The aim of this study was to investigate the young child's experience of intensive sport participation. The study concentrated on the following aspects: The role that adults play in children's sport experience. The reasons for children's sport experience becoming negative. Children's sport experience with special focus on enjoyment, pressure to win, competition anxiety, sportsmanship, crowd behaviour and withdrawal from participation. A comparison between children's sport experience and the perceptions of parents and coaches of those experiences. It was found that children experience aspects such as pressure to win, competition anxiety and crowd behaviour as negative. Another outcome of this study was the finding that children experience their sport participation more negative than parents and coaches think they do. Lastly it was found that children, in spite of having a negative experience of some aspects of sport, still enjoy participating in sport and are not considering withdrawal from it. / Educational Studies / M. Ed (Guidance and Counselling)

Separation and divorce have become normative life events for many families throughout the world. According to the most recent statistics, during 1998, a total of 35 792 divorces were granted in South Africa alone, resulting in 45 123 children being affected by the divorce of their parents (Statistics South Africa - Statistical Release PO 307). Children who best survive their parents divorce are those maintaining significant and positive relationships with both parents. Children whose parents share parenting also cope better with the consequences of divorce. This study therefore attempted to provide insight into the personal experiences of divorced parents in relation to sharing of parenting after divorce. In this qualitative study, the researcher used the snowballing technique of sampling. A total of 16 divorced parents, including eight mothers and eight fathers, were included in the sample. The sample comprised of custodial, noncustodial and joint custodial parents who had been divorced for a period of at least two years. The interview schedules were personally administered and manually analyzed by the researcher. From the main findings, it was ascertained that respondents experienced tremendous difficulties in coping with the aftermath of divorce more especially in the realm of co-parenting. The main challenges they have had to face were problems relating to access to children, conflict in post-divorce relationships, stress related to the remarriage of ex-spouses, lack of sharing of parental responsibilities, communication problems and lack of therapeutic support. In order to promote effective post-divorce parenting, the researcher made recommendations with regard to the provision of educational programmes and therapeutic services for parents, children and other interested parties affected by the divorce. Recommendations, pertaining to divorce, are also made in respect of the justice system in South Africa. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2002.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has traditionally been understood and treated bio‐medically. However, bio‐ecological and eco‐systems theory, as well as a vast body of literature, suggests that ASD has a systemic impact, unique to each context. This study aimed to understand the systemic and ecological experiences of parents’ to children with ASD in the South African context with regard to ASD and ASD intervention. Eight parents to children with ASD were interviewed using a semi‐structured interview schedule. The data were analysed using deductive thematic content analysis. The study found that, in the South African context, both Indigenous and Western Knowledge Systems impact on parents’ experiences of having a child with ASD. It further found that ASD had a systemic impact, and that current ASD intervention failed to target the needs across the system. Lastly, it found that stigma originates from both Indigenous and Western Knowledge Systems, and that information about ASD is of great importance to parents in the South African context.

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SPEECH PATHOLOGY AND AUDIOLOGY, FACULTY OF ARTS, UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN SPEECH PATHOLOGY / Aspects of communicative competence encompassing syntactic, pragmatic and social skill dimensions were examined in preschool children. Subjects comprised five language-impaired children who had been declared remediated after a period of language therapy (Age 5.0-6.5) and five children of the same age considered to be linguistically normal. unstructured mother/child interactions yielded language samples which were analysed according to the Language Assessment Remediation and Screening procedure. Structured child/unfamiliar interlocutor dyadic interactions were analysed in terms of the Behavioural Inventory of Speech Act Performances and according to a devised pragmatic addendum. Social skill profiles were obtained by means of the Devereaux Elementary school Behaviour Rating Scale. No statistical differences occurred between groups on linguistic, pragmatic and social skill dimensions. Individual profiles of certain presumably remediated subjects revealed ineffective communicative modes in a structured dyadic context as well as communicative deficits and behavioural problems in the classroom situation. Significant correlations emerged among various linguistic pragmatic and social skill parameters. Theoretical and clinical implications of these correlations and of deficits uncovered by particular measures in different contexts, are discussed. / Andrew Chakane 2018

It is well known that crystallized measures of intelligence are highly susceptible to educational, resource, language and socio-economic influences, and that the implications of using these kinds of measures are manifold affecting school and university entrance as well as employment opportunities. In South Africa, wherein tests are regarded with suspicion as a consequence of test misuse during the Apartheid era, there is an urgent need for the development of measures which are resilient to these influences. In answer to this, working memory measures have been identified as possible measures which minimize these biases. Consequently the following study investigated whether working memory tests were less susceptible to socioeconomic influences than the more traditional, crystallized measures of vocabulary and non-verbal IQ in a volunteer sample of 60 grade one learners from schools identified as high and low in socioeconomic status. The results demonstrated that working memory measures were consistently less affected by socio-economic status as compared to the traditional vocabulary and non-verbal IQ measures. However, socioeconomic status and language were found to be so closely correlated that it is not clear whether test performance in the vocabulary measures, was related one or both of these variables. In light of the fact that this study was correlational in nature, it is recommended that future studies focus on limiting the impact of extraneous variables to better understand the impact of socioeconomic status on test performance. Furthermore future studies should test children in their home language to avoid language contamination effects.

