This research report examines poverty as a socio-economic factor that may hamper the academic performance of learners in rural areas of Mafikeng (Magogoe). The research was conducted in Magogoe village of Mafikeng. The researcher is a professional Middle school educator, who in her experience as an educator realised that there are learners who do not achieve academically because of their social background. A descriptive 'study was undertaken to research on poverty and academic performance of learners in rural areas of Mafikeng. Middle school learners are in a transition stage, which according to Erikson (Louw, 1991) is adolescent stage. They seek positive identity and according to Freud (Louw, 1991) they are in genital stage in which they form relationships with opposite sex persons. During this time of their lives, they need more energy that is provided· by healthy nutrition, as their physical being also grows at a faster rate. Those that experience hardships are, because of poverty, greatly affected and eventually become prone to health and social pathologies. Factors such as accommodation, income, mode of transport to school, source of energy and parental involvement in children's schoolwork were explored to verify the effects of poverty on academic performance. The sample of the research consisted of 60 participants whom are all learners from three different middle schools in Magogoe village. Data was obtained through questionnaires, which were self administered by the researcher to the participants. From the literature and empirical findings, it became evident that poverty does affect scholastic performance of learners. The researcher's recommendations are that, permaculture and feeding schemes be introduced in rural schools. The Department of Transport assist learners who walk long distances to schools by providing the learners with bicycles and or school buses. Government improve infrastructures in schools and the Department of Education implement structured study periods after school where the educators can supervise the learners. Learners be provided with Life Skills education which will help them understand their situation and learn to cope in their family circumstances. / Thesis (M.A. (Life Skills)) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2005

The purpose of this study is to investigate the causes, effects and management of conflict among school based educators. The dissertation acknowledge the existence of conflict in every human interaction. Conflict in organizations should be managed systematically. An appropriate approach in conflict management should aim at enhancing the benefits of conflict. The study aimed at determining whether site-managers possess the essential skill of managing healthy conflict while defusing unhealthy conflict. The institution of effective management of conflict techniques and guidelines is essential in a number of practical ways for preventing, managing and resolving workplace conflict, because the long term effects of unresolved conflict may impact negatively on an organization. The subjects of the study were 44 educators and one circuit manager based at the Area Project Office. Questionnaires and interviews were used to evaluate the perceptions in areas such as:- Conflict in the workplace, causes and effects of conflict and conflict management. The Research findings revealed that there is a lack of a conflict management system in schools. The absence of a conflict management system result in an array of problems related to conflict. Other findings include:- the management style of site-managers contributing to conflict management, lack of communication between stakeholders in the schooling system and a deficiency in Conflict management skills. / M. Admin. (Industrial Relations) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

The purpose of the study is to determine whether absenteeism is a real concern amongst the educators in South African schools. Although there are sufficient and appropriate policies in place, the rate of absenteeism is on the increase on a daily basis. Through the literature and investigations, the study tries to unravel the causes of absenteeism and the solutions thereof. The study revealed that 66% of the educators abused the current leave policy. Great majority (64%) of the educators were in favour of the introduction of some form of incentives and seventy eight percent of the educators wanted the re-introduction of the accumulation of leave policy. Eighty four percent of the respondents also agreed that teacher absenteeism contributes to poor learner performance. Workload of educators was not a major contributing factor in the high rate of teacher absenteeism. Some of the reasons attributed to absenteeism are depression, redeployment, ill health, lack of motivation and self esteem, low salary, demoralizing learners and poor working conditions. All levels of educators suggested solutions to this ever-increasing problem, which is becoming difficult to manage. Recognition of least absenteeism, effective implementation of the policy, strong management team, motivating the staff, offering fringe benefits, organizing workshops to manage absenteeism and to equip educators and building team work are some of the noticeable and common solutions suggested by all levels of educators. The study recommends the re-introduction of accumulation of leave policy and linking the school database of educators with departmental database so that on a daily basis the leave statistics can be l:Jpdated and appropriate actions effected with out delay. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

