A dissertação aqui apresentada se dedica a verificar os saberes ameríndios presentes em duas escolas não-indígenas, sendo que foi dedicada atenção especial à escola que atende jovens em situação de vulnerabilidade social e recebe, semanalmente, um grupo de pessoas Kaingang para desenvolver um projeto com a cerâmica. O objetivo do trabalho foi verificar o que muda na concepção que se tem em relação à temática indígena dos alunos, professores e coordenadores em uma escola que tem presença constante de ameríndios. As principais questões que mobilizaram o pensamento foram: O que se modifica na representação de índio dos alunos não-indígenas em uma escola com circulação constante de indígenas? Que identificações os alunos têm acerca dos saberes e práticas indígenas? O convívio com ameríndios suscita o reconhecimento de possíveis ancestralidades indígenas? Há identificação entre a história de vida dos alunos e a dos indígenas? Inicialmente, a pesquisa foi realizada em duas escolas públicas de Ensino Fundamental, através da aplicação de questionários com os alunos, professores e coordenadores, com perguntas pré-formuladas sobre a temática indígena. Ao perceber que os questionários acionavam respostas superficiais e automáticas, mudei a metodologia do trabalho, optando por realizar na segunda etapa da pesquisa oficinas com os alunos de uma das escolas, que têm contato permanente com os Kaingang, mas sem desconsiderar os resultados obtidos com os questionários que foram aplicados e analisados anteriormente. Comecei com uma oficina que propunha a discussão a partir de imagens que mostravam os indígenas em diferentes situações da vida e, na segunda oficina, centralizei uma conversa que teve como base o livro “Meu avô Apolinário: um mergulho no rio da (minha) memória” de Daniel Munduruku. Também observei as oficinas de cerâmica realizadas com os Kaingang. Percebi que a escola Porto Alegre está possibilitando um espaço de interculturalidade, mostrando que é possível aproximar e fazer conviver duas culturas, mantendo uma interação respeitosa, além de possibilitar o reconhecimento da ancestralidade e da valorização dos conhecimentos indígenas. O espaço diferencial que está sendo constituído pela Escola Porto Alegre faz com que sentimentos de exclusão, comuns numa escola que trabalha com jovens em situação de vulnerabilidade social, desapareçam. A presença dos Kaingang torna a escola um lugar de trocas, um espaço onde são livres as identificações e afinidades, onde há admiração pelo outro. Esse é um caminho para pensarmos a escola como um espaço de vivência, construindo um local de conhecimento comum e de compartilhar experiências. / The thesis presented here is dedicated to verify the Amerindians’ knowledge present in two non-Indian schools. Special attention was devoted mainly to the school which serves young people in situation of social vulnerability and receives a weekly ‘Kaingang’ group of people to develop a pottery project. The objective of this study was determining which changes have been happening related to the conceiving that exists related to indigenous theme from students, teachers and administrators in a school which has a constant presence of Amerindians. The main issues captured by my thinking were: What is changed in the representation of the Indian made by the non-indigenous students in a school with constant circulation of indigenous people? What kind of identification students feel about indigenous knowledge and practices? The contact with Amerindians raises the recognition of a possible Indian ancestry? Is there any identification between the student’s lives history and the Indigenous? Initially, the survey was conducted in two public schools at the elementary level through questionnaires for students, teachers and coordinators, with pre-formulated questions about indigenous themes. Realizing that the questionnaires were generating automatic and superficial answers, I changed the methodology of work and chose to perform in the second stage of the research, workshops with students at one school, which has a constant contact with the ‘Kaingang’ tribe representatives, however with no disregard to the results obtained with the questionnaires previously applied and previously analyzed. I started with a workshop with a debate proposed from images showing the Indians in different life situations and in a second workshop, focusing in the conversation based on the book "My grandfather Apollinaris: a dip in the river of (my) memory ", by Daniel Munduruku. Meanwhile, I also paid attention to the pottery workshops held with the ‘Kaingang’ people. I realized that Porto Alegre school is providing an intercultural space, showing that it is possible to happen an approaching and living between two different cultures maintaining a respectful interaction and allowing the recovery of indigenous knowledge and the recognition of ancestry. The unique space which has been created by the Porto Alegre school causes that feelings as exclusion, so common inside those schools working with young people in situations of social vulnerability are minimized. The presence of ‘Kaingang’ people turns that school into an area of exchange, a free space where there are identifications, affinities and appreciation of each other. This is a way of thinking school as a living space, building a place of mutual knowledge and sharing experiences.

