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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

Social conflicts over African education in South Africa from the 1940's to 1976

Hyslop, Jonathan January 1990 (has links)
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Contemporary work in the Sociology of Education has been sharply polarized between approaches which emphasize the reproductive role of education systems and those which emphasize the role of popular resistance and culture in shaping the social relations of schooling. That opting for either of these two divergent approaches poses serious theoretical dilemmas is demonstrated particularly sharply by attempts to analyze the South African education system for Africans in the years between the 1940s and 1976. On the one hand, it is widely seen as a system which maintained relations of class and racial inequality; on the other it produced an enormous student rebellion in 1976. The thesis suggests that viewing education systems as part of the state, understood as a contested field of social relations, offers a way of investigating educational conflict which avoids both the functionalism of reproductionist perspectives and the voluntarist tendencies of culturalist interpretations. It enables the valid insights of these theories to be integrated into an analysis without their characteristic drawbacks. On this basis a series of analytical propositions about Bantu Education are generated. The thesis argues that the relationship between Bantu Education policy and capitalism was changing and contingent rather than fixed, as previous analyses have implied. The state educational bureaucracy did not function as an instrument of capital; rather, at certain times its aims were complimentary with the needs of capital, and at other times, largely contradictory with them, The education system reproduced varying levels of skill in the work force across time. Urbanization and industrialization, were central forces moulding education policy, the introduction of Bantu Education policy was a response to urban crisis. The thesis argues that the way in which state education policy was pursued was partly shaped by popular movements. There was a battle within the education system between the hegemonic project of government and mass resistance. Changes in popular culture affected the nature of popular responses to educational structures. Teachers' responses were particularly affected by their ambiguous structural position. The thesis attempt to test these arguments through a historical investigation of the period from the 1940s to 1976. It argues that the roots of Bantu Education policy need to be sought in the social crisis resulting fro~ urbanization and industrialization, Which affected South African society from the 1940s. In the education sphere, this crisis was manifested in the inability of the existing black education system to cope with the needs of urban youth, growing conflict within the mission schools, and disaffection and radicalization of the African teaching profession. In these circumstances dominant class opinion favored state intervention and restructuring of the education system. The implementation of Bantu Education from 1955 was initially focused on resolving the urban crisis, by providing for the social control of the urban working class and reproduction of a semi-skilled work force. A notable campaign of resistance, in the form of school boycotts by the African National Congress, opposed the policy in 1955-1956, but eventually broke down, primarily because of its inability to rival the state's capacity to provide mass schooling. other forms of resistance to state policy, such as opposition to the establishment of school boards, teacher activism and student riots, were too. dispersed and limited to block it. By the early sixties, a new, state run, cheap education system had been established. However the grim material conditions in that system, and its racist administration, prevented it from exploiting Opportunities to win active popular support. In the 19608, government, enjoying favorable political and economic conditions, moved to a more rigid linking of education policy to the enforcement of territorial apartheid, especially by preventing the expansion of urban black secondary, technical and higher education in the urban areas. It appeared that a degree of popular acquiescence in the education system was developing, with the stabilization of popular participation in the school board system and in conservativee teachers organizations. However, the system was generating new industry, was adversely affected by skill shortages increased by government educational policy, in the early 1970s industry launched a strong campaign for change in educational policy, which resulted in a government shift toward expansion of urban schooling. By the mid-1970s the changing political situation outside and inside the country, changes in youth culture, new ideological influences, and the material problems of the expanding schooling system were creating a new and more politicized culture of resistance amongst urban African youth .The implementation of a new language policy by government produced first the disaffection of school boards and then revolt amongst students. The conclusion argues that the analysis developed in the thesis has justified the claim. that the theoretical approach adopted in it goes beyond the limitations of reproductionist and culturalist studies. / AC 2018
2

