Transport for learners has been problematised by some South African scholars as being a significant factor in access to education. This study takes the view of access further by focusing on South African public transport policy provisions for learners. The key research questions are: 1. What are the political discourses in public transport policies that are relevant to school transport and learners? 2. To what extent are these public transport policies coherent in their treatment of and provision for learners? Through using a blend of Scheurich’s Policy Archaeology and Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis approaches for an analysis of selected excerpts from relevant policy texts issued in the period 1994-2009, I find that school learners are assigned marginalised positions and neo-liberal trends temper school learner interests. These findings about South Africa’s transport policies and how they serve the interests of learners and position them in the social hierarchy, point to discourses in public transport policy that infringe the rights of school learners to have their best interests served in all matters related to their wellbeing as indicated in Section 28 of the Constitution. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Thesis (MNutr)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Objective: To examine the factors that may influence the vitamin A and anthropometric status of 24-59-month-old children from an impoverished community with a very high prevalence of stunting, but virtually no vitamin A deficiency. Design: Cross sectional, descriptive study with analytical components. Setting: Calvinia West, Northern Cape Province, South Africa Subjects: Biological mothers (n=150) and their children aged 24-59 months (n=150) living in Calvinia West from 6 months of age or younger. Methods: A general interviewer-administered questionnaire comprising of socio-demographic information, a 24-hour recall and an adjusted food frequency questionnaire, focussing on liver intake, were used in the data collection process. Anthropometric measurements (weight and height) were also performed. Results: Results showed that liver consumption alone contributed to more than 100% of the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for vitamin A of the pre-school children in this community. Liver was eaten by 84.7% (n=127) of the children and 68% (n=102) of them ate liver at least once per month. The average portion size of the children who consumed liver was 66g at a time. The national food fortification programme contributed to a further 80 μg Retinol Equivalents (RE) and the national supplementation programme 122μg RE of vitamin A per day. There was a significant (p=0.028) inverse association between the amount of liver intake and household income. Liver intake was also significantly (p=0.016) higher in the children whose mothers were unskilled as opposed to those with skilled mothers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards 36.9% (n=55) of the children were stunted (low height for age), 25.5% (n=38) were underweight for age and 12.1% (n=18) were wasted (low weight for height). The mean birth weight of the children (n=141) was 2826g (SD=592). Of these children, 27.7% (n=39) had a low birth weight (<2500g). There was a significant positive correlation (r=0.250; p=0.003) between the birth weight of the child and the child's current height for age. The height of the mother, as well as several indicators of socio-economic status, also correlated significantly with the height for age of the child. Conclusion: In this impoverished community the anthropometric status of the children was poor, but vitamin A deficiency was largely addressed through the regular intake of liver. Poor anthropometric status is therefore not always an indicator of micronutrient deficiencies and blanket supplementation approaches are not necessarily the solution in a country with diverse cultures and eating habits. Apart from the immediate risks and consequences of underweight, stunting and wasting in a community, stunting may also lead to overweight and obesity in the long term. This may result in diseases of lifestyle in later life, adding a further burden to an already weakened community. Appropriate evidence-based interventions aimed at the first thousand days of life should be a priority in this community. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Doel: Om die faktore wat kan bydrae tot die vitamien A en die antropometriese status van kinders 24-59-maande in 'n arm gemeenskap met 'n baie hoë voorkoms van dwerggroei, maar byna geen vitamien A gebrek, te ondersoek. Ontwerp: Beskrywende, deursnit studie met analitiese komponente Omgewing: Calvinia Wes, Nood Kaap provinsie, Suid-Afrika Deelnemers: Biologiese moeders (n=150) en hul kinders in die ouderdomsgroep, 24-59-maande (n=150) woonagtig in Calvinia Wes sedert 6 maande van ouderdom of jonger. Metodes: 'n Vraelys bestaande uit sosio-demografiese inligting, 'n 24-uur herroep en 'n aangepaste voedsel frekwensie vraelys gefokus op die inname van lewer, was gebruik om data in te samel en voltooi deur die onderhoudvoerder. Antropometriese metings (gewig en lengte) was ook geneem. Resultate: Resultate het getoon dat lewer inname bygedra het tot meer as 100% van die geskatte gemiddelde behoefte van vitamien A vir die voorskoolse kind in hierdie gemeenskap. Lewer was deur 84.7% (n=127) van die kinders ingeneem en 68% (n=102) het dit ten minste een keer per maand geëet. Die gemiddelde porsie grootte van die kinders wat lewer ingeneem het, was 66g op 'n keer. Die nasionale voedsel fortifisering program het 'n verdere 80 μg Retinol Ekwivalente (RE) en die nasionale supplementasie program 122μg RE vitamin A per dag bygedra. Daar was 'n betekenisvolle (p=0.028) omgekeerde korrelasie tussen die die hoeveelheid lewer wat deur die kinders ingeneem is en die huishoudelike inkomste. Lewer inname was ook betekenisvol (p=0.016) meer in kinders wie se moeders ongeskool was teenoor die met geskoolde moeders. Volgens die Wêreld Gesondheid Organisasie se groeistandaarde het 36.9% (n=55) van die kinders dwerggroei getoon (te kort vir hul ouderdom), 25.5% (n=38) was ondergewig vir hul ouderdom en 12.1% (n=18) uitgeteer (ondergewig vir hul lengte). Die gemiddelde geboortegewig van die kinders (n=141) was 2826g (SA=592). Van hierdie kinders het 27.7% (n=39) 'n lae geboortegewig (<2500g) gehad. Daar was 'n betekenisvolle positiewe korrelasie (r=0.250; p=0.003) tussen die geboortegewig van die kind en die huidige lengte vir ouderdom. Die lengte van die moeder, sowel as ander sosio-ekonomiese status aanwysers het ook betekenisvol gekorreleer met die lengte vir ouderdom van die kind. Samevatting: In hierdie arm gemeenskap was die antropometriese status van die kinders swak, maar vitamien A gebrek was grootliks aangespreek deur die gereelde inname van lewer. 'n Swak antropometriese status is dus nie altyd 'n aanduiding van mikronutriënt tekorte nie en 'n oorkoepelende aanslag van supplementasie is nie noodwendig 'n oplossing in 'n land met diverse kultuur en eetgewoontes nie. Behalwe vir die onmiddelike gevare van ondergewig, dwerggroei en uittering in 'n gemeenskap, het kinders met dwerggroei 'n groter risiko om oorgewig en vetsugtig te word in die langtermyn. Dit kan lewensstyl siektes veroorsaak in latere lewe en 'n verdere las op 'n reeds verswakte gemeenskap plaas. Toepaslike intervensies, gemik op die eerste duisend dae van lewe, behoort 'n prioriteit te wees in hierdie gemeenskap.

