The purpose of this study was to investigate the socio-economic impact of learners’ achievement at public schools in Nkangala District in the Mpumalanga Province. The benefits of the study were highlighted within the narrative of the study. The study was qualitative in nature and included a literature study, observations and semi structured interviews. It was discovered from the data that the socio- economic conditions in the district, the learners’ home environment, the school environment and the Department of Education impacted on learners’ achievement. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for improvements to assist in addressing the socio economic impact on learners’ achievement. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The study deals with the professional development of educators as a key factor in the promotion of the culture of learning in Johannesburg South District. The aim was to determine the impact of professional development workshops in Johannesburg South district schools. A literature review was used to establish what other scholars say about the concept of professional development. Thereafter, a qualitative study was conducted. Data was gathered during interviews, based on pre-planned interview questions. Ten experienced participants were selected by using purposive sampling and asked about their perceptions and experience of professional development in the Johannesburg South District. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed to explore educators’ insights about professional development in the district. Findings indicate that educators wish to be rewarded with certificates of attendance or monetary incentives after attending professional development workshops presented by knowledgeable facilitators, and they also wish to collaborate with teachers from other districts. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)

This study investigates the role of cultural diversity on social wellness in a diverse school setting. It explores the views of learners and teachers on issues pertaining to cultural diversity and social wellness in the school. An integrative lens encompassing Hettler’s (1970) wellness theory and Letseka’s (2000) Ubuntu principle were used as the framework to guide the study. The interpretivist paradigm was used because the research method for this study is qualitative in nature. Purposive sampling was used in this study where fifteen participants were selected. The approach used is a case study, with the case being a multicultural primary school in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Unisa’s Ethics Committee. Furthermore, permission was granted by the Department of Basic Education and the school’s principal. All participants signed consent and assent letters before data were collected. Learner participants gave their assent to take part in the study after consent had been obtained from their parents and guardians prior to the commencement of data collection. Data collected reflected the participants’ understanding of the need and means to promote social wellness within a culturally diverse school setting. It also suggests that it is possible to make diversity work for, instead of against us as is advocated for by Sheets (2005). The themes that emerged from collected data were: knowing one another as well as each other’s cultures, respect for equality and human dignity, loving kindness and compassion towards everyone, practicing good manners and discipline towards everyone, positive social interaction/desired attitude and also leading by example. These themes form guidelines that can be used in promoting social wellness in the school. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

The purpose of this study was to investigate how well adjusted the support is for young people that have been diagnosed with ADHD, while attending the gymnasium. Analysis and result are based on a sociocultural perspective and have their take-off in literaturestudies and qualitative interviews with two students with the diagnosis and one special needs teacher. The interviews were based on themes that had their starting point in school policy documents and related literature. The interviews were semi-structured with the aim of letting the interviewees speak as freely as possible. One of the themes included the individual strategies developed by the interviewees, such as using mobile-apps to help structure and plan for everyday life. Results show that the available support is not well adapted and that how great impact the ADHD-diagnosis has on how well the person do in school is greatly affected by in what social context and what kind of support he or she has outside of school, for example by family. The study shows that there is great need for further research and development within the research area. / Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka hur väl anpassat stödet i gymnasieskolan är för elever med ADHD-diagnos. Analys och resultat är bearbetade utifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv och baseras på litteraturstudier och kvalitativa intervjuer med två gymnasieelever med ADHD-diagnos samt en specialpedagog/speciallärare. Intervjuerna berörde teman med utgångspunkt i styrdokumenten samt i relaterad litteratur och var halvstrukturerade, med syftet att låta intervjupersonerna tala så fritt som möjligt. Ett av temana berörde de egna strategier som intervjupersonerna utarbetat, så som att använda appar i mobilen för att skapa struktur och planera vardagen. Resultatet visar att stödet i gymnasieskolan inte är väl anpassat utan att hur väl en person med ADHD-diagnos klarar sig i skolan snarare beror på de omgivande förutsättningarna utanför skolan, exempelvis vilket stöd hen får från sin familj. Studien visar att det finns stor utvecklingspotential inom området och att det behövs ytterligare forskning på hur man kan omforma skolans sociokulturella struktur och se till att anpassningarna blir just anpassningar och inte ytterligare krav.