Thesis (MEd)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges play an important role in providing a competent workforce that can contribute to the economic development of South Africa. TVET Colleges also provide an alternative pathway for students who have not completed grade 12. TVET Colleges have seen many changes during the past decades and have reportedly been underperforming in various areas, including academically. Student misconduct may, amongst other factors, have a determining influence on the poor performance of TVET Colleges. Student misconduct comprises the nature of student misconduct, factors leading to student misconduct and management of student misconduct. The nature of student misconduct, factors leading to student misconduct and methods used to manage student misconduct at TVET Colleges remain largely unidentified and need to be researched. The purpose of this study is to determine the nature of student misconduct, factors leading to student misconduct and how student misconduct is managed at a TVET College in the Western Cape. The nature of student misconduct is classified into ordinary student misconduct and serious misconduct. Factors leading to student misconduct are classified into factors related to the management of TVET Colleges, lecturer qualifications and competence and student background and preparedness. Management of student misconduct is classified into reactive methods and preventative methods for managing student misconduct. The research methodology employed for this study was an explanatory mixed method. The explanatory mixed methodology collects quantitative data first and then, based on the quantitative findings, collects qualitative data to elaborate on the quantitative findings. The major findings of the quantitative phase created topics for further discussion during qualitative interviews. The study found that the most frequent forms of TVET student misconduct are ordinary forms of student misconduct such as absenteeism, playing with cellular phones in class and arriving late for lessons. The most frequent factors leading to student misconduct were found to be students becoming hungry during lessons, students coming from disadvantaged homes and students finding work too difficult. Students' home environment and level of academic preparedness therefore has an impact on their behaviour. Students who originate from disadvantaged homes, experience lack of provision in their basic needs, and also a lack of geborgenheit which lead to student disciplinary problems. As a counter measure, methods applied in the interest of managing student misconduct should include an atmosphere of geborgenheit. The study indicated that the most effective methods for managing student misconduct are the creation of a friendly classroom atmosphere, lecturer’s good subject knowledge, proper lesson preparation and positive student-lecturer relationships. A combination of the above-mentioned methods implies interesting lessons filled with activities that engage students who feel safe, loved and unconditionally accepted in their learning environment. When students feel safe and unconditionally accepted they experience an atmosphere of geborgenheit, a pre-requisite for management of student discipline. Poorly disciplined students, it was found, who display deliberate forms of student misconduct should be disciplined by means of stricter methods such as classroom rules and the disciplinary procedure. Methods applied in the interest of managing student misconduct should, however, be accompanied by an atmosphere of geborgenheit. Disciplinary measures should address misconduct from a position of love and unconditional acceptance. Students with behavioural problems need to be identified and referred to student support services for effective support. It is recommended that an early identification and support system be considered for early identification and referral of students with behavioural problems. Successful implementation of an early identification system should include the involvement health and welfare organisations and religious organisations. Student support services should, in addition, be expanded and posts created for educational psychologists to provide effective counselling to students with behavioural problems. TVET lecturers need to have workplace experience and qualifications, academic qualifications and teaching qualifications to enable them to present interesting, well prepared lessons using a variety of methodologies. It is recommended that TVET Colleges and the DHET invest in upgrading the qualifications of TVET lecturers through bursary schemes, time off at work and salary scales that are linked to qualification levels.

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published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

This study explored the patterns of help-seeking of 64 urban high school adolescents in Grades 10 and 11 in two South African provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo. The type of problems faced by these adolescents such as interpersonal relationships, family and peer pressure, and whether or not they sought help for these problems was explored. Adolescents' preference for different sources of help for different problems is also discussed. Of concern was what mediated whether and where help was sought. This study also examined the role that the Life Orientation Programme and Guidance Programme played in the help-seeking behaviours of these adolescents. Data was collected using focus groups and individual interviews and analysed using a thematic method of data analysis. Adolescents across the two provinces seemed to have common problems and dealt with them in a similar manner. The adolescents' problems included peer pressure, family, academic anxiety and drug usage. To solve those problems adolescents seemed to prefer informal to formal sources to confide in. The Life Orientation Programme (LOP) seemed to play no significant role at this stage to the adolescents concerned. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

This study investigated which childhood behaviours and emotions are considered "acceptable" and "not problematic" by Black isiZulu speaking parents and caregivers. It further investigated which childhood behaviours and emotions were considered "unacceptable" and "problematic" by Black isiZulu speaking parents and caregivers (N=97). Data were collected by the use of the Behaviour Screening Questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 39 words describing the way children of 4 or 5 years feel and behave. The selection of the health domains included in the questionnaire was guided by the research on developmental psychopathology, the dimensional approach. The item format in the questionnaire was categorical: Not concerning, concerning and very concerning. The collected data were ordinal in nature, thus necessitated the utilization of non-parametric method of analysis. Data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Chi square). Findings indicated that 88% of the behaviours and emotions listed on the questionnaire were considered to be "unacceptable" and "problematic" by the participants in the study. These were largely the externalizing types of behaviours (57%). Thirty-two percent of these were internalizing types of behaviours and emotions. Only 11,6% of the behaviours and emotions listed on the questionnaire were considered to be "acceptable" and "not problematic" for 4 or 5 year old children. The findings of this study confirm the findings of previous research conducted both internationally and locally on the types of behaviours and emotions considered to be "problematic" and "unacceptable" as well as those behaviours and emotions considered to be "acceptable" and "non-problematic" by parents and caregivers in 4 or 5 year old children. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

