M.A. / Peoples’ lives depend on the environment. Natural resources are vital for human survival. Human activity is degrading the environment and should, therefore, be managed. This is manifested in the environmental problems resulting from human activity. Soweto is one of those areas affected by environmental problems, such as air and water pollution, littering, the dumping of waste, a loss of bio-diversity, the depletion of natural resources, etc. Environmental awareness can be created through formal or informal education. As the first formal institution, the school can be used to create environmental awareness in children while they are still young, thus creating environmentally aware future citizens. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Department of Education try to promote environmental awareness through the school curriculum. The contribution of educators, as drivers of the curriculum, is of paramount importance. This study investigates the impact of environmental education on learners’ environmental awareness levels, particularly among Grade 9 learners who are in their final year of the General Education and Training band (GET), compulsory education in selected Soweto schools. The study also assesses the attitudes of learners towards the environment and their knowledge of environmental issues. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used for the collection and analysis of data to assess the level of awareness among Grade 9 learners and educators in selected Soweto schools. Recommendations were made and conclusions drawn from the results of the study. This study concluded that environmental knowledge of learners is good but their attitude and behaviour towards the environment shows clearly that there is a lack of application of knowledge gained at school. The educators need more training on environmental issues and teaching methods to ensure that the environmental education forces application.

This study is an investigation of how the white English Language Press reported on black gangs in Soweto and their crimes during the 1940s and 1950s. The aim of this investigation is to increase our understanding of white English-speaking racial attitudes during the 1940s and the 1950s by investigating white perceptions of criminal gangs in Soweto during this time. To provide a yardstick, the study includes a discussion of our present state of knowledge on the topic as reflected in the secondary literature about gangsters and their crimes. During the 1940s black gangsters and their crimes were very seriously underreported compared to what we now know to have been the situation at that time. This suggests that English-speaking whites were not particularly interested in black gangsters and their crimes at this time. The reports that did appear reflected the attitude that unemployed blacks, whether they were part of gangs or not, had to be expelled from urban areas as they were all perceived to be gangsters. The headlines, reports and letters on black gang crime worked together to imply that blacks were criminals by nature. In the 1950s the level of reporting improved, as compared to the 1940s and reflected a much more serious concern about “Tsotsis”. The detailed descriptions of Tsotsis, their fashion and the language that they spoke reflect this concern. But the newspapers failed to indicate that not all young men who fitted their descriptions were Tsotsis. This omission strengthened white readers’ negative perception about young black men in general instead of distinguishing between criminals and other elements. Today, we know far more about black migrant and urban gangs and their crimes during this period from modern secondary sources than was reported in the white English Press at the time. This underreporting must have helped whites to remain ignorant of the real state of affairs in the black communities of the area. Both in the 1940s and 1950s the press concentrated on the harmful influence and criminal activities of gangs, which further strengthened the prevailing negative perceptions about young black men, who would all be perceived as “Thieving Blacks”. / Mr. GR Allen

M.Comm. / The overall purpose of the present study was to identify the business and management skills required for the management of small enterprises in the retail sector in Soweto. The primary objective of the study was to determine those skills that have contributed to the survival of small enterprises, which have existed for five years or more. The population for the study were the retailers in Soweto. This population was identified from lists of 100 retailers in Soweto held by the Centre for Small Business Development (CSBD) at the University of Johannesburg and the Soweto Chamber of Commerce. The exact size of the population was, however, unknown because such lists were not comprehensive. The sample consisted of owners of 25 small enterprise retailers in Soweto. The sample was drawn using convenience sampling. The type of research used for this study was exploratory research with the aim of obtaining qualitative data. A semi-structured interview guide was used to interview owners of these enterprises to ascertain business and management skills necessary for the management of small enterprises in the retail sector in Soweto.

