Poor urban learners' long walks to school and the influence on their school activities. My study is about poor urban learners who walk long distances to school. I explore how their school trip affects their participation in school activities - co-curricular and extra curricula activities, and their understandings about the educational implications. The purpose of this study is two-fold: to understand poor urban learners' school trips through their own voices; and to reflect on the school management implications of the findings. In a case study of one school located in the Cato Manor redevelopment area of Durban, I explore Grade 10 learners' accounts of their walks to and from school and how this affects their early morning and afternoon school activities and what they understand might be the reasons and consequences in their futures. My findings are that poor urban learners encounter security risks daily on their way to school and they use various strategies to navigate those risks; learners experience unsympathetic and negative responses from some staff relating to their long walks to reach school; and the learners say that school regimes rather than the long distances they walk are jeopardising their educational aspirations. At the outset my theoretical perspective was that the school trip is an obtacle to poor urban learners' education capabilities. However my conclusion is that some school regimes are unresponsive to poor urban learners' needs and may obstruct the educational opportunities for learners to better their futures more than does their walking long distances to school. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2012.

Learning thrives in conducive and supportive environments, and where a culture of learning is cultivated. There are many factors that distract learners from devoting themselves wholeheartedly to learning. This study takes a critical look at such factors, and the involvement of high school learners in the infonnal sector of the economy is identified as the focus for an in-depth interrogation. More specifically, the focus is on the reasons for learners' involvement in infonnal work, the type of work they do, as well as the impact of such involvement on their academic perfonnance. I have chosen to use the case study method in order to understand this phenomenon in one township high school, with a focus on Grade 11 learners as the study participants. Data was collected through a multi-method approach. This entailed a survey questionnaire, letters written by learners, and group and individual interviews. The life histories of learners were developed drawing from the data, and my own autobiography. Five learners, two boys and three girls, were selected to represent the voices of working learners through life histories. The findings of this study reveal that the kind of work activity engaged by learners is gendered, poorly paid, and makes them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, and that poverty, education needs, culture, family structure, and size are the main reasons for children's involvement in the economic activities of the infonnal sector. Noting the magnitude of the problem, the study concludes with some recommendations whilst conceding that there are no quick-fix solutions to challenges of this nature.

The study investigated the attitudes of high school learners towards Physics and Chemistry. The learners were in Sastri College, a high school in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The study also investigated the relationship between attitude and performance. The sample consisted of 50, Grade 12, Physical Science learners. The data was collected by means of a questionnaire, a semi-structured and individual interviews and the matriculation results from the Department of Education and Culture. The SPSS package was used to analysis the quantitative data. The interviews were used to qualify and elaborate on the statistical findings. The findings showed that majority of the learners had a positive attitude towards Physics while few learners had positive attitude towards Chemistry. It was also found that attitude did not affect the performance of the learners and there was no gender difference between attitudes and performance. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Durban-Westville, 1999.

Is local lekker? This study looks at the perceptions the youth in Durban hold towards local music. Through a study of the Grade 11 learners at Bonela Secondary, Gelofte Skool, Hillcrest High School, Thomas More College and Sastri College this research looks at how much support is offered for local music. It considers how much local music the respondents listen to, how much they purchase and how many local concerts they attend. This study also considers the mediathat the respondents are exposed to,in order to· discover if any correlation occurs between the media that they are exposed to and their perception of local music. The impact of globalization and cultural imperialism on the consumption of local music are also considered. In addition, the study looks at whether variables such as gender, school, "race" or the home language of the respondents impact on their support for local music. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected. The respondents were required to respond to a questionnaire which elicited responses concerning their perceptions of local music, their support for local music and the media that they are exposed to. From the questionnaires a group of respondents of differing views, genders and home languages was selected to participate in a focus group interview. Results show that the respondents support very little in the way of local music, with regard to listening to local music, purchasing local music and supporting local concerts. They are exposed to a great deal of foreign material and do not have much exposure to local products. / Thesis (M.Mus.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

This study focuses on the exploration and analysis of Grade Elevens' perceptions of career choice and career information, within the Coastal region of the Durban Metropolitan area. The information about the scholars' perceptions was obtained through a structured questionnaire, with one hundred and twenty pupils who were purposively sampled from a simple random sample of public schools in the Coastal region of the Durban Metropolitan area. Both open-ended and closed-ended questions were used to gain access to their perceptions regarding career choice and career information. Tentative findings suggest that scholars generally have a narrow and simplistic conceptualisation of the term 'career', and that their understanding of the term as a life-long job is inaccurate and distorted. Consequently, teachers may need to help scholars re-conceptualise their notion of the career as a dynamic entity that is shaped by current economic, political, social and technological changes. It was also found that the majority of scholars have made a tentative career choice, which suggests the establishment of a personal, career-related identity. The findings indicate that scholars perceive the career information to which they have been exposed to be useful overall, in addition to being useful regarding its role in encouraging them to consider all possible careers, regardless of gender or culture. These findings, which contradict those of international research, seem to suggest that, in keeping with the current emphasis on national democracy in South Africa, scholars have been urged not to perceive their gender or culture as a barrier that would prevent them from pursuing their career of choice. However, cross-tabulations reveal that it is mainly girls who perceive the exploration of careers and career information in a positive light, while boys tend to hold a comparatively negative view. Girls also seemed to adopt more effective decision-making approaches in the process of choosing a career, compared to boys. Suggested interventions include greater accessibility to varied, possibly interactive forms of career information; for example, computer-aided career exploration, and that boys be encouraged to consult a wider range of career information sources. Although scholars have been formally exposed to career guidance, tentative findings reveal a need for a more holistic and informal approach to career choice and career information; one that is well integrated within the school curriculum. This would require that all teaching staff function as a team and develop role and functional flexibility, in order to help scholars adapt to changes in the learning environment, and to develop broad and integrated learning frameworks. Importantly, scholars are urged to take a pro-active role in their career exploration. Statistical analysis indicates that girls' career choices are generally unrestricted by gender-role stereotypes, suggesting a growing interest in careers previously perceived to be male-typed, although emphasis must be placed on the importance of making realistic choices. Furthermore, cross-tabulations reveal that race and career choice are not related, thereby reinforcing the validity of earlier tentative findings, which point to the existence of generally positive perceptions of career information, with regards to its usefulness in encouraging scholars to consider a full range of careers, regardless of culture or race. Further research into scholars' perceptions of career choice and career information through focus groups, with an emphasis on the changing career aspirations of girls, may serve to facilitate a deeper understanding of the issues and perceptions that either hinder or help scholars in the process of career choice. A thorough understanding of their perceptions and the factors that shape them is necessary in order to spearhead the development of educational programmes and workshops, the aim of which would be to ensure the holistic integration of these insights within the school curriculum. The rationale underpinning further research within this field, is that once scholars become aware of their distorted perceptions of career choice and career information, they will be empowered to change them. As a result, they will be equipped to make better informed career choices that are consistent with individual interests and abilities. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 2001.