Income generating projects represent one strategy adopted by the Department of Social Development to alleviate poverty and foster sustainable development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of beneficiaries of income generating projects regarding these projects and whether the income generating projects run by the Development Centres in the Sedibeng Region, Gauteng Department of Social Development were perceived to be making any impact and were responding to the needs of the poor. The research design for the study could be classified as qualitativedescriptive. A sample of 20 participants was drawn from two Development Centres. The sampling method for the study was partly purposive and partly availability sampling. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and responses obtained from the interviews were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. The main findings that emerged from the study were that participants appeared to have a clear understanding of the fact that income generating projects represented a government strategy to fight poverty, create jobs and uplift the standard of living of the poor. However, most participants were dissatisfied with the lack of clearly defined expectations, planning and monitoring on the part of the Department of Social Development. Despite the fact that there were challenges and limitations encountered by beneficiaries during implementation of the projects, the Development Centre was perceived to be an effective service delivery model for alleviating poverty and enhancing the quality of life of beneficiaries. The conclusion drawn was that income generating projects conducted at the two Development Centres seemed to be achieving their aims even though there would seem to be room for improvement in terms of knowledge and skills imparted and participation of beneficiaries in decision-making. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for Development Centres, the Department of Social Development, social work practice and future research.

Magister Artium - MA (Child and Family Studies) / Early childhood centres play a profound role in shaping the behaviour of children. Research indicates that early childhood centres contribute to the holistic development of children, encompassing their motor, congnitive and behavioural skills. Research has further shown that the South African authorities have an early childhood policy which spans various aspects of childhood development. To establish the nexus between early childhood centres and the behaviour of children, this study explored the role of practitioners in early childhood development centres in shaping the behaviour of children. The study uses the Ecological Systems Theory to interrogate its tenets of the theory and the research findings. The study engaged a qualitative approach to explore this phenomenon. Semi-structured interviews, field notes and observations were used to obtain data from parents, principals and practitioners at early childhood centres. Data was analysed thematically and as such, three main themes emerged from the research: the behaviour of children in early childhood development centres; practitioners' perceptions of their own roles in early childhood development centres; and the attitudes of practitioners towards their roles in early development centres.

For any organisation it is necessary for their managers to be well developed and highly skilled. Managers who lack the necessary skills often have to be provided with the opportunity to develop further. The objectives of this research were to conceptualise the terms leadership development and development assessment centre; to explore the content and methodology related to a leadership development assessment centre; and to evaluate the results of a leadership development programme for employees on leadership skills/competencies. The study was implemented since little research in the South African context could be traced concerning the evaluation of DACs in a leadership context. Therefore the purpose of this study was to evaluate a developmental assessment centre. The participants were managers selected from a steel manufacturing organisation from the Gauteng plant. The entire population comprising 72 (N=72) participants, of whom 36 (N=36) were managers and 36 (N=36) subordinates, peers or management, were utilised in the study. The measuring instrument administered before and after the implementation of the development assessment centre was the Leadership behaviour inventory (LBI-2) ,pre- and post-leadership measures can be utilized to determine the effectiveness of various organisational interventions. Levene‟s test was utilised to establish whether the variance of the scores for the pre- and post-test was the same and Paired-samples t-test was used to analyse the data. The results indicate that statically significant increases were recorded across all the leadership competencies between the pre-test and the post-test measurements. The largest increase manifested between the Articulating vision competency, and the Systems competency between the pre- and post-test. The smallest increase was noticeable between the pre- and post-test rating for the Co-ordination competency. It can therefore be concluded that the DAC was successful in developing the leadership competencies of the middle-level managers. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

For any organisation it is necessary for their managers to be well developed and highly skilled. Managers who lack the necessary skills often have to be provided with the opportunity to develop further. The objectives of this research were to conceptualise the terms leadership development and development assessment centre; to explore the content and methodology related to a leadership development assessment centre; and to evaluate the results of a leadership development programme for employees on leadership skills/competencies. The study was implemented since little research in the South African context could be traced concerning the evaluation of DACs in a leadership context. Therefore the purpose of this study was to evaluate a developmental assessment centre. The participants were managers selected from a steel manufacturing organisation from the Gauteng plant. The entire population comprising 72 (N=72) participants, of whom 36 (N=36) were managers and 36 (N=36) subordinates, peers or management, were utilised in the study. The measuring instrument administered before and after the implementation of the development assessment centre was the Leadership behaviour inventory (LBI-2) ,pre- and post-leadership measures can be utilized to determine the effectiveness of various organisational interventions. Levene‟s test was utilised to establish whether the variance of the scores for the pre- and post-test was the same and Paired-samples t-test was used to analyse the data. The results indicate that statically significant increases were recorded across all the leadership competencies between the pre-test and the post-test measurements. The largest increase manifested between the Articulating vision competency, and the Systems competency between the pre- and post-test. The smallest increase was noticeable between the pre- and post-test rating for the Co-ordination competency. It can therefore be concluded that the DAC was successful in developing the leadership competencies of the middle-level managers. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

