Legalised desegregation through the implementation of the South African Schools law (Law no. 84 of 1996) sparked the hope of an opportunity to promote integration between learners and more than that, that the former would also extend to the larger community. The media has however indicated that racial-integration in schools is not necessarily experienced as positive by all the role players and that the process does not present itself as being problem-free. The goal of this study was to investigate the experiences of racial minority groups within majority school contexts; the challenges that are posed to them within the contexts; the factors that may play a role in their adjustment and functioning within the context; the negotiation of racial-ethnicity and social identity that accompanies it, and the possible relationship that exists between the former and their emotional intelligence (EI). These goals were realised through the launch of a theoretical, as well as an empirical investigation of aforementioned aspects related to the life worlds of racial minority groups in a majority school context. The empirical investigation was conducted from an INTERPRETIVISTIC-positivistic paradigm. Two schools where white and black learners are respectively in the minority were involved in the study. All the learners (grade 9-12) that were regarded as part of the racial minority group in the involved schools, were asked to complete an EI-questionnaire, the EQ-i:YV, after which six participants (three males and three females) from each school were selected on the basis of their scores achieved on the previously mentioned questionnaire. Afterwards qualitative techniques (focus groups, semi-structured interviews, observations and reflection) were implemented to investigate the (racial and social) identity negotiation, adjustment and functioning of the participants in their respective school contexts. The former was also related to their EI. Triangulation and crystallisation were implemented to verify the findings. Racism was identified as the biggest stumbling block to successful integration in the white school context, whereas language appeared to be the biggest stumbling block of the white participants’ adjustment and functioning within their black school context. Social categorisation emerged as a reality in both school contexts and white learners appeared to be evaluated as the higher-status group in both schools. From the results it appears that no relationship worth mentioning exists between the white participants’ EI and their identity negotiation within a black school context, whilst it appears as if a small relationship exists between the black participants’ EI and their identity-negotiation within a white school context. It appears however that a strong relationship exists between participants’ EI and their adjustment and functioning within their majority school context. The following additional factors (that are not applicable to EI) that can play a possible role in the adjustment and functioning of racial minority groups in majority school contexts have also been identified: home circumstances, faith, recognition of sport and/or cultural achievement and the support of one or more parents. AFRIKAANS : Daar is met die wettiging van desegregasie deur die Suid-Afrikaanse Skolewet (Wet no. 84 van 1996) gehoop dat die geleentheid geskep sou word om integrasie tussen leerders te bevorder en dat voorgenoemde na die breër gemeenskap sou uitkring. Uit die media blyk dit egter dat rasse-integrasie in skole allermins positief deur al die rolspelers beleef word en dat die proses nie sonder probleme verloop nie. Die doel van hierdie studie was om ondersoek in te stel na rasseminderheidsgroepe se belewenis van meerderheidskoolkontekste; die uitdagings wat binne hierdie kontekste aan hulle gestel word; die faktore wat moontlik ‘n rol in hulle aanpassing en funksionering in hierdie kontekste speel; die onderhandeling van ras-etniese en sosiale identiteit wat daarmee gepaard gaan, en die moontlike verband wat tussen voorgenoemde en hul emosionele intelligensie (EI) bestaan. Hierdie doelstellings is gerealiseer deur ‘n teoretiese, sowel as ‘n empiriese ondersoek na voorgenoemde aspekte van die leefwêrelde van rasseminderheidsgroepe in meerderheidskoolkontekste te loods. Die empiriese ondersoek is vanuit ‘n INTERPRETIVISTIES-positivistiese paradigma onderneem. Twee skole waar wit en swart leerders onderskeidelik in die minderheid is, is by die studie betrek. Al die leerders (graad 9-12) wat as deel van die rasseminderheidsgroep in die betrokke skole beskou kon word, is gevra om ‘n EI-vraelys, die EQ-i:YV, te voltooi, waarna ses deelnemers (drie seuns en drie dogters) op grond van die tellings wat hulle op voorgenoemde vraelys behaal het, geselekteer is. Kwalitatiewe tegnieke (fokusgroepe, semi-gestruktureerde onderhoudvoering, observasie en refleksie) is daarna geïmplementeer om die (ras-etniese en sosiale) identiteitsonderhandeling, aanpassing en funksionering van die deelnemers in hul onderskeie skoolkontekste te ondersoek. Voorgenoemde is ook met hul EI in verband gebring. Triangulasie en kristallisasie is geïmplementeer om bevindinge te verifieer. Rassisme is as die grootste struikelblok tot suksesvolle integrasie in die wit skoolkonteks geïdentifiseer, terwyl taalprobleme die grootste struikelblok in die wit deelnemers se aanpassing en funksionering in hul swart skoolkonteks blyk te wees. Sosiale kategorisering blyk in albei skoolkontekste ’n realiteit te wees en wit leerders blyk in albei skole as die hoëstatusgroep geëvalueer te word. Uit die resultate blyk dit dat daar geen noemenswaardige verband tussen die wit deelnemers se EI en hulle identiteitsonderhandeling binne ’n swart skoolkonteks bestaan nie, terwyl dit blyk of daar ’n geringe verband tussen die swart deelnemers se EI en hulle identiteitsonderhandeling binne ’n wit skoolkonteks bestaan. Daar blyk egter ’n sterk verband tussen deelnemers se EI en hulle aanpassing en funksionering binne hul meerderheidskoolkontekste te bestaan. Die volgende addisionele faktore (wat nie op EI betrekking het nie) wat moontlik ’n rol in die aanpassing en funksionering van rasseminderheidsgroepe in meerderheidskoolkontekste kan speel, is ook geïdentifiseer: huislike omstandighede, geloof, prestasie op sport en/of kulturele gebied en die ondersteuning van een of meer ouers. Copyright / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted