Thesis (MPA.) --University of Limpopo, 2005 / Refer to document

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-07, Section: B, page: 4116. Adviser: Patricia D. Mullen. Includes bibliographical references.

The research was mainly confined to secondary schools in the Limpopo Province where a lack of self-empowerment amongst the educators is the order of the day. The research question of the study was generated as follows: Does the lack of self-empowerment amongst the teachers in the Limpopo Province (Region 3) have a negative impact on the development of a common self-empowerment for the teachers? The main objectives of the research were to give teachers some guidelines for efficient as well as successful self-empowerment practices for better functioning and service in secondary schools in the Limpopo Province. The hypothesis generated was formulated as follows: The development of self-empowerment by teachers which maintain good relationships with their community will result in the strong possibility that they will have fewer development problems. The research was conducted by means of a phenomenological approach. The following concepts were defined: self-empowerment, curriculum development, development for whole school curriculum development, involvement and participation. Historical perceptions of teachers and their participation and involvement were highlighted and the history of self-empowerment in the Limpopo Province was discussed. The composition of the teachers fell into two categories, namely, untrained and under- trained (as far as self-empowerment is concerned) teachers. The importance of the teachers’ involvement in self-empowerment was discussed under the following sub- headings: curriculum vision, decision making, design and development, policy-making, appointment of curriculum teaching staff and building and renovating curriculum. The principal may be involved in the self-empowerment activities through the self-empowerment committee. Principals and teachers must receive their knowledge in self-empowerment development during their training at seminars and conferences in order to play their roles in the community-self-empowerment relationships. As a result, principals will be enabled to fulfill their tasks as cooperative facilitators and as relationship establishers in the community-self-empowerment relations. For example, principals must see to it that teachers must be considered as collaborators in the self-empowerment process, since they have a strong role to play in their learners’ learning and behaviour. In the second place, principals should be friendly towards the teachers because complete frankness makes for good relationships. This, in due course, can bear fruit so that all go well that ends well to the benefit of the whole school. / Dr. M.C. van Loggerenberg

This study focuses on the lack of support services necessary to implement Environmental Education, in the Nsami Circuit, Limpopo Province. The aims of the study were, firstly, to investigate how teacher’s needs are neglected and how retraining of teachers is being relegated. Secondly, if Environmental Education were introduced in schools, to investigate the possibilities that it would create with regards to an awareness of local environmental issues. Thirdly, when projects are initiated at schools, to investigate the benefits to both teachers and learners. Lastly, to investigate the assumption that for any implementation of Environmental Education to be effective, teachers’ needs should taken care of, in terms of training through workshops as a way of helping them to adapt accordingly. An extensive literature review was undertaken to examine core areas of Environmental Education and the current curricula to establish where the emphasis of Environmental Education lay. The theoretical framework constructed from the review concluded with the premise that the issue of Environmental Education is of immense importance as reported in the NEEP-GET Project. The study, to investigate the essence and intensity of frustrations teachers’ experience in offering Environmental Education in South African schools, recommends that the Department of Education should treat the issue of training teachers through in-service training, seminars, workshops and other means a priority if effective and successful teaching and learning of Environmental Education is to be experienced. / Prof. H. G. van Rooyen

