In this study the experience of Zulu African mothers who have adolescents who are misbehaving in urban townships in Durban were identified and explored. A qualitative, descriptive, contextual and interpretive research design was used to capture the experiences of ten mothers whose adolescents are misbehaving. Data was collected by means of individual semi-structured interviews as well as feedback and collaboration with the mothers. Data was analysed using Tesch’s eight steps of data analysis, through which, four themes emerged. Themes are clustered around the support of mothers’ perceptions of themselves, mothers’ fearful emotional responses and mothers’ suggestions on managing adolescents who are misbehaving. The strongest themes that emerged, which were reported by all the mothers were family support, despair and worry. Mothers mentioned that they experienced lack of support from their extended families, schools and other structures in helping them deal with their experiences. Mothers also mentioned feelings of worry about their children’s life, and despair in relation to not knowing what to do or who to turn to for help. Guidelines and strategies in the form of recommendations are made to assist mothers in managing their adolescents who are misbehaving and also to facilitate adolescents in gaining parenting skills in schools. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

In South Africa, HIV and AIDS is a crisis particularly for young women between the ages of 15-24. HIV and AIDS is gendered disease and its spread is heterosexual. The effects of the disease have led to an increasing examination of what sexual and gendered identities mean for young people. Using individual and focus-group interviews, this study explores young people’s sexual cultures amidst the backdrop of HIV and AIDS. It focuses on the ways in which young Indian men and women (aged 16-17) in a low to middle income context in Chatsworth, Durban, construct heterosexual relationships. The study explores how this selected group of learners navigate themselves as sexual subjects in the context of sexual passions and sexual risk. The study focuses on relationship cultures, sexual risk and the ways in which gender is constructed in heterosexual relationships. Currently we know very little of young people’s heterosexual relationships and in particular, we know very little of young Indian sexualities. In the context of sexual risk taking and broader concerns about sexual health, young people’s perceptions about sex and sexuality are important. Insight into how the youth understand gender and sexuality is necessary for addressing educational strategies in sexuality education, Life Orientation and HIV/AIDS education in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

This is a qualitative study of girls’ and boys’ understanding and experiences of genderbased violence in one co-educational primary school in KwaZulu-Natal. The study sought to get insights into the problem of gender-based violence by investigating the lived experiences of both male and female learners within the school context. The aim of the study was to unveil forms of gender-based violence that the learners experience and some contributory factors, as well as the strategies for alleviating gender-based violence in this schooling context. The study adopted a qualitative case study research design. It employed semi-structured interviews as its method of data collection and these took the form of focus group interviews and individual in-depth interviews. A total of eight learners (four girls and four boys) participated in the study. The study found that there was a high incidence of gender-based violence in the school under study. This took the form of demeaning gendered comments, unfounded sexual rumours, sexualized gestures and jokes, sexual harassment, bullying and corporal punishment. Some school spaces, peer pressure, media and dominant discourses of gender were found to be some factors contributing to gender-based violence in this school. The findings indicate that boys are the group most culpable of continuing the cycle of genderbased violence by perpetrating acts of aggression on others learners. Boys drew on dominant discourses of gender in this context, which generally accord power to masculinities, at the expense of femininities. The resultant inequitable gendered power relations played a vital role in the perpetuation of the cycle of gender-based violence in the school. The study also finds that school teachers too were implicated in acts of gendervii based violence, which mainly took the form of assaulting learners, both male and female. In addition, teachers display a general acceptance of gender-based violence incidents as normal children’s behaviour, and take no remedial actions to stop such abuses. The study offers some suggestions that relevant stakeholders could employ to address gender-based violence at schools. These include supplementing teacher education curriculum, to provide training on how to deal with gender-based violence, a campaign to bring about greater awareness in schools and in the communities where parents are involved, additional professional support for schools and setting up structures for learner peer support. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2012.

