproval and rejection from their parents but during adolescence there is a strong need for approval from their peers, who might engage in and encourage risk behaviour. Effective coping strategies can be an important protective factor aiding them in making the right choices and decisions and resisting peer pressure. Previously, many models of adolescent coping have been taken from coping studies done with adults, which have not accounted for the developmental differences between adults and adolescents. Now as literature on coping with regards to adolescence is growing, the studies often ignore religious coping strategies and their potential impact on functioning. Yet, recent data suggests that religious behaviour and beliefs have a protective influence that moderates the impact of adverse interpersonal life events and social adversity as well as physical and mental health. Thus, this qualitative study applied case study methods to explore and describe the different coping strategies used by a group of church-going adolescents from branches of a non-denominational church in Durban. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the North-West University and informed consent was obtained from the parents and the adolescent minors before they participated in the study. Data was collected using a visual representation technique, two individual interviews and a focus group discussion with twelve participants. The data was analysed using thematic analysis and three main themes and various subthemes emerged. The first theme was understanding of coping as indicated by participants while the second theme identified the sources of their coping strategies and the third theme involved their specific coping strategies, which included religion, leisure activities, physical coping, social support systems, creativity and behaviour. These findings provide a greater understanding of the coping strategies and modalities used by church-going adolescents. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Doctor of Education / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Lawrence C. Scharmann / BeEtta L. Stoney / Increasing diversity in schools in the United States over the last few decades, combined with an emphasis on high-stakes testing, has heightened concerns about the academic performance of students of color, in particular African American students. There are concerns about the appropriateness of a Eurocentric curriculum taught by White teachers, which often limits the use of a multicultural curriculum—one that values the culture and lifestyles of diverse students. This study focused on elements within teaching practices that improved achievement among students of color. An enhanced application of the Multiple Meanings of Multicultural Teacher Education Framework (MTEF), along with assessments of teacher training instruments (Gay, 1994; Love, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 1994), helped to create the Model for Modified Multicultural Teacher Education Framework on Teacher Perception of Student Achievement that served as a guide for the investigation. The overall findings confirmed the utility of the model and the enhancements made to the multicultural assessment instruments. Depending upon what elements were chosen, between 18% and 23% of the variance explained in teacher’s beliefs, attitudes and perceptions could be explained by their training, their community involvement, awareness of self, knowledge of subject and a positive approach to the institutional culture. The findings support the existing literature and adds to it a new dimension by directly focusing on teacher’s perceptions, attitudes and beliefs that promote or constrain teaching and learning about urban African American students in the urban classroom.

Adolescents face many challenges in their communities, families and individually during the complex developmental stage of adolescence. It is during this time that their sense of self and an identity apart from their parents become more strongly developed and they become more autonomous. As adolescents separate more and more from their parents they move progressively towards their peer relationships, which is an important part of identity formation. However, during this period they are exposed to many healthy and unhealthy influences in the community, especially when engaging with their peers and other social structures outside of the family. During childhood they were less likely to engage in undesirable or risk behaviour for fear of disapproval and rejection from their parents but during adolescence there is a strong need for approval from their peers, who might engage in and encourage risk behaviour. Effective coping strategies can be an important protective factor aiding them in making the right choices and decisions and resisting peer pressure. Previously, many models of adolescent coping have been taken from coping studies done with adults, which have not accounted for the developmental differences between adults and adolescents. Now as literature on coping with regards to adolescence is growing, the studies often ignore religious coping strategies and their potential impact on functioning. Yet, recent data suggests that religious behaviour and beliefs have a protective influence that moderates the impact of adverse interpersonal life events and social adversity as well as physical and mental health. Thus, this qualitative study applied case study methods to explore and describe the different coping strategies used by a group of church-going adolescents from branches of a non-denominational church in Durban. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the North-West University and informed consent was obtained from the parents and the adolescent minors before they participated in the study. Data was collected using a visual representation technique, two individual interviews and a focus group discussion with twelve participants. The data was analysed using thematic analysis and three main themes and various subthemes emerged. The first theme was understanding of coping as indicated by participants while the second theme identified the sources of their coping strategies and the third theme involved their specific coping strategies, which included religion, leisure activities, physical coping, social support systems, creativity and behaviour. These findings provide a greater understanding of the coping strategies and modalities used by church-going adolescents. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This qualitative study deals with Chinese middle school teachers' and Swedish upper secondary school teachers' beliefs and practices regarding the use of L1 in the EFL classroom. Through semi-structured interview questions, data were collected from five Chinese teachers and five Swedish teachers. The interviews with the Chinese teachers were conducted by the researcher on a one-to-one basis, while five Swedish teachers were asked to answer the same questions via email. The results of this study showed that there were both differences and similarities between the two groups of teachers. The Swedish teachers had a fairly negative view regarding the usage of L1 in the EFL classroom and most of them claimed that the only time they codeswitched was when giving individual feedback, when making direct comparisons to the Swedish language or when the class got out of hand. Most of the five Chinese teachers deemed target language exclusivity not logically feasible and codeswitched mostly with the students' comprehension in mind. The findings mostly agreed with previous research. / Denna kvalitativa studie handlar om kinesiska högstadielärares och svenska gymnasielärares åsikter och bruk när det gäller användningen av moderspråket i engelskundervisningen. Genom semistrukturerade intervjuer samlades data in från fem kinesiska lärare. Intervjuerna med de kinesiska lärarna genomfördes, en i taget. Fem svenska engelsklärare ombads att svara på samma frågor via epost. Resultaten av denna studie visade både skillnader och likheter i åsikter och bruk hos de tio lärarna. De svenska engelsklärarna hade en ganska negativ syn på användningen av modersmålet i engelskunderviningen och kodväxlade mestadels när de gav individuell feedback, när de gjorde direkta jämförelser med det svenska språket och när de förlorade kontrollen över klassen. De flesta av de fem kinesiska lärarna ansåg att exklusiv användning av målspråket inte var logiskt rimligt med tanke på elevernas förståelse. Resultaten stämde mestadels överens med tidigare forskning.