This study examined how group work can provide a culturally-competent, gender and agesensitive model of social work practice with girls of colour. I developed and implemented a school-based girls' group program specifically designed to outreach to girls of colour between thirteen and eighteen years of age. Results from the program demonstrated that through purposeful efforts to develop collaborative, non-hierarchical relationships, adult facilitators played a significant role in creating an environment in which girls could speak about issues that were important to them, including those related to race and culture. During the group sessions, girls learned about each other and themselves, identified similarities in their experiences as immigrants to Canada, and created a sense of group belonging. Similarity in non-dominant cultural status and gender among participants and facilitators appeared to have contributed to the group's cohesiveness and countered structural barriers to addressing race and culture. This study highlighted the value of a group model of practice to provide girls of colour with their own space to freely explore individual experiences and a vehicle for community organizing.

This study in Practical Theology has been motivated by a concern that, in post-apartheid South Africa, it has become more difficult for yoling people in general, and university students in particular to have a vision for, and hope in the future, and hence to demonstrate commitment to working for a new world. It therefore seeks to identify ways in which such commitment and leadership can be nurtured, by engaging in a critical reflection on ministry to university students. This is done through the use of the critical hermeneutical method of correlation between the Christian tradition and human life experience as employed by Don S. Browning, lames and Evelyn Whitehead, and Stuart Bate. This involves beginning with concrete practice, going to theory, and then concluding with practice, in an ongoing hermeneutical circle. A case study is presented of the Association of Catholic Tertiary Students (ACTS) at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg (UNP), and an analysis of their situation is undertaken, using two mediations. A psychological mediation identifies the psychological structures to which university students are capable of evolving at their stage of development, which is characterised by relativism and probing commitment. A socio-cultural mediation explores the roots of the loss of a sense of commmunity, and the growth in a spirit of individualism that epitomise the central issues within the UNP ACTS group. These roots are identified in the globalisation that is taking place at an economic, social and cultural level, resulting in relativisation, rationalisation, and personalisation in all dimensions of life. This gives rise to increasing competition, individualism and cultural dislocation, which are particularly evident since the demise of apartheid and the international integration of South Africa, coupled with the collapse of many of the hopes generated in the struggle against apartheid. A theological judgement of the ministry being employed within ACTS is then made, which points to the forms of ministry which could offer good news, evoke deeper commitment, and build stronger moral leadership amongst the students. The priority emerging is to foster selfesteem amongst them, primarily through building a joyful, accepting community with a small group pedagogy so that they can discover liberating message of the gospel in their quest for God, for survival in a hostile world, and for personal intimacy and acceptance. Such empowerment, it is suggested, makes deeper commitment possible. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

Poor urban learners' long walks to school and the influence on their school activities. My study is about poor urban learners who walk long distances to school. I explore how their school trip affects their participation in school activities - co-curricular and extra curricula activities, and their understandings about the educational implications. The purpose of this study is two-fold: to understand poor urban learners' school trips through their own voices; and to reflect on the school management implications of the findings. In a case study of one school located in the Cato Manor redevelopment area of Durban, I explore Grade 10 learners' accounts of their walks to and from school and how this affects their early morning and afternoon school activities and what they understand might be the reasons and consequences in their futures. My findings are that poor urban learners encounter security risks daily on their way to school and they use various strategies to navigate those risks; learners experience unsympathetic and negative responses from some staff relating to their long walks to reach school; and the learners say that school regimes rather than the long distances they walk are jeopardising their educational aspirations. At the outset my theoretical perspective was that the school trip is an obtacle to poor urban learners' education capabilities. However my conclusion is that some school regimes are unresponsive to poor urban learners' needs and may obstruct the educational opportunities for learners to better their futures more than does their walking long distances to school. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2012.

Introduction Willingness to participate in clinical trials is a crucial element in recruitment of suitable participants for intervention trials. Measurement of willingness to participate assists in determining community preparedness for clinical trials, such as HIV vaccine trials. Therefore, researchers have developed a Clinical Research Involvement Scale (CRIS) to assess willingness to participate modelled on the Theory of Reasoned Action. The CRIS was tested in the USA and was noted that it would benefit from additional testing in other populations. Aim The purpose of this study is to determine whether racial differences exist in willingness to participate and explore potential factors associated with willingness to participate in HIV prevention research. Methods A cross sectional analytic study was conducted. The CRIS was administered to university students aged 18-45 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The CRIS was administered online with a demographic questionnaire to facilitate evaluation of possible associations between willingness to participate and age, gender, relationship status, parity, religion, education status, student status, employment status and access to private health care. Participation was once-off at the time of completing the scale. Results The study enrolled 636 participants, two thirds being female. An effective sample size of 509 was considered for analysis after data was cleaned for accuracy and completeness. The results indicated that all students across all race groups were willing to participate in HIV prevention research. However, when considering factors that affected willingness to participate, statistically significant differences were noted. Based on the differences amongst these factors, Black students expressed greater intention to participate compared to White and Indian students. The CRIS was deemed a reliable instrument in this population; however in its current structure it did not show strong validity. Validity improved if the factors of motivation to comply and outcome evaluations were removed in this population. Discussion The study findings are specific to students of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and cannot be generalized to other populations. The racial differences in factors that affect willingness to participate indicate differences in risk perception and seeking access to better quality healthcare. Recommendations The CRIS should be used in other student populations to assess its validity. (350 words) / Thesis (M.Med.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.