This thesis is contained within the frame of a plot diagram, since it is a story about telling stories about stories. The conflict was initiated when it struck me that I had been living unawares inside a contradiction: I called myself a feminist, yet I loved and promoted the "Great Works of Western Literature", a canon reflecting patriarchal metanarratives. This conflict shaped the question, "What does it mean to say that we are gendered by what and how we read as girls?" I looked for clues by re-searching my graduate coursework, amongst the discourses of critical pedagogy, postmodernism, interpretive inquiry, and feminist literary criticism. Translating theory into rising action, I adopted as my approach the memory-work techniques described in Female Sexualization (1987), an exemplary work of feminist research. I formed the BookMarks Collective, comprising an affinity group of six women, including me, who met and responded to the question for five months by writing, critiquing, and rewriting memory-stories about their girlhood reading. The experience of collectivity itself became the story's climax: together we opened the door to a world we would not have discovered alone or lived theoretically. Together we brought to life the belief that change in ourselves preceeds pedagogic change, our conversations having sparked insights about our beliefs and practice that none had come to on her own. Together, we re-read "gendering" as a process within a complex and contradictory constructed reality in which we both act and are acted upon. Together, we recognized the power of collective consciousness-raising to enable us to re-view the textual meanings of our lifestories, allowing us to become conscious agents in their ongoing construction. / viii, 232 leaves ; 29 cm.

The central query of this study is focused around questions about increasing the numbers of girls and women in science. Surveys and focused group interviews were conducted with Grade 8 and 11 girls in two rural southern Alberta high schools to obtain an understanding of the impact they feel role models have on them with respect to an interest in science and the pursuit of a science career. While boys were also surveyed for comparison purposes, the focus of the study was girls‘ perceptions. Seemingly girls are just as interested in science topics as boys until they get to high school. While boys appear to continue to study science with interest, what prevents many girls from continuing to study topics they previously enjoyed? In elementary school many teachers are female but in high school a majority of science teachers are male. Does the gender of the teacher affect girls‘ interest in science? Extending this thought beyond the classroom: does the lack of positive visible female role models in science discourage girls‘ interest in science and science careers? The answers to these questions are complex. / xiv, 247 leaves ; 29 cm

The phenomenon of female teenage violence within the last decade has been receiving rapid social interest and concern. The present study is concerned with exploring causes for teenage girl violence. Specifically, this qualitative study seeks to explore and describe teenage girl violence from the experiences and perspectives of girls aged 16 to 19 years of age whom have been in the past arrested and/or incarcerated for violent crimes. Data was collected using a semi-structured interviewing format. Five teenaged girls having current or past involvement with the Child Welfare system were interviewed. Despite the study's limitations, findings indicated several variations on similar common themes. These themes are discussed using three main categories of findings: (1) entrance into the legal system, (2) social aspects and (3) cultural presence. The need for describing and understanding why teenage girls act out violently in the ways they do was evident from the perspective of the girls themselves.

Violence in schools is an everyday occurrence and, for the most part, it tends to be regarded as a male issue. There is little indication in media or research reports that female learners perpetrate violence in schools. Research suggests that school violence is caused by male teachers or learners, takes place amongst males and tends to be of a physical or sexual nature. There is, however, a less prominent body of international work, which has begun to explore female aggression and violence at schools. Thus far, there has been little comparable research in South Africa. The thesis is an exploratory study of female violence in schools. The subject is approached by examining the perceptions of male as well as female teachers in primary and secondary schools in Durban. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

The prevalence of gender-based violence in South African schools has been identified by the research and the Department of Education has acknowledged its existence. However, little has been done to alleviate the problem. Female learners are continually victimized by male learners at school. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that explain gender-based violence amongst learners from three secondary schools in the Inanda area. Inanda is a predominantly informal settlement area on the outskirts of Durban, in South Africa. This study has largely focussed on female learners as victims of gender-based violence perpetrated by male learners. Both quantitative and qualitative methods had been adopted through which data was collected. School records were reviewed and one perpetrator and the victim were chosen from each school. The two participants were then, interviewed in order to get both perspectives. The data collected revealed that there are other kinds of gender-based violence besides those that were identified from the records review. The findings from the interviews outlined the factors that explain gender-based violence in schools. In conclusion, some recommendations were made in the light of the findings. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

This study attempts to broaden the knowledge and understanding of issues of sexual harassment experienced by girls in a high school in Lesotho. It does this by focussing on Form D girls in one high school in Maseru, here referred as Fora High School; and consequently how they cope with it. The study locates itself as concerned with gender justice. It assumes that it constitutes a discursive position that contrasts and opposes dominant patriarchal discourses. It sets out also to establish to what extent sexual harassment occurred and how it was perceived by those that experience it. It is a qualitative study that employs narratives and observation as the research methods. To achieve this, a module that introduced concepts of sexuality and sexual harassment preceded the data collection. Although the study was confined to Form D girls and did not include all the girls in this school, findings reveal that girls in this class experienced and observed sexual harassment in this school and more specifically in the classroom than anywhere else. Teachers were the major perpetrators of sexual harassment. Studying the narratives presented as data, physical harassment was the most frequently reported form of harassment. When such behaviours are reported, teachers ignore it and this suggests that they 'normalise' sexual harassment and thus reinforce dominant patriarchal discourses of hegemonic masculinity. Based on the participants' narratives and also arguing from the discursive position of gender justice, recommendations are suggested for this school and others to introduce sexuality and sex education in an attempt to make schools more equitable places for girls. It proposes that educational policies and curricular development more generally be revisited and to ensure that they are addressing sexuality education and therefore sexual violence particularly. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

