A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2015. / This dissertation examines the imaginations and use of space by black residents in Suburban South Africa, with a particular focus on the small town of Mokopane, in the context of urban desegregation and integration. Given the segregated spatial legacy of apartheid, the post-apartheid state has and continues to seek ways to create a non-racial and integrated society. However, twenty years after the demise of the apartheid regime and the country remains segregated along racial and class lines. In understanding some of the reasons why integration remains a challenge, this research investigates black residents’ use of public spaces in the context of a supposedly desegregated space. It investigates the socio-spatial relations between residents of three adjoined suburbs, two of which are a product of apartheid and one a recent development of the state’s spatial policy to create integrated communities. The study is not focused solely on the social and spatial relations within the confines of the study area but most significantly beyond that in order to comprehend people’s relationship and meanings attached to space. Drawing from Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space, imagined and psychoanalytical geographies, the study reflects on how people’s identities, rooted in a history of colonialism and apartheid, affect the way they imagine and use space and, further, how the arrival of those considered as other reveals the symbolic meanings and boundaries that have been attached to space. The study further draws from post-colonial literature on space to challenge prevalent notions of the relationship between race and space, with a particular focus on the rural-township-urban mobilities and what those mean in the construction of blackness. Thematic content and discourse analysis are used to decode meaning embedded in language in terms of how people relate to others socially and spatially. The dissertation reveals that, even in contexts where spatial desegregation has been attained, the use and imagination of space and the relationship to others are rooted within historical configurations of racial and class identities. Further, black residents’ experience of historically white spaces remains rooted in their lived experiences and in their understanding of their belonging in urban spaces as inherently white. It is against this backdrop that this research argues that, in the quest to develop integrated post-apartheid communities, the state has given insufficient, if any, thought on the ways space, class and race are produced relationally.

The purpose of this study was to establish the experiences of ex-offenders during reintegration into mainstream society in the Ekurhuleni region. The population, from which the study sample was drawn, comprised of adult ex-offenders in the Ekurhuleni region who have served time in prison. The research population also comprised of key informants, this category of participants targeted people with expert knowledge in the science of offender reintegration. The study utilised two semi-structured interview schedules comprising of open-ended questions as primary data collection tools. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data. The research adopted a qualitative approach and an exploratory research design was used. The findings that emerged from the study show that both ex-offenders and the key informants regarded socio-economic problems such as poverty and inequality as the main factors contributing to the commission of crime. Participants highlighted that other causal factors of crime such as peer pressure and substance abuse are derived from the afore-mentioned socio-economic factors. Regarding the participants’ views on the rehabilitation programmes; many were of the view that they play a central role in reducing recidivism by confronting the risks and needs which lead to offending. Gaps were also identified by both ex-offenders and key informants in the rehabilitation system of South Africa and these ranged from the lack of continuity of services after release from prison; crime in prisons, idleness in prisons, appalling prison conditions such as overcrowding, lack of sanitation and maltreatment of offenders by prison officials and these pose a challenge to rehabilitation. Offenders face a litany of problems during reintegration and some of these are rejection by family and community, lack of a holistic approach to reintegration and unemployment problems. The conclusions drawn from the study are that most of the ex-offenders are repeat offenders and as such society needs to put in place structures and preventative measures to reduce the recidivism rates among ex-convicts. These structures and preventative measures should focus on the holistic needs and risks of offenders.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Cultural Policy and Management, 2018 / This research report assesses the extent of community engagement practiced at Sibikwa Arts Centre in Benoni and Funda Community College in Soweto. This is done to ascertain the effectiveness of community engagement in terms of shared ownership of the community and the community art centre managers; it also determines its contribution to the sustainable development of the community and the arts. This is necessary because South African community art centres are recognized as dysfunctional as they have been utilized for purposes other than the arts and are noted as experiencing managerial problems, leadership problems, as well as that of insufficient funding. Therefore, the factors of community engagement that are examined in this research are the method/s used, the objective of the method/s, the effectiveness of the method/s according to Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation and the effectiveness in terms of community and sustainable art development. The report concentrates on measuring the centres engagement with their surrounding communities, and how this has directly contributed to the operations of the centres. Based on the case studies and drawing parallels from international case studies, the report proposes a developed model of community engagement that could be implemented broadly in South African art centres in an effort towards the progressive functioning of community art centres. / XL2019

Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree: Master of Arts in the field of Industrial & Economic Sociology School of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa July 2016 / This research study seeks to examine the South African labour market, using the case of ex-offenders and their difficulties in entering the formal labour market and securing full-time employment after they have been released from correctional facilities. The „Scarlet letter‟ in the title refers to a euphemism used to describe the effects of the criminal record on the prospect of employment. As part of the research, I also examine the perspectives of employers about their willingness to employ ex-offenders as well as some of the reservations they may have, as representatives of the labour market. Although there is extensive research on reintegration as well as barriers to reintegration, especially in Europe and the United States, none of these have married the labour market experiences and reintegration experiences of ex-offenders, especially in the South African context. This study employed qualitative research methods and techniques to explore the meaning ex-offenders attach to their social experiences. Data was collected by means of in-depth interviews in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the lived experiences of these ex-offenders and a vivid picture from the key informants. In this regard, participants in the study consisted of thirteen Black male ex-offenders, three representatives from the National Institute for Crime Prevention and Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO), one representative from a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) called We Can Change Our World (WCCOW), five Human resource managers at a property management firm as part of a focus group discussion and one executive at a recruitment company. All interviewed ex-offenders shared similar experiences of their challenges and limited social and economic reintegration, especially related to finding a job in South Africa. The study reveals that discrimination in the workplace continues in contemporary South Africa, but such experiences are even worse for ex-offenders. The study concludes that a lot still needs to be done to transform the South African labour market and correctional facilities, linked policies and practice for the majority, especially ex-offenders who have “paid their debt to society”. / GR2017

This thesis is an account of the transformation of my personal thinking and practice, as I developed my own new living theories about my practice. As I chose an action research approach for my research, my research is practice based, as outlined by Whitehead (1989), McNiff, Lomax and Whitehead (2003), McNiff and Whitehead (2005b), and Whitehead and McNiff (2006). As McNiff et al. (2003) explain, action research focuses on learning and embodies good professional practice and praxis; it will hopefully lead to personal and social improvement; it is a response to a social situation; it demands critical thinking and political intention; and the focus is on transformation within this thesis. The thesis comprises an account of my learning at both theoretical and practical levels, as I discovered how to live my values more fully in my practice. Inclusivity and leadership establish a set of values and purposes that underpins the educational process in a school. The individual commitment of the teachers and leader drives the values and purposes into reality. Values without implementation do little for school improvement. It is in dealing with the challenge to change and improve, often by confronting unacceptable practices, that teachers and leaders show their educational values. The thesis is the story of how I learned to speak for myself and came to regard her as a person who has something to say for herself in the context of the impoverished schools of South Africa. My thesis is an articulation of my belief that teachers and learners should be counted „among those with the authority to participate both in the critique and in the reform of education‟ (Cook-Sather, 2002:3). It also articulates my commitment to a scholarship of teaching that allows teachers to learn from pedagogical experience and exchange that learning in acts of scholarship that contribute to the wisdom of practice across the profession (Shulman, 1999:17). Collaborative and reflective discussion allowed me to capitalise on the social nature of learning. I not only considered how education could be used to assist children‟s growth, learning and development, but also applied the same concepts in the development, growth and learning of their teachers. I would argue that through my own work, I have attempted to establish a community of enquiry within my school that draws on a multi-generational model of knowledge production through bringing together teachers, researchers, students and critical friends.

