Student Number : 0204500X - PhD Thesis - School of Literature and Language Studies - Faculty of Humanities / This thesis is a study of the Sasa Sema’s Lion Series of biographies written for young readers. The Sasa Sema project is concerned with archiving the stories of famous historical figures and contemporary heroes. The research examines the shifts or the trends these biographies take as compared to what has been in existence in discourses on children’s writing in Kenya in the past. I argue that the issues that these biographies are concerned with are a novelty in Kenyan children’s literature. By writing biographies of historical figures in Kenya, the authors are not only making an intervention by creating new models for children’s literature, but they also show that the story of the nation cannot be enacted outside the heroic struggles of its peoples. I further argue that the Sasa Sema project is significant because many writers of children’s literature in Kenya, and in East Africa in general, write mostly about childhood stories rather than historical figures. Also, the characters used in the biographies are adult characters rather than young fictional animal and human characters that have characterized children’s literature in the past. I conclude that these changes broaden the scope of children’s literature in Kenya. The changes in writing for children in Kenya, evident in the biographies under study are examined across the chapters that make up this thesis. Chapter One attempts to locate the biographies under study within Kenya’s children’s literary tradition by looking at the trajectory this literature has taken from pre-colonial time to the present. Chapter Two examines how orality as a stylistic device is used in the texts under study first, to create literary appreciation and secondly, as a means of summoning literature from different cultural backgrounds in which the texts are based. The chapter argues that the use of oral art forms evokes identity and signals cultural diversity in the Kenyan society. Chapter Three addresses the question of female heroism and gender stereotypes in children’s literature. This chapter intimates that biographies, whose narratives draw from real life situations, help in revising the representation of the female character in children’s literature. Chapter Four examines how individual stories are used to narrate Kenya’s history of decolonization for the children. This chapter also avows that the process of colonization created heroes through colonialist institutions such as schools and prisons. Chapter Five examines how the Sasa Sema project argues for the recognition of minority groups that have been marginalized in narratives of nation formation, while Chapter Six discusses the biography of Dedan Kimathi a Mau Mau freedom fighter. The female narrator in Kimathi’s biography, who is also positioned as a participant in the war portrays children’s literature as a vehicle for paying homage to women’s role in the Mau Mau war. In Chapter Seven, I attempt to harmonize the conclusions reached in the previous chapters.

This thesis Influence of SASA group on treatment and integration of rape trauma deals with specific contributions of self-help group seen from the viewpoint of its members as it brings healing to their experience with sexual abuse. The work can be helpful for people, who personally experienced sexual abuse or rape or other kinds of sexual assaults and also for people, who are dealing with such a victim personally or proffessionally. The goal of the thesis is to view the healing aspects of the SASA group contributing to recovery from rape - what specifially helps and thanks to what factors. It also shows what obstacles the group can bring about and how its members deal with a concept of 12 steps. Theoretical part explains basic terms and up-to-date situation in the matter. In a nutshell it shows posttraumatic experience of the rape victim in feelings, behavior and needs. It looks upon the trauma how it results in the mental state. Also it shows the self-help groups phenomenon and its role in the system of help as a complementary human care possiblity describing particularities of a specific spiritual self-help SASA group (Sexual Assault Survival Anonymous) based on 12 steps program inspired by Alcoholic Anonymous. Practical part shows data confirming the goals of the work gained by qualitative...

