A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Coursework and Research Report), University of the Witwatersrand. / This research report examines the nature of drama as a means of facilitating adult learning, especially in the South African rural context, by conducting a literature review and by compiling case studies of the use of drama at Akanani, an association. of rural development projects in South Africa where theatre-for-development is the principal methodology employed. The literature review explores the use of drama as a methodology in education and then focuses on how and why theatre-for-development has been used in Africa for community development and empowerment. The international developments in popular theatre are also considered so that as much information as possible can feed into the guidelines which are this report's conclusions. This chapter concludes with a consideration of how drama can be used for adult learning in South Africa. This research was conducted primarily by compiling a number of case studies of the use of drama at Akanani in the far northern Transvaal. Participant observation, illuminative evaluation and semi-structured interviews were used within a Participatory Research apprgach to gather information about Akanani. The researcher spent two periods of time at Akanani conducting the interviews and observing the daily operations as well as the use of drama in various contexts at Akanani. The cases studies were compiled to discover whether drama, as it is used at Akanani, is a successful and appropriate methodology for adult education in the rural areas of South Africa. This research finds drama to be a a very effective means of facilitating learning amongst adults in rural areas and concludes by offering guidelines for the use of drama as a methodology in adult education in South Africa, especially in the rural areas.

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A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education, University of the Witwatersrand in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education. / The research, conducted as part of a project aimed at improving teachers' English .skills, set out to answer the question: What are the needs of farm school teachers in relation to the use of English as the medium of instruction? Clarification of this question involved the examination of teachers' English proficiency, the teaching of English as a subject and the.observation of the learning/teaching situation in the farm school classroom. The research raised questions concerning the underlying assumption that an English language intervention could bring about major change in the classroom. As a result, further enquiries into the socio-economic context-of the schools were instituted. In addition, the learning/teaching situation was examined in the light of theories of cognition and change. A range of research methods involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches were utilized to penetrate this highly complex situation. The findings indicated a clear need on the. part of ihe teachers for an English proficiency course. At the same time. the findings also indicated most strongly that a fundamental change is needed in tne teachers' understanding of their role if they are to become agents of significant change. / Andrew Chakane 2019

M.A. (History), Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, 1994

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education / This report examines the policies of the Department of Education and Training (DET) regarding provision of school facilities at the end of the eighties. It focuses specifically on the implications of these policies for legal freestanding shack settlements in the Pretoria-Witwatersrand- Vereeniging area. The report sets out to unravel discursive trends at the level of senior officials within the DET related to the provision of schools in shack settlements as well as the policies and practices which emanated from these discourses. These are related to broader state strategies and particularly population movement and settlement policies. The effects of these practices are assessed in terms of equity.(Abbreviation abstract) / Andrew Chakane 2018

A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy / This researcn investigates success and failure in mathematics at the standard seven level in middle schools in the Bafokeng region. There is great concern expressed by parents, teachers and students about the high failure rate in this subject in the external examinations. Mathematics is seen to be important for securing good jobs in the platinum mines which are situated on the Bafokeng tribal lands. in general, greater efforts by teachers and students have made little impact on the public examination results. The present study undertakes ar xn-de th analysis of this problem in the anthropolog^/cal paradigm using the illuminatxve approach. Interviews and questionnaires are used for gathering data and triangulation techniques are used for verification and checking. Statistical correlation is applied to the variables but the study is not limited to numerical relationships between factors associated with scholastic success and failure. Two separate criteria of "success" are defined, namely the standard 7 mathematics mark and the performance of a ten per cent sample in each of five picture problems. The population xs composed of one educational unit: the one high school in Phokeng, capital of the Bafokeng, and the three middle schools which make up the catchment area of this high school. The number of students involved is approximately three thousand. Language and attitudes show strong positive correlations with both criteria of success. Other variables, like socio-economic status and degree of westernization are significantly related to the picture problem scores but not to the mathematics mark. Surprisingly, self-concept and embedded figures scores show no statistically significant relationship with either of the two criteria of success. In order to succeed in school mathematics a student must attain a high level of abstraction. This research does not suggest that the case is any different for Bafokeng students, buJj it attempts to explore the modes of perception, methods of concept formation and the development of appropriate schemata by which abstraction is achieved. Finally the Implications for teaching and learning of mathematics in school are discussed in the light of the findings of this research. This is the first study of its type, as far as can be ascertained, for Bophuthatswana schools. / Andrew Chakane 2018

This study examined the role that attributional style played in the academic achievement and school performance of a sample of 150 black primary school learners in grades 5 and 6 in an inner city school in the Johannesburg area. The Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ, 1984) was administered to determine the attributional styles. The questionnaire was comprised of 10 subscales and from this an overall level of optimism or pessimism was obtained. The academic achievement of the learners was measured by obtaining the end of year academic results of 1997 and 1998 from the mark schedules of each teacher. The results did not reveal significant correlations between attributional styles and academic achievement. This was contradictory to the existing literature. It appears that, in this disadvantaged group in South Africa, it is not attributional style that impacts upon academic achievement and school performance. However it appears that learned helplessness in terms of Seligman and Maier’s (1967) original formulation, rather than attributional style as in the reformulated theory of Abramson, Seligman & Teasdale (1978) may impact upon academic achievement in this community.

