The practice of science requires careful observation, experimentation and rational thinking accompanied by imaginative and intuitive insights to thrive in a mood of cutting edge exploration. South African Grade 9 Chemistry deals with established facts, usually devoid of artistic stimuli for capturing the imagination or awakening the intuitions of most learners. Many previous attempts to use the arts in the teaching of Chemistry are limited to the use of pictures, and less often, music and drama which are often superficial or even distracting from the real content. Most research into Science education has its focus on improving academic results with almost no research being conducted in the use of holistic, artistic devices to improve learner interest. Child-centred, holistic education indicates that the integration of rational logic with personal, intuitive knowing through story and the arts is a seed to sustained learner interest. This study used video-recorded experiments and a poem with holistic use of story, metaphor, rhythm and rhyme to characterise the behaviour of acids, bases and salts, to awaken greater learner interest. Class discussion centred on inquiry-based learning which challenged the validity of the characterisations used in the poem, completed the holistically integrated intervention. Changes in learner interest levels were determined by matched pairs in the pre-test and post-test. The research was undertaken with 222 learners from four schools in the greater Tshwane region. The results show that such holistically integrated devices, or stimuli, significantly increased learner interest through good engagement in the lesson as well as an improved perception of their grasp of the content, feelings towards Chemistry and relevance of Chemistry for their lives. As a first-of-its-kind research, further research in the use of appropriate holistic, artistic devices in Science education is recommended. Research into the longer-term use of such devices as well as the effects on learner academic results should be tested. This research indicates that teachers should consider providing a greater context and characterisation, with a broader range of stimuli, when presenting Chemistry to Grade 9 learners to allow them to relate to the experimental and academic content in a more imaginative, intuitive and personally meaningful way. The presentation of this dissertation will follow the courses of a dinner feast in the hope that the reader will be nourished holistically on multiple levels. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Humanities Education / MEd / Unrestricted

The purpose of this qualitative study is to address the problem of the silencing of adolescent girls and young women by exploring their spiritual experiences and knowledge of their inner selves. Five participants between the ages of 18 and 25 were interviewed 3 times over several weeks about their spiritual experiences, artefacts of spiritual significance, and beliefs about their inner selves. The findings of this study reveal that young women are deeply interested in nurturing their spirituality, which they are not finding in religion, and they are looking elsewhere for a spirituality that embraces a feminine ethic of care and responsibility.

The fields of medicine and health care continue to demonstrate the benefits of mindfulness-based practice for stress reduction and well-being. Research is also beginning to reveal the professional benefits of mindfulness training with human service professionals, as well as the impact with children and youth, and more broadly within the field of education and human development. This qualitative action research study uses a grounded theory approach to elucidate the added value of the Mindfulness-Based Wellness Education (MBWE) program within three main areas of teacher education: dispositional development, content knowledge, and instructional repertoire. Two years being engaged in the iterative process of teaching, interviewing teacher candidates, and program development brought forth five main themes: (1) Personal and Professional Identity, Reflective Practitioner, (3) Constructivist Learning & Holistic Vision of Teaching, (4) Social and Emotional Competence on Practicum, and (5) Engagement in Teacher Education. Additional findings outline key curricular and pedagogical components of the MBWE program that facilitate teacher candidate learning. Finally, a holistic model of pedagogical well-being presents an avenue for understanding the integration of mindful wellness into teacher education, and the K-12 classroom.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to address the problem of the silencing of adolescent girls and young women by exploring their spiritual experiences and knowledge of their inner selves. Five participants between the ages of 18 and 25 were interviewed 3 times over several weeks about their spiritual experiences, artefacts of spiritual significance, and beliefs about their inner selves. The findings of this study reveal that young women are deeply interested in nurturing their spirituality, which they are not finding in religion, and they are looking elsewhere for a spirituality that embraces a feminine ethic of care and responsibility.

The fields of medicine and health care continue to demonstrate the benefits of mindfulness-based practice for stress reduction and well-being. Research is also beginning to reveal the professional benefits of mindfulness training with human service professionals, as well as the impact with children and youth, and more broadly within the field of education and human development. This qualitative action research study uses a grounded theory approach to elucidate the added value of the Mindfulness-Based Wellness Education (MBWE) program within three main areas of teacher education: dispositional development, content knowledge, and instructional repertoire. Two years being engaged in the iterative process of teaching, interviewing teacher candidates, and program development brought forth five main themes: (1) Personal and Professional Identity, Reflective Practitioner, (3) Constructivist Learning & Holistic Vision of Teaching, (4) Social and Emotional Competence on Practicum, and (5) Engagement in Teacher Education. Additional findings outline key curricular and pedagogical components of the MBWE program that facilitate teacher candidate learning. Finally, a holistic model of pedagogical well-being presents an avenue for understanding the integration of mindful wellness into teacher education, and the K-12 classroom.

