The three studies reported in this thesis investigated the contributing factors of L2 writing among adult ESL learners in the academic setting. The major purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between L2 proficiency, writing strategies, writing attitude, writing errors and L2 writing performance. This thesis aimed to provide insights for the contributing factors that are predictive of L2 writing performance in adult ESL learners, studying in English and non-English dominant settings. Study 1 (reported in Chapter 3) focused on determining the appropriate measures for investigating the individual factors of writing performance; particularly learners’ writing strategies, learners’ second language proficiency, first language (L1) interference and their relation to writing performance. Thirty-one intermediate students of L2 served as participants. A measure of vocabulary size and a writing strategy questionnaire were administered to the students. Findings in this study indicated that most of the participants’ planning strategies were limited to having a mental or written plan whereas over half of the respondents reported that they always start with an introduction and were more likely to stop drafting after a few sentences. In terms of drafting strategies, it was found that most respondents reread what they had written to get ideas on how to continue but did not go back to their outline to make changes in it. With regard to L1 use, a majority of participants do not write bits of text in their native language. Nevertheless, quite a number of participants indicated that they would write in their L1 if they don’t know a word in English. Findings in this study also suggested that participants’ biggest concerns were related to grammar and vocabulary, which resulted in them making surface level changes and checking. An overall analysis of participants’ writing output and responses from the questionnaire also provided important insights to the improvement of the measures. The revision process included rewording and rephrasing ambiguous items, removing irrelevant items from the questionnaire and restructuring the writing task for the next study. In Study 2 (presented in Chapter 4), a follow-up study was conducted to examine L2 writers’ proficiency level, writing attitude, writing errors and writing strategies in an English-dominant setting. Nine research questions were designed to guide the study framework and gather specific data regarding the research aims. A writing measure, vocabulary tests and a questionnaire were administered to the students. Findings from Study 2 indicated that L2 proficiency, particularly vocabulary size, was related to writing performance. In addition, it was also discovered that L2 writers who performed poorly were prone to performing writing strategies related to surface level checking. Therefore, it was concluded that linguistic barriers in L2 affect both writing performance and students’ ability in applying the effective strategies in writing. Apart from that, Study 2 also found that the use of L1 and translation into L2 was associated with lower writing performance. Additionally, Study 2 found that pronoun, word and sentence errors were the most prevalent errors among ESL students. A possible reason for this is because L2 students need to work with two languages while writing, mainly the grammar rules in English which are not found in their L1 as well as their own native language. Thus, L2 students face the challenge of working out English grammar rules while writing. Overall, findings in this study suggest that prevalent writing errors in English may be a sign of L1 interference and that as the use of L1 increases, writing performance decreases. In Study 3 (reported in Chapter 5), the role of proficiency level, writing attitude, writing errors and writing strategies was explored by measuring the relationship between writing attitude scores, errors in writing, strategy use and essay scores. Additionally, the role of L2 proficiency in writing performance was also investigated by assessing the relationship between vocabulary size scores, writing errors and writing performance. Findings from Study 3 revealed unexpected findings with regard to the relationship between L1 use and writing performance among the three sample groups. L1 use was found to be correlated with writing performance for Group A but not Groups B and C. It was argued that L2 writers of different L2 proficiency level and academic experience may have different orientations of L1 use. Further work on the impact of L1 use on L2 writing will be needed in order to provide insights into this area. With regard to writing errors, a relationship between errors and writing performance was reported. It was found that subject verb agreement error appeared to be a common factor for the three groups in the study that was related to writing performance. In addition, errors were also significantly correlated with L2 proficiency, suggesting that as L2 proficiency increased, errors decreased. Overall, Study 3 argues for the importance of developing and enhancing learners’ L2 proficiency to reduce errors and improve learners’ writing performance. Additionally, Study 3 also argues for the need to emphasize effective writing strategies in the ESL writing classroom.

