A quantitative study on the merits of using the learner's mother-tongue (instead of English) as a medium of instruction. This investigation attempts to find out how many schools and parents in KwaMakhutha implement (or know about) the Language in Education Policy in 1997 (LiEP). / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

The study intends to contribute to successful implementation of Inclusive Education in South African Schools, by exploring learners’ experiences within the classroom and teachers views about the classroom environment. A combination of these two factors will indicate the extent how far inclusive education is being implemented in the classrooms. The school that was selected to participate in this study is located in the semi-rural area in Pinetown district. Learners participated in three focus group sessions. These sessions aimed at gathering data on learners’ experiences within classroom environment. Each group consisted of eight learners; that is, four males and four females. Focus group one was selected from grade seven; the second focus group from grade eight and the third group from grade nine. The class teachers of the selected classes were requested to take part in the interview sessions. The sessions intended to gather information on teachers’ views about classroom environment and how it impacts on their implementation of Inclusive education. The study reveals that in South Africa the problem of inclusive curriculum implementation still exists and need special attention from all stake holders involved in education. What learners experience in the classroom result from how teachers conduct their practice. It is also evident that teachers have not been properly prepared for a paradigm shift and implementation of inclusive curriculum. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master's degree in Recreation and Tourism in the Department of Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, 2008. / The study on Tourism Education Policy Applications in the Zululand District, KwaZulu-Natal was conducted against the background that, in spite of the fact that, although South Africa in general, and Zululand District in particular, is blessed with both natural and cultural attractions which enhance the tourism opportunities that can help to improve the economy, but the greatest deficiency in the tourism industry of South Africa is the absence of adequate tourism education and training. The lack of tourism education and training has been seen to result in a dearth of professional knowledge and skills in tourism, which are necessary for the development of the tourism industry. The study therefore, had specific objectives, which are the following: (a) To reveal how tourism as a field of study is perceived and understood by respondents within the study area. (b) To establish the extent to which respondents in the Zululand District are aware of tourism education. (c) To investigate what tourism education policies are in place for stakeholders in the study area. (d) To determine the types of tourism education and training programmes which are available for stakeholders in the Zululand District. (e) To find out whether existing tourism education policies are implemented in a satisfactory manner in local schools in the study area. (f) To assess whether the local community participates in tourism education in the study area. A number of hypotheses directly related to the objectives of the study were postulated. The hypotheses were duly considered in an attempt to uncover the underlying causes of the identified discrepancies in the study area. The testing of the hypotheses was done through the analysis and interpretation of the data collected from the population sectors that are directly or indirectly affected in the study area. The findings from analysis and interpretation showed that there is a lack of participation by the local community in tourism in general and in tourism education in particular. This is because the respondents lack knowledge and information about tourism education. It was indicated that there are no educational tourism activities or projects that are conducted to encourage them to participate. Lack of participation limits meaningful involvement and participation in tourism. If the community is not fully involved in tourism because of an inadequate tourism education they miss the various job opportunities that are offered by this industry. The findings also revealed that the tourism educators do not implement the tourism education policy in a satisfactory manner in schools. The reason is that most of them lack the qualifications that are required to teach this learning area successfully. They lack the expert knowledge and experience needed to develop learners. Recommendations put forward aim to promote adequate tourism education in the study area.

This research project investigates the ways in which six Indian boys who have been officially proclaimed failures in grade 11 construct their masculinity in Meadowlands Secondary School, a predominantly Indian technical secondary school in a working class area of Chatsworth. The way in which failing Indian boys construct their masculinity is under-researched in South Africa. When boys are officially declared academic failures by the school, they often take other ways to validate their masculine identities. This study focused on the complex relationship between their academic failure and the formation of their masculinities. Drawing from semi-structured in-depth interviews with six boys who failed grade 11 in 2003 and are currently repeating grade 11 in 2004, the study shows the complex relationship between school failure, and the formation of boys' masculinities in three areas. These areas are the formal academic dimension of schooling, the informal social dimension of schooling and outside school activities. The major fmdings from the interviews indicate that boys construct their masculinity by resisting the demands placed on them in schools and engage in disruptive activities. They find alternate power and prestige in wearing brand name clothes, wearing jewellery, carrying cellular phones, having girlfriends, clubbing, taking drugs and joining gangs. They find school boring and equate academic achievement with being feminine and thus being gay and resist doing school-work. They are thus able to construct their masculinities in ways that are anti-school and anti-authority. The study concludes by suggesting that failing boys at MSS are in trouble and that schools and teachers must be more alert to why failing boys behave in the ways that they do. At MSS it is suggested that the school encourages the development of sport as a way of exposing boys to different ways of being a boy. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

This study explored the lives of ten school leavers who were in the special class at the school in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. The intention of the research was to gain insight into the schooling experiences of ten schools leavers, and to examine the factors that impact on these particular life outcomes. A life story approach was utilised in this qualitative case study of the ten individuals. Interviews were conducted with the school leavers and parents or significant family member. The findings in this study if embedded within the social rights discourse reveal that for many of the learners systemic barriers within the schooling system served as barriers to positive life outcomes. The ten learners experienced various exclusionary pressures in their schooling years that have negatively impacted on their life outcomes. The school leavers face complex barriers that make it virtually impossible for them to achieve independence and full participation in society. These include no job opportunities, lack of any work skills, low levels of schooling, dependence on sheltered employment with low levels of income, dependence on the government social welfare grant, poor self-esteem. The findings further revealed that these learners might be vulnerable to social and emotional risk factors. The study suggests that there is a need for further research on school leavers from special class provision in the context of Education White paper 6: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System, (Department of Education, 2001) so that their needs can be given priority in the implementation process that is currently underway in the country. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