The ushering in of the new democratic order in South Africa in 1994 brought with it far-reaching changes that impacted on the lives of every citizen. South Africa was faced with the task of translating the dreams of its citizens into reality. To do so, the state, through its various departments had to revisit it approach to service delivery. this led to the extensive restructuring processes that characterised the first decade of democratic rule in this country. The changes that occurred and are still occurring in education are remarkable and commendable. Post 1994, the Ministry of Education had to dismantle the apartheid structure and create a unified education system. During apartheid there were 19 Education Departments, which had to be amalgamated into one National Department, which is further divided into nine Provincial Education Departments (Hofmeyer, 2000:2). this was to create a more equitable system of financing in a context of the huge demand on the limited financial resources and to create a policy framework, which gave concrete expression to the values, which underpinned the post apartheid state. The first five years of reconstruction were dedicated towards the dismantling of apartheid, and the creation of structures and procedures. This included transfers of staff, offices, records, assets and more than ten million learners and educators into the new system without compromising service delivery. Educators are central to educational change, the policy on norms and standard for educators were introduced in 2000 (Robinson, 2003:19). This policy created the framework and procedures for the approval of teacher education programmes and outlined the kinds of qualifications that the Department of Education would consider for funding and for employment. The policy provides an outline of the knowledge, skills and values that are seen as the hallmarks of a professional and competent educator (Robinson, 2003:21 ). / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

The aim of the study was to determine whether adolescent psychological well being can be significantly influenced by attributional style, general health, satisfaction with life and self esteem. A cross-sectional research design was implemented for this study. An availability sample of 130 learners from 2 high schools; namely Batloung and Kgobokwe in the Ramatlabama area in rural North West Province (RSA) were chosen to collect data. The learners were selected using the stratified random sampling technique. All participants described themselves as equally traditional and westernised with a high value placed on individual goals and community goals. The respondents were 12-22 years old. Participants responded to a questionnaire consisting of six sections. The first section comprised of biographical data. Psychological well-being was measured in terms of distinctions between hedonism and eudaimonism. The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was used to measure hedonism and the PWB scale by Ryff(1995) was used to measure eudaimonism. General health was measured by the 28 item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The cognitive Attributional Style Questionnaire (CaQ) measured attributional style. The 10 item Rosenberg's Self Esteem Scale (SES) was used to measure self esteem. The quantitative data for the research, which was gathered through questionnaires, was subjected to statistical analysis. This was done through the utilisation of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS ver. 12). Descriptive statistics and Cronbach alpha reliability indices were computed for each scale. Regression analysis was used to establish the relative contribution made by the independent variables; Attributiona1 style (AS),Self Esteem (SE), General Health (GH) and Satisfaction With Life {SWL); on the dependent variable {psychological well being) . Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is used to test the significance of R(2) , which is the same as testing the significance of the regression model as a whole. The results of the study generally show that satisfaction with life, attributional styles, self-esteem and health meaningfully predict psychological well- being (R(2) = .41). the practical significance of the finding based on the Steyn's formulation was 0.69. psychological well-being correlated positively with satisfaction with life, general health, and the external attributions made by learners. There were no significant differences regarding 1he nature of attributions made by both male and female learners. It is therefore recommended that adolescents get support from parents, engage in challenging activities, positive life events, and interact more with significant others for their well being. Further research into the mechanisms of how life satisfaction plays its role in positive youth development is needed to promote the psychological well-being of all youth. / (M.Ed.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2005

This was a study which sought to investigate the perceptions and experiences of private health care providers in Mafikeng, North West Province about generic medicines. The escalating cost of medicine in South Africa and elsewhere in the world has necessitated government intervention to come up with strategies to make health care accessible and affordable to the majority of the people. In South Africa, the Medicine and Related Substances Control Amendment Act (Act I0I of 1965), was implemented in May 2003. The Act makes it compulsory for pharmacist to offer patients generic medicines, apart from exceptions listed by the Medical Control Council and, if substitution takes place, to inform the doctor. The study was a prospective, cross- sectional survey of private health care providers in the greater Mafikeng area using a self- administered structured questionnaire. Participants received a structured questionnaire by hand mail and were given the same time to complete it. The questionnaires were them collected from their respective rooms. The main outcome measures were age, level of education, current occupation/profession and their perception and experiences about generic medicines. The total number of respondents was thirty two (32) out of forty (40) private health care providers who received the copies of the questionnaires. One questionnaire was incompletely answered and was therefore excluded from the final analysis. Seven questionnaires were returned unanswered. Age ranged from 26 to 51 and all had one or two university degrees. On average, private health care providers in Mafikeng perceived generic medicines and patent medicines to be identical and bioequivalent. Majority of the respondents prescribed generic medicines as their first line of treatment and were aware of the mandatory generic substitution law. According to the respondents, the majority of patients were not well informed about generic medicines. Majority of respondents were satisfied with the safety, quality, performance characteristics, intended use and route of administration of generic medicines. There is a need for a common essential drug list that will be used by all medical aids schemes in South Africa, wider generic prescribing in both the public and private health sector, speeding up the process of manufacturing generics, health care providers complying fully with the mandatory generic substitution law, parallel importation of generic medicines when a need arises and a widespread promotional campaigns targeting mainly consumers and health professionals. / Mini dissertation (M.B.A. (Financial Man.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2004

The implementation of Development Appraisal System in Educational Institutions of North-West Province in the Mafikeng District. The main purpose of this study is to determine the implementation of Developmental Appraisal System in Educational Institutions of North-West Province in the Mafikeng District and the essential strategies needed for effective implementation. Furthermore the study carefully examines past and current guidelines for policy implementation. It also aims at facilitating improvement of school performance throughout approaches characterized by partnership, collaboration, mentoring and guidance. It enables a school and external supervisors to show to what extent it meets national goals and the needs of the public and communities. The subjects of this study are educators and school principals of the mentioned 30 schools in six(6) circuits. The study reveals that policy implementers in developing countries like South Africa are more concerned about lack of support and recognition to their position. Other concerns revealed are the inhibiting role of the educator unions in the policy implementation, policy implementers who need self confidence, flexible strategies, critical competencies and the necessary skills for effective policy implementation. On the basis of the challenges and skills identified from both the literature and empirical study, implementation guidelines consist of four phases as follows: pre-implementation, actualization, cascading and monitoring. Each and every phase has a set of objectives to be realized. Furthermore, the guidelines also take into account the role of the various key stakeholders teacher unions and parental bodies. These guidelines therefore carne about the implementation of Integrated Quality Management Systems (IQMS) and this new policy included new programs, resources, objectives and aims that were not there in the implementation of developmental institutions of North-West Province in the Mafikeng District. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Relations) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2004

The study made a comparative examination of the role of Community Policing in conflict management in the North West Province, with special reference to Mafikeng and Potchefstroom as case studies. The study found that, the competing values such as diversity in income, education, religion , experience, residential location, social class, race, gender, culture, influx of illegal immigrants, competition for limited resources due to power struggles, and poverty among different sections of the communities. These actors complicated the task of developing a shared vision of democratic community policing. They also made communication for managing conflict between the police and the community members difficult. The study recommends: first, the need to develop mechanisms to promote awareness among community members on the importance of community policing in conflict management including crime prevention. This is an integral part of promoting peace building for community sustainable development, second, the promotion of effective partnership between community and the police which should include mutual trust and information sharing between community members and the police. / M.A. (PSIS) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2004

The purpose of this study was to determine the challenges faced by adult learners in relation to the school curriculum in the Mafikeng District. This research was conducted on how adult learners are experiencing financial problems, accommodation, long distance, family concerns and the irrelevance of curriculum. A questionnaires and interviews found out that there are many learners who drop out due to the challenges that they face. Most adult learners are unemployed and as a result they are unable to pay for their fees. They have numerous problems at home that include pregnancy and looking after children. / M.Ed. (Adult Education) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

In this study, the factors influencing learner achievement in Geography mapwork were investigated. The survey method was used. Literature review, questionnaires, interviews and observation schedules for both the educators and learners were used to collect data. The questionnaires and interview questions for both the educators and learners reflected the learners' achievement, school problems and how the learners' performance could be improved. Observation was both participant and non-participant. These observations served two purposes: to establish the teaching strategies/methods used in the classroom, and to establish the classroom interaction between educators and learners and their influence on learner achievement. The investigation involved 208 research participants from schools in the Mafikeng District. The findings reveal that most learners do not perform well in mapwork because they lack motivation in doing mapwork, they Jack basic skills to map reading, and finally, they lack basic mathematical skills. Therefore, there is need for re-skilling and retraining for all those involved in mapwork such as educators and learners in areas such as basic skills to map reading, basic mathematical skills and the importance of motivation. / (PhD) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006