A research report submitted to the Faculty of Education, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology), University of the Witwatersrand. Johannesburg, 1994 / In the light of deficits in the Black Education system, historically entrenched by the ruling political hegemony. Black education has been severely compromised in S.A. ln an attempt to redress the situation CEFSA, a non-governmental organisation, has set up a technical high school for adolescents, founded on the principles of Fcuersteins Instrumental Enrichment Programme. Five Instruments were taught in 1992. This study is an evaluation of the changes in the students over the year on dimensions of Cognitive Processes, Learning Styles, Creativity and Self-esteem. Changes were related to both the FIE programme, as well as to broader Mediated Learning Experience opportunities both within and outside the school. N = 114. Statistical procedures included a range of descriptive statistics, a stepwise regression and a principal components analysis. Results indicated that changes on the above dimensions occurred in both positive and negative directions. T-tests highlighted significant changes. Demographic variables were use to explain these changes in a stepwise regression procedure. Competence on Instruments were found to be significantly positively related to end of year academic results, irrespective of demographic variables. The Influences of the IE intervention were then discussed, both positive and negative in an attempt to gain understanding of future directions to be taken in teaching thinking skills within a rapidly changing socio-political context.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, 1954.

This study used a qualitative methodology to investigate black first - year students’ perceptions of their families’ influence in their career decisions. This was motivated by the fact that, post 1994, the number of career options available to black students has increased. As more opportunities become available, it is vital that student s entering tertiary education are equipped with the necessary skills and support to make informed career decisions. There a re a number of individual and environmental influences on career decisions. This study focused specifically on family and community influences. Fifteen participants (aged 18 to 30 years) were interviewed in order to answer the research questions. There wer e nine female and six male participants. The data was analysed through thematic analysis and suggested that there is a strong link between a family’s socio - economic status and student career decisions. In addition, the availability of family socio-emotional support was also found to be a major influence in career decisions. The dissertation concludes that appropriate career education and guidance are essential for previously disadvantaged tertiary education students in order for them to maximise the opportunities available to them / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

This dissertation adopts a realist meta-perspective on a body of the scholar's own research papers written between 2005 and 2011, all either published or in press and offered for reference in the Appendices. The six papers represent the point of departure for the thesis; they are the phenomenon for further investigation into 'what must be the case' for the research events to have emerged as they did. One aspect of this study, therefore, is an auto ethnographic account of conducting research in the field of Academic Development within varied settings and over a given time frame. But alongside this personal history it narrates cycles in the Academic Development movement in South Africa over 30 years. Margaret Archer's Social Realist principle of analytical dualism (1995) is used to disaggregate the emergent properties within these histories and to enable an analysis of the underlying mechanisms that generated them. It refers to three social domains. Firstly, it describes the material structures - the institutional environments, policies, roles or professional conditions - in which the projects were conceived. Secondly, it identifies the cultural registers that the profession was drawing on - such as theories, beliefs or discourses. Thirdly, it draws attention to the agency of individuals and communities in the field as they independently activated or mediated these various conditioning structures and registers. So the study is a systematic examination of the parts and the people in research stories, of the complex interrelationship of structural and agential elements, and of how together they have generated particular forms of knowing and kinds of knowledge in Academic Development. Drawing from this 'history-within-a-history', the study makes some claims for 'what must be the case' for substantial knowledge to flourish in a newly emergent, hotly contested and relatively unstable field. It argues that Academic Development has few shared epistemological foundations and boundaries, and its roles and functions are shifting and diverse. It describes the tensions in the field between those who have been inclined to understand it as primarily concerned with redress or equity in the postapartheid state, and yet others who have prioritised Academic Development as an efficiency project within higher education. But there is a third discourse emanating from those in the profession who have consistently argued that neither of these approaches can succeed without drawing on stronger theoretical foundations. This study endorses the view that Academic Developers need to identify more coherent ontological and epistemological frames for their research work. This has important implications for building the kind of substantial knowledge base that could be more influential in addressing the troubled terrain of South African higher education. The study refers extensively to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) and to Mervyn Peake's 1946 illustrations of these children's stories, finding in these texts powerful analogies and metaphors for principles in realist philosophy and theory, and for describing a researcher's journey towards a more assured identity in the curious field of Academic Development.

No description available.

