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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
11

Lessons for South Africa's national identity: the political writings of Aggrey Klaaste

Sowaga, Dulile Frans January 2012 (has links)
This study is a content analysis of political writings of Aggrey Klaaste (1988-2002). Six theoretical themes suggest that Klaaste’s Nation Building philosophy can help deal with racial and social divisions in the country. These historical divisions are the source of racial tensions, lack of inter-racial socialisations and cause separate living. Lack of social cohesion makes it impossible for post apartheid South Africa to achieve much-needed single national identity. The process of nation building proposed by Klaaste starts with breaking down what he refers to as ‘the corrugated iron curtain’. Social curtaining is deliberate actions by people of different racial groups, religious formations and social classes to build psychological, physical, institutional, political, economic and religious boundaries around themselves to keep others outside their living spaces. These conscious barriers result in unstable democracy as the majority (black population) get frustrated with shack dwellings - as symbols of poverty - while the white population and the middle class blacks move to white suburbs. Moving to upmarket suburbs does not necessarily make race groups to cohere and share a common national identity. Instead informal settlements breed social ills such as poverty, crime and drug substances abuse. This status quo can cause serious political instability which will affect everyone – black and white. Klaaste argues that for collective survival all race groups need to enter into politics of action. For this he proposes specific processes and actions through Nation Building. It is argued that political solutions have failed to unite people and leaders from all sectors of society should emerge. Blacks cannot moan and hate forever. Whites will be affected and must actively support the rebuilding process. This treatise proposes nation building as a process to help everyone to find uniting issues free of political ideologies to create new brotherhood and Ubuntu.
12

Travelling snapshots of the Rainbow Nation : the commodification and performance of 'authentic' cultural identities in contemporary South African postcards

Conradie, Annemi 03 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MA VA (Visual Arts))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Please refer to full text for abstract.
13

An archaelogy of South Africanness: the conditions and fantasies of a post-apartheid festival

Truscott, Ross January 2012 (has links)
It has become commonplace in academic studies, particularly those with a critical bent, to view nations as being historical constructs, as being without essence, though not without effects of exclusion and inclusion, of the constitution of the „authentic‟ national subject and the „other of the nation.‟ The critical impetus at work here is to show how a nation is constructed in order to bring into view the knowledge and power relations this construction entails, to show whose interests the construction serves, and whose it does not. This study examines the discursive production, the performative enactment and the spatial emplacement of post-apartheid „South Africanness‟ through a case study of Oppikoppi music festival. Oppikoppi is an annual event that emerged in 1994, on the threshold of the „new South Africa.‟ The festival is attended predominantly by young white Afrikaans-speaking South Africans and is held on a farm in the northernmost province of Limpopo, South Africa, an area notoriously conservative in its racial politics. Yet, curiously, Oppikoppi has been repeatedly referred to, and refers to itself with an almost obsessive regularity and repetitiveness, as a „truly South African‟ event. Indeed, the festival has been promoted, since 1998, as „The Home of South African Music,‟ and in 2009 the site of the festival was unofficially declared a „national monument.‟ Through the employment of concepts drawn from the writings of French philosopher and historian, Michel Foucault – particularly his earlier archaeological works – and from Sigmund Freud – particularly his metapsychological works – this study has posed two broad sets of questions. Firstly, from a Foucauldian perspective, what have been the conditions for the production of „South Africanness‟ at this festival? What have been the requirements, the discursive „rules of the game‟ for whiteness and Afrikanerness to become „South African‟? To what extent does this constitution of the festival as a „South African‟ event preserve older lines of division, difference and oppression? To what extent does this bring about meaningful social change? Secondly, from a psychoanalytic perspective, what are the fantasies constellated in the discourse of the festival as a „South African‟ event? Who, in these fantasies, is constituted as the „other of the post-apartheid nation‟? How has fantasy provided a kind of „hallucinatory gratification,‟ a phantasmatic compensation for, and a means of conserving, the losses of privilege in the new nation? And how has fantasy oriented the festival towards post-apartheid sociality, soliciting identifications with the post-apartheid nation? The overarching argument proposed is that anti-apartheid post-apartheid nation building has cultivated a melancholic loss of apartheid for whites in general and Afrikaners in particular, a loss that cannot be grieved – indeed, a loss that should not be grieved – and, as such, a grief that takes on an unconscious afterlife. Apartheid and the life it enabled – not only racialised privilege, but also a structure of identification and idealisation, of being and having – becomes a loss that is buried in, and by, the injunctions issued to post-apartheid memory and conduct. Without the discursive resources with which to symbolise this loss, disguised repetitions of the past, a neurotic refinding of the lost objects of apartheid, and melancholia are the likely outcomes, each of which engender a set of exclusions and enjoyments that run along old and new lines.
14

