The aim of this study was to investigate the causes of learner dropout in secondary schools around Johannesburg South, Gauteng Province. Twenty-seven participants from three secondary schools in Orange Farm area were purposively sampled for the study. A qualitative design was used. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect data to allow the researcher a platform to ask open-response questions and to explore the participants’ perspectives about the causes of learner dropout. The data was analysed thematically by carefully identifying and describing significant themes that emerged from educators, learners, parents, SGB chairpersons and principal’s responses to interview questions. The study revealed that teenage pregnancy, lack of parental involvement, substance abuse and peer pressure, among others, were the causes of learner dropout. The study recommends that schools put more efforts on abstinence programs, sex education and the use of contraceptives such as condoms, pills and injectables; training of educators on the management of drugs and pregnancy, and resuscitation of extra-mural activities. Recommendations for further research were made. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

The purpose of the empirical study is to determine the nature of the peer pressure that boys experience at a single-gender school. A literature study was conducted on single-gender education as opposed to co-education as well as the phenomenon of peer pressure during adolescence and the factors that might influence peer pressure. An empirical investigation was conducted involving 221 adolescent boys. The results showed that boys in single-gender schools experience more positive than negative peer pressure. No significant differences were found between the peer pressure of boys at a single-gender school and those at a co-educational school. Motivation and relationship with peers were identified as the two most important variables relating to peer pressure. Guidelines for parents, teachers, and adolescents were discussed to promote positive peer pressure and to minimise negative peer pressure. These guidelines included strategies to motivate adolescents and to promote positive peer relationships. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The prevalence of dieting is alarmingly high amongst adolescents in South Africa. Dieting behaviour, influenced by the promotion of the thin ideal, poses one of the main risks for eating disorders, which have serious physical, psychological and social consequences, including death. Treatment of eating disorders is a costly, difficult and long-term process, therefore preventative measures have been advocated. One of the shortcomings of existing school-based primary intervention programmes has been the failure to bring about significant changes in body image, a key defining feature of eating disorders. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a modified version of Rosen's body image programme with adolescents, with the view to exploring the idea of adding a body image component to existing preventative programmes. The modified version of Rosen's programme proved to be effective in improving the body image of mid-adolescents. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education, with specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)

An investigation into the prevalence and causative factors of adolescent depression in the greater Johannesburg area was undertaken. Present-day South African socio-economic pressures together with the normal demands and difficulties of adolescence, led to an investigation into which factors were having a bearing on adolescent depression and whether more male than female adolescents were depressed. A literature study was done and major factors, which could potentially influence the development of depression, were identified. The results of the empirical investigation indicated that negative family relations and negative peer relations play a significant role in the development of adolescent depression. Other identified factors did not appear to have a statistically significant bearing on adolescent depression. No significant statistical difference was found between the prevalence or severity of male and female adolescent depression. Educational implications of the findings are discussed and guidelines are given to teachers and parents. / Teacher Education / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

This study was undertaken to determine the extent of aggressive behaviour exhibited by secondary school learners. Many factors were considered when investigating the problem of aggressive behaviour. The problem was traced from the theorists' perspectives and factors related to the family, school and community. An extensive literature review showed that the above factors contribute to aggressive behaviour among adolescents. In order to support or reject the findings of the literature study, quantitative (questionnaire) research and qualitative research (interviews) were conducted. The results of the quantitative research concerning learners' aggressive behaviour in secondary schools were analysed and interpreted while at the same time a deeper understanding of aggressive behaviour was revealed through qualitative research. The results of the empirical research indicated that the more negative the family climate, school climate, community climate or influence of friends are, or the more negative the emotional self-concept of the adolescent is, the more aggressive the adolescent is, and vice versa. Based on these findings recommendations for the implementation of prevention programmes were made. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