The aim of this study is to explore HP Maredi's three selected dramas in order to understand his literary practice.These are Mowang wa Matuba , Mo go fetileng kgomo and Lapa ke mosadi. Through his writings one can sense that Maredi wants black people to be aware of their historical origins. He also wants to pass down native customs and traditions to future generations. The whole study discusses the following : ■different perceptions Africans and Westerners hold with regard to depletion of wild animals and the smoking of dagga. ■institutions and activities in the Northern Sotho culture which Maredi considers socially essential. ■portrayal of characters through their relations to, and interactions with their physical and social environments. ■recurrence and reversal as the elements that produce rhythm in drama. ■conclusion and the recapitulation of this study. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

This study examined the effects of a learning environment (embodying many of De Corte et al.’s, (2004) CLIA-model components) on secondary students’ mathematical beliefs. Such mathematical beliefs have been of interest to the research community due to their expected impact on students’ willingness to engage in mathematical problem-solving. This research adopted an action research methodology using a quasi-experimental sequential explanatory mixed methods design. Data was collected using the Mathematics Related Beliefs Questionnaire (MRBQ) and a number of focus groups and individual interviews were undertaken. The sample selected (age 13-14) was from a population of convenience. There was one treatment class (N=22) and three control classes (N=45). The classroom intervention was of six months duration and was carried out by the researcher teacher in a secondary community school. Findings revealed no significant positive effects on students’ beliefs from the new learning environment about the teacher’s role in the classroom, their personal competence and the relevance to their lives and mathematics as an inaccessible subject. A more negative outcome for the fourth factor of the MRBQ scale, ‘mathematics as an inaccessible subject’, resulted for all participants (experimental and control combined) with a moderate effect of eta2=0.09. Findings from the qualitative data indicated the experimental participants found mathematics to be a difficult but useful subject. Findings, overall, revealed no significant differences between the experimental and control classes, indicating the new learning environment had not had a positive impact on the beliefs examined. Possible factors identified were the length of the intervention, the ages of participants and the socio-economic status of the majority taking part in this study. Qualitative data also indicated participants in the treatment class had found some of the activities used in the intervention to be interesting and enjoyable. Responses to the use of group work indicated participants were both willing and able to enter into communities of learners. Other results showed that participants with the highest achievement scores appeared to be the most confident learners of mathematics. Participants appeared to accept the need to have patience and perseverance when solving difficult problems but this was not translated into action in the classroom. The importance of understanding mathematics appeared to be accepted by participants. Implications for methodology, research and practice are discussed in light of these findings.

In recent years there has been increasing interest in developing greater creativity in education. This study focuses on trainee teachers during their initial teacher education and explores their beliefs about and perceptions of developing greater creativity in their practice. The work is located within the context of a school-based initial teacher education course and considers whether and how continuing moves towards school-based training in England can support the impetus towards greater creativity in teachers and their pupils. The study draws from qualitative research undertaken with a small group of trainee English teachers during a one-year School-based Initial Teacher Education course in England. Working from a social constructionist perspective, this research uses the methodology of Action Research. Employing a range of qualitative methods, including discourse analysis of group discussions, individual interviews, a silent discussion, and writing and analysing metaphors, it provides some insight into the trainee teachers’ complex understandings of creativity in the classroom, and how these understandings connect with their developing identity as teachers and with their pedagogy, practice and philosophy. It offers an insight into the trainees’ beliefs about and perceptions of moving towards creativity in their teaching, and the barriers and supports to such practice they encounter, both within the training course and in the partner schools. Reviewing a range of approaches to teaching and learning and considering the trainees’ beliefs and perceptions, the study suggests that agency is central to creativity, and that approaches which support the agency both of trainee teachers and of pupils are most likely to result in greater creativity in the classroom. The study regards creativity as a situated and highly contextual quality, and discusses practical approaches to teaching and learning, gathered under the term Creative Practice, which may be most likely to occasion greater creativity in the classroom. It offers suggestions for teacher educators as to how to better support trainee teachers in moving towards Creative Practice.