The management and development of multi-cultural social work practice in the South African National Defence Force

Pretorius, Andre Johannes 12 1900 (has links)
Thesis (DPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Multi-cultural social work practice necessitates that the social worker possesses specific knowledge and practice skills in order to render a competent service to a diverse client system. To date, the SANDF does not possess any definite guidelines regarding multi-cultural social work practice. Consequently social work practitioners are ill-equipped to render a needs-based, multi-cultural competent service to the culturally different client system. The purpose of this study, was to develop theoretical and practical guidelines for multi-cultural social work practice within the SANDF. An attempt is made to ensure that the social service delivery system is attentive to cultural diversity among clients, whilst providing social work interventions to the client system. The objectives of the study were: firstly, to present a profile of the current consumers of social work services within the SANDF; secondly, to reflect on the nature and function of military social work within the SANDF, and to investigate the need to incorporate multi-cultural social work practice into the military setting; thirdly, to determine how the existing social work programmes in the SANDF are meeting the needs of the client system of diverse origin and culture; fourthly, to investigate the extent to which the social worker gives attention to the different cultural backgrounds of the client system; and fifthly, to explore the knowledge and practice skills needed by the social work practitioner to render multi-cultural social work services in the military setting. The study was confined to a purposive sample of 557 clients to assess their need for multi-cultural social work services. They were representative of the unique diversity in ethnic and cultural heritage, gender, and religious affiliations. The results were analysed qualitatively as well as quantitatively. Structured interviews were conducted with 16 key figures in social work management in order to assess how existing social work programmes have been designed and are managed to meet the requirements of multi-cultural social work. The results were also analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. Furthermore, group interviews with a randomly selected sample of 45 social work officers [production workersl, were conducted to determine their knowledge and perceptions of and attitudes towards multi-cultural social work and to investigate the extent to which they were attentive to the cultural backgrounds of clients when rendering social work services. These results were again analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The empirical study enabled the researcher to draw certain conclusions. From the client system's responses it was obvious that social workers should be aware of the client system's cultural, ethnic and/or religious background. Social work managers on the other hand must be skilled in the management of a multi-cultural social work personnel system. The processes used during strategic planning, which should always be preceded by an environmental study, would have an effect on service rendering within multi-cultural social work practice. Most social work programmes have been adapted to suit the needs of a diverse client system. The research results pointed out that the DSW's business plan should focus more on developmental issues like HIV/AIDS. The majority of the social work managers regarded their service rendering as being culturally competent. Although certain misconceptions were evident, social work practitioners do understand the meaning of a multi-cultural competent service rendering. Social work practitioners are not clear whether their cultural, ethnic and/or language background has an influence on their service rending. Concerning communication it was pointed out that communication in a person's mother tongue is most effective during social work intervention. Although all social work approaches are utilised by the practitioners, their overall theoretical knowledge and skills application of these approaches are questionable. In the light of these aspects confusion exists amongst the respondents as to whether social work programmes are meeting the needs of a multi-cultural client system. A number of recommendations flow from the findings and conclusions. The DSW's business plan should focus more on developmental social work aspects, and should continuously stress the importance of having a diverse knowledge and skills base of the most significant models and approaches. The social work delivery system requires more theoretical knowledge and skills in the management and implementation of a multi-culturally competent social work service, and should be skilled in how to convert social work programmes into culturally competent programmes. The workers should further be competent at addressing problems experienced within their own cultural/ethnic background, before engaging in any social work intervention with a diverse client system. Social workers should further be empowered regarding the role, function and implementation of social development strategies within the daily service rendering and thus be guided to work in a multi-cultural social work environment. In the broader sense, staff in each social work office and/or section should identify the stumbling blocks that communication has on their service delivery. Training programmes should be developed for preparing or ongoing education of the social service delivery system regarding cultural competence. Further research should be undertaken concerning factors such as: decreasing stress experienced by social workers towards a diverse client system; the effectiveness of social work programmes in reaching cultural competence; and lastly, the effect of social work management on culturally competent practice. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die praktyk van multi-kulturele maatskaplike werk vereis dat die maatskaplike werker oor spesifieke kennis en praktykvaardighede moet beskik ten einde 'n bevoegde diens aan die kultureel-diverse kliëntsisteem te lewer. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Weermag (SANW) beskik tans oor geen definitiewe riglyne rakende multi-kulturele maatskaplikewerk-dienslewering nie. Gevolglik is maatskaplike werkers nie toegerus om 'n behoefte-gebaseerde, multi-kulturele diens aan die kultureel-diverse kliëntsisteme te lewer nie. Die doel van hierdie studie is om teoretiese en praktiese riglyne vir multi-kulturele maatskaplike werk in die SANW daar te stel. Daar is gepoog om die maatskaplikewerk-diensleweringsisteem bedag te maak op die variasies van kultuur wat by kliënte tydens maatskaplikewerk-dienslewering teenwoordig is. Die doelwitte van die studie is soos volg: eerstens, om die huidige profiel van die verbruikers van maatskaplikewerk-dienste in die SANW weer te gee; tweedens, om te fokus op die aard en funksie van militêre maatskaplike werk in die SANW, en die nut van multi-kulturele maatskaplike werk binne die militêre omgewing te ondersoek; derdens, om vas te stel of die huidige maatskaplikewerk-programme binne die SANW wel aan die behoeftes van 'n kultureel-diverse kliëntsisteem voldoen; vierdens, om die mate waarin die maatskaplike werker aandag skenk aan die kulturele agtergronde van kliëntsisteme te ondersoek; en laastens om vas te stel watter kennis en vaardighede maatskaplike werkers benodig ten einde 'n multi-kulturele maatskaplikewerk-diens binne die weermag opset daar te stel. Die studie het 'n doelbewuste steekproef van 557 kliënte ingesluit om die behoefte aan multi-kulturele maatskaplikewerk-dienste vas te stel. Hulle was verteenwoordigend van 'n verskeidenheid van etniese en kulturele agtergronde, geslag asook godsdienstige affiliasies. Die resultate is beide kwalitatief en kwantitatief ontleed. Gestruktureerde onderhoude is gevoer met 16 sleutel figure wat deel vorm van maatskaplikewerk-bestuur ten einde vas te stel hoe huidige maatskaplikewerk-programme ontwerp en bestuur word ten einde aan die vereistes van multi-kulturele maatskaplike werk te voldoen. Hierdie resultate is ook kwalitatief en kwantitatief ontleed. Voorts is groepsonderhoude gevoer met 'n ewekansige geselekteerde steekproef van 45 maatskaplikewerk-offisiere [produksie werkers] om hulle kennis, en menings van en houdings teenoor multi-kulturele maatskaplike werk vas te stel. Daar is verder bepaal in hoe 'n mate hulle wel sensitief is vir kliënte se kulturele agtergronde tydens dienslewering. Hierdie resultate is ook kwalitatief en kwantitatief ontleed. Na aanleiding van die empiriese ondersoek is bepaalde gevolgtrekkiogs gemaak. Die kliëntsisteem het aangedui dat dit belangrik is vir maatskaplike werkers om bewus te wees van die kulturele, etniese en godsdienstige agtergronde van die kliënte. Maatskaplikewerk-bestuurders moet vaardig wees in die bestuur van 'n multi-kulturele maatskaplike werk personeel sisteem. Die proses wat tydens strategiese beplanning gebruik word, en voorafgegaan word deur 'n omgewingsontleding, sal wel 'n effek hê op dienslewering binne 'n multi-kulturele maatskaplike werk. Maatskaplikewerk-progamme is wel aangepas om aan die behoeftes van 'n kultureel-diverse kliëntsisteem te voldoen. Die navorsing het aangedui dat die Direktoraat Maatskaplikewerk-dienste se besigheidsplan meer op ontwikkelingsaspekte soos MIV/VIGS moet fokus. Die meerderheid maatskaplikewerk-bestuurders beskou hul dienslewering as kultureel aanvaarbaar. Ten spyte van sekere wanopvattings, verstaan maatskaplikewerk-praktisyns wel die betekenis van multi-kultureel bevoegde dienslewering. Onduidelikheid bestaan egter of hulle eie kulturele/etniese/taal agtergrond wel dienslewering kan beïnvloed. Met betrekking tot kommunikasie is aangedui dat maatskaplikewerk-intervensie meer effektief is indien dit in 'n persoon se moedertaal plaasvind. Alhoewel die meeste maatskaplikewerk-benaderings wel deur die praktisyns benut word, word hul teoretiese kennis en die toepassing daarvan, bevraagteken. In die lig van veral hiervan is die respondente in die war of die maatskaplikewerk-programme wel aan die behoeftes van die multi-kulturele kliënt sisteem voldoen. Aanbevelings na aanleiding van die bevindinge sluit in dat die besigheidsplan van die Direktoraat Maatskaplikewerk-dienste meer moet fokus op ontwikkelingsaspekte en die noodsaaklikheid moet aandui dat 'n verskeidenheid kennis- en vaardigheidsbasisse nodig is van toepaslike modelle en benaderings in die praktyk. Die maatskaplikewerk-diensleweringsisteem benodig meer teoretiese kennis en vaardighede in die bestuur en implementering van In multi-kulturele bevoegde maatskaplikewerk-diens, asook die vaardigheid om maatskaplikewerk-programme in kultureel aanvaarbare programme om te skakel. Hulle moet verder ook oor die vaardigheid beskik om probleme binne hul eie kulturele/etniese agtergrond effektief te hanteer, alvorens enige maatskaplikewerk-intervensie met In kultureel-diverse kliëntsisteem kan plaasvind. Maatskaplike werkers moet ook bemagtig wees met betrekking tot die rol, funksie en implementering van maatskaplike ontwikkelingsstrategieë binne die konteks van daaglikse dienslewering en dus gehelp word om binne die multi-kulturele maatskaplikewerk-omgewing te werk. Verder moet personeel in elke maatskaplikewerk-kantoor en/of -afdeling kommunikasie stuikelblokke identifiseer wat dienslewering negatief kan beïnvloed. Opleidingsprogramme moet ontwikkel word vir die voorbereiding en voordurende onderrig van die maatskaplikewerk-diensleweringsisteem rakende kulturele bevoegdheid. Voorts moet navorsing onderneem word oor die verligting van spanning by maatskaplike werkers teenoor In kultureel-diverse kliëntsisteem; die effektiwiteit van maatskaplikewerk-programme om kulturele bevoegdheid te bereik; en die effek van maatskaplikewerk-bestuur op In kutureelbevoegde-praktyk.
15

