M.Ed. (Multiculturalism and Education) / It appears that much research has been done in the past on parent education, but with the emphasis on the white community. As a result of the present movement in the RSA towards multicultural education, the need for parent education in all population and ethnic groups has been increased. This area of study has been grossly neglected up to now. Due to the problematic nature of the above-mentioned situation, this study is aimed at compiling guidelines for an education program for parents of behaviorally disturbed children in the multicultural school. An investigation into the characteristics of the behaviorally disturbed child was attempted by means of a study of literature. Existing parent education programs were also studied and evaluated. Insights derived from this study were then adapted to create a set of general and a set of specific guidelines for and education program for parents of behaviorally disturbed children in the multicultural school.

M.Ed. (Multiculturality and Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Multiculturalism And Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

South Africa has eleven official languages. In this diverse context teaching is a complex issue. In the light of this statement, the aims of this study were to • ascertain teachers’ perceptions of language diversity in multicultural primary schools in Gauteng; • determine their views on the factors that impact on the acquisition of English as a second language; and • make recommendations on how teachers can best be supported to teach multicultural classes. The study adopted a quantitative approach. A questionnaire was used to gather data, which was completed by 60 teachers from three Gauteng primary schools. Significant conclusions include, that not all teachers are aware of the language policies. Most are in favour of English being taught from Grade one; believed the parents preferred their children to be educated in English, and were divided in their support of using mother tongue languages. Finally, recommendations were made, emanating from the study. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)

The study of music has long been seen as élitist in South African education, a ‘talent’ subject rather than an academic one. The country’s political history has played a significant role in this perception. Under the apartheid government, education in the arts was considered appropriate only for gifted, mostly white, students and a grossly inequitable distribution of resources placed the study of music beyond the reach of most students. The ANC government has declared educational reform a priority, but faces enormous challenges in redressing inequities of the past. This study examines the relevance and academic rigour of music curricula past and present, in the light of political influences; and the challenges that face schools and education departments in sustaining growth and development of music as an academic subject, accessible to all at senior secondary school level. / Music / M. Mus.

A thesis submitted to the School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts In Applied Language Education and Literacy Studies , Johannesburg 2016 / Using English as a medium of instruction or the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) can be a very difficult task especially if the children do not speak the language and are multilingual. It affects reading, writing and oral language skills. This study seeks to examine the impact of exposing underperforming grade 8 and 9 learners of English to a Literacy Club. The study is a follow up of the study that was done in 2013. The main difference between the current study and the previous study is that, participants in the first study were already readers and volunteered to join the Literacy Club. Although school rules were relaxed, only English was used to discuss the read texts. In the current study, because I was working with weak readers, learners who have been identified as at risk of failing and had all been invited to join the Literacy Club as a form of language enrichment programme, the participants will be allowed to use all the linguistic skills at their disposal for both discussion of texts and reflecting in their journals. This is based on the premise that being multilingual should not be viewed as a barrier but a resource for learning. Underpinned by the socio-cultural approach to learning and drawing intensively from different theoretical views of language learning and learning to read, a case of 16 learners in grade 8 and 9 participated in this study. The study adopted a qualitative approach where a number of methods were used for the purposes of data collection. The study discovered that Literacy Clubs are a good vehicle to impart reading skills as they motivate learners to read. Literacy Clubs also have a positive impact on attainment in language tests. The study also discovered that allowing learners to use all the linguistic repertoires available to them boosts their confidence to talk about the literature they have read and improves the quality of their discussions. The study recommended that reading should be allocated time within normal school hours for each grade, children should be given an opportunity to write reading journals which should be marked and commented on by the teacher to encourage free writing and develop writing skills, the context of the school should be considered when deciding on the language policy to adopt and lastly but most importantly, translanguaging should be seriously considered as a pedagogical tool when teaching a second language. / MT 2018