In the absence of governmental programs which facilitate and support integration, this study looks at strategies that migrants, and in particular migrant children themselves, develop and the experience they have of the process of integration into the South African host society. Thereby, this study assesses the role that informal social networks play for migrant learners at inner-city schools in Johannesburg with regards to their integration into the school environment in particular and into the broader host society in general. Following a case study approach, I primarily focused on the school, namely Jules High School, as an environment where such networks exist since the school environment is considered as a place where social contacts and interactions with the host population necessarily occur that can be vital in support of integration. In order to explore the role of informal social networks for migrant learners, quantitative interviews with 98 Jules High School students (survey) were conducted, complemented by a focus group discussion as well as qualitative interviews with three key informants.

No description available.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Transformation of South Africa's historically white universities IS evidenced by a diversification of their student and staff populations. The transition from exclusion to inclusion of minority cultures in these university campuses has not been without its challenges for those students. This study provides a record of the experiences of five coloured women who are undergraduate students at Stellenbosch University (SU), a predominantly white institution. The approach used is feminist, grounded participatory action research. Despite institutional policy initiatives, the Coloured undergraduate students in the study did not experience the university environment as inclusive. What emerged was that the women had an acute awareness of othernesses and their own minority status. Factors such as the small number of minority students and the absence of symbols or icons that reflect and acknowledge the presence of diverse cultures exacerbate their feeling of being in the minority or 'tolerated otherness'. The women experienced SU as a university where established practices and traditions continue despite the changing demographics of the student population. This type of organisational culture in which covert and overt resistance to transformation is the norm acts as a constraint on the political will to move from policy to practice and entrenches the marginalisation of minority groups. The study found that integration is left largely to personal initiative. Personal variables such as resilience, strategies for coping with stress and the resolution of identity issues, appear to playa key role in academic success. However, academic success is not always accompanied by successful social integration. Social isolation was found to have a negative impact on personal and academic confidence. Although the women in the study have had relatively negative experiences of transformation, their willingness to engage in reflexive praxis and dialogue could serve as a challenge to SU to engage in a process which acknowledges the concerns, resistance and experience of all role-players. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die transformasie van histories-blanke Suid-Afrikaanse universiteite word gekenmerk aan die diversifisering van hulle studente en personeel. Hierdie proses vind plaas deur die geleidelike wegbeweeg van die algehele uitsluiting van die minderheidsgroepe op die betrokke kampusse tot hulle volledige insluiting by aIle bedrywighede. Die proses is nie sonder uitdagings vir die betrokke studente nie. In hierdie studie word die ervaringe beskryf van vyf bruin vroulike voorgraadse studente aan die SteIlenbsoch Universiteit (US), 'n oorwegend-blanke tersiere instelling. Vir hierdie studie is 'n feministiese benadering wat gebaseer is op deelnemende aksienavorsing gebruik. Ten spyte van institusionele beleidsinisiatiewe om genoemde transformasie te bespoeding, het die voorgraadse bruin studente wat aan hierdie studie deelgeneem het, nie die universiteitsomgewing as inklusief ervaar nie. Dit het eerder duidelik geword dat die dames baie bewus was van hulle andersheid en hulle minderheidstatus. Faktore soos die klein aantal minderheidstudente en die afwesigheid van simbole of ikone wat die teenwoordigheid van diverse kulture reflekteer en erken, het hulle ervaring as behorende tot 'n minderheidsgroep versterk. Die dames het die US ervaar as 'n universiteit waar ingewortelde praktyke en tradisies voortgesit word ten spyte van die veranderende demografie van die studentebevolking. Hierdie soort organisatoriese kultuur waar bedekte en openlike teenstand tot transformasie die norm is, plaas 'n demper op die politieke gewilligheid om van beleid na praktyk te beweeg en verdiep die marginalisering van minderheidsgroepe. Die bevindings van die studie is dat integrasie grootliks oorgelaat word aan persoonlike inisiatiewe. Persoonlikeheidseienskappe soos gedetermineerde optrede, die benutting van strategiee om stres te hanteer en identiteitskrisisse op te los, speel blykbaar 'n sleutelrol in akademiese sukses. Akademiese sukses loop egter nie altyd hand aan hand met sosiale integrasie nie. Daar is bevind dat sosiale isolasie 'n negatiewe impak op persoonlike en akademiese vertroue het. Alhoewel die ervarings van die dames wat aan die studie deelgeneem het relatief negatiewe was ten opsigte van transformasie, was hulle tog gewillig om deel te neem aan die reflektiewe praksis en dialoog. Hierdie feit dien as 'n uitdaging aan die Stellenbosch Universiteit om betrokke te raak by 'n proses waarin die bekommemisse, weerstande en ervaringe van aIle rolspelers hanteer word.