In recent years the area of physical fitness has been of special interest. In a number of countries national fitness programmes have been launched to increase the awareness of the importance of physical fitness at all levels. Literature on the testing of physical fitness abounds, particularly in the United States of America. Several books on tests and measurements in physical education are available, and these provide invaluable guidelines to teachers of physical education in the important aspects of evaluating and assessing the physical fitness and progress of pupils. Howeyer, in South Africa, research in this important area is limited, especially in so far as Indian pupils arc concerned. In the present study an attempt is made to establish norms on selected tests of physical fitness for Indian girls. The study is divided into five parts as follows: CHAPTER ONE presents the rationale for the establishment of norms for Indian girls in South Africa. CHAPTER TWO gives a review of the relevant related literature. CHAPTER THREE gives an outline of the method of study. CHAPTER FOUR gives an analysis and presentation of the results. CHAPTER FIVE includes a discussion of the results, a summary and conclusion; and some recommendations for further research. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1975.

This study investigates the nature and extent of sexual harassment of girls in four coeducational secondary schools in Pietermaritzburg. It focuses on how boys sexually harass girls; how it manifests itself; the way it is perceived by the girls and the language they use to describe it; the strategies they use to deal with it; and the effects the behaviour has on their schooling. School policies and procedures in dealing with sexual harassment, or lack thereof, will also be analysed and recommendations made for policies and strategies for educators and learners. The study locates sexual harassment as a form of gender-based violence against females and asserts that all the incidents of sexual violence, both in the public and private spheres, both overt and subtle forms, are linked because all these incidents are a manifestation of gender power inequalities. Sexual harassment at school is only part of the continuum of violence that females constantly face. The concept of a continuum enables the exploration of experiences that are subtle and covert, which are not easy to recognise, but are a key issue to be addressed if the problem of genderbased violence is to be tackled effectively. The methods used in this research process are reflective of the ethnographic case study and acknowledge the complexities of the issues involved in the research problem. Thus, it develops a complementary relationship between qualitative and quantitative components so that tools necessary for deep exploration can be provided and the perspectives of the central subjects of the study can be brought in. In-depth group interviews were conducted with at least 10 girls, from diverse backgrounds aged between 16 to 18 years, from each school and questionnaires were administered to 150 girls from the four schools to investigate the nature and effects of sexual harassment on them. School managers were interviewed about school policy on sexual harassment and procedures that have been adopted to address the problem. An analysis of the data reveals that despite the pervasiveness of the problem, it is surrounded by silence because the girls have difficulties in recognising and articulating their experiences of sexual harassment. It shows that the sexually harassing behaviour is rationalised as 'normal' whilst at the same time controlling the girls educationally, socially and emotionally Further, it shows that when gender intersects with race and class it can produce greater negative treatment for black, working class girls. The perpetrators, who are mostly males, act with impunity because the power relations inherent in the schools are gendered and, therefore, the schools are complicit in producing the inequalities in gender and power relationships that underpin sexual harassment. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The following thesis is an implementation study of an international non-governmental organization working in the field of inclusive education in Battambang, Cambodia. More specifically the study’s intent was to examine the political, economic and socio-cultural challenges experienced by the organization’s volunteers as they worked with local education partners in implementing inclusive education initiatives. Consideration was given to general education with emphasis on the implementation of gender mainstreaming initiatives at the primary level. Data was collected through participant interviews, formal observations, Follow-up questions completed by participants and various documents from the organization. The findings from the study revealed significant inconsistencies between the organization’s policy in gender equality and what was being implemented at the local level. Volunteers received little or no training in gender responsiveness, reported feelings of incapacity to engage in gender issues and failure to identify gender inequality in their development work. The volunteers and their working relationships with local education partners were a major theme in the findings; in particular the political challenges in navigating the agendas of various stakeholders. The organization’s support, information and expectations of volunteers were other issues raised by participants in the study. Among the economic challenges to implementation were working within the confines of international funding, the development of the organization’s budget, limited human resources, economic sustainability of programing and no funding for gender initiatives. Cultural challenges include volunteers’ perceptions of local views on education, the relationship between community and schools, gender equality embedded in the culture, school directors ‘losing face’ and awareness regarding gender issues.

Girls' participation in physical education, sport and other physical activity was examined relative to their levels of Perceived Sport Competence, Body Attractiveness, Physical Self Worth and Social Physique Anxiety. Two hundred and thirteen grade 11 girls from two co-educational and two single sex Toronto high schools completed questionnaires designed to assess physical activity participation and these psychological attributes. T-tests verified that there were no differences on the psychological measures between the two types of schools. On the basis of the girls' responses, they were divided into non, low, medium and high participant groups. The relationships between physical activity participation and the selected psychological measures were analyzed by Pearson correlations. Analysis of Variance's (participant groups x psychological construct) determined where differences existed among participant groups. The results revealed that high level participants had greater Perceived Sport Competence, Body Attractiveness, Physical Self Worth levels than the participants at the lower levels. Social Physique Anxiety was unrelated to physical activity participation. Perceived Sport Competence was the best predictor of participation.