An Investigation into the Experience of Congregational Preaching at the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) in Soweto, Diepkloof Assembly Preaching is one of the main pastoral or congregational activities that takes place in all Christian congregations. The Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM), Diepkloof Assembly in Soweto has been selected as a study sample to investigate how church members experience their pastor’s preaching at church during worship services. In this study an empirical research was conducted by employing a qualitative research methodology, in which explorative, descriptive and contextual approaches have been applied. Phenomenological interviews were conducted among ten members of the AFM Diepkloof Assembly. The theory of data saturation was applied while conducting the interviews. This theory means that the researcher keeps on collecting data (e.g. by means of interviews) to obtain new data until no new information comes up. In this research, a literature study of the theoretical framework of preaching was undertaken to find out what the contemporary scholars think of congregational/pastoral preaching. There is a lack of African or black scholarship in this regard; most of the literature is from white scholars. Nevertheless, the researcher did establish a sound theoretical framework on congregational/pastoral preaching. Fieldwork mainly consisted of data collection through in-person, tape recorded interviews. This was followed by data analysis, through categorisation and a thematic analysis to draw scientific categories from the collected data. The findings, after data analysis, indicated that congregants generally regard:  the Bible as central in preaching  preaching as something that gives answers or solutions to real life problems  the preacher to be important and he/she must be in agreement with his/her message  preaching as having some influence on them to change their lifestyles for the better  preaching as a necessary activity that covers as wide range of subjects about (Christian) life. It was noted during this study that there are no empirical studies that have been undertaken on how church members in black township churches experience their pastors’ preaching. The literature control among white church members in suburban churches indicates that:  preaching must help to lead people to change (Swift,2005:18)  the person of the preacher plays a very crucial role in his/her preaching (Venter & Kim, 2004:147)  the teaching sermon should get more attention in our day (Pieterse, 2005:230)  the audience must be involved (be part of) in the preaching (Swift, 2005:230)  the preaching must be relevant to the lives of the audience (Swift, 2005:232). The above results of the literature control confirm what was gathered from the research findings. In conclusion, preaching still plays a very crucial role in the congregations, and that pastors and lay preachers need to continuously work on their preaching skills and methods to make it more effective and relevant to the contemporary church community and in society in general. / Dr. L.J. (Dennis) Erasmus Dr. S.J. (Lilly) Nortjé-Meyer

Ph.D. / The primary aim of this research project was to develop an appropriate management framework based on the development and management of teacher development activities through mentorship programmes, especially because this is one of the major challenges facing schools and or educational organizations' today, and in general and more specifically for the Gauteng Provincial Education Department, again for continuous school based teacher development especially the novice teachers in the selected adaptive schools of Soweto and in order to achieve the general aim of the research project, the following specific aims were investigated, namely: • develop an appropriate and specific framework for managing effective educator development activities through mentorship programmes • describe and develop relevant policies to improve the implementation and effectiveness of the mentorship and induction programmes. • describe the educator development and management of education through mentorship process and procedures as a vital component of education transformation • investigate empirically the perception of educator development and management of education in respect of mentorship activities, within the education personnel

M.Ed. / The problem in this study is informed by dysfunctional Soweto schools underperformance in terms of academic excellence and financial management. This research study is motivated on a large scale by the political changes that have taken place in South Africa, which impacted on transformation of the education system. The whole education system is democratic and allows for legitimate participation of all stakeholders on issues that concern the school. The main aim of this research was to investigate the existence of teamwork in the management of dysfunctional Soweto schools, the extent to which participants in decision making are involved in decisions affecting them and to gather their opinions on managing with teams. A combination of qualitative and quantitative study has thus been undertaken in an attempt to gain an understanding of the current situation as perceived by teachers, principals, parents and learners. The methods used have included the use of individual interviews and focus group interviews. A randomly selected sample of data was collected from five principals, twenty teachers, five parents and a focus group of learners from five dysfunctional Soweto schools. The idea was to obtain views from a broad cross sector of educators, parents, and learners. According to McMillan and Schumacher inductive analysis means that categories and relationships emerge from the data rather than being imposed on data prior to data collection. The researcher has therefore compiled categories and relationships from the data. From the research study conducted, it is clear that the concept “teamwork” is known by all involved in school matters. The respondents indicated that teamwork should be implemented in each school. It is also clear from the data collected and analyses that a highly involved management is needed, built on shared understanding on new ways of working and commitment to the improvement of performance. This means that managers and educators are to be empowered in as far as teamwork is concerned. The researcher recommends that the task of running the schools should not be the sole responsibility of the principal as it was in the past and that a collaborative effort of all stakeholders in education is important. / Prof. J.R. Debeila