Attachment theory has implications for relational functioning across the lifespan. The attachment experience of institutionalised children in South Africa is understudied. Using a psychoanalytic perspective as an addition to thematic analysis of the ASCT, this research aims to add to the functional perspective of attachment, an internal psychic frame of reference with which to view attachment of at risk children in South Africa. Using 58 ASCT protocols, divided between children’s homes and hospitals, stories were analysed using thematic content analysis and discussed with an object relations perspective. Results suggest the inclusion of additional categories of attachment to the current classification system as well as a deeper relational understanding of the experience of insecure attachment. This has implications for the current understanding and classification of attachment.

Numeracy skills are vital for a child with diabetes as they need to be able to manage their diabetes effectively, in order to protect one from the complications that come with diabetes. There have been numerous studies that illustrate the poor numeracy skills in children with diabetes. A numeracy intervention specifically related to diabetes was put into place to illustrate whether or not such an intervention is effective in improving a child’s diabetic numeracy ability, which will lead to the improvement of diabetes self-management in the future. A Quantitative quasi-experimental pre-test - post-test non equivalent control group design was conducted to explore the efficacy of an applied numeracy intervention in a South Africa type 1 diabetic child population. The study group comprised of 58 children with type 1 diabetes, each group consisted of 29 participants, and each participant in the experimental group was closely matched according to their level of formal education, grade, age and sex to a research participant in the control group. Both groups were measured before and after the intervention. The children were between the ages of 8 and 13. All participants were in formal education between Grades 3 and Grade 8. Results revealed that participants in both groups had lower ‘functional’ grades as compared to their ‘actual grade’ level which suggests that they performed below their expected grade level. Participants performed better in areas assessing basic mathematical skills than areas which assessed applied diabetes mathematical skills. The intervention was shown to be effective as analyses revealed that there was a highly significant difference (p<0.001) between the Pre and Post Test (applied mathematical sections) of the experimental group which took part in the intervention. This research is only the starting point for the assessment of the effectiveness of a numeracy component in diabetes related education in South Africa, and through this one would hope that more research in South Africa will be done in this area.

There has been a significant level of outcry opposing violence against females and the development of policies and legislation aimed at reducing this increasing problem that confronts South African society. Yet, violence and the fear of violence, especially gender-based violence, are widespread in South Africa. Despite the considerable research that has been undertaken on violence in South Africa, there remains a weak empirical and conceptual basis to understand females' environmental perceptions of violence and danger in secondary schools. This dissertation contributes to a greater understanding of the relationships between gender, violence and environmental perceptions. Gender specific spatialities, experiences and perceptions are critically examined. Critical concerns in the study include females' environmental perceptions of violence and images of danger in secondary schools, sources of information regarding violence and danger, types of violence that females are aware of, specific experiences of violence among the respondents and the coping strategies adopted by females. To enable a critical examination of the above issues, a comprehensive literature review was undertaken as well as fieldwork was conducted in two secondary schools (Dr A D Lazarus and Ridge Park College). Both female learners and teachers participated in the study. A variety of quantitative and qualitative methods were used including questionnaire surveys as well as mental mapping and ranking exercises to achieve the aims and objectives of this study. The key findings of the research show that violence and the danger of violence constrain the movements and the options of females. Furthermore, the results clearly illustrate discernible patterns of fear of violence, experiences of violence, perceptions of violence and responses to the perceived threat of violence among the respondents. Additionally, a disconcerting finding was that a significant proportion of the respondents at both schools viewed the school itself to be unsafe or located in close proximity to areas that they perceived to be dangerous. Undoubtedly, addressing issues pertaining to gender and violence in secondary schools (and in society more generally) will enhance females' abilities to effectively participate in and benefit from educational and development processes. This study shows that acts of violence generally and gender-based violence particularly need to be understood in their environmental contexts inclusive of the location! spatial, social, economic and political dimensions. Moreover, perceptions and the fear of violence, although they may not match actual risk, need to be responded to constructively. / Thesis (M.A.)- University of Durban Westville, 2002.

The aim of this study was to investigate the young child's experience of intensive sport participation. The study concentrated on the following aspects: The role that adults play in children's sport experience. The reasons for children's sport experience becoming negative. Children's sport experience with special focus on enjoyment, pressure to win, competition anxiety, sportsmanship, crowd behaviour and withdrawal from participation. A comparison between children's sport experience and the perceptions of parents and coaches of those experiences. It was found that children experience aspects such as pressure to win, competition anxiety and crowd behaviour as negative. Another outcome of this study was the finding that children experience their sport participation more negative than parents and coaches think they do. Lastly it was found that children, in spite of having a negative experience of some aspects of sport, still enjoy participating in sport and are not considering withdrawal from it. / Educational Studies / M. Ed (Guidance and Counselling)

Ph.D. (Social Work) / Please refer to full text to view abstract