The interactions between educators and learners in the classroom have been proved to be pivotal in learners’ academic performance and social interactions. Furthermore, positive interaction impacts on both the educators’ and learners’ emotional wellbeing. With this in mind, this study aimed to explore educators’ experiences of their interactions with learners in the Foundation Phase. The theoretical underpinning of this study, namely community psychology and systems theory states that interaction is a dynamic process between two individuals and that people must always be considered in context, taking into mind their family, community and social environment. This qualitative study used a case study design, utilizing a focus group discussion in two public schools to gather data. Ten female educators participated, six from the one school and four from the other. They were all English speaking and all had been teaching for more than five years. The discussions were directed by one main question, namely: “Tell me about your experiences of the interactions with the learners in your classroom”. Additional probing questions were also utilized. These two schools were chosen as one is well resourced and the other school is underresourced, and so they provide a different perspective on the subject being explored in this study. Thematic analysis was utilized and revealed the following main themes. Firstly, the educators reported being very aware of both the educational and emotional needs of the learners, as well as the impact of the family background on the learners’ behaviour. Furthermore, the experiences of the educators in relation to the learners were mostly negative, reporting often feeling frustrated, hopeless and angry. They did, however, have some positive experiences. As a result of the learners’ needs and their experiences, the educators employed various strategies to meet the identified needs of the learners, to manage the classroom environment and regulate themselves. These findings are considered in the light of international and South African research and found to concur with this literature, in that educators use interaction to achieve the tasks required by the curriculum, to manage classroom discipline and structure and to meet the emotional needs of the learners. Additionally, the difference in the two schools was revealed in the influence of external factors. The educators from the less resourced school experienced much frustration and stress in contending with the learners’ particularly challenging home lives, as well as the inefficiency of the education department, in matters such as assessing learners or placing them correctly, according to their needs. In the light of these findings, the researcher recommends further studies to determine whether what was reported by the educators in this study, can be generalized to all educators in the Foundation Phase. If this is indeed so, educators could be empowered to be more effective in their interactions with the learners in their class, which could, in turn, result in better academic performances for the learners and a more positive experience for the educators. / Thesis (MA (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Empirical studies have documented aggression in children as a typical, normal developmental phenomenon, characterized as having the highest levels of aggression between the ages of two and three, and gradually declining by early childhood. However, the escalating levels of aggression by children within the teaching-learning environment, as emphasized by the media, crime statistics and relevant research studies, presents an apparent incongruence. This propelled the need to address aggression as experienced by male learners in school during the Intermediate Phase. Masculinity was an important lens in contextualizing male learners’ experiences of aggression to help explore and describe to what extent, if any, male learners do experience aggression in school during the Intermediate Phase. A qualitative study with a phenomenological approach, within the protocol of ethical procedures and measures of trustworthiness, was conducted to explore and describe male learners’ experience of aggression in school during the Intermediate Phase. Twenty-seven middle-childhood male learners aged 9 to 11 from grades four to six from three primary schools in District D14 in Lenasia participated in the process of phenomenological interviewing in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. An interpretive data analysis by means of Tesch’s open-coding systematic process proffered the following findings: Firstly, Intermediate Phase male learners described aggression using concrete examples of their lived experience and these experiences of aggression translated into verbal and physical aggression as the ‘fight instinct’. In addition, these experiences of aggression indicated male learners’ middle-childhood developmental stage and their experience of aggression as a feeling of anger and a justification of their aggressive behaviour. Secondly, male learners’ experience of aggression in school during the Intermediate Phase formed a cycle of aggression with a focus on the role of school authority in the management of aggression and resolution of conflict, where male learners’ experienced gangs and bullies as provocation for them to behave aggressively in return, and gender identity and gender roles were constructed and interpreted within the framework of the Sex Role Socialisation Theory. Thirdly, Intermediate Phase learners made suggestions in managing their own and others’ aggression in terms of self-regulation, morality and religion. Whilst masculinity is an elusive and ambiguous concept, the manifestation of aggressive behaviours by male learners within the context of the adapted definition of masculinity as a negotiation of ‘cognitive, behavioural, emotionally expressive, psychosocial and sociocultural experience’ indicated that male learners aspire to the ‘way men are’ or are in pursuit of being ‘real men.’ A subtle form of hegemonic masculinity alluding to dominance, power and competiveness was evident in the male learners’ practice of aggression. The findings validate the notion that male learners psychological wellbeing is at risk should the cycle of aggression persist. Hence, the researcher suggests that learners need to be skilled in ameliorating aggression by means of a process of teachers demonstrating and skilling learners in identifying conflict and resolving conflict; a coaching model should be adopted and implemented to train learners to manage aggression; the sensitization of gender roles, namely masculinity; and that counsellors and qualified psychologists be available at schools. Guidelines were described from the themes emanating from male learners’ experience of aggression in school during the Intermediate Phase. A valuable contribution from the research study was that learners had the platform to be heard and that some found the interview process interesting. / Thesis ((MEd (Learner support))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The