M.Sc. / The Central Zone of the Limpopo Complex displays two major structural features: the roughly east-west oriented Tshipise Straightening Zone Paleoproterozoic in age and a “Cross Folded Zone” to the north of the Straightening Zone comprising large-scale sheath and cross folds suggested to have developed during a Late- Archaean high grade tectono-metamorphic event. This study presents and discusses structural-metamorphic data showing that two closely associated folds (Ga-Tshanzi and Campbell) in the eastern part of the Cross Folded Zone near Musina, record different structural and metamorphic histories that may be applied to the evolution of the entire Central Zone of the Limpopo Complex. The Ga-Tshanzi structure has an ovate-shaped closed outcrop pattern approximately 4km long, and 3km wide with the long axis of the fold pattern oriented in a westerly direction. The fold geometry, characterized by a central fold axis that plunges steeply to the SSW, is very similar to other closed folds in the Central Zone previously interpreted as sheath folds. The Ga-Tshanzi fold deforms rocks of the Beit Bridge Complex (calc-silicate, metaquartzite, metapelite and magnetite quartzite and quartzofeldspathic Singelele Gneiss), and members of the Messina Layered Suite. The ovate structure is characterised by a gneissic fabric comprising peak metamorphic mineral assemblages. This regional gneissic fabric that occurs throughout the Central Zone also defines the shape of the neighbouring Campbell fold. Mineral lineations and fold hinges in the Ga-Tshanzi fold mainly present within metaquartzites and calc-silicates, plunge steeply to the southwest, parallel to its central fold axis indicating a NNE-SSW transport direction during fold formation. A decompression-cooling P-T path calculated for metapelitic gneisses from the Ga-Tshanzi fold shows that the closed fold developed under high-grade, deep crustal conditions. Peak P-T conditions of 7.5kbar/799ºC were followed by decompression and cooling down to 5.23kbar/605ºC. Water activity during this event was low, ranging from 0.122 at peak conditions, and decreasing to 0.037 at the minimum calculated conditions. The Ga-Tshanzi closed fold and the closely associated Campbell cross fold were thus formed at deep crustal levels and partially exhumed along a similar decompression-cooling P-T path to mid-crustal levels during the early orogenic event. The Campbell fold, described as a cross fold in the literature, is approximately 15km long and has a V shaped outcrop pattern that tapers from 12km in the southeast to 2 km in the northwest. This fold is developed in lithologies similar to those of the Ga-Tshanzi fold as well as in Sand River Gneisses. It has a near isoclinal fold geometry with both limbs dipping towards the southwest and a fold axis that plunges moderately to the west-southwest. This fold, that is interpreted to have developed during the same deformational event as the Ga-Tshansi structure has, however, subsequently been affected at mid- to upper crustal levels by shear movement along the Tshipise Straightening Zone displaying widespread development of younger planar and linear structural features. Planar features include north-south-trending high temperature shear zones that crosscut the regional fabric and flexural slip planes particularly evident in quartzites. Linear features from the Campbell fold that are mainly developed in younger shear and flexural slip planes, indicate, in contrast to the Ga-Tshanzi fold, an ENE-WSW directed crustal movement that is in accordance with the sense of movement suggested for the Tshipise Straightening Zone. The calculated decompression-cooling P-T path for sheared metapelitic gneisses from discrete high temperature shear zones deforming rocks of the Campbell cross fold shows that this superimposed shear deformational event occurred under peak P-T conditions of 4.98kbar/681ºC, followed by decompression and cooling down to 3.61kbar/585ºC. Water activity during this shear event was high, ranging from 0.217 at peak conditions and decreases to 0.117 at minimum calculated conditions. Structural and metamorphic data for the two folded areas thus indicate two distinct tectono-metamorphic events: (i) a late Archaean peak metamorphic and deformational event responsible for the formation of the Ga-Tshanzi fold, and similar folds throughout the Central Zone including the Campbell cross fold that was accompanied by steep NNE-SSW transport of crustal material, and (ii) a shear deformational event linked to the Paleoproterozoic Tshipise Straightening Zone that partially obliterated the early structural and metamorphic history of the Campbell fold during mid to upper crustal conditions during relatively shallow ENE-WSW directed movement of crustal material. The fact that this superimposed event had no apparent metamorphic effect on the studied metapelitic rocks of the closely associated Ga-Tshanzi closed fold, suggests that shearing was constrained to discrete north-south orientated zones.

