Early years provision, which combines childcare and preschool education, has been considered vital for child development by theorists and practitioners. Within early years provision pedagogy is assumed to be both an enabling and constraining factor which can shape a particular experience of childhood and, possibly, prepare children for a particular adulthood. This thesis explores pedagogical processes and practices vis-à-vis children’s experiences in three different pedagogical contexts: a corporation nursery, a private nursery and an ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) Anganwadi centre in Chennai in Tamil Nadu (India). It explores the findings of a one year ethnographic study that involved observation/informal conversation with children and semi-structured interviews with teachers, care worker(s) and parents. The ethnographic study used methodological approaches from childhood research, adopted ethical positions from childhood studies and valued children as competent individuals that should be treated with respect throughout the research processes. The analysis of the empirical data uses the intersections of three concepts in the works of Foucault (subject), Butler (identity), Bourdieu (cultural capital) to illuminate and analyse the pedagogical processes and practices. The thesis characterises the different pedagogical contexts encountered in the study as: ‘activity centred’, ‘task centred’, and ‘care centred’. It explains that this context emerged in an on-going active process of negotiation, deliberation, reflection through ‘subjection’ and ‘resistance’. It demonstrates that children construct their embodied self-identity through everyday pedagogical/curriculum performativity and the teacher-children identities work within as well as outside pedagogical contexts. The empirical analysis identifies shame and distinction as key factors for pedagogical/curriculum performativity and argues that the embodied identities of children are fluid and contextual and that they are formed through the interaction of learning materials, academic ability/mastery, and bodily differences in the pedagogical contexts. It is argued that children employ cultural capital when (re)establishing home-nursery connections in different pedagogical contexts and that parents similarly use their cultural capital with a sense of ‘practical logic’ for decision making on matters related to early years provision, e.g. when recognising the transformative potential of children. The thesis findings suggest that there is an element of fluidity in pedagogical contexts and that the local cultural practices of teachers/care worker are reflectively integrated with minority world ideas when normative pedagogies are constructed. The thesis contributes to the development of childhood theory, by demonstrating that childhood is a complex phenomenon. At the policy level, the thesis makes recommendations for practitioners and administrators on how they can value local cultural knowledge, acknowledge reflexive practices of teachers/care workers, and equity issues in early years provision.

The study offers a historico-educational investigation of the extent to which the Teachers' Association of South Africa (TASA) satisfied the educational aspirations of the Indian coIIDllunity in South Africa. The discussion begins with a theoretical exposition of characteristic features of teachers' associations. It considers the origin, nature and purpose of teachers' associations. A brief survey of some teachers' associations in the Republic of South Africa is also made. The development and the organisation of the Teachers' Association of South Africa (TASA) is highlighted. In this regard special emphasis is placed on the role of the Association's forerunners, and the nature and functioning of the various organisational structures within the Association. An elaborate discussion is devoted to the achievements of the Association in satisfying the educational aspirations of the Indian coIIDllunity in South Africa. The researcher also offers recoIIDllendations on the role that teachers' associations may play in the future. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

Dissertation / This study explores the role of the principal in the management of parent involvement in secondary schools in Northern Province. A literature study investigated existing theories and models of parent involvement; parent involvement in the South African context and the provision of education in South Africa in historical perspective. It also investigated the managerial role of the principal in parent involvement. A qualitative investigation in three secondary schools in Northern Province was done. Data were gathered by means of participant observation in-depth interviews with principals and focus-group interviews with teachers and three parents on the school governing bodies. Analysed data revealed the following findings: principals lack knowledge on parent involvement and schools lack policies and organisational structures dealing with parent involvement as well as home-school relations. As a result of these findings, there is a need to equip principals with ways in which they can involve parents in their schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Educational Management)

The study offers a historico-educational investigation of the extent to which the Teachers' Association of South Africa (TASA) satisfied the educational aspirations of the Indian coIIDllunity in South Africa. The discussion begins with a theoretical exposition of characteristic features of teachers' associations. It considers the origin, nature and purpose of teachers' associations. A brief survey of some teachers' associations in the Republic of South Africa is also made. The development and the organisation of the Teachers' Association of South Africa (TASA) is highlighted. In this regard special emphasis is placed on the role of the Association's forerunners, and the nature and functioning of the various organisational structures within the Association. An elaborate discussion is devoted to the achievements of the Association in satisfying the educational aspirations of the Indian coIIDllunity in South Africa. The researcher also offers recoIIDllendations on the role that teachers' associations may play in the future. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

Dissertation / This study explores the role of the principal in the management of parent involvement in secondary schools in Northern Province. A literature study investigated existing theories and models of parent involvement; parent involvement in the South African context and the provision of education in South Africa in historical perspective. It also investigated the managerial role of the principal in parent involvement. A qualitative investigation in three secondary schools in Northern Province was done. Data were gathered by means of participant observation in-depth interviews with principals and focus-group interviews with teachers and three parents on the school governing bodies. Analysed data revealed the following findings: principals lack knowledge on parent involvement and schools lack policies and organisational structures dealing with parent involvement as well as home-school relations. As a result of these findings, there is a need to equip principals with ways in which they can involve parents in their schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Educational Management)