interactions between educators and learners in the classroom have been proved to be pivotal in learners’ academic performance and social interactions. Furthermore, positive interaction impacts on both the educators’ and learners’ emotional wellbeing. With this in mind, this study aimed to explore educators’ experiences of their interactions with learners in the Foundation Phase. The theoretical underpinning of this study, namely community psychology and systems theory states that interaction is a dynamic process between two individuals and that people must always be considered in context, taking into mind their family, community and social environment. This qualitative study used a case study design, utilizing a focus group discussion in two public schools to gather data. Ten female educators participated, six from the one school and four from the other. They were all English speaking and all had been teaching for more than five years. The discussions were directed by one main question, namely: “Tell me about your experiences of the interactions with the learners in your classroom”. Additional probing questions were also utilized. These two schools were chosen as one is well resourced and the other school is underresourced, and so they provide a different perspective on the subject being explored in this study. Thematic analysis was utilized and revealed the following main themes. Firstly, the educators reported being very aware of both the educational and emotional needs of the learners, as well as the impact of the family background on the learners’ behaviour. Furthermore, the experiences of the educators in relation to the learners were mostly negative, reporting often feeling frustrated, hopeless and angry. They did, however, have some positive experiences. As a result of the learners’ needs and their experiences, the educators employed various strategies to meet the identified needs of the learners, to manage the classroom environment and regulate themselves. These findings are considered in the light of international and South African research and found to concur with this literature, in that educators use interaction to achieve the tasks required by the curriculum, to manage classroom discipline and structure and to meet the emotional needs of the learners. Additionally, the difference in the two schools was revealed in the influence of external factors. The educators from the less resourced school experienced much frustration and stress in contending with the learners’ particularly challenging home lives, as well as the inefficiency of the education department, in matters such as assessing learners or placing them correctly, according to their needs. In the light of these findings, the researcher recommends further studies to determine whether what was reported by the educators in this study, can be generalized to all educators in the Foundation Phase. If this is indeed so, educators could be empowered to be more effective in their interactions with the learners in their class, which could, in turn, result in better academic performances for the learners and a more positive experience for the educators. / Thesis (MA (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Empirical studies have documented aggression in children as a typical, normal developmental phenomenon, characterized as having the highest levels of aggression between the ages of two and three, and gradually declining by early childhood. However, the escalating levels of aggression by children within the teaching-learning environment, as emphasized by the media, crime statistics and relevant research studies, presents an apparent incongruence. This propelled the need to address aggression as experienced by male learners in school during the Intermediate Phase. Masculinity was an important lens in contextualizing male learners’ experiences of aggression to help explore and describe to what extent, if any, male learners do experience aggression in school during the Intermediate Phase. A qualitative study with a phenomenological approach, within the protocol of ethical procedures and measures of trustworthiness, was conducted to explore and describe male learners’ experience of aggression in school during the Intermediate Phase. Twenty-seven middle-childhood male learners aged 9 to 11 from grades four to six from three primary schools in District D14 in Lenasia participated in the process of phenomenological interviewing in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. An interpretive data analysis by means of Tesch’s open-coding systematic process proffered the following findings: Firstly, Intermediate Phase male learners described aggression using concrete examples of their lived experience and these experiences of aggression translated into verbal and physical aggression as the ‘fight instinct’. In addition, these experiences of aggression indicated male learners’ middle-childhood developmental stage and their experience of aggression as a feeling of anger and a justification of their aggressive behaviour. Secondly, male learners’ experience of aggression in school during the Intermediate Phase formed a cycle of aggression with a focus on the role of school authority in the management of aggression and resolution of conflict, where male learners’ experienced gangs and bullies as provocation for them to behave aggressively in return, and gender identity and gender roles were constructed and interpreted within the framework of the Sex Role Socialisation Theory. Thirdly, Intermediate Phase learners made suggestions in managing their own and others’ aggression in terms of self-regulation, morality and religion. Whilst masculinity is an elusive and ambiguous concept, the manifestation of aggressive behaviours by male learners within the context of the adapted definition of masculinity as a negotiation of ‘cognitive, behavioural, emotionally expressive, psychosocial and sociocultural experience’ indicated that male learners aspire to the ‘way men are’ or are in pursuit of being ‘real men.’ A subtle form of hegemonic masculinity alluding to dominance, power and competiveness was evident in the male learners’ practice of aggression. The findings validate the notion that male learners psychological wellbeing is at risk should the cycle of aggression persist. Hence, the researcher suggests that learners need to be skilled in ameliorating aggression by means of a process of teachers demonstrating and skilling learners in identifying conflict and resolving conflict; a coaching model should be adopted and implemented to train learners to manage aggression; the sensitization of gender roles, namely masculinity; and that counsellors and qualified psychologists be available at schools. Guidelines were described from the themes emanating from male learners’ experience of aggression in school during the Intermediate Phase. A valuable contribution from the research study was that learners had the platform to be heard and that some found the interview process interesting. / Thesis ((MEd (Learner support))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