The goal of this study was to gather information from Aboriginal offenders and develop a categorical map that describes the factors that help and hinder maintaining a crime free life after incarceration. The critical incident technique was utilized to examine 42 Aboriginal offenders’ journeys from prison to the community. Three hundred and forty-one incidents collapsed into nine major categories representing themes that were helpful in maintaining a crime free life: 1) transformation of self; 2) cultural and traditional experiences; 3) healthy relationships; 4) having routine and structure in daily living; 5) freedom from prison; 6) purpose and fulfillment in life; 7) attempting to live alcohol and drug free; 8) professional support and programming; and 9) learning to identify and express oneself. Seventy-eight incidents formed four categories representing obstacles that interfere with maintaining a crime free life: 1) self; 2) unhealthy relationships; 3) substance use; and 4) lack of opportunity and professional support. The findings were compared and contrasted to two major theories in the literature: desistance and the risk-needs-responsivity principle. Most of the categories were well substantiated in the literature contributing knowledge to theory, policy, practice, and the community. Information obtained from this study provides an increased understanding of the needs of Aboriginal offenders and offers guidance concerning useful strategies to incorporate into their wellness plans when entering the community, most notably respecting Aboriginal culture and traditional practices. The findings also add awareness of those circumstances, issues, and problems that arise during transition that may be harmful or create obstacles to a successful transition. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Magister Educationis - MEd / This study involves a group of pre-service teachers who are specialising in Science and Mathematics education at a university in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The aim of the study was to investigate perceptions about the earth in space held by the pre-service natural science teachers. A related aim was to create awareness among the prospective teachers about various views that people hold about the earth as against the scientifically valid view (Govender, 2009, Plummer & Zahm, 2010, Schneps & Sadler, 1989). To determine and improve the prospective teachers’ perceptions and awareness about the significance of the earth in space the study adopted the dialogical argumentation model (DAIM) and spatial modelling as a theoretical framework (Ogunniyi, 2013).Further, the study used pre- and post-test data based on the responses of the pre-service teachers to questionnaires, focus group interviews and reflective diaries. The data set was analysed using a mixed methods approach (qualitative and quantitative).Results from the study show that most the pre-service teachers involved in the study hold both scientific and alternative conceptions about the earth in space. However, they seem to suppress the latter because they believe them to be unscientific. In addition they believe that their role is to impart scientific knowledge to learners. As has been revealed in a number of studies, some of the prospective teachers did not have much background in geography.

Environmental education in the U.S. has been slow to incorporate Indigenous knowledges, with most pre-university curriculum centering around Western science. I believe incorporating Indigenous knowledges into environmental education can promote reciprocal, critical, and active human-nature relationships. While Indigenous knowledges should infiltrate all levels of environmental education, I argue that alternative forms of education which operate outside the formal school system might present the fewest immediate obstacles.

In this thesis, I draw attention to how representations of indigenous peoples and knowledges in the rhetoric of bioprospecting weave the people into multiple coordinates of discursive control. Bioprospecting, or the exploration of biological resources in search of valuable genetic and chemical material for commercial use, is portrayed by proponents as an ideal project which benefit all of its stakeholders. I challenge such perception by exposing the power relationships underlying bioprospecting proposals as well as the various interests built into their rhetoric. My particular interest lies in exploring the implications for indigenous peoples whose appearances in bioprospecting proposals are less than voluntary. I make three claims: (1) that the representation of indigenous peoples as stewards of the environment is a role assigned to them, which is then circulated and mobilized within the bioprospecting rhetoric in order to support its arguments concerning biodiversity conservation; (2) that indigenous knowledges of the environment, of medicinal plants in particular, are taken out of their original socio-cultural contexts, utilized, appropriated, and valorized by bioprospectors who construct the rhetoric; (3) that the visibility of indigenous peoples and knowledges, which was heightened as a result of the increased interest taken in controlling them, opens up new opportunities for the people to resist misappropriation and struggle for self-definition. In short, this project takes indigenous peoples and knowledges as the intersection of forces and interests comprising an intricate web of power relationships, within which any participant can attempt to empower oneself either by resisting or manipulating the control to which one is exposed. / Master of Science