Teacher attrition is common in developed, developing and underdeveloped countries. School principals are tasked with a responsibility to oversee that teaching and learning takes place as smoothly and efficiently as possible and to handle whatever disturbance that takes place in a school including teacher. Teacher attrition affects them directly as it interferes with planning and daily routine in the school. There are many factors which influence teacher attrition such as poor working conditions, poor pay, stress, pursuit of “greener pastures” and many others. This study seeks to explore and document the experiences of school principals regarding teacher attrition. It is a case study of four school principals from Umlazi district. The main research question is: What are the experiences of school principals with regards to teacher attrition? The purpose is to document the experiences of school principals and; to identify factors which influence teacher attrition. I intend to examine challenges experienced by principals with regards to teacher attrition and to find out how principals manage these challenges. This is a qualitative study from an interpretive approach. It explores the experiences of school principals after a teacher transfers, resigns or even dies. Case study is used because of the nature of the study (small scale). Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. These recorded and transcriptions were done personally. Data was coded according to emerging themes during analysis then interpreted in order to make meaning. Sampling is purposeful and school principals both at Primary and Secondary school level are the respondents as I believed their experiences would not be the same. The findings revealed that the common experiences of school principals during teacher attrition were frustration and stress; disruption of learning and compromised student performance and lack of support of the Department of Education. Resignations were influenced by job dissatisfaction and jobrelated stress. These forced teachers to pursue “greener pastures” in the business sector as well as private sector. It also emerged that school principals were experiencing a lot of frustrating and stressful challenges during teacher attrition and most of them found it hard to cope with these challenges. They also complained about the lack of support from the education department. The findings are based only on data collected during interviews. v These findings are going to help the Department of Education to devise new strategies that will help school principals cope better with teacher attrition and also find ways of speeding up the teacher replacement process in order to prevent loss of contact time. Principals also got a platform to voice their concerns whilst they shared their experiences. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2011.

This dissertation explores the effects of a Prison Theatre project conducted at the Youth Centre at Westville Correctional Centre in 2010. It explores the relationship between change and increased levels of Social Capital that staff and offenders attribute to the performances. The centre houses male offenders between the ages of 18 and 25. The project was of particular interest because it involved offenders, correctional staff and management. The plays were made using a problem-posing methodology that involved the audience in proposing solutions. These were documented and circulated to management, staff, and offenders. The plays addressed three topics. The first topic was chosen by the cast, and the other two topics were chosen by the management. The topics were: Increasing self-esteem in the Youth Centre (Chosen by offenders); No smoking policy (Chosen by management); Sexual assault (Chosen by management). I interviewed the cast, a sample of the audience, and correctional staff and managers. The data was analysed in terms of levels and elements of Social Capital (Putnam, 1995) and included Negative Social Capital. I have not found other examples of research in the field of Prison Theatre that have made use of concepts related to Social Capital to analyse the impact of theatre projects. This research therefore establishes a new area of focus for the field of Prison Theatre. The findings proved that the theatre project was an effective means of increasing communication between members of different gangs and between correctional staff and offenders in a non-threatening manner. This provided opportunities for changes in relations of power and increased problem solving in the correctional environment. As a result two systemic changes occurred. The staff provided feedback on offenders‟ requests and complaints and designated smoking areas were created. The findings demonstrate how notions of Social Capital can explain how theatre affects change in a correctional context because it focuses on social dynamics rather than systemic issues. This is important in a correctional environment where offender‟s ability to effect systemic change is limited. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

In today’s globalised world, countries including South Africa, are pursuing neoliberal economic policies which have many negative effects on ordinary citizens. One such effect is the privatisation of public space which is an important resource for all citizens. This thesis sets out to examine the privatisation of public space along the Durban coast and the subsequent loss of fishing sites for local subsistence fishers. The thesis draws on literature that is critical of contemporary processes of neoliberal governance. The research approach is a qualitative approach where data collection is predominantly through oral evidence. In-depth interviews were conducted with fishers and other stakeholders. Participatory observation was also used to gather data through the attendance of meetings, protests and workshops that pertain to the fishers. The thesis shows how these fishers are being excluded from using public resources along the coast and thereby prevented from making a living. Most of the spaces that have been privatised are being transformed into upmarket developments or used to further trade through the expansion of the Durban Harbour. In addition, the thesis reveals that the fishers are losing a way of life, and experiencing a loss of identity and a communal subsistence economy. The fishers have become ‘invisible’ to the state, and to the authorities. Current marine legislation does not recognise this group of fishers as subsistence fishers. In response, the fishers have established the KwaZulu-Natal Subsistence Fishermen’s Forum in order to mobilise against the broader processes of exclusion and marginalisation resulting from neoliberal pro-growth development policies. Their strategies include protest, deliberation with the state, and striking alliances with other social movements in a broader process of anti-globalisation struggle. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Air pollution, health and poverty convey overtones of moral dereliction of our people by the confederacy of perpetrators. It is true that a cocktail of chemical emissions pollute the Durban South area and the residents paying an enormous price to survive. With poverty abound, the people feel disenfranchised as their plea for a better environment fails to improve their standing. This short treatise looks at the role of people and the business as one part and the inclusion of the government on the other part. A comparison of covert techniques and manipulations used by business to circumvent the system. Legislation although adequate but lacking enforcement together with legal remedies as a way to stop this incursion to our Constitutional right. A paradigm shift to sustainability in exploring the many facets of invaluable 'practical solutions' to save and sustain our existence and our intergenerational society. The government authorities saddled with internal strife and the under-funded NGOs who are buoyed by media support still prove ineffective. The conglomerates with all their abundant resources covertly or otherwise propagate their maliciousness unchecked. The enforcement authorities, the judicial officers, the NGOs and the people must work harmously to stem this unacceptable moral degradation before it reaches abysmal proportions. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