This study aims to capture the challenges and tensions that arise in donor funded curriculum projects in Lesotho. Through an interpretive case study research design I investigated these challenges and tensions in two projects relevant to Education for Sustainable Development, namely the Lesotho Environmental Support Project (LEESP) and the Population/Family Education (POP/FLE) projects which are donor funded curriculum projects funded by DANIDA and UNFPA respectively. A review of donor funded curriculum projects in the field of environmental education/Education for Sustainable Development was undertaken to provide background and a theoretical context for the study. It highlighted different challenges and implementation tensions experienced by other similar projects in other countries. At the heart of such projects lies a particular political economy, which is based on development assistance to poor countries. Such development assistance is constructed around concepts of need, participation and innovation, and donor-recipient relationships. It is structured around a system of governance and management that normally uses logical framework planning as its main methodology. This political economy has shaped the two donor funded projects that were considered in this study, and has shaped many of the tensions and challenges identified in the study. To investigate the two projects, data for this study was generated through in-depth interviews, document analysis and focus group interviews, with people who had been involved with the projects at the national level. The data generation process did not involve the schools where the projects were ultimately implemented, as it was seeking to identify how local institutions such as the National Curriculum Development Centre could support better synergies between donor funded initiatives and the local context. The findings of the study revealed the ambivalent nature of donor initiatives, and identified that the political economy and donor-recipient relations influence the projects. Aspects such as the design and management of projects, the processes associated with introducing innovation in educational ideas and paradigms, pedagogical issues, and staff contributions and ownership were identified as some of the key tensions that existed in the projects. Other factors such as poor capacity levels of local staff, non-alignment with existing structures, inadequate sustainability mechanisms and the difficulty of the envisaged integration of new paradigm thinking (methods and approaches) into the existing curriculum framework were also significant tensions, given the positivist history of the Lesotho curriculum. The study recommends the need to establish mechanisms for working with donors to tackle the tensions that arise in such projects within longer-term donor assistance. It proposes that government should expedite the development of policy on donor coordination. Both donors and the NCDC need to put mechanisms in place to allow for debate and discussions on innovations brought in by the donors in relation to local needs. The study further recommends that in cases where more than one donor exists, the NCDC and the donors should work towards developing synergies between the different initiatives to avoid duplication and overlap. Finally, there is a need for projects to use bottom-up approaches for the design and formulation of projects to ensure ownership.

This thesis is a study of a phenomenon in Swedish education: the RegionalDevelopment Centre (Regionalt utvecklingscentrum, RUC). Insetting up RUC, the Swedish state’s original intention was to enhancecollaboration between teacher education and training, research andschool development. RUC was specified in the appropriation directionsfor Swedish higher education institutions (HEIs) that trained teachers in1997–2010. The purpose of this thesis is to clarify and analyse differinginterpretations and implications of RUC as a phenomenon and conceptualisethe task of addressing them in a changing education-policy context.Empirical sources for the study are central government publicationsand interviews with RUC representatives at 22 HEIs. This empiricalmaterial has been modified and analysed in four stages: a survey of RUCas a phenomenon, construal of ‘ideal types’ of RUC, testing of the construedideal types as analytical tools, and application of the construedideal types as analytical tools to gain an ‘explanatory understanding’ ofRUC. Through analysis of needs, actors and value, five ideal types empiricallybased on transcribed interviews are construed: the receiveroriented,trust-creating, region-boosting, conceptualising and salesorientedtypes. A model shows how these ideal types can be mutuallyunderstood and conceptualised. Examples are given, based on this model,of specific interpretations and implications that may fit each idealtype. RUC’s legitimacy in 2012 still entails a marked emphasis on RUCas a receiver-oriented associate. Three aspects enhancing the likelihoodof RUC, in 2012, being deemed important to retain at an HEI appear tobe the HEI’s goodwill towards RUC, its dependence on remits from theSwedish National Board of Education and schools’ research needs. Focusingmore on RUC as the region-boosting partner would mean oncemore uniting RUC’s role in teacher education with school developmentand research, but on the basis of ‘common needs’ within the frameworkof a distinct growth policy.

