This study explores the memories of adolescent sexual experiences of female Basotho science teachers in order to understand the influence of such experiences on their approach and handling of sexuality, HIV and AIDS education. My argument is that Basotho teachers arc facing a challenge of integrating sexuality, HIV and AIDS education into their teaching largely because of their lived sexuality experiences, which have been shaped institutionally and through societal expectations. An eclectic theoretical approach, with emphasis on feminism and involving Dewey's philosophies of experience informed the study. A qualitative research design was used. Data was produced through one-on-one semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and memory work with three participants. I was a participant-researcher and hence contributed my experiences to the study. Field notes and journal entries were used to supplement the data. The storied lives of the women teachers have been shared in their own words including the researcher's autobiography. The findings show that the adolescent sexual experiences of the women teachers have shaped their teacher selves within sexuality, HIV and AIDS classrooms. Some of their experiences have been educative while others have been mis -educative, and thus have led to some of the teachers not being able to handle sexuality education at all, while others only handle it partially. Several stumbling blocks have been identified that impede the effective facilitation of sexuality education in Lesotho classrooms. These include religion, traditional practices, lack of training and societal constructions of what is and is not permissible in schools. Challenging and disturbing these stumbling blocks and breaking the silence around sexuality issues among Basotho societies could be helpful in ensuring that 8asotho teachers gain the skill s necessary for them to facilitate the teaching of sexuality, HIV and AIDS education. Thus, Basotho children would be given the knowledge necessary for them to make informed decisions regarding their sexual behaviour. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

Relying on the standard conventions and techniques of life-history methodology in the Social Sciences, this study explores the professional or career histories of selected women principals in the EThekwini region. The study examines the relationship between gender and self-portrayal on the one hand, and gender and school leadership, on the other hand. Thus the central focus of the study is on the different ways in which women principals define themselves and are defined by others, especially their colleagues and the communities served by their schools. The study also looks at the ways in which key management structures such as School Management Teams (SMTs) and School Governing Bodies (SGBs) deal with the issues relating to gender equality in school leadership, management and governance. The dissertation also tackles the· complex relationship between private (personal) and professional identities and how these are constructed and continually re-constructed within the context of school management and leadership. The study is recognizably qualitative in orientation and therefore does not set out to formulate general principles about gender and school management. Instead the intention is to gain some insight into the relatively unique lives of individual women managers in education. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

The purpose of the project is to develop and evaluate a writing unit that could be used to teach adult students in a drug court program. The project is based on theories behind narrative therapy, its use in the treatment of persons with addiction problems, and how the reframing of students' own life stories through writing can bring about change. By using writing prompts as both therapeutic and educational tools, the author hoped to improve the students' life-coping skills and their writing abilities. The unit consists of paragraph writing, essay writing, reflective writing that focused on past events, and using computers to compose and format texts. The author evaluated a preliminary draft of the unit by submitting it to four education professionals with a questionnaire. Data was also collected from the author's students by means of surveys, interviews, and writing samples. Feedback from the professionals and the students guided the revision of the unit. The questionnaire, survey, and interview questions used in the project and the preliminary and final revised drafts of the teaching unit are included.

This autoethnographic journey started out as a qualitative research study to discover a new framework for student communication at Unisa. However, I found Unisa and myself reflecting each other, defenceless. Although autoethnography is defined as a research methodology that brings the story of the self into an ethnographic cultural description, it is much more than that. It is a way of being a researcher, where self and culture merge into one ecological unity to present the world with a story that is honest and reflective. The purpose of this study was to present Unisa with a new framework for student communication by exploring new epistemological perspectives. This journey took me from the beginnings of humanity where love and collaboration were our foundations, through our evolution into civilisation, competition, science and education. These contributed a great deal to our intellectual development through mechanistic thinking and a scientific approach but alienated us from each other, which could potentially lead to our destruction. I also explored cybernetics, complex and ecological thinking as new epistemological horizons to view distance learning from. Such a perspective requires a radical epistemological shift from hierarchical, mechanistic and reductionist thinking towards creating an ecology of learning, one that is more dynamic, living, vibrant, caring and empowering. Through my intimate reflective struggle with others, trying to understand how to create this vibrant student communication context I discovered in the quietness of reflection the patterns that connect us all, students, Unisa and myself. Our dialogical relationship emerged, one where there is an epistemological split between our reductionist and mechanistic thinking that requires us to be efficient on the one hand and ecologic and complex thinking that requires a caring, connected and collaborative ecology on the other hand. The question then is how we create this ecology where we reclaim our original humanness and co-evolve into an ecology of learning that is truly empowering. This can be done by co-evolving a new culture of learning grounded in passion, curiosity, openness and preparing us to be responsible and participating citizens of this most beautiful planet. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The role of the nurse has changed dramatically in the past twenty years with increasing complexity of patient care and a rapidly changing health care environment. In addition to the challenges noted regarding patient care, problems with increasing medical errors were noted in the literature specific to graduates in their first year as a nurse. Research in particular to nursing education provides a way for nurse educators to become more astute at addressing problems pervading the role of the new nursing graduate. Narrative Pedagogy was identified as a research-based nursing pedagogy and has been researched and enacted for more than a decade. Out of the Narrative Pedagogy research, the Concernful Practices emerged identifying what was considered meaningful to nursing education by teachers, students, and clinicians. Listening was one of the Concernful Practices and became the focus of this study. The research question addressed the “How do nurse educators who enable Narrative Pedagogy experience Listening: knowing and connecting?” This was a hermeneutic phenomenological study in which ten nurse educators shared their experiences. The two themes that emerged from the study included: Listening as Dialogue and Listening as Attunement. The findings of this study provided a different way of thinking about teaching and learning that encompasses so much more than merely a strategy or outcome-based approach. The implications of this study offer nurse educators insight about opening a dialogue that draws attention to the realities of the role of the nurse responding to multiple patients with complex health conditions.