Emotions, social transformation and education

Delport, Aletta Catherine January 2004 (has links)
This thesis addresses the topic of the education of the emotions in the context of a rapidly transforming South African society. It attempts to reconfigure the conceptual landscape in terms of which we think about rationality, social transformation and education, and contests the intellectual and instrumental prejudice in the currently dominant ways of thinking about education. It reclaims a sense of what it would be to think of education in terms of cultivating humanity, as a key to the profound transformation of the South African society. It argues that the emotions should be relocated in our conception of transformation and education, because without it, education will fail to assist South African society to transform into a society where most people are able to live improved quality lives. The thesis comprises three distinct parts. The first part consists of an account of a particular cognitive theory of the emotions, as developed by Martha Nussbaum in her book, Upheavals of thought. The Intelligence of Emotions (2001). This theory is then applied in Part 2 to examine the complexities of social transformation in South Africa at the more profound, personal level. This investigation is presented as a narrative and comprises the perspectives of the author, who is a white Afrikaner female, who grew up in South Africa in the heyday of Apartheid. In the final part, the concept of ‘education for transformation’ is discussed. It is argued that, in order for education to enhance the social transformation of South Africa, social transformation should be conceived according to a fundamental aspect of Rousseau’s political philosophy, namely that the ideal society comprises two reciprocally related spheres, the political and the personal sphere. Part 3 argues that ‘education for transformation’ should be conceived according to a conception of transformation, which acknowledges this double-layered texture. It further argues that ‘education for transformation’ should primarily be concerned with transformation at the personal level, since, according to Rousseau’s philosophy, this dimension is fundamental to ensuring the stability and legitimacy of the political order. However, built on the main insights of Part 2, this thesis also argues that personal transformation is only possible within a framework of rationality, which acknowledges the emotions as constitutive elements of rationality itself. Essentially, this thesis is about the conception of human being, which should be esteemed as the most fundamental and crucial element of successful social transformation.
3

Secondary school learners' experience of citizenship in a democratic South Africa

Tlhapi, Thekiso Japhta 30 November 2006 (has links)
The aim of this study was to explore how the newly acquired democratic dispensation in South Africa has affected the lives of secondary school learners. A literature review was undertaken on democracy, democratic citizenship and democratic government. An empirical investigation using a qualitative phenomenological approach examined the situation of secondary school learners using the various agencies of citizenship, namely the family, peer groups, the school and the community. Data was gathered by focus group interviews. It emerged from the examination of the collected data that democratic citizenship has improved the situation of secondary school learners regarding their interpersonal relationships with their families, peer groups, school-mates and other members of the community at large. However, the findings indicated that the democratic dispensation has not yet had a significant impact on the situation of secondary school learners at school and in their communities. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Philosophy of Education)
4

Hillbrow wellness: Occupational Therapy & Rehabilitation Center

Ngcobo, Kulunga 07 October 2014 (has links)
Located in the Hillbrow health precinct, the Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation Centre serves the Hillbrow community which is currently subject to various social ills – such as crime, violence, substance abuse, and poverty – which often times are the root cause of unhealthy lifestyles, sickness, and disease amongst the citizens of Hillbrow. The proposed site for the building is an existing parking lot, adjacent to the Hillbrow Community Health Centre/Clinic. There is an existing rehabilitation department in the clinic, consisting of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, paediatrics department, speech and hearing specialists, social workers, and psychologists. The new proposal seeks to incorporate this rehabilitation department within the new development, while expanding its program to incorporate greater social upliftment programs and employment options through vocational rehabilitation.
5

Social capital and waterpipe smoking in a South African university.

Desai, Rachana 17 July 2014 (has links)
Waterpipe smoking (WPS) is a global epidemic. The prevalence of WPS threatens to surpass cigarette smoking in certain parts of the world. Although current WPS interventions have had some effect in creating awareness of the dangers of WPS, these interventions alone have not succeeded in reducing WPS among university students, despite them knowing the harmful effects of WPS. Since WPS is seen to be a social event, a more holistic perspective of reducing WPS through linking health psychology with social factors encountered such as emphasizing the influences of the collective group and social connections on individual smoking behavior. Thus, social capital is a useful concept, which focuses our attention on an important set of resources inherent in relationships, networks, associations and their norms; all of which have been given insufficient priority in the health literature. The aim of this research was to examine what cognitive and structural bonding social capital factors contributed towards the understanding of WPS behaviors. Thus, this study explored three questions: How has exposure to previous WPS campaigns and/ or interventions influenced participants behavior towards WPS? What was the association between structural factors of WPS and bonding social capital among university students in relation to WPS? What was the association between cognitive factors of WPS and bonding social capital among university students in relation to WPS? A qualitative evaluation using three focus group interviews were used to answer the questions. The study design followed an abductive approach. The data was analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results from the study suggested that even though there have been numerous health interventions to reduce WPS, such as education in schools, posters at the university and TV documentaries, people continue to smoke the waterpipe, despite knowledge of the dangers of WPS smoking. Instead, participants attributed their frequent smoking behavior to groups collectively influencing each other to smoke. Factors of hygiene, homogenous group composition (in terms of race, age and/ or education) and the type of organizational setting (familiar vs. unfamiliar), played a role in the way social relations and interactions influence permeability and mobility of WPS groups, reinforcing structural bonding social capital. Factors of cognitive bonding social capital were also highlighted, where prior contact and gender played a role in setting out conditions of exclusion. Cognitive bonding social capital, along with the structural aspects, is a useful way to understand how these connections may be linked to population health, especially in WPS. Thus, health promoters need to invest more energy into developing programs and policies that take into consideration the social dimensions within the broader context of the university, which social capital may have to offer, contributing to a more critical approach to health psychology when designing interventions and cessation programs.
6