Submitted by Edileide Reis (leyde-landy@hotmail.com) on 2013-05-07T13:15:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Marta Silveira.pdf: 1846445 bytes, checksum: ea0917e6a5811456823e1b257ef9cb2a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Auxiliadora Lopes(silopes@ufba.br) on 2013-06-10T20:02:16Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Marta Silveira.pdf: 1846445 bytes, checksum: ea0917e6a5811456823e1b257ef9cb2a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-06-10T20:02:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marta Silveira.pdf: 1846445 bytes, checksum: ea0917e6a5811456823e1b257ef9cb2a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Esta investigação teve como objeto a implantação da Lei Federal 10.639/03 que trata da obrigatoriedade da inclusão nos currículos escolares do ensino de História e Cultura Afro-brasileira e Africana em todos os níveis educacionais, abrangendo os sistemas de ensino públicos e privados. Tomou-se com referência empírica o contexto do sistema educacional do município de Santa Maria-RS, buscando analisar as ações da Secretaria Municipal de Educação para implantação da lei, sua relação com o universo escolar e com o Movimento Social Negro local. Objetivou-se compreender como uma demanda histórica do Movimento Social Negro em favor de uma educação anti-discriminatória, é assimilada pelo estado brasileiro ao ser transformada em lei e impacta concretamente na realidade educacional, tanto no nível de planejamento como na prática concreta do cotidiano escolar. Para tanto, buscou-se tecer uma retrospectiva histórica das lutas do Movimento Social Negro, relacionando-as com as demais lutas sociais de combate as relações capitalistas de produção, possibilitando desnudar como a questão racial assume especificidade diante da questão social e é posta como central pelos novos movimentos sociais que buscam transformações nas relações étnico-raciais, sexuais ou de gênero, em relação ao meio-ambiente ou na redefinição da urbanidade, extrapolando os conflitos capital-trabalho. Avança-se na compreensão de como a educação passa a figurar nas bandeiras de luta do Movimento Social Negro como instrumento de combate ao racismo e reconstrói-se o percurso das ações afirmativas no mundo e no Brasil, contextualizando como este debate tem impactado na sociedade brasileira e sua implicação para a educação desde o nível fundamental até o nível superior. Deste modo, traça-se um quadro referencial, onde os limites e contradições na implantação da Lei Federal 10.639/03 são compreendidos dentro de um processo histórico-social e político-cultural de combate as desigualdades raciais no Brasil. Para análise de dados, utilizou-se a técnica de triangulação de dados, onde considerou-se como base as Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais para a Educação das Relações Étnico-raciais e para o ensino de História e Cultura Afro-brasileira e Africana, relacionando-as com as ações da Secretaria Municipal de Educação de Santa Maria e a percepção das lideranças do Movimento Negro em níveis nacional, estadual e local. Demonstra-se que as ações efetivadas pela Secretaria Municipal foram promovidas pelas organizações do Movimento Social Negro, pelo sistema educacional estadual, e NEAB - UFSM sendo que os docentes demonstram-se despreparados para cumprir as determinações legais e as escolas continuam promovendo espaços com as lideranças negras em períodos do ano significativos como 20 de novembro, sempre acentuando aspectos culturais e sem mudar concretamente as práticas docentes e o cotidiano escolar no sentido de uma educação que promova a Igualdade Racial. / Salvador

Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

The research was undertaken to determine the way in which the Black adolescent forms a pupil identity. Special attention was focussed on the various relationships formed by th~ Black adolescent within and outside the school environment. Literature indicates that pupil-identity is one of a variety of identities formed. Once a positive pupil-identity is established, the adolescent is in a position to actualise himself adequately. The empirical research was undertaken by administering a questionnaire to 555 Black secondary school pupils. The questionnaire comprised four categories namely, the adolescent's relationship with the self, parents, peer-group and the school. It was found that each of the four categories showed a significant positive correlation with pupil-identity formation. As this research project could not cover all aspects of the Black adolescent, recommendations for future research have been made. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed. (Psychology of Education)

D.Phil. / The problem of the research is to investigate why South Africa failed to make township schools effective despite new legislation, developmental programmes and projects, and change of personnel. Can this failure be attributed to the lack of knowledge on the ground on what constitutes an effective school in the township? A number of the characteristics of an effective school were identified through the literature review. During the review of these characteristics, a conclusion was drawn that they were developed from a context that is different from a South African township. To enable the researcher to collect "home-grown" data, the relevant stakeholders had to speak about what they consider to be the characteristics of an effective school. A qualitative method was used in collecting and analysing the data. The study was conducted in two phases: The first phase, had two components. Informants were asked to write their naive statements on what they consider to be the characteristic of effective township school and this was followed by a lengthy focus group interview with each subgroup that participated in the study. The second phase was a questionnaire developed from the analysis of the naive statements and focus group interviews that was administered to a larger audience of the informants to allow them an opportunity to confirm or refute the findings. Finally, the following list represent what the informants considered to be the characteristics of an effective township school. The reader must be reminded that these characteristics are not presented in the order of their importance, but they are all equally important: O Strong leadership Dedicated, committed and disciplined educators Dedicated and committed learners Parental support and involvement A well-developed vision and mission O Strong partnership with relevant stakeholders O A supportive environment Towards the end of the study, specific recommendations were directed to parents, learners, principals, members of teacher organizations, the departments of education and non-governmental organizations on what they could do to contribute towards school effectiveness in the township.