This dissertation is about the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) in South Africa. This Programme was introduced by government in 1994 with the aim of alleviating poverty; unemployment and improving learning capacity of children. Specifically, it is intended to help poor children and to empower poverty-stricken communities, particularly in the rural areas across all the nine provinces. The focus of this study is on the investigation of effectiveness and efficient management of the Programme in the Eastern Cape Province, with specific reference to Mhlontlo District. Mhlontlo district is one of the predominantly rural areas in the province of the Eastern Cape, a remote area characterized by high levels of poverty and unemployment, and low levels of infrastructural developments. Surrounding Schools in the area are also affected by these problems. Learners at these schools are from poor families. It is for this reason that this scheme becomes important as it is most needed and, to effectively and efficiently realise its intended objectives, it must be properly managed. The main theme of the study revolves around effective and efficient service delivery that must be taken as the first priority in the management of NSNP. Factors that contribute to efficiency and effectiveness must be taken into consideration by all stakeholders and are outlined as follows: The aims in this study is to assess the effectiveness of management of the National School Nutrition Programme at Mhlontlo district in the eastern Cape, to identity shortcomings in the management of the Programme and to suggest possible remedies to improve the management of the Programme to effective service delivery. Against the background of the problem statement, the following questions were posited. How can the management of the National School Nutrition Programme with specific reference to Mhlontlo district be enhanced to ensure that its intended objectives are realized? What effect will improved management have on service delivery in the National School Nutrition Programme? And how will adherence to the Batho Pele Principles improve service delivery in schools with regard to the National School Nutrition Programme? The target population in this study was the learners, teachers and community of Schools around Mhlontlo District whose children are being catered for at school as respondents. Statistics of learners who are beneficiaries of this programme were obtained from surrounding Schools. The percentage of the response to the questions led to the results that services are not delivered as effectively as expected. The study concluded by recommendations of what national and provincial department of Education are required to do together with the school, service providers and the community in order to improve service delivery in schools that participate in the NSNP. Finally, the NSNP is for the deprived citizens of South Africa. The onus is on the community of Mhlontlo District, service providers, teachers and education authorities responsible for the NSNP to work together to make the programme effective for advancing the development of young people.