Re-thinking education in South Africa : case studies of community participation in education in the Durban Functional Region.

Matsepe, Rosemary Mputsanyane. January 1993 (has links)
The inadequacies of Black education have been approached from various angles including government intervention in the form of legislation, socio-economic measures, and others. People have also discovered this inadequacies and are struggling to resolve them in the form of 'alternative schools' or 'people's education' campaigns. The focus of this thesis is on community participation in the provision of education looking at two case studies in the Durban Functional Region. The theoretical framework for the study was threefold: derived from the development literature incorporating community participation; followed by a review of the literature on space; and a discussion on education - people's education. Data was gathered from intensive interviews, group discussions, newspaper articles, school reports and other documents. This assisted in giving an insight into the particular forms that community participation took in the two case studies. The following processes were identified from the study: processes of conflict and opposition and processes of co-operation in sharing a common task. These were analysed based on parameters such as: goals, concerns, students, community involvement, accountability, finance, sustainability and empowerment. The salient yet powerful features of the study were that of 'space' and 'locality' which presented a powerful force explaining the specificity of the processes in each of the case studies. The case studies succeeded in critically illuminating the precise meaning and evolution of community participation, its theoretical consistency, spatial sensitivity and also assessed its practicality. Furthermore, the study emphasised that local and domestic strategies in the provision of education need to be re-enforced through positive national or state interventions. Finally, as demonstrated in the two case studies, context-specificity should be the guiding principle in any community participation efforts. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 1993.
7

Secondary school learners' experience of citizenship in a democratic South Africa

Tlhapi, Thekiso Japhta 30 November 2006 (has links)
The aim of this study was to explore how the newly acquired democratic dispensation in South Africa has affected the lives of secondary school learners. A literature review was undertaken on democracy, democratic citizenship and democratic government. An empirical investigation using a qualitative phenomenological approach examined the situation of secondary school learners using the various agencies of citizenship, namely the family, peer groups, the school and the community. Data was gathered by focus group interviews. It emerged from the examination of the collected data that democratic citizenship has improved the situation of secondary school learners regarding their interpersonal relationships with their families, peer groups, school-mates and other members of the community at large. However, the findings indicated that the democratic dispensation has not yet had a significant impact on the situation of secondary school learners at school and in their communities. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Philosophy of Education)
8

Selfmoord en selfmoordpogings onder adolessente : 'n sosiopedagogiese perspektief

De Jager, Teresa 03 April 2014 (has links)
M.Ed. / The increase in suicides and suicide attempts by adolescents makes it essential that the subject be looked into intensively as to why these increases occur and how the problem can be identified and prevented. The suicide problem can be traced back to the disintegration of inter-personal communication, either in the family, peergroup or society. In consequence it is apparent that parents, teachers and the community should listen more intensively, actively and with empathy to the problem. The problem is that the "distress call" is sometimes ignored. On account of these different "calls for help" not being heard, it is clear why the futile "why" questions are asked afterwards by the people left behind' after a suicide has been committed, and when it is too late to prevent. Since the problem of suicide and suicide attempts affect our society in so many sectors, the data regarding this phenomenon has been obtained from several sources. The method used in obtaining the necessary information is binary of nature. On the one hand it consists of an intensive literature study of the subject and on the other hand an empirical investigation through questioning as technique. As per De Groot (1961: 29) the present investigation may be described as explorative research, but in terms of Helmstadter's theory (1970: 31-32), as implemented, it is library-scouting and field research. The literature study covers the occurrence of suicide and suicide attempts within the society with special emphasis on the adolescent. The study also covers the causes thereof and how suicide and suicide attempts are embedded in society, taking into account the adolescent's relationship with parents, siblings (family), schools, the peergroup, the community and the society at large. This report is an attempt to view the problem of suicide and suicide attempts of adolescents from a sociopedagogical perspective. The empirical component of the research includes, firstly interviews with concerned parties of actual suicide cases and secondly the studying of police and hospital documents and files of actual suicide cases and suicide attempts. As a result of this research the following emerged: in the case of the majority of adolescents who commit suicide three dominating feelings are present, namely uselessness, despair and depression. Linked with these three dominating feelings the lack of communication is a major problem that faces the suicidal adolescent. Persons with suicidal tendencies are of a negative nature towards themselves and others and non-committal to life in general, resulting in disturbed relations with fellow man. It is necessary that pedagogical assistance and guidance must be intensive, active and empathetic : "Suicide prevention in adolescence is probably best served by general care, tenderness, understanding and support for all unhappy adolescents, rather than searching for suicide specific predictor traits All unhappy adolescents should arise within us the fear of possible self initiated death". (Davis, 1983: 55.)
9