Thesis (Phd.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2008 / This study investigates whether five former Model C schools in Bloemfontein are inclusive of diverse cultures found among their learner population. In apartheid South Africa segregation on the basis of racial and cultural difference was policy. Therefore, post apartheid legislation and policies, coupled with the fact that inclusion is not always understood or welcomed where people are used to segregated systems necessitated this investigation. The study was qualitative in nature and Buskens-Meulenberg’s Free Attitude Interview (FAI) was used as a main source of data collection. Principals of the five former Model C schools that formed part of this study and three university students who are former Model C schools learners were interviewed using open ended questions. It was important to employ the Free Attitude Interview because it meant the interviewees were free to talk about anything they felt like, as long as it was within the framework of the starting question. Secondly, it allowed for reflection on the dominant discourse and also gave a voice to the dominated discourse. To arrive at the findings data was analyzed and interpreted using Fairclough’s Textual Oriented Discourse Analysis (TODA). This method of analysis allowed the researcher to look not only at the text of the interviews but also at their discursive practices. The following findings emerged from the data analysis. The general finding from the data collected from both the principals and students was that these schools expected learners from diverse cultural backgrounds to adapt to the existing ‘school culture’ which is white middle class. The curriculum delivery, staff provisioning, and everything within the schools was found to reflect ‘white middle class culture’. The interviews from both the principals and students indicated that instead of being inclusive of all learners these schools go out of their way to assimilate children from other cultures especially black children. While this is the case it is also clear that the two groups of respondents view this differently. To the white school principals this is an accepted and normal way consciously encouraged and promoted. On the other hand this is a sore point to the black students which led them to feel that they did not belong in these schools and left them with feelings of alienation. I therefore argue that in spite of the rhetoric endorsing equity, redress, justice and respect for difference including cultural diversity, little has changed in terms of educational outcomes. Young black children who go to these former Model C schools still face exclusionary practices despite the fact that these schools have been open to all racial groups and they are physically there. While I have taken care not to generalize from the findings, – since this was never the intention of the study - I nevertheless drew the conclusion that these schools are actually not inclusive of learners from diverse cultural backgrounds. Adhering to the ‘ethos’ of the school and thereby maintaining the status quo seems to be the main objective of the schools (principals). In-fact black learners in these schools continue to experience exclusion and explicit racism. The study concludes that power structures in these schools – management and governance -, curriculum and the way it is delivered and all other activities within the school are used to reinforce domination of the learners from cultural backgrounds other than that of the school. From the findings the study recommend that for these schools to be truly inclusive of learners from diverse cultural backgrounds the Department of Education should take a leading role in ensuring that transformation takes place in these schools and they become inclusive of all learners. For this nation to be a true rainbow nation the Department of Education should not leave the transformation of these schools to the School Management Teams and Governing Bodies. Recommendations on what schools themselves can do to ensure that they accommodate, acknowledge and reflect cultural diversity and as such are inclusive of all learners are also given. Furthermore suggestions for relevant future research, based on the findings are made.

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / The aim of this study is to investigate the developmental deficits among milieu disadvantaged pre-schoolers in a multicultural learning environment and to identify the cause of these deficits. The availability of school readiness programmes and whether these programmes fulfil in the needs of milieu disadvantaged pre-schoolers are investigated. In the light of the theoretical and empirical research it appears that the profile of milieu disadvantaged pre-schoolers is in a process of change. Developmental shortcomings are experienced with regard to the following developmental aspects: Emotional Physical Cognitive Social, moral and aesthetical development According to the theoretical and empirical research these developmental deficits are caused by factors due to the home environment, the school as well as socio-demographic and socio-economic factors. From the research recommendations regarding the following were generated: The parents The pre-primary school The primary school The Department of Education Further researchSee file / Die doel met die onderhawige studie is om te bepaal watter ontwikkelingstekorte by milieubenadeelde kleuters in 'n multikulturele leeromgewing voorkom en om die faktore te identifiseer waardeur hierdie tekorte veroorsaak word. Daar word 'n breedvoerige blik gewerp op beskikbare leergereedheidsprogramme en in hoe 'n mate dit die ontwikkelingstekorte van milieubenadeelde kleuters aanspreek. Aan die hand van die literatuurstudie en 'n empiriese ondersoek blyk dit dat die beeld van milieubenadeelde kleuters besig is om te verander. Ontwikkelingstekorte word veral ten opsigte van die volgende aspekte ervaar: Emosionele Fisieke Kognitiewe Sosiale, morele en estetiese ontwikkeling Uit die literatuurstudie en die empiriese ondersoek blyk dit dat bogenoemde ontwikkelingstekorte veroorsaak word deur huislike, skolastiese, sosio-demografiese en sosio-ekonomiese faktore. Uit die ondersoek word aanbevelings ten opsigte van die volgende gegenereer: Die ouerhuis Die pre-primere skool Die primere skool Department of Education Verdere navorsing / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Sieklundige Opvoedkunde)

The historically black and historically white universities in South Africa were shaped by apartheid policies. Within this socio-political context the project started when I, who was a lecturer at a historically black university (HBU), was confronted by violent interactions between lecturers and students, and a perceived passivity on the part of management when lecturers were threatened by students with violence in social and academic settings. Based on socio-historical factors and my personal experiences, I explored the experiences of lecturers at an HBU, i.e. their relationship with students and management, to form an understanding about how the lecturers’ experiences influenced the unconscious dynamic processes of the intergroup transactions between themselves and the students and management. A qualitative research method was chosen because it allowed for the in-depth analysis and interpretation of the lecturers’ experiences in a particular HBU. Hermeneutic phenomenology, using the systems psychodynamic perspective, allowed for the description and interpretation of the lecturers’ experiences. Data collection entailed hermeneutic conversations with the nine lecturers from an HBU. In the analysis, interpretation and reporting of the findings, the interpretive stance proposed by Shapiro and Carr (1991) was used. This analysis and interpretation entailed a collaborative dimension – the analysed data was sent to the lecturers to ascertain whether the analysis was a reflection of their experiences, as well as to experts in the systems psychodynamic perspective to ascertain whether the interpretations were plausible. The relationship between students, lecturers and management was contradictory, because it was marked by hope for an effective working relationship and by continuing conflict and violence – resulting in the (k)not of relationship based on the (k)not of achievement apparent in the lecturers’ relationship with students, and the (k)not of performance evident in their relationship with management. The intergroup transactions between students, lecturers and management were marked by a reign of terror as threats of violence, or actual physical violence, were directed at lecturers by students with little or no intervention by management. By integrating the findings with systems psychodynamic literature, several working hypotheses and two research hypotheses regarding the (k)not of relationship between the three stakeholders were generated. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)