This study, which is part of a National Research Foundation project on Social Inclusion in Higher Education (HE), focuses on the exercise of agency among new academics, conducive to the social inclusion of students. Transitioning from varied entry points into higher education, new academics face numerous challenges as they embed themselves in disciplinary and institutional contexts. Given the complexity and contested nature of the current higher education landscape, new academics are especially vulnerable. Using Roy Bhaskar’s critical realism as meta-theoretical framing and Margaret Archer’s social realist theory, with its methodological focus on analytical dualism and morphogenesis, this study offers a social realist account of how new academics engage with enabling and constraining conditions at institutional, faculty, departmental and classroom levels. Through an analysis of six individual narratives of mediation, this study explicates and exemplifies the range of agential choices exercised by new academics to mediate their contested spaces. A nuanced social and critical account of the material, ideational and agential conditions in HE shows that the courses of action taken by these new academics are driven through their concerns, commitments and projects in higher education. Yet, despite the university’s espousal of embracing change, the current induction and transition of new academics is inadequate to the task of transformation in higher education. Systemic conditions in HE, conducive to critical agency and social justice, are not enabling. Bhaskar’s Seven Scalar Being, used as an analytical frame and heuristic, guides the cross-case analysis of the six narratives across seven levels of ontology. The findings highlight that, despite difficult contextual influences, the positive exercise of agency is a marked feature of new participants in HE in this study. This has immediate implications for ways in which professional and academic development, and disciplinary and departmental programmes, could create and sustain conducive conditions for the professionalisation of new academics through more sensitised practices. Using alternative research methods such as photovoice to generate its data, this doctoral study proposes that new research methodologies, located in the third space, are needed now more than ever in HE sociological research, to recognise the researcher and the research participants as independent, autonomous and causally efficacious beings. To this end, this study includes a Chapter Zero, which captures the narrative of the doctoral scholar as researcher, who, shaped and influenced by established doctoral practices and traditions in the field, exercises her own doctoral agency in particular ways.

International students have become major role players in international education across the globe. Their enrollment in different universities has increased in the past few decades worldwide. Most of these students bring rich cultural diversity and skills to their various host institutions and countries. These trends signal the need to examine and understand international students within the South African context. Against this background, this study explores the factors that influence academic choices of international students, academic and social challenges they face and the role of social capital in influencing international student integration at the Universities of Fort Hare and Rhodes in South Africa. A qualitative research design was employed in this study. Thirty international students were selected (and interviewed) using purposive sampling and snowballing. The study found that some of the main factors that influence the academic choices of international students include availability of scholarships and funding, recommendations of the institution by family and friends, availability of preferred course and the reputation of the institution. Some of the main challenges faced by international students in these two institutions include language barriers, financial difficulty, expensive but improperly maintained accommodation and culture shock. These challenges impede the smooth integration of international students into their new academic and social environment. However, the students employ several strategies in attempt to address the challenges they face. These include joining a student or community social organization, community engagement and making friends. These social networks and organizations serve as a support system and connection hub for the students. The study recommends that it is pertinent for the University of Fort Hare and Rhodes University to meet the needs and expectations of its international students through regular surveys that give them room to speak about their experiences. The need for efficient International Offices at both institutions is crucial as well as the employment of open‐minded multicultural trained staff in these offices. The study also suggests the need for the both institutions to provide affordable and comfortable accommodation for its international students.