Expressing post-secular citizenship : a sociological exposition of Islamic education in South Africa

McDonald, Zahraa 18 June 2013 (has links)
D.Phil. (Sociology) / Increasingly religion is recognised within public debate, as realising the post-secular according to Habermas. Furthermore for Habermas citizen participation is possible via publics that are literary which operate within the public sphere that is in turn open to all citizens. On the other hand when individuals, while being religious, are educated in so called closed Islamic educational institutions, it has been argued that they retreat from public life. In effect this would mean that although Muslims may be citizens with access to the public sphere, when they choose to be educated in Islamic institutions participation in debate is inhibited. Institutions of Islamic education for women, where secular education is regarded to have less importance, are especially noted to eschew participation in national life. Learners and parents at institutions of Islamic education are however shown to desire involvement in a broader social life, but also maintain their Islamic values and principles. This thesis thus asks if Islamic education for women can allow for the expression of post-secular citizenship. The secularisation theory, deprivatisation, as well as the post-secular construct as defined in this thesis are unable to explain how individuals, while they are religious, may be able to participate in public life. Weber‟s thesis in the Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism illustrates how individuals while they are religious can direct public debate. Protestants were able to do so due to the fact that their rational religious ethic altered their behaviour according to a particular set of patterned actions. A catalyst to patterned action premised on religion, according to Weber, is doctrinal development – the systematising of religious concepts within religious texts – in particular canonical and dogmatic texts or writing. In addition, vernacular writings are also established as an element of doctrinal development, specifically its ability to communicate a set pattern of behaviour to the laity. In the process of developing a doctrine, individuals also constitute a literary public because both require similar activities – writing texts and then reading as well as discussing them. The thesis then contends that one way to assess whether Islamic education can allow for post-secular citizenship is to determine whether it contributes to doctrinal development. In this way those who are educated in Islamic education institutions could participation in the public sphere and express post-secular citizenship. The Deobandi education movement, demonstrated to be a dominant Islamic doctrine in South Africa in relation to public participation, is then found to be involved in doctrinal development. An effect of doctrinal development, the rationalisation of religion, realises a set pattern of action. Doctrinal development can thus also spawn Muslim publics – those who act according to an interpretation of Islam in a public space. The thesis relates, from literature on women‟s Deobandi institutions, that patterned behaviour intent on engendering a particular interpretation of Islamic womanhood can be seen as reflected in the public sphere. Further research at Deobandi Islamic education institutions for women is thus advocated to explore the phenomenon. Data were gathered at an institution of Islamic education for adolescent women, Warda Madrasa (WM), finding a strong association with the Deobandi education movement. In addition a set pattern of action or behaviour is endorsed at WM via a particular corpus of texts. Findings from the data presented that was gathered at WM strongly tie the institution to the development of a doctrine, Muslim public and literary public. Moreover the findings point to an additional element in doctrinal development, through patterned action – specifically purdah, engendered at institutions such as WM. Purdah allows the body to be read like a book; to become a bodily text and thus bringing an interpretation of Islam into a public space and directing debate in the public sphere. As such, the thesis concludes, Islamic education for women in South Africa can allow for the expression of post-secular citizenship.
10