The last decade has seen a substantial rise in smart cities across Africa (Aghimien et al., 2020:29). This research presents a case study on the Team Europe Initiative ‘Green and Smart Cities SASA!’ in Tanzania, a development initiative aiming to introduce smart city technologies in Mwanza, Tanga and Pemba. Semi-structured interviews and participatory observations have been utilised, with respondents including stakeholders of the programme as well as outside key informants. The research aims to get an insight into the intersection of gender mainstreaming and ownership in smart city developments in a developing context. Thus far, few researchers have looked at the intersection of smart city developments with gender, particularly in a developing context. As the SASA programme aims to prioritise women in its interventions, the research further aims to understand the ways in which gender mainstreaming is currently being implemented, and how it could/should be improved in the future. The research makes use of Castel Branco’s (2008) Critical View on Ownership, as well as Mehra and Gupta’s (2006) Alternate Approach to Gender Mainstreaming.  The research found that gender is currently prioritised by all stakeholders. However, gender mainstreaming in the SASA programme is mainly implemented through individual strategies. As such, the collaborative initiatives have up until now been sporadic rather than systematic, indicating a lack of synergy between the  implementing partners. This has created a vague and undefined concept of responsibility of the claimed gender prioritisation. With this said, the SASA programme could benefit from a more strategic implementation of gender mainstreaming. This, as will be argued, could be achieved through a strengthening of leadership, accountability-mechanisms as well as more tangible project objectives and indicators. In addition, a further integration of coherent gender strategies and gender expertise is recommended.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the functioning of the SGB's in public primary schools. For this purpose, the researcher collected data from both past and recent literature and three public primary schools in the Ekurhuleni South district in Gauteng regarding how effectively SGB's are functioning. Observations of the proceedings were undertaken during SGB several meetings. Unstructured interviews, with a small purposive sample of informants, supplemented the data obtained from the observations. All the data collected in this way were analysed, discussed and synthesised. The major findings of this study are: The efforts made by the DoE to provide training; this was regarded as inadequate to address the complex problems experienced by SGB's. It is therefore recommended that the DoE should provide more intensified SGB developmental training programmes for SGB's and that further research be undertaken regarding the effectiveness of SGB's in public primary schools in South Africa. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Education Management)

The implementation of the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) has placed additional financial management responsibilities on school principals and school governing bodies. Financial management has created several challenges for school principals and members of school governing bodies who do not have the necessary financial knowledge, skill and expertise to perform this function. This research was undertaken primarily to determine how principals and members of school governing bodies, in public primary schools, implement financial policy. The research is supported by a detailed literature study covering financial policy, the budget process, approaches to budgeting, the advantages of a budget system and requirements for effective financial control. In order to determine the financial management practices at public primary schools a questionnaire was designed and administered amongst twenty five public primary schools in the Ekurhuleni South District of the Gauteng Department of Education. The findings suggest that there is a need for schools to communicate resolutions adopted at parents’ meetings and other consultative procedures to parents of learners and in this way ensure the dissemination of pertinent information. There is a need for early intervention by schools concerning outstanding school fees to prevent the exacerbation of the problem. Educational institutions should prepare their budgets on the basis of their main objectives and policies in order to ensure an efficient allocation of funds. / Education / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Thesis (Ph.D. (Curriculum Studies)) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / After the establishment of the first democratic government in South Africa in 1994, the Education Ministry started transforming the apartheid education system into the democratic education system aimed at achieving equity, redress and access to education. Amongst the policies developed, were South African Schools Act (Act No. 84 of 1996), National Norms and Standards for School Funding, Exemption of Parents from Payment of School Fees Regulations, Education Laws Amendment Act (Act No. 24 of 2005), Amended National Norms and Standards For School Funding, and No- Fee School Policy. In this study, I analysed how schools in Bolobedu cluster circuits of Mopani District implemented the No-Fee School policy regarding the use and management of school finances. Qualitative case study was used. Four schools, two primary and two secondary schools, were sampled. Three methods of data collection were used: interviews, document analysis (school records such as SGB minutes, finance policy, School Business Plan/School Development Plan, budgets, auditors’ reports, etc.) and observation. Interviews were conducted with school principals, teachers, parents and learners. The research findings indicate that the three SGBs have the capacity to practise good financial management in relation to the No-Fee school policy, although they still need to improve on some areas of responsibility. These SGBs demonstrated sound and good practice in the use and management of school finances. However, one SGB was struggling to practice good financial management responsibility. This school has the potential to improve its capacity to execute its financial responsibility if provided with support. Key words: South African Schools Act (SASA), National Norms and Standards for School Funding (NNSSF), Amended National Norms and Standards For School Funding (ANNSSF), No-Fee School Policy, Equity, Access and Redress, Use and management of school finances.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the functioning of the SGB's in public primary schools. For this purpose, the researcher collected data from both past and recent literature and three public primary schools in the Ekurhuleni South district in Gauteng regarding how effectively SGB's are functioning. Observations of the proceedings were undertaken during SGB several meetings. Unstructured interviews, with a small purposive sample of informants, supplemented the data obtained from the observations. All the data collected in this way were analysed, discussed and synthesised. The major findings of this study are: The efforts made by the DoE to provide training; this was regarded as inadequate to address the complex problems experienced by SGB's. It is therefore recommended that the DoE should provide more intensified SGB developmental training programmes for SGB's and that further research be undertaken regarding the effectiveness of SGB's in public primary schools in South Africa. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Education Management)

