<p>The Hard Lesson of Life: A Study of /Re/construction of Life in School from a Religious Educational Perspective</p><p>The overriding aim of this dissertation is to examine the understanding of life that young people /re/construct, and in this sense learn, in the discursive practices of school, and to describe how such a /re/construction takes place.</p><p>The theoretical frame of the study is a critical theory perspective. Potentially problematic aspects and findings are therefore given priority over good examples. The three main concepts used were generated through the interaction of theory and empirical material. These conceptual tools are: ‘understanding of life’, ‘discursive practice’, and ‘language’. The first concept refers to the young learners’ collectively /re/constructed perceptions of how life works and of what gives life value and meaning. Discursive practice is the concept used for the context and the way in which learning takes shape. Language is an important resource in the shaping of the collective interpretation, negotiation and /re/construction of an understanding of life.</p><p>Two empirical studies are presented, a main study and a complementary one. The main study, which is regionally limited, is a group interview with 51 youths from five schools divided into ten groups. The second is a study of the most frequently used high school Religion textbook, Religion and Life, and the analysis draws on the results from the group interview study.</p><p>The institutional frames, the large-sized schools, and the tasks of school to educate pupils and to differentiate between them, are risk factors that may lead to stereotypical, instrumental, and competitive relationships in education. The group interview study indicates that there are grounds for concern since it shows that victimization works as a teaching tool in the /re/construction of a hegemonic discourse of understanding life. The empirically identified hegemonic discourse of understanding life is termed “Life as adjustment for the benefit of individual competition”. Victimization is shown to be both the cause and effect of this discourse. The hegemonic life discourse also lends contextual legitimacy to victimization. The study of the school textbook suggests that the subject Religion may reinforce such a hegemonic understanding of life if it fails to balance the book’s objective and descriptive accounts of abuse of power.</p>

The Hard Lesson of Life: A Study of /Re/construction of Life in School from a Religious Educational Perspective The overriding aim of this dissertation is to examine the understanding of life that young people /re/construct, and in this sense learn, in the discursive practices of school, and to describe how such a /re/construction takes place. The theoretical frame of the study is a critical theory perspective. Potentially problematic aspects and findings are therefore given priority over good examples. The three main concepts used were generated through the interaction of theory and empirical material. These conceptual tools are: ‘understanding of life’, ‘discursive practice’, and ‘language’. The first concept refers to the young learners’ collectively /re/constructed perceptions of how life works and of what gives life value and meaning. Discursive practice is the concept used for the context and the way in which learning takes shape. Language is an important resource in the shaping of the collective interpretation, negotiation and /re/construction of an understanding of life. Two empirical studies are presented, a main study and a complementary one. The main study, which is regionally limited, is a group interview with 51 youths from five schools divided into ten groups. The second is a study of the most frequently used high school Religion textbook, Religion and Life, and the analysis draws on the results from the group interview study. The institutional frames, the large-sized schools, and the tasks of school to educate pupils and to differentiate between them, are risk factors that may lead to stereotypical, instrumental, and competitive relationships in education. The group interview study indicates that there are grounds for concern since it shows that victimization works as a teaching tool in the /re/construction of a hegemonic discourse of understanding life. The empirically identified hegemonic discourse of understanding life is termed “Life as adjustment for the benefit of individual competition”. Victimization is shown to be both the cause and effect of this discourse. The hegemonic life discourse also lends contextual legitimacy to victimization. The study of the school textbook suggests that the subject Religion may reinforce such a hegemonic understanding of life if it fails to balance the book’s objective and descriptive accounts of abuse of power.

This research focuses on problems encountered by School Governing Bodies (SGBs) in executing their financial task in four schools situated in the Ramotse Area, Hammanskraal, north-east of the city of Tshwane. The research methodology, which was employed, can be described as qualitative, exploratory and descriptive by nature. Data was collected by means of two focus group interviews, one involving the chairpersons of SGBs and the other involving the managers of the same schools. An analysis of the data has revealed a number of financially related problems, which SGBs in the Ramotse Area experience, amongst other things that parents fail to meet their financial obligations and subsidies tend to arrive late. The most important recommendation made is that SGBs should be trained both better and more frequently. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Education Management)