A history of forced assimilation, colonial education, and cultural and linguistic oppression has resulted in the loss and endangerment of hundreds of Native languages, including the Mohawk language of the northeastern U.S. and Canada. It is estimated that only 5% of the population on the Akwesasne reservation are Mohawk speakers. In 1979 a significant effort to revitalize the Mohawk language began with the establishment of the Akwesasne Freedom School (AFS), a grassroots community-based cultural and language immersion program. No prior research or historical documentation of these efforts has been conducted regarding the AFS. This dissertation documents how the school was founded, how it has maintained itself without federal or state funding, and examines how the school has positively impacted its alumni, students, teachers, parents and staff. Through individual interviews, participant observations, and archival research this dissertation reveals the community's investments in and overall effects of this innovative language program on the Akwesasne community. I present the Akwesasne Freedom School as a model of Indigenous holistic education that incorporates traditional teachings, experiential methods, and language immersion. Alumni, parents, and teachers report that the school has helped them feel a strong sense of Mohawk identity. Many respondents reported that their involvement with the AFS helped them to return to the Longhouse, the traditional meeting and ceremonial place. Knowledge of the Mohawk language is only one aspect of Mohawk identity and several Mohawk values were identified in this study: respect, kinship, responsibility, cooperation, leadership, and stewardship. Ultimately, this study identifies what it means to be fully Mohawk. The Akwesasne Freedom School provides an opportunity for negotiating language and identity in a space designed to transcend historical colonization. The AFS serves as an exemplary model for educational self-determination and as a reminder to the Canadian and U.S. governments of tribal authority and sovereignty over the education of their children. Most importantly, students at the Akwesasne Freedom School are "Free to be Kanien'kehaka (Mohawk)."

The emphasis on segmentation and reduction in atomistic thinking has had a huge impact on the way that we educate. This increasingly questioned worldview encourages fragmentation, isolation and feelings of alienation and powerlessness, believed to contribute to anger, depression, substance abuse, aggression, violence and at times suicide among our youth. We urgently need to find and implement solutions. A new emerging paradigm in education, referred to as holistic education, is surfacing as a possible solution. This dissertation is based on my qualitative research study of a soul-centered, holistically-oriented private elementary school in Texas---the Robert Muller School of Fairview, Texas. (Robert Muller was past Assistant Secretary-General of the U.N.) The focus of my inquiry is the holistic nature of the World Core Curriculum for Global Education Synthesis, a framework that emphasizes both peace and global education. It includes the school's eclectic philosophy, mission statement, setting, community-building activities and integrated curriculum from a holistic, whole-person perspective that includes the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual development of the child. Also examined is how the school's holistic 'Model of School Development' attempts to construct a culture of peace and non-violence. Special attention is given to (1) Peace Education, with its emphasis on healing emotional afflictions and on developing communication, problem-solving and conflict resolution skills appropriate for living non-violently and democratically, and (2) Global Education, with its emphasis on multi-cultural and planetary/earth relationships. The transformational effects of the program on students, teachers and parents and the extent to which these programs correspond to theoretical models of educating for peace and global education are examined as well. An evaluation of the strengths and concerns of the school, from the perspective of the teachers and parents, is also given. The dissertation concludes with a brief response to seven research questions, the last being whether or not the school's holistic "Model of School Development" can be implemented in our private schools and public school systems.

Situated in the holistic education field, this research explores the mind/body experiences of six youth who remained in a drama group from the time they were children to their late adolescence. In the first phase of this research these participants reflected on their experiences of the imagination, thought and felt sensation as they engaged in meditation and mind/body warm-up exercises during the drama years. The participants applied their understanding of mind/body awareness to a question posed by Vivian Darroch-Lozwoski; what happens when we attend to nature feelingly? Over the course of one year, the youth explored the above question, individually and collectively through dreaming, reveries, the imagination, experiences of energy and as they wandered in nature. The inquiry directly addresses the existential, ontological and epistemological implications of holistic mind/body development and outlines approaches for gentling the mind and body to nature.

Situated in the holistic education field, this research explores the mind/body experiences of six youth who remained in a drama group from the time they were children to their late adolescence. In the first phase of this research these participants reflected on their experiences of the imagination, thought and felt sensation as they engaged in meditation and mind/body warm-up exercises during the drama years. The participants applied their understanding of mind/body awareness to a question posed by Vivian Darroch-Lozwoski; what happens when we attend to nature feelingly? Over the course of one year, the youth explored the above question, individually and collectively through dreaming, reveries, the imagination, experiences of energy and as they wandered in nature. The inquiry directly addresses the existential, ontological and epistemological implications of holistic mind/body development and outlines approaches for gentling the mind and body to nature.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2006. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, page: 2513. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-126).