M.Ed. / At present, some six million South Africans are illiterate, and around two million unemployed adults have inadequate basic schooling (National Education Coordination Committee, 1993:30). This means that they are unable to take advantage of further training or skilled employment prospects. The consequences of illiteracy amongst adults are still reflected through the economy in the form of low productivity, poor quality of life of low-income households and communities, and in political and social instability. Similar findings have been recorded in other countries. For example the Australian Government Gazette (2000:31) states that there were over 23 million adults between the ages of 16 and 65, over 3 million of whom had not had access to schooling. Furthermore, nearly 10 million had not completed Grade 9, and over 10 million had not completed Grade 12. Vella (1994:1) concurs that the introduction of Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) is a solution to the problem. Adult Education is expected to bring about change in adult learners, with goals ranging from changing behaviour to increasing knowledge, skills and attitudes. One of the focuses of ABET is educational technology, with specific focus on the computer. Carter (1993) states that educational technology, in particular the computer, is widespread to such an extent that it is viewed as an indispensable tool in the daily lives of people. It is used in homes, offices, shops, banks and hospitals. In addition, the most important indicator of the population’s ability to use information technology is to apply computer basics. Although no scientific survey of computer literacy in Africa has been performed to date, rough estimates do exist. Hodge & Miller(1997) quote the World Competitiveness Report (1993) which placed South Africa’s computer literacy rate on a par with Brazil, just below `India and well behind countries like Singapore and Japan (see Chapter 2, table 2.1). Over a decade later, an estimate of computer literacy in South Africa (Hodge & Miller, 1994:[online]) based on the education, employment and demographic profile of the population, shows the levels of computer literacy to be 3.2 million people, or 7.7% of the population. In addition, these figures are based on criteria that computer literacy is determined in the workplace, the level of education determining the type of job one gets and how much prior experience with computers one has. Factors such as age will influence the level of computer literacy. Applying this methodology to each race group, Hodge and Miller, 1997 [online]) find computer literacy rates of 21.1% for Asians, the lowest percentage 5.6% for Blacks and 7,1% for Coloureds. As these statistics indicate, the lowest percentage are Blacks, which indicates that this group is in most need of ABET (Hodge & Miller, 1997: [online]). As the researcher found that the low computer skill figures revealed that the groups most in need of computer literacy are Blacks, she, therefore, was motivated to examine the reasons behind these low figures. 1.2 / Dr. G.V. Lautenbach

This study aimed to explore the development and experiences of teachers in the implementation of OBE in Mutale Educational District of Limpopo province. In order to achieve this goal, a thorough literature review was conducted and selected Teachers from schools located in the district, Education Specialists and Curriculum Advisors were also interviewed. Informed by the findings and literature, this study argues that school-based model of teacher development, where teachers are partners in their development, is the most suitable in the current curriculum transformation agenda in South Africa. It further alludes to the fact that teacher development would lead to effective curriculum implementation and by extension lead to effective learning in the schools. / Dr. M.C. Loggerenberg

M.A. / This study was conducted at Mankweng District in Limpopo Province initially known as Northern Province. The study was undertaken to explore the nature of the resources for school going teenage mothers and to address the gap in identifying that. The study used a quantitative research design, with fourty respondents. Respondents were 10 school going teenage mothers; 10 parents of school going teenage mothers, 10 social workers and 10 teachers. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-economic factors, contraceptive knowledge, sex education, the utilization of human and non human resources and services offered by different practitioners. The results confirmed that various practitioners did not work as a system in addressing the problem of teenage mothers. It also presented focus on lack of communication between parents and teenagers regarding sexuality education. Most of the teenage mothers were not utilizing the existing non human resources. Both of these conclusions pose critical challenges for health promoters. / Dr. E. Oliphant Prof. W.A. Mitchell

see file / Public Administration / M. A. (Public Administration)

This thesis begins by providing an account of the ancestral grave relocations of the Sekuruwe community in Limpopo province, South Africa. Sekuruwe claims that the manner in which their graves were relocated disrespected their cultural norms, and infringed their constitutional rights. Over three years of investigation, it was proved that the mine which relocated the graves acted negligently by badly damaging human remains, confusing graves and loosing skeletons. The thesis investigates Sekuruwe‟s case within three theoretical frameworks: Systemic oppression, legal claims to culture, and Ethnicity Incorporated. The role of heritage legislation is highlighted throughout the thesis, and the inadequacies of legislation pointed out with reference to the different theoretical approaches. The aim of the thesis is to understand the way in which Sekuruwe‟s claims of cultural insensitivity are in fact claims of injustice, which are argued through the bodies (and graves, and spirits) of the dead. I aim to understand the way in which these claims of injustice are structured by heritage legislation.