This study attempted to design and implement an intervention programme to improve the self-concepts and attitudes of prospective primary school teachers. The possible effects of the programme were researched by means of a combined quantitative and qualitative approach. A questionnaire to determine the effectiveness of the programme was also designed. Important findings of this study are that: (a) the Cronbach Alpha Coefficient indicated a 0,9 reliability of the designed questionnaire; (b) the average self-concepts of prospective teachers improved after the intervention programme was implemented, though not significantly and (c) the self-concepts of prospective teachers not majoring in Mathematics also improved after the intervention, though not significantly. A focus group interview was conducted to improve the intervention programme. On the basis of the responses of the participants in the focus group interview as well as of the quantitative study and of the literature reviewed, an improved version of the intervention programme was designed. According to the research, the programme should include: cooperative learning; everyday life contexts; manipulatives; hands-on activities, encouraging the asking of questions; a positive relationship between lecturer and student; writing assignments before doing a new topic; content relevance; a positive communication of assessment; games; various approaches to solving problems; understandable language; gender sensitivity and positive role modeling. The intervention programme implemented in this study was tested over a period of three months; hence the recommendation in this research for the replication thereof over a longer period. The study further recommends that since the study was conducted in one college of education only, there is a need for it to be conducted in a number of colleges, in order to elicit a broader and more representative picture of the impact of the intervention programme. The findings of this study advocate the need to combine both quantitative and qualitative research in studies: the results of the quantitative research did not conclusively indicate a positive impact of the intervention programme. However, the qualitative research saw respondents expressing improved confidence and attitudes. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Text in English / In Swaziland, family nurse practitioners (FNPs) are professional nurses who have undergone preparation as general nurse, midwife and FNP. These nurses play an important role in the delivery of primary health care (PHC). Family nurse practice is an evolving concept introduced in Swaziland in 1979. It is a means of exploring nursing roles and primary health care services for deployment in under-served areas and to enable nurses to serve as the primary providers of health care services in clinics, health centres and in the outpatient departments of hospitals. Changing responsibilities within the health care setting require different skills and more knowledge. The expansion and extension of the nurses' role, including the techniques of diagnosing and treating, was a priority of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOH&SW) in Swaziland's five-year development plan for 1978-1983. It was regarded as a necessary component for raising the quality and effectiveness of PHC services. Some of the major and urgent challenges that confront FNPs today are the advent of the human immune virus/acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) scourge and the re-emergence of the tuberculosis epidemic. Both these health problems require proficient diagnosis and case management skills as well as new approaches. If FNPs are to remain relevant and to continue to provide quality services in spite of prevailing challenges, they have to engage in continuing education (CE). The main aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of the FNP role, CE needs and issues relevant to the current practice of FNPs in Swaziland. A further aim was to establish a structure or framework for a CE programme that would contribute to the strengthening of CE for FNPs and identify enabling factors and barriers in the practice and education ofFNPs. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used for data collection. A survey was conducted to collect data from 5 7 FNPs and 11 nurse managers and nurse educators. The transcript from the questionnaires was subjected to quantitative-based content analysis. A total of thirty nurse managers, nurse educators and MOH&SW nurse executives participated in the focus group interviews. The collected data was subjected to qualitativebased content analysis. The findings identified the role of the FNP as manager, clinical practitioner, educator and researcher. The analyses highlighted the CE needs of FNPs, and the question of updating and upgrading the skills of practising FNPs. The identified enabling factors and barriers, although perceived as issues that are peripheral and auxiliary to the curriculum, appeared to have a strong bearing on programme planning. The findings from this study have implications for a structured CE programme for FNPs at the University of Swaziland. / Health Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (Nursing Sciences)

This surveys hypothesis is based on the notion that all citizens have the right to access information of the municipality they live in. The aim of the study is to examine how residents of Vilhelmina municipality take note of the current information, and also how they would proceed to access information in the future. In order to conceptualise the results these following theories were used: digital divide, digital immigrants, digital native, uses and gratification theory, social capital, communications strategies and two-way communication. The survey is conducted with four focus group interviews and one separate interview with a person working at the municipal office. The focus groups were divided into age categories in order to see the similarities and differences between the groups' media habits and preferences of future communications. The study material consists of the transcribed texts from the abovementioned interviews. The results of this research demonstrate that there is significant difference between age groups. According to the early theory of digital divide the gap in information between groups exists only due to the individual’s ability to access the Internet, which not match this study’s results. More current updates of the theory of digital divide declare that motivation may be a cause to the gap.  During the course of this research the issue of motivation emerged and a few of the interview participants stated motivation to find information as a key point. With the help of the participants requests communications strategies were presented for future communication based on the target groups' media choices. / Undersökningens utgångspunkt är att alla medborgare har rätt att ta del av information av kommunen de bor i. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur invånare i Vilhelmina kommun tar del av information nu och hur de skulle vilja gå tillväga i framtiden. För att synliggöra och begripliggöra resultatet användes teorierna digital divide, digital immigrant, digital natives, uses and gratification theory, socialt kapital, inifrån- och utifrånstrategier samt tvåvägskommunikation. Undersökningen genomfördes med fyra fokusgruppsintervjuer samt en informantintervju med en insatt person från Vilhelmina kommuns kommunkontor. Fokusgrupperna var indelade i ålderskategorier för att kunna se likheter och skillnader mellan gruppernas medievanor och önskemål på framtida kommunikation. Studiens material bestod av de transkriberade texterna från de tidigare nämnda intervjuerna. Resultatet påvisade att det finns stora skillnader mellan åldersgrupperna, dock inte så stora gap som den tidiga teorin om digital divide, utan att skillnaderna mellan åldersgrupperna låg i vilka medier de använde som huvudkälla. Samt var skillnaderna mellan grupperna hur motiverade de var att sätta sig in i kommunal information. Med hjälp av deltagarnas önskemål samt kommunikationsstrategier gavs förslag på framtida kommunikation baserat på målgruppernas medieval.