There is a well-documented evidence to confirm that the largest number of people living with the HI-virus is in Africa and especially in South Africa. The prospect of a significant breakthrough in treatment looks uncertain at present and for this reason the impact of HIV and AIDS in South Africa must be taken very seriously. In 1999 surveys estimated about 3,5 million people infected by HIV and 150 000 with AIDS. The figure was expected to rise to 5-7 million HIV-infected people over the next 5 years. Experts calculated that on average 1500 people get infected each day in South Africa! South Africa has one of the most rapidly spreading pandemics in the world. High school learners are a high-risk group. Prevention programmes are important to minimize the infection rate amongst adolescents and young adults. The researcher has therefore concentrated on the prevention of HIV/AIDS among learners at high school level in a rural area between the ages 16-18 years. A survey was undertaken with the purpose of preventing HIV/AIDS among learners from the Thejane Secondary school in a rural area in Thaba Nchu. The aim of this research was: 8 To evaluate the effectiveness of a group work programme for high school learners in the prevention of HIV/AIDS in a rural area. To reach this aim, a prevention programme was designed for these high school learners through which knowledge about the nature of HIV/AIDS as well as knowledge about values and attitudes were given to them. A small group of ten learners were chosen as the research group and ten learners as the control group. Group work as a method of social work was chosen to achieve the aim of the study. The group work programme was successfully presented in 9 sessions of one to one and a half hour each during school time. The programme was in particular suited, not only to improve the knowledge of the learners about the nature of HIV/AIDS, but also to broaden their insight with regard to the important role of a healthy lifestyle as well as the importance of being assertive. The programme was evaluated by measuring at two occasions. The results obtained by this evaluation showed that the group work programme brought about a significant difference in the knowledge, insight, attitudes and beliefs about HIV/AIDS as well as the important role of values. The single system design was used to measure the effect of the programme. The results of the measuring indicated that group work intervention was successful in implementing the desired change. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Academic underachievement potentially redirects the future of adolescents. The specific sample for this research was Grade nine learners. Grade nine is when subject choices are made and the last year of compulsory education. Academic underachievement during Grade nine becomes a barrier to career enhancing subject choices. Subject choice is a first step to greater specialisation of skills and a future career path. This study focused on the investigation of factors that could possibly contribute to the academic underachievement of Grade nine learners to the extent that they would fail. The findings will make teachers more aware of the influence that the internal and external fields of Grade nine learners have on their academic achievement. From the results it was found that academic underachievement is influenced by peer acceptance, parental involvement, cognitive development, the ability to handle examination anxiety, the Grade nine learner's perception of academic identity as well as other factors. A mixed method approach was used. Interviews with underachieving Grade nine learners, Grade nine teachers and Grade nine parents, as well as questionnaires completed by a cluster sample of the general Grade nine population of this study indicated the influence of the underachievers' external and internal fields on academic performance. / Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

This study focuses on investigating the psychological needs of orphans affected by HIV/AIDS and how these learners can be supported in order to cope effectively with the challenges posed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The study needed to understand the psychological well being of learners affected or orphaned by HIV/AIDS, their general performance at school, the nature and extent of social support they get from their families, communities and societies and their physical well being. Suggestions for an ecosystemic theoretical framework to be infused in all psycho-social support programmes geared to strengthen the psycho-social well-being of AIDS orphans were made. Orphans are affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic emotionally, physically, spiritually and socially. Affected learners have fewer opportunities for schooling and education, may suffer from malnutrition. They are themselves often highly vulnerable to HIV infection and are at higher risk of developing psychological problems. In this study, a case study design was followed. Interviews were conducted with a sample of participants including orphaned learners living in a child-headed household, class-educator, an aunt and a health worker in Soweto. The researcher recruited participants by means of snowball sampling. Results revealed that learners orphaned by HIV/AIDS suffer emotional trauma and grief, illness and stress. They have scholastic problems, suffer stigmatization and discrimination, miss out on educational opportunities and experience poverty. This is an indication of a need for social support. It is for this reason that an ecosystemic support programme which schools can adopt and adapt in order to develop the psychological and social resilience of learners affected and orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic is proposed. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has an immense potential to improve the support needs of learners with visual impairments as well as their self-sufficiency and self-reliance. In the last nine years, the South African government introduced inclusive education, through White Paper 6 that requires that Learning, Teaching and Support Material, including ICTs be provided to learners with visual impairments. The provision of Assistive Technology devices (ATs) is essential to learners with visual impairments full involvement in learning through the use of ICTs. Furthermore, literature indicates that many studies were done in the use of ICTs in teaching and learning, specifically for learners with diverse visual impairments. Recommendations were also supplied by these studies on how and when to use ICTs in the teaching and learning of visually impaired learners. The empirical research of this study revealed that ICTs are essential tools for visually impaired learners to enhance their learning. It also drew attention to the fact that despite the commitments of White Paper 6 schools for the visually impaired are not yet supplied with appropriate ICTs and educators are not adequately trained to apply ICTs in teaching and learning. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011