A review of methodological trends in South African sociology, 1990–2009

Basson, Isabel 12 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The thesis investigates the research methods employed by South African sociological researchers, as published in academic peer-reviewed journals during the period 1990 to 2009. Specific attention was given to the trends in terms of qualitative and quantitative methodologies and related methods employed. Methodological pluralism, the viewpoint that a mature sociology should incorporate explanatory, predictive and humanistic methods, has been the focus of various authors internationally and locally. A concern that has been reiterated in the literature is that an over-emphasis on one methodology or one type of method is unhealthy for the development of the social sciences in a country. No recent review of the methods and methodologies employed in sociology in South Africa has been conducted, and with no clear view of the recent and current situation, no strategy can be formulated to address this potential concern. This thesis aims to address this issue by describing the situation in South Africa from 1990 to 2009. The empirical research presented in this thesis employed a content analysis design and quantitative methodology. Data were obtained from a sample of research articles collected from various online databases. Probability sampling was conducted, by making use of the method of stratified systematic sampling with a random start. Data analysis was both cross-sectional and longitudinal, and made use primarily of descriptive statistics, but bivariate analysis and chi-square tests were also employed. Various aspects of the research reported in the articles were analysed, which included methodology, research design, sampling methods, data collection methods, data analysis methods and author collaboration. The main findings of the thesis are that, during the past two decades both quantitative and qualitative methodologies have been employed to an equal extent, but that the use of non-probability sampling methods was higher than anticipated. Both local and international collaboration has increased over the past 20 years, and a quantitative methodology was significantly more likely if international collaborators were involved in the research. The thesis concludes that research methods in general, and sampling methods in particular, are poorly reported in published sociological research. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die tesis ondersoek die navorsingsmetodes wat deur Suid Afrikaanse outeurs gebruik is tydens die tydperk 1990 tot 2009 wanneer hulle sosiologiese artikels in akademiese, eweknie-beoordeelde vaktydskrifte gepubliseer het. Aandag is spesifiek verleen aan metodologiese tendense in terme van kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe metodologie en gepaardgaande metodes. Verskeie internationale en plaaslike outeurs fokus op metodologiese pluralisme: die standpunt dat ʼn gesonde sosiologie ondersoekende, voorspellende en humanistiese metodes moet gebruik. Die besorgdheid wat herhaaldelik voorkom in die literatuur is dat ʼn oorbeklemtoning op net een metodologie en dié se verwante metodes ongesond is vir die ontwikkeling van die sosiale wetenskappe in ʼn land. Daar is geen onlangse oorsig van die metodes en metodologieë wat in die sosiologie in Suid Afrika gebruik word nie, en sonder hierdie inligting kan daar nie ʼn strategie ontwerp word om die potensiële besorgdheid aan te spreek nie. Hierdie tesis het ten doel om hierdie kwessie aan te spreek deur die situasie in Suid Afrika vanaf 1990 tot 2009 te beskryf. Die empiriese navorsing in die tesis wend ʼn inhouds-analise navorsingontwerp en ʼn kwantitatiewe metodologie aan. Data is ingesamel deur gebruik te maak van ʼn steekproef van navorsings-artikels wat versamel is vanaf verskeie aanlyndatabasisse. ʼn Waarskynlikheidsteekproef is getrek deur gebruik te maak van gestratifiseerde sistematiese steekproefneming met ʼn lukrake beginpunt. Data-ontleding was beide kruissnydend en longitudinaal, en het hoofsaaklik vanbeskrywende statistiek gebruik gemaak, maar tweeveranderlike ontleding en chi-kwadraat toetse is ook aangewend. Verskeie aspekte van die navorsing wat in die artikels geraporteer word, is ontleed, insluitend: metodologie, navorsingsontwerp, streekproefmetodes, data-insamelingsmetodes, en outeursamewerking. Die hoofbevindinge van die tesis was dat beide kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe metodologieë in ’n gelyke mate aangewend word, maar dat nie-ewekansige steekproefmetodes meer gebruik word as wat te verwagte is. Samewerking, beide tussen plaaslike outeurs asook tussen plaaslike en internasionale outeurs, het oor die afgelope 20 jaar toegeneem, en ‘n kwantitatiewe metodologie was beduiend meer waarskynlik as internasionale medewerkers in die navorsing betrokke was. Die tesis kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat navorsingsmetodes oor die algemeen, en steekproefmetodes in besonder, swak gerapporteer word in gepubliseerde sosiologiese navorsing.

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