Teachers in the field of autism education encounter multiple professional challenges in their roles as educators. Autism spectrum disorder presents with a broad range of symptoms, which places additional demands on the teacher expected to meet all the learners' needs. Insufficient teacher education and training, coupled with limited access to resources and a lack of support from the Department of Basic Education can lead to teachers feeling overwhelmed and powerless to adequately address work-related challenges. This study employed a participatory action research methodology and sought to identify challenges and develop solutions in the field of autism education. Furthermore, the goal of this study was to find ways of making use of existing resources to better meet the teachers' needs, as well as reconsidering the classroom environment in order to better meet the learners' needs. The cyclical nature of a participatory action research approach allowed the participants to renegotiate the research goals throughout the study. Data were generated through the use of open-ended group interviews, observation and written critical self-reflections. From the data, six themes emerged. First, the participants reported feeling empowered as a result of creating and sharing their personal reflections. Next, they identified the lack of support for teachers as a professional challenge. The participants also indicated that more flexible teaching strategies were required in the field of autism education. Another challenge was that teachers were uncertain of their legal rights within the field of ASD education. Poor communication between parents and teachers was identified as an important issue. Finally, it emerged that the classroom environment had a significant impact on the learners' behaviour. These findings led to the conclusion that teachers in the field of autism education should be supported and the challenges they face acknowledged and addressed by their employers as well as by the Department of Basic Education and the institutions responsible for educating and training new teachers. Finally, recommendations for possible solutions and further research were presented, based on the data generated during the study.

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

M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / This study was an investigation into the problem of the anxiety pre-adolescents experience in a pre-diagnostic context. It was based on the supposition that such anxiety has a negative effect on the performance of pre-adolescents in a diagnostic evaluation. The question was posed whether children are prepared for such a diagnostic experience in South Africa, since preparation could help to familiarize them with the relatively unknown experience of diagnostic evaluation, in order that they would be enabled to derive the maximum benefit from it, not only with regard to the possible solution of their problems, but also with regard to their development. The study included literature surveys of the development of the pre-adolescent', as well as of anxiety and factors that influence anxiety. Subsequently Bandura's theory of self-efficacy was considered in some detail, since it was regarded as relevant for a better understanding of the various factors that have ~bearing on an evaluation situation, especially multi-disciplinary evaluation. In order to identify factors that influence children's anxiety in an evaluation context, fifteen therapists and two secretaries were interviewed at five major clinics in Johannesburg where children with problems are evaluated. On the basis of the information so gleaned it was concluded that the evaluation context in South Africa is loaded in a negative direction, and recommendations were made which could improve the situation. One such recommendation is that evaluation should be conceived within the developmental context of the children to be evaluated so that evaluation could be a meaningful experience, contributing to the testee's growth. In the addendum there are the recommendations made during the interviews by the secretaries and therapists. These are recommendations for. a more meaningful role for the secretary at such a clinic, and specific suggestions as to how children' who are to be evalued and their parents could be helped in order that evaluation might become a more meaningful experience.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract.