Sensory inputs of hearing and vision during early childhood development support the achievement of language, speech and educational milestones. The early detection of sensory impairment is essential for facilitating early childhood development, socio-emotional well-being and academic success, in addition to obtaining sustainable educational development goals. The majority of children with sensory impairment live in low- and middle-income countries where services are often unavailable or inaccessible, because of the absence of systematic screening programmes for children, prohibitive equipment cost, a shortage of trained personnel and centralised service-delivery models. Therefore, research is needed to investigate whether a community-based mobile health (mHealth) supported service-delivery model for hearing and vision screening can increase access to hearing and vision services for children in resource-constrained settings. This study aimed to describe an implemented hearing and vision screening programme and evaluate its success in terms of acceptability (consent return numbers), coverage (number of eligible children screened), referral rates and quality indicators (duration of tests and number of hearing tests conducted under conditions of excessive noise levels). The study also explored the challenges faced during a community-based screening programme and the strategies developed to address these. Four non-professionals were appointed and trained as community health workers (CHWs) to conduct combined sensory screening using mHealth technology (hearScreen application, hearXGroup, South Africa and Peek Acuity application, Peek Vision, United Kingdom) on smartphones at preschools in low-income communities in Cape Town, South Africa. The consent form return rate was 82.0%, and the coverage rate was 94.4%. An average of 501 children were screened each month, at a cost of US$5.63 per child. The number of children who failed hearing and vision screening was 435 (5.4%) and 170 (2.1%), respectively. Failing of hearing tests was associated with longer test times (odds ratio [OR]: 1.022; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.021–1.024) and excessive background noise levels at 1 kHz (e.g. OR for left ear: 1.688; 95% CI: 1.198–2.377). Failing of visual screening tests was associated with longer test duration (OR: 1.003; 95% CI: 1.002–1.005) and younger age (OR: 0.629; 95% CI: 0.520–0.761). The study also aimed to describe and compare the performance of two screening protocols that were used in this preschool hearing screening programme to determine optimal referral criteria that is responsive to available resources. Secondary data analysis was done to compare a protocol using a single-frequency fail criterion (which 2,147 children were screened with between 1 October 2017 and 25 February 2018) with a screening protocol using a two-frequency fail criterion (which 5,782 children were screened with between 26 February 2018 and 30 November 2018). For both protocols, screening was done at a 25 dB hearing level (HL) at 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz. Both protocols included an immediate rescreen at the frequencies that were failed. The referral rate was 8.7% (n = 186) for the one-frequency fail protocol and 4.3% (n = 250) for the two-frequency fail protocol. Compared to the one-frequency fail protocol, children screened with the two-frequency fail protocol were 52.9% less likely to fail (OR: 0.471; 95% CI: 0.385–0.575). Gender (OR: 0.807; 95% CI: 0.531–1.225) and age (OR: 0.996; 95% CI: 0.708–1.402) had no significant effect on screening outcomes. Maximum permissible ambient noise levels (MPANLs) were exceeded in 44.7% of cases in at least one ear at 1000 Hz across both protocols. There was no significant difference between the protocols for both true positive cases and false positive cases. Protocol (OR: 1.338; 95% CI: 0.854–2.098), gender (OR: 0.807; 95% CI: 0.531–1.225) and age (OR: 0.996; 95% CI: 0.708–1.402) demonstrated no significant effect on the odds of producing true positive results. Average time for conducting the screening was 72.8 s (78.66 SD) for the one-frequency fail protocol and 64.9 s (55.78 SD) for the two-frequency fail protocol. Estimating the prevalence and describing the characteristics of sensory loss in a preschool population in low-income communities are important steps to ensure adequate planning and successful implementation of community-based hearing and vision care in this context. The study therefore also investigated the prevalence and characteristics of hearing and vision loss among preschool children (4 to 7 years) in an underserved South African community after implementing mHealth-supported community-based hearing and vision services. Children who failed hearing and vision screening were seen for follow-up assessments at their preschools. Follow-up assessments were also performed with smartphones and hearing and vision testing applications (hearTest application, hearX Group, South Africa and PeekAcuity app, Peek Vision, United Kingdom). A total of 10,390 children were screened at 298 preschools over 22 months. Of the children screened, 5.6% and 4.4% of children failed hearing and vision screening, respectively. Community-based follow-up hearing tests were done at the preschools on 88.5% (514) of the children, of whom 240 children (54.2% female) presented with hearing loss. A preschool-based follow-up vision test was conducted on 400 children (88.1%). A total of 232 children (46.1% female) had a vision impairment, and a further 32 children passed the test but had obvious signs of ocular morbidity. Logistic regression analysis found that age was a significant predictor of vision loss (p < 0.001): with every 1-year increase in age, participants were 51.4% less likely to have vision loss (OR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.39–0.60). Age was not a significant predictor for hearing loss (OR: 0.821; 95% CI: 0.667–1.011). Gender was not a significant predictor of hearing loss (OR: 0.850; 95% CI: 0.658–1.099) or vision loss (OR: 1.185; 95% CI: 0.912–1.540). The prevalence of hearing loss at a pure tone average (PTA) of 25 dB HL ranged between 2.3% (240 out of 10,390; assuming none of the non-attenders and children who were unable to be tested had hearing loss) and 3.1% (321 out of 10,390; assuming all the non-attenders and children who were unable to be tested presented with hearing loss). The prevalence of vision loss ranged between 2.2% (232 out of 10,390; assuming none of the non-attenders had vision loss) and 2.8% (286 out of 10,390; assuming all the non-attenders presented with vision loss). Findings of this research project indicate that mHealth-supported CHW-delivered hearing and vision screening in preschools provide a low-cost, efficient and accessible service that can improve the provision of affordable hearing and vision care. This service-delivery model is affordable and scalable, because the same staff, needing minimal training, and the same equipment are used to screen for both vision and hearing. Timely identification of sensory losses is essential to ensure optimal outcomes and can be facilitated through community-based hearing and vision services by trained CHWs using mHealth technology. Future studies should aim to report on outcomes and the uptake and impact of interventions on the children diagnosed with sensory impairments following identification through a decentralised screening programme. / Thesis (PhD (Audiology))--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Sonova AG / Hear the World Foundation / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / PhD (Audiology) / Unrestricted