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study was an evaluative case study of a Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems Project on the Project (SIKSP) at a Western Cape University, South Africa. It was an internal evaluation from the perspectives of the project participants, with the aim of assessing (1) the opportunities and challenges faced by the participants (in-service teachers), (2) the effectiveness of an argumentationbased strategy (DAIM) used by some of the in-service teachers to integrate science and IKS, (3) the manner in which the trained teachers actually taught using the DAIM, and (4) the impact of SIKSP on the participants’ professional development and research capacities. I used a hybridised version of Stufflebeam’s (2003) context, input, process, product (CIPP) as well as Guba and Lincoln’s (1989) Constructivist evaluation models to guide the study, within a constructivist-pragmatist paradigm. I used a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, reflective diaries, and document analyses to collate the data from 22 in-service participants, as well as from the project director. The analyses were done using mixed methods, though largely dominated by qualitative approaches. The results suggest that: through the use of multiple sources of engagement in conceptual, practical, and discursive activities, SIKSP enabled the participants to change their views about science and IKS – from a largely positivist to a more dualistic worldview that considered IKS as a source of valid knowledge in science classrooms. SIKSP activities also enabled the participants to acquire the largely student-centred, discursive, interactive DAIM approach of teaching and learning to effect an inclusive science-IK curriculum. The teachers used DAIM to teach science, mathematics as well as socio-scientific topics, each teacher applying it differently. SIKSP had many positive impacts on the participants – psychological, social, intellectual, pedagogical and professional. Through SIKSP, many participants obtained higher degrees, advanced professionally, and some have become researchers in science and IKS; with two of the postdoctoral fellows now carrying on similar research at other universities in South Africa and beyond. An unanticipated outcome of SIKSP was the creation of the African Association for the Study of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AASIKS) which is now pursuing an inclusive science-IKS vision at a much larger scale. Overall, in the view of the participants, SIKSP was very successful project, and its DAIM approach, though difficult to master, has many advantages that could be explored in-and-out of science classrooms.

MA (eSiswati) / Sikhungo I-MER Mathivha Sefitwilimi Tendzabu, Buciko Nemasiko

MAAS / Department of African Studies / This study explored into the effects of traditional medicine on reproductive health of rural women. Negative reports associated with traditional medicine due to bogus traditional practitioners expose most women to the harmful consequences of concoctions supplied and administered on them. However, factors such as people’s great confidence in traditional medicine and high costs associated with conventional Western medical treatments lead most rural women to traditional medicine usage. The study examined women’s perspectives on traditional medicine, factors which led rural women to use traditional medicine, meanings that people make about women and reproductive health, reproductive health implications of using traditional medicine as well as remedies for ensuring that traditional medicine is safe for women’s reproductive health. The study was grounded on the critical and socio-cultural theory. An explorative qualitative research was used. Data was collected through open-ended questions, observation as well as focus group interviews and then analysed using the thematic analysis method. The study participants consisted of rural women, traditional healers, elderly people and Western-trained doctors who were all sampled using non-probability sampling methods. The findings of the study showed that African traditional medicine plays a pivotal role in reproductive health care by offering readily available, cheap, culturally-oriented and accessible health care for most rural women. However, it was noted that the use of African traditional medicine by unqualified practitioners and the incorrect usage of the medicine by patients resulted in negative results that could lead to death or barrenness. Thus, the study recommends an introduction of a regulatory framework on the production, storage, use and trade of African traditional medicine. / NRF

Cultural views are known to play a critical role in the identification, diagnosis and intervention of developmental disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Indigenous views regarding the nature and causes of ASD have often been overlooked. Based on the paucity of research on indigenous perspectives on ASD in South Africa, as well as the alarming rise in the incidence of ASD, the purpose of the study is to investigate the views held by members of the Sepedi group in South Africa regarding ASD. Research relating to ASD has mostly been conducted in other countries or according to Western or conventional scientifically proven positions. The study attempts to answer the following primary research question: “What are Sepedi cultural views regarding the nature, cause/s as well as intervention of Autism Spectrum Disorder?” The theoretical framework that was utilised during the study was that of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). Furthermore, the study was approached from a phenomenological paradigm. A qualitative approach as well as case study design were followed, and purposive sampling was used. The first method of data collection was a focus group and subsequently, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis to pinpoint recurring themes. These five themes are (1) Indigenous African Views, (2) Participants’ views of causes, (3) Circumstances surrounding diagnosis, (4) Personally coping with ASD, and (5) Intervention with a child with ASD. Results obtained from the study could be utilised within a diagnostic, intervention and educational approach that is uniquely South African. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Many South African Foundation Phase learners perform poorly in literacy, especially in reading and writing. The Annual National Assessment (ANA) results show that many Grade 3 learners experience difficulties in reading and in writing sentences from pictures (Howie, Venter, Van Staden, Zimmerman, Long, Scherman & Archer, 2008). The learners also struggle to produce meaningful written sentences, even though they are taught through the medium of their own home languages, including African languages (Department of Basic Education, 2013). To enrich learners’ language and literacy skills, the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) encourages the use of figurative and metaphorical language through the teaching of folklore. However, CAPS does not provide explicit guidelines on how folklore ought be taught to enhance learners’ literacy skills.