An exploratory study of the attitudes of middle managers in the greater Durban area : a focus on cultural diversity and cultural diversity management.

Moodley, Niroshni. January 2000 (has links)
The purpose of this study is to explore the attitudes of middle managers towards cultural diversity and cultural diversity management. A qualitative method of research was chosen to carry out the study. Twenty middle managers from four different companies in the Greater Durban Area were interviewed. One of the main findings of the study was that managers displayed positive attitudes towards cultural diversity and cultural diversity management. However, it was also found that whilst the attitudes displayed towards people of different cultures and races remained positive, little was done in terms of managing the differences that these people brought to the organisation. It was also found that organisations were agreeable to complying with legislative frameworks such as affirmative action and equal employment opportunities to manage diversity. Furthermore, it was established that factors such as understanding, tolerance and acceptance were perceived to be vital "ingredients" to helping diverse people feel accepted and wanted in the company. This was due to their role in increasing productivity levels and decreasing turnover. However, it was uncovered in the literature review, that complying with legislation alone was not enough to manage cultural diversity. If organisations want to unleash the true benefits of diversity management, they wi ll need to recognise people with these differences and simultaneously accept and manage these differences. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.
16

The Afrikaanse Konferensie (1968-1974) and its significance for the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in South Africa.

Pantalone, Antonio. January 1999 (has links)
In 1968 a group of Afrikaans believers protested that the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa had remained foreign to their experience. They maintained that American leaders had dominated the Church. They also asserted that their cultural, linguistic and literary needs had not been adequately catered to, and that the work of evangelization in the Afrikaans speaking areas had been sadly neglected. Some headway had been made by the Church in the years prior to 1968 with translations, firstly, into Dutch and later also into Afrikaans. Advancement had also been made by evangelists into the Afrikaans-speaking areas of the Transvaal and the Orange Free-State. The history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in this country, however, corroborates many of the grievances enumerated by the dissatisfied Afrikaans believers. The predominance of English in the administrative work of the Church and at its educational institutions had always been a thorny issue, resulting in continuous friction between the Church leaders and the Dutch and Afrikaans-speaking members. Problems had also arisen with regard to the use of Afrikaans at the publishing house of the Church. Positions of leadership in almost every department of the Church had been filled by non-South Africans. As a result, by the late 1960s, tensions in the Church had reached a boiling point. At the end of 1968, at a special business session of the Transvaal Conference, the objections of the Afrikaans believers met with very strong resistance. No opportunity was granted to them to air their frustrations and grievances and, as a result, a number of delegates left this meeting in protest before it had been officially closed. This unilateral action resulted in the establishment of an organization called Die Afrikaanse Konferensie van Sewendedag Adventiste. This new conference was, however, considered to be schismatic and was never acknowledged by the established Church. From the outset, the Afrikaanse Konferensie set out to cater to the needs of Afrikaans-speaking people in very forceful fashion. Many people felt that this new conference had a legitimate cause and its membership grew very rapidly. It initiated a welfare society, opened up several geriatric centres, its own printing press and a correspondence Bible school. It also held, throughout the ensuing years, numerous evangelistic campaigns. By the middle of 1973, however, the opposition and incessant pressure applied by the established Church and the severe problems that had emerged from within the ranks of the Afrikaanse Konferensie, swiftly contributed to its demise, with most of its members eventually rejoining the established Church. At the time of the disintegration of the Afrikaanse Konferensie, the