This study was aimed at evaluating effects of psycho education on medication compliance and symptom management for clients with bipolar affective disorder attending community psychiatric clinics in the Ethekwini Health District of KwaZulu-Natal Province. A quantitative study was done using a quasi-experimental design. A one group pre-test and post-test design was used to assess the effects of psycho education. The population of the study were all clients with bipolar affective disorder attending Escoval House community psychiatric clinic and its satellite clinic (Austerville). Systematic sampling was used to select clients to participate in the study and a total of forty clients were selected. Two self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Clients were assessed in areas of their knowledge, medication compliance and symptom management (Pre-test). The group was then exposed to six sessions of psycho education, and they were assessed again a week after the psycho education (post-test) using the same instruments. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics were used to analyse participants' characteristics and some selected variables. Cross tabulations, chi-squares and paired t-tests were used on dependent variables and on social variables of interest to compare the changes in scores and means respectively and lastly to determine the relationship of social variables and the dependent variables. The findings of this study revealed that psycho education improved respondents' knowledge about their illness and symptom management techniques (with P-values ranging from 0.0001- 0.03), psycho education also improved medication compliance with P-value =0.000, but it did not affect the respondents' ability to use new techniques in managing their symptoms (with P-values ranging from 0.125- 0.75). / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1987.

South African society is characterised by race, class and gender inequality. Social inequality is at the root of individual social identity formation affecting how individuals feel, think and relate to others. This study investigates the perceptions of school-going children, focusing particularly on perceived differences between boys and girls with respect to the activities, games and sport they prefer to play and who prefer to play with. It also looks at gendered expectations - of themselves, of children of the opposite sex as well as those of same sex both with respect to play and to performance in certain school subjects. This study draws on some of the data collected in the CRG Research Programme. It is based on a sample of 416 grade nine pupils, aged 15 years and older. Respondents attend at rural, farm, urban historically black, urban historically white and urban private schools, within a forty-five kilometres radius of the city of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. This study finds that while social identity theory may be useful as a micro and middle level theory, it is not able to account adequately at the macro level. Also, and in respect to gender as an identifier, this study suggests that while it is significant, it is not always so. Other social factors, particularly race, class and locality does override or take precedence in shaping identity and expected life chances. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

This research was undertaken to outline the problems that are encountered by teachers in predominantly historically disadvantaged schools in South Africa, with regards to implementing the Outcomes Based Education (OBE) policy. The study found that in attempting to cope with these problems, teachers exercise their discretion in trying to make the policy relevant to their environment in that they try to get relevant material from other advantaged schools. The study found that at the moment it is difficult to implement this new policy because teachers themselves are not clear about what Outcomes Based Education policy entails. Teachers are also not confident in implementing OBE because they feel they do not have adequate facilities or resources for students, nor is there sufficient information and training about OBE and the syllabuses available. To understand what actually happens in some historically disadvantaged schools with regard to policy implementation, I conducted research at four high schools in Pietermaritzburg. Information was elicited from teachers of grades 8 and 9 pupils. It became evident from my study that although Outcomes Based Education policy is In essence a good policy decision, the problem is that the time of implementation is not right. Historically disadvantaged schools will continue to battle with teaching OBE, even more so as it is planned to be extended to higher grades in the future. This study recommends that the government should improve training and education for teachers and provide relevant resources for implementing OBE. This would minimize the problems that lead to partial or non-implementation of the policy itself. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

This study is an analysis of the manner in which preparatory school boys construct their masculinities through the sport of rugby. The study is based on interviews with the entire First XV rugby team of Connaught Prep School. Sport and rugby in particular are seen as an important cog in the masculinity-making process for men but this is also true for young boys. Rugby in South Africa is regarded as a sport that real men play. Historically played primarily by white men, it remains a marker of hegemonic masculinity. In their involvement in the Connaught Prep.s First XV, boys affirm the importance of the sport, act out the values associated with the sport and display the skills required to play the sport successfully. The thesis argues that sport, and in particular, rugby, is a central feature of boys. constructions of masculinity. Due to the physical nature of rugby and the hype that surrounds and the support that is given to the sport, it has become part of the hegemonic culture of boys at Connaught Prep School. But hegemonic masculinity is not fixed; it is contested and changes. The 1st XV rugby team and its members are an important part of the process that gives content to the masculinity that is hegemonic at Connaught Preparatory. The boys try and live up to the ideals of masculinity that they see on television, hear from and see in their fathers and find in other boys. In selecting a set of sporty values, these boys perpetuate rugby as the preferred sport and a rugged school boy masculinity as the hegemonic made gender identity of the school. While the 1st rugby team try to aspire to the ideal hegemonic masculinity at the school, they cannot meet the ideal rugby masculinity and this renders them vulnerable. They are vulnerable to physical injury and also to the humiliation of heavy losses against rival teams. Susceptible to these conditions makes their construction of masculinity a delicate and fragile situation to be in. While the boys contribute to hegemonic masculinity they also, at times, undermine it by contributing to a counter hegemonic masculinity. These are the boys that stress playing sport for fun (rather than winning), are caring, and develop friendships through the sport. The findings of this study, brings to light the importance of sport in the development of a young boys. masculinity and the vulnerable and fragile situation these boys find themselves in as a result. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.