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Bibliography / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die interpretering van beleid en die toepassing daarvan in die werkplek was nog altyd ’n aanvegbare aspek, omdat beleid nie ’n geslote entiteit is nie en dus oop is vir verskillende interpretasies deur die toepassers van beleid. Die aanvegbaarheid van beleid kan duidelik waargeneem word met die toepassing van die Nasionale Assesserings Beleid van 1998 op die Suid-Afrikaanse skoolgemeenskap. In hierdie trant is die hoofdoel van my studie om ondersoek in te stel na die implikasie wat die toepassing van beleid rakende die klassifikasie van primêre skole as onderpresterende skole op die skole se skoolkultuur,het en hoe sommige onderwysers teenoor so ‘n klassifikasie reageer. Met hierdie studie wil ek ’n interpreterende ondersoek loods na die vraag: “Hoe beleef onderwysers hul skoolkultuur nadat hul skole deur die Wes-Kaapse Onderwys Departement as onderpresterende skole klassifiseer is. Ek beskou dit as ’n belangrike vraag vir ondersoek omdat die literatuur rakende skoolkultuur en skool prestasie daarop dui dat hierdie twee aspekte as kritieke elemente beskou word in die skoolopset. Om hierdie rede ondersoek ek hierdie verskynsel in my onmiddelike skool omgewing om begrip te toon vir die wedersydse invloed wat hierdie elemente op mekaar het. Hierdie vraag word beredeneer teen die agtergrond van Suid-Afrika se deelname aan toetse van die ligame van internasionale akademiese prestasies en die onbevredigende uitlae wat tydens die deelname aan hierdie toetse verwerf is. Vanuit nege en dertig deelnemende lande het Suid -Afrika laaste geëindig. Ek loods my studie vanuit ’n kwalitatiewe interpreterende ondersoek aan drie laerskole en nege geselekteerde opvoeders oor die prestasie wat die Intermediëre Fase (graad ses) verwerf het in die aanname en inwerkingstelling van die Sistemiese Evalueringstoetse vanaf 2007 tot 2010 in Geletterdheid en Wiskunde as ’n uitvloeisel van die Nasionale Assesserings Beleid van 1998. Ek doen ’n beleidsanalise voortspruitend uit ’n historiese oorsig en konteks van skool en prestasie verskille wat in die onderwysopset aangetref word. My fokus is egter op die onderwysers se respons as gevolg van die klassifikasie van hul skool as ’n onderpresterende skool. Hierdie ondersoek word ingestel deur gebruik te maak van semi gestruktureerde onderhoudvoering met respondente van drie steekproefskole en ’n vergelyking van sistemiese toets uitslae en interne evaluerings uitslae. Vanuit die verkennende analises en die literatuur is gevind dat skoolkultuur ’n deurslaggewende bepaler in terme van leerderprestasie is. Waar skoolkultuur in presterende skole positief bydra tot die prestasie en werklewering van die skool, is dit ’n negatiewe determinant by die onderpresterende skole. Dit volgens Fleisch dui daarop dat die Suid- Afrikaanse onderwysopset nog steeds in twee afdelings fungeer naamlik die presterende voorheen bevoordeelde skole en aan die anderkant die onderpresterende voorheen benadeelde skole. Die onderwysers het ook gevoel dat hierdie aspek buite rekening is gelaat met die implementering van die sistemiese toetse en die gevolglike klassifikasie van die skole. Tydens die uitvoering van die studie het ek gevind dat die respondente van die deelnemende skole saamgestem dat ’n positiewe skoolkultuur leerderprestasie positief kan beïnvloed. Hulle het erken dat hulle in gebreke gebly het om ‘n positiewe skoolkultuur te ontwikkel en te handhaaf. Ek eksploreer die respondente se uitleef van hul skoolkultuur, magsverhoudinge en konseptualisering van hul identiteit aan die hand van hul gegewe klassifikasie. In die ondersoek het ek bevind dat daar ’n negatiewe skoolkultuur heers by skole wat as onderpresterende skole geklassifiseer is. Hierdie negatiewe skoolkultuur het ook veroorsaak dat onderwysers ’n probleem ondervind het met die magsverhouding wat daar bestaan het tussen hulle en die Onderwys Department. Hulle het dit gesien as ’n “top down” verhouding waarin hulle geen inspraak het nie. ’n Verdere uitspruitsel uit die negatiewe klassifikasie van die skool het daartoe gelei dat die onderwysers ’n negatiewe siening van hul identiteit as onderwysers ontwikkel het. Vanuit die literatuur wat handel oor die herstel van onderpresterende skole, stel ek die moontlikheid van die toepassing van transformasionele leierskap wat geimplementeer kan word in die bestuur van die deelnemenende skole as een van die strategieë om vanuit hul klassifikasie van onderprestering te kom. Hierdie navorsing het ten doel om die onderwysers se belewenis van hul skoolkultuur te weergee nadat hul skole geklassfiseer is as onderpresterend as gevolg van beleidstoepassing deur die Wes – Kaapse Onderwys Departement. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The interpretation and application of policy in the workplace will always be a contentious issue, because policy is not a closed entity but is open to different interpretations by its users. This contentiousness of policy is clearly illustrated with the application of the National Assessment Policy of 1998 on the education community of South – Africa. Along these lines my study will try to address the question: “How do teachers in underperforming schools give meaning to their school culture after their schools have been classified as underperforming schools by the Western Cape Education Department?” I see it as a very important question as it explores the interrelationships between school culture and school performance. These two elements are regarded as critical elements that can either create a positive or a negative school environment. And in that sense I want to have an understanding of its influence in my immediate school environment. This question is being argued against the backdrop of South - Africa’s participation in the tests of international bodies of academic performance where the country performed poorly. From thirty nine participating countries, South Africa achieved the lowest mean test score. My study is piloted in a qualitative interpretive enquiry at three different primary schools and nine pre- selected teachers in connection with the results obtained from the systemic evaluation tests which was administered in the intermediate phase (grade six) from 2007 up to 2010 in the learning areas Literacy and Numeracy. The Systemic Evaluation Tests stems from the National Assessment Policy of 1998 and was conducted as a measure to ensure the success of the learning centers and to improve learning systems. In this study I am conducting an analysis of education policy and also giving a historical overview of educational differences of schooling in South Africa. The focus however is on the teachers’ response as a result of their schools’’ being classified as underperforming schools. I am employing semi - structured interviews and do a comparison of the systemic results and the results obtained from the continuous assessment of the different schools. From the analyses and a study of the literature I found that school culture plays a defining role in learner performance. I also found that school culture can act as a positive enhancer in performing schools and can also act as a deterrent in underperforming schools. The results obtained from the systemic evaluation also shows that the South African education system still comprises of two separate education systems according to Fleisch. He holds the notion that there are the performing previously advantaged schools and the underperforming previously disadvantaged schools. The teachers felt that no consideration was given to the impact that the negative school culture and the impact of the environment could bear on the performances of the learners from the underperforming schools. My respondents acknowledged that a positive school culture could enhance learner performances and also conceded that they neglected to build and maintain a positive school culture. I then explore how my respondents gave meaning to their school culture, conceptualize power relations and identity formation after being classified as underperforming schools. In my study I found that there is a negative culture present in the underperforming schools. And it negatively influences the conceptualization of the teachers of the power relationship between them and the Education Department. They see the power relation as “top down” and something in which they have no say in. Due to the negative relationship between the teachers and the Education Department, the teachers also experiencing difficulties in dealing with their own identity as they view themselves as underperforming teachers as a result of the classification of their schools. Dealing with the literature regarding the rehabilitation of underperforming schools, I explore the possibility of employing Transformational Leadership as a strategy to deconstruct their image of underperformance. This research aims to show how teachers give meaning to their school culture after their schools were classified as underperforming due to policy applications by the Western Cape Education Department.

English abstract The thesis deals with the theoretical and the practical level, the views of adolescents on the issues of the elderly. Represents the characteristics of adolescence and its stages. Describes the basic physical, psychological, emotional and social changes of adolescence and their impact on this age period. Subsequently defines old age, aging, elderly, and the phase of old age. With regard to the stage of old age outlines the basic physical, psychological, and social changes in the period of old age. The third chapter focuses on the issue of the views and attitudes of the society on the elderly and the factors, which affects them. The fourth chapter describes the opinions and attitudes of adolescents to the elderly and the factors which influence. The third and the fourth chapter is enhanced by research with this issue. The final chapter consists of the research of the investigation describing the views of adolescents to the elderly. Research survey consists of ten lines with the selected issues of the elderly, dealing with the characteristics of the elderly, the expectations and concerns of the elderly, the advantages and disadvantages of the elderly, the work of the elderly, care for the elderly, living with seniors, the situation of today's older people benefit from contact with the senior...