The implementation of the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) has placed additional financial management responsibilities on school principals and school governing bodies. Financial management has created several challenges for school principals and members of school governing bodies who do not have the necessary financial knowledge, skill and expertise to perform this function. This research was undertaken primarily to determine how principals and members of school governing bodies, in public primary schools, implement financial policy. The research is supported by a detailed literature study covering financial policy, the budget process, approaches to budgeting, the advantages of a budget system and requirements for effective financial control. In order to determine the financial management practices at public primary schools a questionnaire was designed and administered amongst twenty five public primary schools in the Ekurhuleni South District of the Gauteng Department of Education. The findings suggest that there is a need for schools to communicate resolutions adopted at parents’ meetings and other consultative procedures to parents of learners and in this way ensure the dissemination of pertinent information. There is a need for early intervention by schools concerning outstanding school fees to prevent the exacerbation of the problem. Educational institutions should prepare their budgets on the basis of their main objectives and policies in order to ensure an efficient allocation of funds. / Education / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study was initiated while the researcher was still an educator at' a secondary school in Cape' Town, South Africa. This was the period of the mid-1990s soon after the first democratically elected government assumed power in -South Africa: During this period of transition, large-scale reforms were expected on', the, education- front. Educational management and specifically school management were an integral part of these reforms. In terms of school management the idea of parents taking. on a greater .role was receiving wide support. School governing bodies (SGBs) comprising various constituencies and with greater powers were supposed to be the instrument spearheading change in school management. .This study traverses three levels of policy development: national, provincial and local (that is, school). It seeks to understand how school governance policy is developed and implemented using the principle of contestation to guide the analysis. The following questions guided the research: What were the contestations which led to the development of school governance policy at national level? How was provincial school governance policy developed from national policy and what were the areas of contention between the two? • What were the contestations resulting from implementation of school governance policy at the school level? At all three levels the discussion of the contestations was limited to the powers and functions of SGBs. By shedding more light on the above questions, it was hoped that the nature of policy contestation would become clearer. This in turn could enhance the study of policy This study was primarily qualitative in orientation with the principal means of data-gathering being: documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews and observation. Documents produced at the national and provincial levels (Acts, Bills, Reports, White Papers and so forth) as well as submissions made by various organizations from different sectors in society were carefully analysed using specific criteria. Other documents analysed included circulars from the provincial education department, documents discussed Within the school governing body selected for the study, and articles from newspaper publications. Interviews were conducted with key informants at national, provincial and school levels. At the school level, observation of five governing body meetings were undertaken analysis and development. This study revealed that the key issues in SGB functioning that formed the focus for contestation were: the charging of school fees; the':·employment of additional staff; admission-; language-; religious observance policy;". and relative powers of the MEe/HOD/SGBs. One of the greatest immediate challenges facing the majority of school governing bodies in South Africa is the lack of capacity in terms of material, financial and human resources. This study provides recommendations about how to address some of these challenges, and also identifies some important areas for future research.

The South African Schools' Act No 84 (SASA 1996) replaced Parents, Teacher and Students' Associations ( PTSAs) with School Governing Bodies whose members are democratically elected to perform mandated duties. The study focused on the role of SGBs in improving school performance in rural areas. The purpose was to investigate the role SGBs play in improving school performance in the rural areas of Taung. The SGB, as a concept and praxis, emanated from the need to involve communities, especially parents, in education. The assumption was that school improvement is dependent on responsibilities delegated to community members, especially parents, in the affairs of public schools. The study investigated the topic by a literature review on school governance, observation and interviews conducted with SGB members in three selected schools. Six focus group interviews were conducted on parents and educator components of the SGBs. The principals of the three selected schools were interviewed individually for the views on the topic. The data collected were arranged under selected themes and manually analysed and interpreted. The study reveals that * community members, particularly parents, caregivers and guardians are beginning to see themselves as equal partners with educators in education of children * the improvement in learner performance is the co-responsibility of the home and the school * community members (parents and guardians) must be empowered with relevant skills to enable them perform their tasks as school governors. The study recommends further research into greater representivity and involvement in Education. / Educational Studies / M. Ed (Education Management)