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M.A. / The institutionalisation and rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents has always been a contentious issue, generating much research and differences in opinions. What to do with youngsters who are too young to be criminals and too violent to be youth, remains a complex dilemma in a society where the incidence of juvenile delinquency is increasing by the day. The South African phenomenon of a marginalised generation who readily takes part in criminal behaviour, necessitated the development of a co-ordinated strategy involving formal and informal support groups in the training and development of this group. The establishment of e ,e first Youth Development Centre in Newcastle, named Ekuseni, was initiat ,* by President Nelson Mandela, in response to his concern that the conditions in South African jails are not conducive to transforming and developing young prisoners. The Ekuseni project was aimed at providing young convicted persons with appropriate life skills, education and training, to enable them to pa cipate fully in society. The aim of this study was to develop a psycho-educational programme to facilitate leadership competencies in young prisoners. The leadership programme constitutes one of the development programmes in the holistic rehabilitation model, developed specifically for the Ekuseni project by the Rand Afrikaans University. The leadership programme is aimed at developing various leadership competencies, grounded in leadership competency theory. The competencies included in this study were more specifically based on the research and the development of a unique leadership model for the South African organisational context by Charlton (1993). These concepts were adapted and integrated with theory on juvenile delinquency to develop a leadership program= suitable for South African youth in prison. The first step in the programme was to help students to create a vision for themselves and for the Ekuseni Youth Development Centre, and to take responsibility for attaining that vision. This included a shift from an external to an internal locus of control. Through learned communication skills, e competency to communicate this vision to other prisoners, to enlist them in dedicated action towards a constructive future, was facilitated. The development of conflict management skills as an essential competency for leaders in a youth prison, were facilitated in order for leaders to constructively resolve conflict between prisoners and staff, as well as between prisoners themselves. This is especially necessary in conflict between youth gangs in prison. Trust, earned by leaders through reliable and consistent behaviour is a fourth competency facilitated through IP is programme. Students were taught the art of interpersonal trust, which in turn enabled them to help others and empower themselves. The evaluation of the effectiveness of this programme did not fall nV in the parameters of this study. It is therefore recommended that this study be evaluated in future, before it is implemented in other youth prisons in South Africa.