PhD (African Studies) / Department of African Studies / Moral degeneration is rampant among the youth across the globe. Juvenile delinquency and diversified social ills are prevalent and manifesting moral degeneration among the youth. This study sought to explore youth moral degeneration at Makuya area in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study is qualitative and exploratory in nature. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select twenty-eight research participants comprised of the parents, educators, youth, religious leaders, traditional leaders, social workers and SAPS officials. Data was collected using unstructured face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions to gain insights of youth moral degeneration challenges. The narrative analysis method was used to analyse and interpret data. The study found that moral degeneration among the youth at Makuya area is rife and is exemplified by the high rate of teenage pregnancies, teen parenthood, school dropout, alcohol and substance abuse, bullying trends, vandalism and other criminal acts committed by the youth in the Makuya area. The study recommended the use of a multi-pronged comprehensive youth moral regeneration strategy which emphasises the restoration, among the others, humanness, love, discipline, integrity, respect for authority, promotion of accountability and responsibility. / NRF

Thesis (MEd (Education Policy Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / During his presidency, Mr Nelson Mandela could not emphasise enough the rights of children and the conditions of children and youth in detention. In his first opening speech of Parliament in 1994 he made it quite clear that the rights of children had to be prioritised. In May 1995, a year after the Government of National Unity came into power, Mr Mandela recommended that an Inter-Ministerial Committee for Youth at Risk should be appointed to draft an improved system for Child and Youth Care. With regard to children who are guilty of lawlessness, drug abuse, gangsterism and juvenile delinquency, Places of Safety occupy an important position in the South African education system. In this research I conclude that the biggest stumbling block for the effective application of moral education in Places of Safety could be attributed to the fact that children admitted to these places are hardened street children. They form a sub-culture on their own, who could easily be influenced by the group of whom they are part. The multi-disciplinary teams who are responsible for the moral education of these learners are not always adequately trained to handle their tasks effectively, and do not always realise the necessity thereof. The limited time that these learners/children spend at Places of Safety also has an influence on the effective application of their moral education. The programmes at Places of Safety are specifically designed to support the regeneration of morality for children who stray from accepted social norms and values of society. The National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO) has support structures in the community in places which support children and youth, who are guilty of unacceptable social behaviour, such as violent crimes, house burglary and rape. One may refer to support structures as diversion programmes, and they are managed by NICRO to support institutions that are currently working with persons in conflict with the law.

PhD (African Studies) / Department of African Studies / Literature and media reports constantly show increased incidences of ill-discipline and lawlessness amongst the youth. These misdemeanours adversely affect communities and the behaviour of the youth as active, responsible and proactive members of the society and community members. Unfortunately, there are insufficient conversations about morality across social strata. The elders often seem disenfranchised by the popularity of the rights-based approach and modernity. In addition, communities are not proactive in coming up with initiatives that encourage on-going nyambedzano between the elders and the youth on issues around morals and discipline. Nyambedzano is a Venda concept that does not seem to have the exact English translation, so in this study I will use the concepts communication, conversation and dialogue interchangeably. Furthermore, there is a continuous blame game in the community about who should lead effective conversations that should buttress the development of responsible youth citizens. The purpose of this study was to explore the relevance of nyambedzano between the youth and elders about African morality among the youth. The study also aimed to investigate factors that were hindering nyambedzano to take place. I conducted qualitative appreciative focus group discussions with the elders and youth (who were in and out of school) that were purposively selected. Data was analysed thematically in relation to the stages of an Appreciative Inquiry approach. Findings revealed that nyambedzano between the elders and the youth about youth morality is relevant; however, its application is complicated by several factors which include the changing family structure, the changing parenting age, media and technology influences, a rightsbased approach to child rearing, and the denigration of cultural values at home, school and in the community. These findings were synthesised to develop a facilitative nyambedzano programme. Contrary to Vhavenda cultural practices, nyambedzano would have to be a two-way communication process between the elders and the youth. It would take place at different contexts, the home being the starting point. There would have to be some compromise between the rights- based contemporary approaches and traditional cultural ways of dealing with morality. This study makes methodological, empirical and theoretical contributions. An Appreciative Inquiry approach was applied to the Vhavenda ethnic group to explore the possibility of Nyambedzano between the youth and elders. The empirical contribution is that this study is the first to address nyambedzano as a process for promoting morality among the youth, within the context of the Tshivenda culture. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in the development of the facilitative nyambedzano programme that describes how nyambedzano between the elders and the youth should take place, taking into consideration the cultural values of the Vhavenda people. The recommendations are based on the creation of supportive parents, families, teachers, schools, churches, community members and policy makers. / NRF

This qualitative, phenomenological case study investigated the influence of character education, taught in addition to the Life Skills curriculum, on challenging behaviour in a primary school in Gauteng. Through a filtering process the researcher identified the Youth Citizens’ Action Programme (YCAP) as a suitable additional programme, one which currently includes democratic citizenship and service learning approaches. These are attuned to the study’s theoretical framework, which vests in social and experiential learning, modelling and observation. Although the YCAP at this particular Gauteng school is each year implemented by a team of Grade 7 learners, the implementation of the YCAP involved all the learners across grades. Hence, the empirical study focused on the contribution of the Grade 7 learners to addressing bullying, which learners themselves identified as the most prevalent form of challenging behaviour. The findings showed that the YCAP decreased bullying as challenging behaviour in this particular school. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)