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-13T17:10:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TasiaMCV.pdf: 4510768 bytes, checksum: 5760c24f1a1891feb804206e63b0d9f6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-09-26 / The question of evaluating the fight against poverty in a given society is very complex task, considering the range of factors that permeate, such as education, culture and economy itself. Come hence the relevance of the theme and its constant presence in discussions on the fruits of public policies, institutional structure and economic development which are the guiding elements of this work, and noted that seeks to highlight the social demographics and most important, the most significant trends and issues pertaining to her. The assessment was initially made in all the municipalities of Rio Grande do Norte doing a verticalilza??o to the municipalities Caic?, Pau dos Ferros, Ipueira and Taboleiro Grande. Highlighting the role of a social policy through government programs, such as the Bolsa Familia Program (PBF), which creates the possibility of changes in the socio demographic profile given the importance that the action of this public policy has in shaping the regional economic reality As well as social programs and actions of the government here reported that generate mobility of people and new social demands, such as rural retirements, the benefit of continuing provision (BPC), the Program for the Eradication of Child Labor (PETI) that put on the market of population living on the margins of various forms of consumption. Accordingly, the socio economic profile of the state shows a significant improvement in their social indicators, vital education and redistribution of income, due to the significant improvement in life expectancy in the fall of school drop-out rate and the drop in indicators of Proportion Poor and destitute of the state. Where the fall in the proportion of poor and indigent is strongly associated with an increase in income, from social programs. With this transfer and redistribution of income can be gauged that occurs a strengthening of local economies and an engagement of families with the conditionalities of social programs and PETI Bolsa Familia. Our research concludes that simply raising the rents caused by transfers, presents relevant impacts on the education of young people in beneficiary families. There is no doubt that the programs of transfer income, no facing the social field, representing a mechanism to decrease the most perverse ills of poverty, social and economic inequality that is hungry. For a significant portion of the Brazilian population living below the poverty line, programs for the transfer of income are expressed directly in improving the material conditions of life and indirectly in improving self-esteem of women and all family members receiving encouraging yet the integration family. Experiments have shown that improvements in health and nutrition can be obtained through the implementation of adequate social policies like the programs of transfer income, while social inclusion and economic does not become full / A quest?o da avalia??o do combate ? pobreza de uma determinada sociedade ? tarefa bastante complexa, considerando-se a gama de fatores que a permeiam, tais como a educa??o, a cultura e a economia, propriamente dita. Vem da? a relev?ncia do tema, bem como sua constante presen?a nos debates sobre os frutos das pol?ticas p?blicas, da estrutura institucional e do desenvolvimento econ?mico que s?o os elementos norteadores deste trabalho, que busca constatar e destacar os dados demogr?ficos e sociais mais importantes, as tend?ncias mais marcantes e as quest?es inerentes a ela. A avalia??o inicialmente foi feita em todos os munic?pios do Rio Grande do Norte fazendo uma verticalilza??o para os munic?pios de Caic?, Pau dos Ferros, Ipueira e Taboleiro Grande. Destacando o papel de uma pol?tica social atrav?s de programas governamentais, como ? o caso do Programa Bolsa Fam?lia (PBF), que cria a possibilidade de mudan?as no perfil s?cio demogr?fico dado a import?ncia que a a??o desta pol?tica p?blica tem na conforma??o da realidade econ?mica regional, bem como os programas e a??es sociais do governo aqui relatados que geram mobilidades de pessoas e novas demandas sociais, como ? o caso das Aposentadorias Rurais, do Benef?cio de Presta??o Continuada (BPC), do Programa de Erradica??o do Trabalho Infantil (PETI) que colocam no mercado contingentes populacionais que vivem ? margem de diversas formas de consumo. Nestes termos, o perfil s?cio econ?mico do estado mostra uma significativa melhoria em seus indicadores sociais, vitais de educa??o e redistribui??o de renda, haja vista a significativa melhora na Esperan?a de Vida, na queda da Taxa de Abandono Escolar e na queda dos indicadores de Propor??o de Pobres e Indigentes no Estado. Onde a queda na propor??o de pobres e indigentes est? fortemente associada ao aumento de renda, proveniente de programas sociais. Com esta transfer?ncia e redistribui??o de renda pode se aferir que ocorre um fortalecimento das economias locais e um engajamento das fam?lias com as condicionalidades dos programas sociais PETI e Bolsa Fam?lia. A nossa pesquisa conclui que a simples eleva??o das rendas causadas pelas transfer?ncias, apresenta impactos relevantes sobre a escolariza??o dos jovens nas fam?lias benefici?rias. N?o h? d?vida de que os programas de transfer?ncia de renda, voltados para qualquer campo social, representam um mecanismo de diminui??o das mazelas mais perversas da pobreza, da iniq?idade social e econ?mica que ? a fome. Para uma expressiva parcela da popula??o brasileira que vive abaixo da linha da pobreza, os programas de transfer?ncia de renda se expressam diretamente na melhoria das condi??es materiais de vida e indiretamente na melhoria da auto-estima da mulher e de todos os membros da fam?lia benefici?ria promovendo ainda a integra??o familiar. As experi?ncias t?m mostrado que as melhorias nas condi??es de sa?de e nutri??o podem ser obtidas por meio da implementa??o de pol?ticas sociais adequadas a exemplo dos programas de transfer?ncia de renda, enquanto a inclus?o social e econ?mica n?o se torna plena / 2020-01-01