leaders of the Church resolved to strengthen the evangelistic work directed at Afrikaans-speaking people. They also determined to have more literature produced in Afrikaans, and to strongly promote the use of Afrikaans at the publishing house and at the Church's educational institutions. These resolutions, however, proved ineffectual , and in the years that followed, the work of the Church showed no improvement in its approach to the Afrikaans speaking people. Twenty-five years have passed since the demise of the Afrikaanse Konferensie and the Church finds itself, because of both, external and internal factors, in a position that could be considered decidedly worse than at the time of the formation of the Afrikaanse Konferensie in 1968. As from 1995, after a protest march by students on the campus of Helderberg College, instruction in Afrikaans was no longer provided at a tertiary level. The production of Afrikaans books and the translation of reading material into Afrikaans is almost non-existent. As a result, voices of dissent are once again being heard that the Afrikaans work is being neglected. This predicament in the Church can neither be ignored nor circumvented and the only way for the Church is to deal with the crisis in the utmost sincerity without allowing itself to succumb to it. The source of the problem appears to lie primarily in Seventh-day Adventist ecclesiology where a gulf exists between its interpretation of unity, and its understanding of mission in a multicultural context. Authentic church unity cannot consist only of an outer dimension whereby unity and mission are cosmetically combined. It involves a deeper internal dimension, where the striving for unity becomes a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, while the mission of the church simultaneously embodies the obligations to cater to the cultural and linguistic needs of all of Christ's people. It is this essential synthesis that has yet to take place in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, where both these facets are to be fostered as complementary aspects of its total vocation. It is this fusion of unity and mission which will open the way for the Church to complete its mission, unhindered either by the polarizing and divisive effect of religious and cultural diversity, or by any misguided attempts to impose uniformity. In their quest for positive resolutions for the challenges facing the Church, its leaders must ask what it means to be "church" in the social context in which it finds itself, what precisely is its mission in the pluralistic, multicultural situation in which it is located and how essential is the Church to God's mission in this country? Judging from the nature of the dilemma that the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa still faces today, it appears that these are questions that have not been satisfactorily answered. After assessing both the past and present modes of the Church's operation it becomes essential for the Church leaders to do some critical rethinking about certain facets of its existing ecclesiology and its missionary strategies. It is just as important to systematically abandon the organizational structures that no longer fit the purpose and mission of the Church and to realign them with new paradigms that will effectively cater to the spiritual, cultural and linguistic needs of all the peoples of this country. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1999.
17

Managing diversity: a case study of the Nelson Mandela Municipality

Maart, Brigitte January 2014 (has links)
South African public organisations are faced with many unique challenges in striving to manage an increasingly diverse workforce. This study aimed to investigate the managing of diversity at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. To achieve this aim, the views of the Total Quality Management approach were examined in order to create an effective and efficient diversity environment within the municipality. In order to understand what effective diversity management means in South African public organisations, a qualitative approach to the research was utilised through document analysis and interviews. Purposive sampling was used to identify participants. Interviews were conducted until a point of data saturation was reached. Data was analysed using the systematic coding tool of the ATLAS.ti software programme. The research reveals that many shortcomings exist concerning diversity management in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. Therefore, a need exists for proper management of diversity that would support tolerance and respect for diversity.
18