In response to stalled struggles for equal and integrated education by African American students, parents, teachers, and activists, Harlem in the late 1960s saw a number of independent schools emerge that drew inspiration and rhetoric from Black Power ideas. This dissertation investigated the reasons for these schools’ emergence in Harlem; what goals these institutions pursued; how they translated their goals, purposes, and ideas into pedagogical practices and curricula; and how these were adapted to the specific challenges faced by the schools by closely examining three such initiatives: West Harlem Liberation School; the storefront academies run by the New York Urban League; and West Side Street Academy, later renamed Academy for Black and Latin Education (ABLE). All of these schools incorporated values and ideas that were central to the philosophy of Black Power, such as an emphasis on self-determination, self-sufficiency, self-reliance, Black history, and cultural pride. However, the ways in which these core ideas of Black Power were interpreted and put into practice varied significantly between different initiatives, especially as they had to navigate daily necessities such as applying for funding or making compromises with corporate donors, foundations, or the New York City Board of Education. Thus, while some of these educational institutions explicitly pursued activist agendas—by positioning themselves as a means to pressure the public school system into fundamental change or by conceptualizing education explicitly as a tool for collectively dismantling systems of oppression—others came to favor approaches designed to uplift individual students rather than pursue more radical social change. While scholars have extensively studied the fights for desegregation and community control of public schools in Harlem and New York City, the establishment of these Black alternative educational initiatives outside of the public school system as an extension of the movement for quality and equitable education—and as a part of social justice movements, including the Black Power Movement, more broadly—has rarely been considered. These schools and their approaches also provide a unique lens through which to study and re-evaluate Black Power ideas: They reflect the diversity and contradictions of the movement, the different goals and avenues for change that activists within that movement envisioned, and how the theories and ideas of Black Power were translated into practice on the local level in specific issues.

“For we've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now we can do anything, with nothing at all.” This popular phrase at the independent tuition-free school called Harlem Prep in many ways reflected Central Harlem itself in the late-1960s. On one hand, decades of racial discrimination and unfulfilled promises had defined schooling in the neighborhood. There were no public high schools in the area, and talented youth were being pushed out of formal education. Conversely, there was a resilience and continued, centuries-long desire for educational equity. As a result—and buoyed by the dynamic political environment—a handful of leaders in Harlem decided to create a school, similar to other efforts in U.S. cities. However, unlike other emerging Black alternative schools, it would be different than its peers: it would be a multicultural school, and it would be for students who had been pushed out of education and onto the streets. “Liberation, Learning, and Love” explores the unknown history of this school, Harlem Prep. Although firmly rooted in this era’s civil rights activism, Harlem Prep’s educational philosophy—its radical multiculturalism—was also distinct and innovative compared to other ideologies. The school’s leaders, teachers, and students were able to re-imagine education on a community-wide, institutional, and classroom level. Through its “unity in diversity” approach, Harlem Prep not only graduated and sent to college over 750 students, most of them previously out of school, but galvanized the notable Black community of Harlem. This project introduces multicultural education to the lexicon of Black alternative schools in the 1960s and 1970s, and reshapes how historians conceptualize equity, emancipatory education, and beyond. Harlem Prep imagined a more loving, pluralistic world for its young people. Perhaps its story can inspire those of us who strive to create a similar future for our youth today.

The fields of psychology and education have a tumultuous history with regard to equity, social justice and compassion for marginalized populations, specifically for Black Americans. Access to quality education in the U.S. remains a barrier for many Black Americans while resources for high quality, culturally competent mental health services are also relatively limited (Anderson, Scrimshaw, Fullilove, Fielding & Normand, 2003; Hayes-Bautista, 2003). Fortunately, scholars and practitioners in education and psychology have sought to increase access to high quality, culturally competent education and psychology and have made important contributions to research and practice. Culturally competent pedagogy has been an area of research and practice for over 20 years leading to practical changes in teaching and education in support of the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students (Ladson-Billings, 1995). Similarly, multicultural and culturally competent counseling and psychotherapy has been of intensive focus by scholars and mental health practitioners, particularly counseling psychologist for many years (American Psychological Association, 2003; American Psychological Association, Association, 1993; Constatine & Sue, 2005; DeAngelis, 2015; Sue, Arredondo & McDavis, 1992; Sue, 1998). Psychologists and educators have been responsible for the development of racial-identity development models and the introduction and study of racial and ethnic socialization processes (Cross, 1978; Helms, 1984; Hughes, Stevenson, Cameron, Herrero-Taylor & Davis, 2002; Peters & Massey, 1983; Rodriguez, Smith, Johnson, Stevenson & Spicer, 2006; Tatum, 1987;). Preparation for bias, cultural pride reinforcement, promotion of mistrust, and egalitarianism or silence about race and racism are some of the most common forms of racial socialization practices employed by Black American parents. These practices are used in effort to prepare Black children to navigate and thrive in a society in which they are discriminated against on the basis of race. Racial socialization messages also serve to counteract negative messages from the larger society from various sectors and institutions including education and health systems (Gaskin, 2015). As such, the purpose of this study was to explore Black American parents’ racial socialization practices and the impact of the experiences and educational outcomes of their children who attend private, independent schools. Data was collected through 12 semi-structured interviews with Black American parents whose children attend private, independent schools. Participants’ narratives were transcribed and then analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR). Results illustrated the participants’ experiences in school themselves, messages from family members on race, ethnicity and education. Participants also discussed their own parenting practices including racial socialization practices, messages and beliefs about education and schooling. Implications of the findings, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.