The main purposes of this thesis are to investigate the difference between the written English of deaf children and the written English of hearing children and to make recommendations on how to improve the writing of deaf children. In order to achieve this goal, both quantitative and qualitative research was done. The comparison of the writing of deaf and hearing children relies on quantitative research while the recommendations are based on qualitative analysis. The dissertation is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter discusses the problem, the significance of the research, the purpose of the study, the background to the problem and the theoretical framework. This chapter indicates the prevalence of deafness worldwide and in South Africa and its negative impact on the writing abilities of children. The second chapter provides a literature review on the theory behind reading and writing, with specific emphasis on emergent literacy and its relevance to the language acquisition and print language learning of deaf children. Another aspect of this chapter is the effect of different aspects of deafness on language acquisition and learning. The chapter also highlights the challenges for deaf children in South Africa and debates regarding the language of instruction that should be used to teach deaf children writing/reading, as well as arguments concerning bottom-up, top-down, and interactive approaches to writing. The third chapter provides the overall philosophical framework for the quantitative and qualitative research as well as the methodology used for the qualitative research. This is followed by the results of the quantitative research and a discussion of these results in Chapter 4. The fifth chapter is in the form of a second literature review that contains recommendations for improving the writing of deaf children. Following this, in Chapter 6, is a discussion of some of the theory behind interview interaction, as well as an analysis of how to develop a valid study. The researcher also sets out the interview structure. The seventh chapter contains a discussion of the findings of the interview to see if they confirm the findings in Chapter 5, as well as overall conclusions about assisting deaf children with their writing, a reflection on the study as a whole and suggestions for future research. This study argues that in order for deaf children in South Africa to develop their writing, immediate government assistance is necessary in order to implement countrywide newborn hearing screening, followed by medical and/or language-based ii intervention to minimise the impact of deafness on the language and writing abilities of deaf children. This is an essential foundation from which parents and teachers can build and play a key role in helping their children reach age-appropriate levels of written English.

D.Litt.et Phil. (Psychology) / This study took place within the field of cognitive psychology, at the interface between the differential and experimental traditions, thereby contributing towards an emerging trend of theoretical synthesis. A structural model of problem solving processes was developed and a methodological design strategy for the measurement of cognitive processes followed. Indications for further research in the area were made. The major predictions of the model were tested empirically with a multitrait-multimethod design. This required the development of a battery of psychometric tests based on task analytic procedures. These tests were administered to a sample of 117 white middle class, school-Ieavers. The data obtained was statistically analysed according to a linear structural equation modeling technique using confirmatory factor analytic procedures. The results show support for the construct validity of the processing tests in terms of convergent and discriminant validity and therefore also for the proposed structural model of problem solving processes and the underlying hypothesis that the structure of information processing can be differentiated.

Bibliography: pages 203-211. / This study focuses special attention on some crucial aspects of 'Native Education' policy during the period 1939-48. It is contended that 'Native Education' cannot be analysed outside its political and economic context. It was an essential aspect of the broader 'Native' policy followed by successive white governments (Provincial and Union) in S.A. before 1948. The study is divided into two parts. Part one provides the economic, political and educational (Native) background of the period 1939-48. Chapter one assesses the political and economic context of 'Native Education' prior to 1939. Chapter two provides an historical analysis of 'Native Education' prior to 1939 and highlights the following crucial issues: (i) the role of the missionary as educator; (ii) the State's interest in industrial education for Africans; (iii) the State's financial provision for 'Native Education'. Part two attempts to uncover aspects of the political orientation of the U.P. Government's 'Native Education' policy (1939-48) and investigates the following issues: (i) why the State provided insufficient financial backing for 'Native Education' when compared with that given to White Education (Chapter five); (ii) the reasons for the introduction of the 1943 School Feeding Scheme for African children; (Chapter six). (iii) the reasons for the State's provision of insufficient technical and vocational training for Africans when compared with that given to whites (Chapter seven). This section also analyses the political ideologies of the U.P. Government and the N.P. Opposition with regard to 'Native Education' (Chapters three and four) as well as the Smuts Government's 'Native' policy and the reaction to this policy (Chapter eight). The study also focuses attention on the House of Assembly Debates (1939-48) relating to the issues examined in Chapters five, six and seven. It is contended that these debates are of paramount importance for an understanding of subsequent policies as they touch on a particularly sensitive area in the field of race relations in South Africa in specific ways.