The adolescent's perspective of culture and ethnicity within the South African outcomes based education system

Ramsay, Helen 31 December 2006 (has links)
Race, ethnicity and culture have been a central theme in South African history, and while not disregarding the recent socio-political changes, many South Africans of different races continue to lead essentially different lives. Public schools are becoming more racially and culturally integrated and it is important that this leads to incisive change and not merely altering the racial demographics of the learner and educator bodies. Culture in South Africa is dynamic and the values and norms of members of a particular group are in a state of flux. Moreover, the shift from a traditional teacher-centred curriculum to an outcomes-based curriculum in South African education means that the teacher is encouraged to accept each learner in the culturally diverse classroom as an individual, who brings a unique life experience into the classroom and contributes to learning in the context. The learner's cultural background, family and community should be considered in both the selection of learning material and in classroom interaction. This study investigates the South African adolescent's perspective of culture by means of a literature review, a photographic essay and an empirical investigation using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The literature review expanded on the concepts of race, culture and ethnicity. Topics relating to the life in Johannesburg that adolescents perceived as significant were commented on in the photographic essay. Thereafter, adolescent learners from two ex-model C schools in Johannesburg were selected as participants in the empirical research. The quantitative research considered aspects such as learner prejudice, ethnic group preference and the value attached to cultural traditions using questionnaires and sociograms as data gathering methods. The qualitative phase used focus group discussions using as a stimulus a posed photograph of a racially diverse group of learners engaged in a group activity. Learners were selected, for the focus discussion groups, on the basis of the results of the sociogram used in the quantitative phase. Findings showed that learners regard diversity as a resource although evidence suggests that black learners are moving away from traditional cultural practices. Based on the findings of the literature study and the empirical inquiry recommendations for the improvement of practice are made. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)
19

The role of the school guidance counsellor in multicultural education

Nair, Meenatchie Shunmugam 11 1900 (has links)
with the emergence of multiculturalism and the opening up of schools to all races in South Africa, the education system is undergoing enormous changes. Educators and pupils are faced with unfamiliar cultures, languages and backgrounds. This diversity has resulted in a need for schools to evolve I with the changing circumstances. The complexities associated with racial integration necessitates an educational programme suitable to meet the I needs of our culturally diverse society. A change strategy is necessary to provide teachers with a multicultural approach to education which is ultimately aimed at providing pupils o e cultures with equal opportunities to learn and succeed in a multicultural society. It is the concern of this dissertation to examine the role and function of the school guidance counsellor in attempting to meet the needs of educators, and pupils coming from different cultural, ethnic, racial and socio-economic backgrounds. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)
20

The appreciation and understanding of value diversity' : an evaluation of a value diversity intervention at the University of Stellenbosch

Dittmar, Vera 12 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa has made a remarkable transformation from an openly racist to a tolerant and democratic nation. The transformation process removed the legal barriers between subgroups that formerly postulated separate development for the various racial groups and restricted the contact between individuals to a major extent. In present day society, one can observe the transformation process in that South African citizens from different backgrounds have to develop new patterns of communication and interaction. This process was mirrored in the student culture of Stellenbosch. The first objective of this study was to research how individual students experienced their social and academic environment. Since student relations do not always conform to the University norm of mutual respect for human diversity, the University felt the need to facilitate an intervention for valuing human diversity. The second objective of this study was to evaluate the process of the intervention, focusing on the programme context, the programme activities and the program theory. In addition, the impressions of workshop participants were studied. In order to conceptualise the research objectives, the theoretical principles of valuing diversity were discussed in the form of a purposive literature review on the social psychology and sociology of stereotyping and related processes, which were examined as barriers to valuing diversity. The Value Diversity Intervention was implemented in August 2001. The intervention aimed to heighten students' awareness of the diversity of the student body and to improve the interaction among the various student subgroups. The intervention was designed as a workshop and included 50 students from various backgrounds who were living in the University residences. Two evaluation types were utilised in this study, i.e. the evaluation of perceived needs and the evaluation of the intervention process. The research questions were clarified and the specific methods for gathering and analysing the data were specified. In addition, the aspect of validity and the quality of the obtained data were reviewed. The evaluation of perceived needs showed that individual students perceived the student population to be divided into minority ('coloured', 'black') and majority ('white') groups. Even though group membership did not affect specific instances of intergroup relations (e.g. individual friendships), it had implications for the social atmosphere on campus, which was characterised by a lack of intergroup contact and a domination by the majority group. Accordingly, minority group members interpreted the social atmosphere more negatively than majority group members. Hence, minority group members perceived a need to improve intergroup interaction. This analysis indicates that a value diversity intervention may be beneficial. This corresponded to the view of the Department of Student Affairs, which arranged the Value Diversity Intervention. The evaluation of the intervention highlighted both negative and positive aspects. Firstly, the intervention design did not include the promotion of the intervention itself, which might have been essential making students interested in the diversity topic and in motivating students to participate. Secondly, the intervention did not address the specific diversity challenges as experienced by students of the University of Stellenbosch. Students expressed concerns regarding the applicability of the provided information in their daily life. Thirdly, the workshop focused mainly on stereotypes. Yet, the possible effects of stereotypes were not sufficiently discussed. In addition, a large number of stereotypes were listed, but these were often biased due to the lack of participants from diverse groups. Further, no workshop technique which questioned the presented lists of biased stereotypes was applied or generated. Besides these technical considerations, it should be noted that stereotypes in general perpetuate the division between subgroups. Thus, the workshop focused to a large extent on past and present aspects, which divide the student population, instead of focusing on uniting issues. The described negative aspects might have been balanced by one of the four observed workshops. This specific workshop was characterised by a small amount of participants and a positive presentation of one of the main facilitators. This resulted in a productive discussion, where the participants used the possibility to reflect on the current situation out of their perspective and reflected upon the contributions of the facilitator. Students might have been motivated to take positive impulses of this workshop in their daily life. Based upon this research, recommendations can be determined. Firstly, the promotion of the intervention should emphasize the desirability of diversity values and highlight the personal potential benefits to participants. Secondly, it might be useful to acknowledge differences between students, but to place a greater emphasis on similarities, i.e. on aspects that connect students. Thirdly, the curriculum of the intervention should be modified to cater especially for student needs. Fourthly, the selected workshop components should achieve an equal balance between lecture parts and interactive elements. Participants should have the possibility to take an active part in the intervention if they are interested in doing so. The final recommendation entails that future interventions should be based on a comprehensive, sustained strategy with long-term goals. These strategies should be integrated in the already existing infrastructure of an institution. This intervention has to be understood as a contribution to the transformation process that South Africa is currently undergoing. Based on the recent discussion at the University of Stellenbosch about the adoption of a comprehensive diversity strategy, it is hoped that this singular intervention will be linked to further contributions in this transformation process. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid Afrika het 'n merkwaardige transformasie vanaf 'n openlik rassistiese tot 'n tolerante en demokratiese nasie ondergaan. Voorheen het die wetlike skeiding tussen subgroepe aparte ontwikkeling en, vir verskeie rassegroepe, minimale kontak met individue in verskillende rassegroepe beteken. Die transformasieproses in Suid-Afrika het hierdie omstandighede verander en in die huidige Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing is die proses waardeur mense van verskillende agtergronde nuwe patrone van kommunikasie en interaksie moet ontwikkel, merkbaar. Die transformasieproses kan ook in die studentekultuur van Stellenbosch gesien word. Die eerste doel van die tesis was om ondersoek in te stel na hoe individuele studente hulle sosiale en akademiese omgewing ervaar. Aangesien studenteverhoudinge nie altyd tot die Universiteit se norm van wedersydse respek vir menslike diversiteit konformeer nie, het die Universiteit gevoel dat daar 'n behoefte is om 'n intervensie te fasiliteer om waardering vir menslike diversiteit skep. Die tweede doel van die tesis was om die proses van die intervensie te evalueer deur te fokus op die konteks van die program, die programaktiwiteite en die programteorie. Verder is die indrukke van die deelnemers aan die werkswinkelook bestudeer. Die teoretiese beginsels onderliggend aan die waardering van diversiteit is bespreek ten einde die navorsingsdoelwitte te konseptualiseer. Dit is verwesenlik deur 'n "doelgerigte" literatuurstudie oor die sosiale sielkunde en sosiologie van stereotipering en verwante prosesse wat gesien word as struikelblokke in die evaluering van diversiteit. Die intervensie vir die waardering van diversiteit is in Augustus 2001 deur die Universiteit van Stellenbosch geimplimenteer. Die intervensie het as doel gehad om studente 'n verhoogde gewaarwording van die diversiteit van die studenteliggaam te bied en ook om interaksie tussen die verskeie studente-subgroepe te bevorder. Die intervensie is ontwerp as 'n werkswinkel vir 50 studente van verskillende agtergronde wat van Universiteitsbehuising gebruik maak. Die tesis verduidelik hoe die navorsingsdoelwitte korrespondeer met die evalueringstipes wat gebruik is, nl. die evaluasie van waargenome behoeftes en die evaluasie van die proses. Die navorsingsvrae is duidelik gestel en die wetenskaplike metodes vir dataversameling en dataanalise word gespesifiseer. Verder word die aspek van die geldigheid en kwaliteit van die data ook bespreek. Die evaluering van waargenome behoeftes het gewys dat individuele studente die studentepopulasie sien as verdeel In 'n minderheidsgroep ('bruin' en 'swart') en 'n meerderheidsgroep ('wit'). Alhoewel lidmaatskap tot n betrokke groep rue intergroepverhoudings affekteer nie (bv. individuele vriendskappe), het dit tog implikasies vir die sosiale atmosfeer op kampus wat deur 'n tekort aan intergroepkontak en dominasie deur die meerderheidsgroep gekarakteriseer kan word. Vervolgens interpreteer minderheidsgroepe die sosiale atmosfeer meer negatief as lede van die meerderheidsgroep. Dit kan dan ook as die rede aangevoer word waarom lede van minderheidsgroepe 'n waargenome behoefte het om intergroepinteraksie te bevorder. Die persepsies van die respondente wat 'n onderhoud toegestaan het, het aangedui dat 'n intervensie vir die waardering van diversiteit voordelig sal wees en dit het ooreengestem met die siening van die Departement van Studentesake, wat die intervensie gereël het. Die evalusie van die intervensie beklemtoon albei die negatiewe en positiewe aspekte. Eerstens, het die intervensie intervensie-ontwerp, nie die promosie van die intervensie self behels nie, wat noodsaaklik sou gewees het om student geinteresseerd te maak in die diversiteit van die onderwerp en om die studente te motiveer om mee te doen. Tweedens, het die intervensie nie die spesifieke uitdagings soos deur die studente van die Universiteit van Stellnbosch ondervind is, aangespreek nie. Studente het hulle bekommernis uitgespreek oor die toepassing van die informasie in hulle daaglikse lewe. Derdens het die werkswinkel hoofsaaklik gefokus op stereotipes. Nogtans was die effekte van die stereotipes nie deeglik bespreek nie. Boonop was daar te groot aantal stereotipes gelys, maar dit was bevooroordeeld as gevolg van die gebrek van deelnemer van diverse groepe. Daar was ook geen werkswinkel tegnieke van toepassing wat die aangebode lyste van die bevooroordeelde stereotipes bevraagteken het nie. Naas die tegniese oorwegings, moet daar gelet word dat stereotipes in die algemeen die verdeling tussen subgroepe in stand hou van stereotipes in die algemeen. Dus het die werkswinkel tot 'n groot mate gefokus op huidige en vorige aspekte wat die studente verdeel het in plaas daarvan om te fokus op sake van ooreenstemming. Gegrond op hierdie navorsing, kan aanbevelings gemaak word. Eerstens moet daar klem gelê word op die bevordering van die verskeie behoeftes en waardes van die intervensie en die potensiaal waarby deelnemers kan baat. Tweedens, kan dit waardevol wees om verskille tussen studente te erken maar groter klem te lê op eendersheid, d.i. aspekte wat die studente tot mekaar verbind. Derdens moet die leerplan van die intervensie gewysig word om in die behoeftes van die student te voorsien. Vierdens, moet daar 'n balans gehandhaaf word tussen die lesings en interaktiewe elemente. Daar moet 'n moontlikheid bestaan vir deelnemers om 'n aktiewe rol in die intervensie te speel indien hulle dit verlang. Ten slotte word aanbeveel dat toekomstige intervensie gebaseer word op begrypende en volgehoue strategie met lang termyn doelwitte. Die bogenoemde strategie moet in die alreeds bestaande infrastruktuur verweef word. Hierdie intervensie kan beskou word as 'n bydrae tot die transformasie proses wat Suid-Afrika huidiglik ondergaan. Gebaseer op die onlangse gesprek by die Universiteit van Stellenbosch oor die aanneming van'n omvattende diversiteitstrategie, word daar gehoop dat die enkelvoudige intervensie kan inskakel by verdere bydraes in die transformasie proses.

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