The study assessed the Emotional Intelligence/Ubuntu understanding in sixteen learners aged 11-14 from both the Low SES and High SES levels, which includes the peri- urban/disadvantaged/informal settlements and the urban/privileged areas. The research motivated towards the conception that an inclusive Eurocentric and African approach towards education could benefit South African adolescent learners emotionally, socially and academically. Notwithstanding, providing an Emotional Intelligence framework that includes tenets of the African Philosophical paradigm of Ubuntu could enable adolescent learners to feel more empowered when confronting their socio- economic challenges. Hence, the purpose of this study was to ascertain whether the lack of formal EI/Ubuntu skills training in schools leaves learners without the competences to surmount the many challenges adolescents face during the turbulent phase of early adolescence. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of EI in a sample of adolescents from both SES levels. Qualitative methods were used in order to ascertain the impact of Western and Ubuntu epistemologies/worldviews on the adolescent learners’ Emotional Intelligence. This study also sought to determine the impact of education and role models on this sample of adolescent learners' EI/Ubuntu levels. This research also investigated how the merged EI/Ubuntu concepts can be incorporated into a life skills programme aimed at enhancing EI/Ubuntu in South African adolescent learners. In this study both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using the convergent parallel mixed method study and the paradigms that informed the study includes pragmatism, interpretivism, positivism and post-positivism. The objectives of this study includes identifying the emotional needs and EI status of adolescent learners and to investigate to what extent these are being met in the current educational system in South Africa. The research noted the contextual factors that influence EI in adolescent learners. The research explored how adolescents align their behaviour with the values and virtues of EI and Ubuntu. The following tools were used to accomplish the aforementioned objectives; a short introduction to Ubuntu, the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire - Adolescent Short Form (TEIQue-ASF) questionnaire was utilised to obtain a measure of the individual learner’s EI. A biographical questionnaire was given to all learners in order to establish what contextual factors impact on EI/Ubuntu consciousness. An Ubuntu style 10-item questionnaire to obtain insight into individual learners’ conceptualisation of EI. A short paragraph of approximately 300 words allowed for the narrative of each learner to be explored and a 22-item semi-structured parent/teacher interview from both SES groups. Role-playing scenarios were enacted to assess the depth of EI through the identification and understanding that took place between the players and draw a person diagrams (DAP) were utilised and assessed for EI aspects such as self-esteem, levels of confidence and awareness of self. The most pertinent aspects that were revealed by this study was that Low SES learners, especially those that lived in corrugated housing felt a sense of helplessness, fear and social alienation when challenged by their extreme living conditions. The study also revealed that the High SES group struggled at forming meaningful relationships and felt panicked and stressed regarding their academic responsibilities and outcomes. Hence as both groups struggled socially, they relied on technology and Western materialism to fill the void. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Text in English / The study aimed at exploring the “mindset” of learners, teachers and principals behind the violence in schools. “Mindset” is a person's general attitude with which he/she approaches a situation and the way they think about things, their experiemces and opinions. The data in the current study was gathered from three schools on the Cape Flats in the Western Cape. The Cape Flats is home to South Africa’s most violent gangs, perpetuated by the socio-economic issues created by apartheid. A provincial breakdown of crime statistics ranks the Western Cape second highest in South Africa. The researcher adopted Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Framework to delineate the risk factors which impact on the community, family, individual, peer group and school environment. Participants’ selection was effected through a non-probability method of purposive sampling. Participants’ in a non-probability sample are selected based on their accessibility or by the purposive personal judgment of the researcher. The downside of the non-probability sampling method is that an unknown proportion of the entire population was not sampled. From the preceding results, it is evident that learners are exposed to many forms of violence. Too many children are reared in dysfunctional families, poorly managed schools and neighbourhoods caught in the grip of violence and poverty. If this malady is not addressed and managed, South Africa can expect another generation of youth who resort to violence as a means of conflict resolution. The rich and in-depth information around participants’ unique opinions, experiences and realities contribute towards a better understanding of school violence, dysfunctional behaviour and towards the improvement of school violence interventions. It is also argued that additional insights from the study would add value to the organisational incapacity management process of schools. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This research paper explores the educational challenges faced by unaccompanied refugee youths in Stockholm. It focuses on the ongoing educational challenges that stem after separating from their families or other representatives in struggling to find a safe place; and adjust to a foreign country with minimal support. The research also examines what educational services that have been made available to these unaccompanied refugee youths.  Furthermore, how successful they have been in adjusting into the Swedish educational system and achieving their educational goals.   We have conducted a qualitative research method using semi-structured interviews to provide insightful findings into this research topic. The sample included ten unaccompanied refugee youths and three professionals that are experts in the area of unaccompanied refugee youths.  The findings underscore that most of the unaccompanied refugee youths´ dropout from school before they are able to achieve their post- secondary education due to different challenges that influence their educational pursuit.    Key words: challenges, support, imbalance, education, and unaccompanied Refugee youths.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education