Drug abuse is becoming an increasing problem in Kenya. A number of studies carried out in the country show that almost every Kenyan youngster at one time or another experiments with drugs, especially beer and cigarettes. The major cause of concern is that a significant proportion of these young people eventually get addicted posing a threat to their own health and safety, while creating difficulties for their families and the public at large into difficulties. This study sought to establish the current trend of drug abuse among students in Kenyan secondary schools, and to analyze the strategies used to address the problem. The ultimate aim was to propose a programme for prevention and intervention. The study is a descriptive survey. In view of this, the field survey method was adopted to collect quantitative and qualitative data, using questionnaires and interviews. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in data analysis, thus there was a mixed model research design approach to data analysis. The analysis of structured items was mainly done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The key findings from the study were that drug abuse among students is common; both boys and girls have abused drugs with the majority being in boys‟ schools; the greatest ratio of drug abusers to non-abusers among the sampled schools are aged between 20 and 22 years; there is a significant relationship between drug abuse and age, use of drugs by other family members and easy access to drugs. A variety of factors contribute to drug abuse with the majority of students citing curiosity, acceptance by peers and ignorance as to the dangers of drug abuse as the main reasons. Both the school administrators and teachers face a number of challenges in an attempting to curb drug abuse in schools. The study makes a number of recommendations for policy and further research. A number of guidelines are proposed for developing a programme for prevention and intervention. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the misconduct of learners in secondary schools in the Ntoane village. It served to determine the • extent to which teenage fall pregnant; • the intensity in which teachers tackle gender violence in schools; • the manner in which the parents’ culture and values are enforced by the teachers. Recommendations are made on how to overcome these barriers and to improve the level of misconduct. A literature study was carried out to gain an understanding of misconduct, and covered the following issues: • What is misconduct? • The causes of misconduct. • An overview of learner misconduct. • The origins of learner misconduct. • Manifestations of learner misconduct in the classroom. • The factors which cause learner misconduct. A qualitative research method was used in this research. The targeted population groups are teenagers in grades 9 and 10 in the Ntoane village. v Interviews were conducted at two schools in the Ntoane village where educators, the school governing bodies and members of the representative council of learners were interviewed. The findings were discussed at length to determine the research objectives. Conclusions were drawn after analysing these findings, and recommendations were formulated. / Education Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Whoonga is a relatively new addition into the drug market. The need for this study was prompted by the devastating effects this new arrival has had in the lives of young people addicted to it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of whoonga on the learning of affected youth in Kwa-Dabeka Township. This study adopted a qualitative method and employed a phenomenological approach to explore the experiences of participants with regard to whoonga use and their learning. Data was collected through purposive sampling. Interviews were conducted, using semi-structured and unstructured questions with the help of an interview guide. Observations were also conducted to collect more data. This was done in the classroom during teaching and learning, as well as outside the classroom during recess. The study employed a social learning theoretical framework on the experiences of participants with regard to the use of whoonga. Four participants from one high school in Kwa-Dabeka Township were involved in the study. Themes that emerged from the study were that all the participants were totally ignorant of what they were getting themselves into before they started using whoonga. Peer pressure, coupled with curiosity made their decision to use whoonga easy. Challenges that participants face now on daily basis are far beyond their young age. The findings have indicated that learning is a situation of near impossibility for the participants. The findings have also depicted a picture of young people who are trapped in a vicious cycle of one of life‟s harshest living conditions in terms of their encounters with parents, school and the communities they come from. Despite their hopes for a brighter future one day, participants see no end in sight for their suffering at the hands of this unforgiving, destructive drug at this point in time. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation sought to understand the experience of six participants as members of a cluster group of socially marginalised youth in a farmworker community. Through a collaborative process, the study sought to reframe the perceptions around the behavioural outcomes of membership to such an outcast group. Theories of empowerment through active participation underpinned the whole study. The study was qualitative in nature and used a Participatory Action research methodology which created the space for creative exploration with enabling methodologies such as the Youth Engagement Cycle and Activity Theory. Data were collected through focus group- and semi-structured interviews; participant observation and participant generated artefacts. Six adolescent males who were part of an already established cluster group of socially marginalised youth at a school were purposively selected into the study. The analysis of data was an ongoing and iterative process informed by the theories that underpinned the study and through content analysis of emerging themes. The study revealed that the cluster group was not formed with delinquent intent. Instead, it was created as a space that allowed its members to feel a sense of belonging, security and being valued. However, the group dynamic caused individual self-efficacy to become so enmeshed with collective agency that if left unchecked, it had the potential to propel its members along a trajectory to delinquency. The dissertation recommends understanding cluster groups as unique heterogeneous entities that show insight and empathy into the challenges their cohorts experience. Recognising that this elevates the peer group's influence above that of adults the study recommends a collaborative, well-structured and strategic intervention that allows individuals to experience success and self-influence in attaining mastery within the group dynamic. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie verhandeling het ten doel gehad om ses deelnemers se ervaring as lede van 'n 'cluster' groep gemarginaliseerde jongmense binne 'n plaaswerker gemeenskap te probeer verstaan. Deur middel van 'n proses van samewerking, het die studie gepoog om die persepsies rakende die gedragsuitkomste van lidmaatskap binne so 'n geïsoleerde groep te herformuleer. Die hele studie is gebaseer op teorie van bemagtiging deur middel van aktiewe deelname. Die verhandeling was kwalitatief van aard en het gebruik gemaak van 'n Deelnemende Aksie Navorsingsmetodologie wat ruimte geskep het vir kreatiewe ontdekking met bemagtigende metodologieë soos bv. "Youth Engagement Cycle" en "Activity Theory". Data is ingesamel deur middel van 'n fokusgroep en semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude; deelnemer waarneming en deelnemer gegenereerde artefakte. Ses adolessente mans wat reeds deel was van 'n gevestigde groep sosiaal-gemarginaliseerde jongmense by 'n skool, is doelbewus geselekteer vir die studie. Die analise van die data was 'n deurlopende en iteratiewe proses wat belig is deur die teorieë waarop die studie gebaseer was asook deur inhoudsanalise van die ontluikende temas. Die studie het getoon dat die 'cluster' groep nie gevorm is met misdaad as doel nie. Inteendeel, die groep het ontstaan as 'n ruimte wat sy lede toegelaat het om 'n mate van geborgenheid, sekuriteit en waardering te ervaar. Die groepsdinamiek het individuele self-doeltreffendheid toegelaat om so verbonde te raak met kollektiewe agentskap dat indien dit nie gekontroleer was nie, dit die potensiaal getoon het om sy lede op 'n trajek van jeugmisdaad te plaas. Die verhandeling beveel dus aan dat 'n 'cluster' groep gesien word as 'n unieke heterogene entiteit wat insig en empatie toon met die uitdagings wat lede ervaar. Op grond van die feit dat dit die portuurgroep se invloed bo die van die volwassenes verhef, wil die studie 'n samewerkende, goedgestruktureerde en strategiese bemiddeling aanbeveel wat die individu sal toelaat om sukses en selfgelding te ervaar met die bereiking van bemeestering binne die dinamiek van die groep.

This study was undertaken to determine the extent of aggressive behaviour exhibited by secondary school learners. Many factors were considered when investigating the problem of aggressive behaviour. The problem was traced from the theorists' perspectives and factors related to the family, school and community. An extensive literature review showed that the above factors contribute to aggressive behaviour among adolescents. In order to support or reject the findings of the literature study, quantitative (questionnaire) research and qualitative research (interviews) were conducted. The results of the quantitative research concerning learners' aggressive behaviour in secondary schools were analysed and interpreted while at the same time a deeper understanding of aggressive behaviour was revealed through qualitative research. The results of the empirical research indicated that the more negative the family climate, school climate, community climate or influence of friends are, or the more negative the emotional self-concept of the adolescent is, the more aggressive the adolescent is, and vice versa. Based on these findings recommendations for the implementation of prevention programmes were made. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)