This study was based on the heterosexual form of sexuality as it is the most dominant form of masculinity amongst the Congolese. The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the type of migrant Congolese heterosexual men living in Durban who mostly use sex-enhancing substances and the reasons behind the practice. It sought to explore the impact of the black African isiZulu cultural environment influence about the use of sex-enhancing substances on the DRC men heterosexual in their negotiation of masculinities within the transnational space Further, the study critically examined how migrant Congolese heterosexual men are renegotiating their masculinities in a transnational space through sex enhancing substances. The key question in this study was “How are men from the DRC using sex-enhancing substances to re-negotiate their masculinities in the transnational space”? The methodology was qualitative and in-depth interview was utilized as the method of data collection. The results of this study indicated that the migrant Congolese heterosexual men in renegotiating their masculinities within the transnational space through sex-enhancing reinforce existing hegemonic notions of masculinities and also end up creating new forms of hegemonic notions of masculinities. Keywords: Masculinities, Gender identities. / Thesis (M.A.)-Universtiy of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

The main aim of this study is to provide a social geography of one of the less privileged communities in South Africa. The township of Merebank, about 15 km west of Durban was chosen as the study area.In order to assess social well being of residents conventional social indicators relating primarily to economic well being were used. Furthermore,access to opportunities was evaluated to determine social well being in a broader context. All aspects of quality of life cannot bemeasured in monetary terms alone and the degree of access a person may have to an amenity or service may often be a far more meaningful measure of social well being. The study also provides useful information about socio-economic conditions in Merebank, attitudes of residents, and positive and negative features of the residential environment. A number of recommendations are suggested which if implemented by planners, can help amelioriate problems and improve the quality of life in Merebank. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1983.

The main issue in this study is how students conceptualise mathematical learning in the context of calculus with specific reference to the chain rule. The study focuses on how students use the chain rule in finding derivatives of composite functions (including trigonometric ones). The study was based on the APOS (Action-Process-Objects-Schema) approach in exploring conceptual understanding displayed by first year University of Technology students in learning the chain rule in calculus. The study consisted of two phases, both using a qualitative approach. Phase 1 was the pilot study which involved collection of data via questionnaires which were administered to 23 previous semester students of known ability, willing to participate in the study. The questionnaire was then administered to 30 volunteering first year students in Phase 2. A structured way to describe an individual student's understanding of the chain rule was developed and applied to analyzing the evolution of that understanding for each of the 30 first year students. Various methods of data collection were used namely: (1) classroom observations, (2) open-ended questionnaire, (3) semi-structured and unstructured interviews, (4) video-recordings, and (5) written class work, tests and exercises. The research done indicates that it is essential for instructional design to accommodate multiple ways of function representation to enable students to make connections and have a deeper understanding of the concept of the chain rule. Learning activities should include tasks that demand all three techniques, Straight form technique, Link form technique and Leibniz form technique, to cater for the variation in learner preferences. It is believed that the APOS paradigm using selected activities brought the students to the point of being better able to understand the chain rule and informed the teaching strategies for this concept. In this way, it is believed that this conceptualization will enable the formulation of schema of the chain rule which can be applied to a wider range of contexts in calculus. There is a need to establish a conceptual basis that allows construction of a schema of the chain rule. The understanding of the concept with skills can then be augmented by instructional design based on the modified genetic decomposition. This will then subject students to a better understanding of the chain rule and hence more of calculus and its applications. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2011.