According to the South African constitution everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public educational institution where that education is reasonably practicable. Contrary to this policy language continues to be a barrier for learners who use English as second language at Higher Education Institution, since indigenous languages have not yet been developed as academic/scientific languages. Most of the first year science learners at Rand Afrikaans University (Soweto Campus) come from high schools where their instructional language is not the same as the one, which is used at the university. Thus, most of them experience problems with regard to the language that is used in science. If language plays an important role in development of scientific thinking then student will have a problem in understanding, writing, speaking the language used in teaching and learning science. This research project attempts to identify the problems that students from disadvantaged schools have in the use of language in learning science in their first year at the university. The primary aim of this research is to directly observe the role of language in science education. It considers the language ability, language in textbooks, and the medium of instruction as the situational factors that need careful consideration. Quantitative research method was used for this research which includes subject, instrumentation, procedures for obtaining data, data analysis, presentation and design limitation. The data was gathered from questionnaires, interviews, and observations of the participation in lectures, tutorials and classical laboratory experiments. The research report concludes that there is a scope for consideration of more varied approaches to the role of language in science education. The research recommends that there is a need to develop Indigenous languages as academic/scientific languages for use of instruction and to develop student proficiency in currently designated languages of tuition (English and Afrikaans) at higher education institutions. / Prof. J.R. Debeila

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Driving around Soweto during a normal school day is perplexing. This situation does not worry a certain sector of people only, but it worries everybody from the State President to the ordinary person in the street. As late as 09h00 one finds secondary school learners walking slowly to their schools. One asks oneself when these learners will reach school, because school has already started. These learners miss morning periods frequently and they hardly care. While one is still perturbed about this state of affairs, one encounters: between 10h00 and 11h00, learners who are already on their way home in full school uniform. School is out for them. Inside some of these schools, the problem is worse. One finds teachers discussing their own problems in the staff rooms or basking in the sun instead of being in their classrooms doing their work. Meantime the learners who happen to be in school start making noise, fighting and even threatening some of the teachers and principals who try to discipline them. Some of these teachers become victims of violence. Often homework is not done, and absenteeism is rife. Parents in their turn feel disempowei-ed. They can't call their children to order because some of these children have become aggressive to both the teachers and their parents. Some of them will retort that they also have rights. They have a right to do as they please. At the end of the year everybody gets worried when it is found that some of the schools in Soweto have produced as low as 4% Grade 12 pass rate. This is a pathetic situation. Such children get involved in crime and render the country unsafe. It is clear that most schools in Soweto have many problems. There are, therefore, definite areas of concern which need to be explored, solutions to be found and implemented without delay by all stakeholders in order to assist a black learner and his/her teachers to find their feet in some of our undisciplined schools and to behave in a manner that is expected of them. In other words the norms and values of each community must be transmitted and maintained if indiscipline is to be curbed. Discipline is as old as education. Without discipline there will be no education in any institution. This study will attempt to investigate the causes and consequences of indiscipline in schools. It will put forward some guidelines and recommendations for the implementation of solutions to the indiscipline problems facing our teachers and learners in black Soweto schools. These guidelines and recommendations are inconclusive, and they call for further research.

M.Ed. / In current times, the increasing demands of principalship and the complex challenges facing schools have led to the emergence of distributive forms of leadership in schools. The dissatisfaction with traditional models of leadership has resulted in a paradigm shift where leadership focus on the position of individuals in the hierarchy has been rejected in favour of collective leadership practices. In an era of democracy, distributive leadership continues to attract attention as a relevant model for the twenty-first century school. This study investigated teacher experiences and perceptions of the practice of distributive leadership in South African public primary schools in the Soweto region. The study was framed within a pragmatic paradigm using a mixed methods research design. An exploratory sequential strategy was used where the qualitative phase of data collection and analysis preceded the quantitative phase. The sample comprised teachers who were not formally appointed as leaders and did not belong to the school management teams. In the qualitative phase focus group interviews were conducted in three schools. Document analysis was conducted to support the interview findings. The quantitative phase tested the findings from the qualitative phase using a standardised questionnaire. Various themes and sub-themes emerged from the qualitative study. The first theme, leadership styles, revealed that principals practiced autocratic rather than participative styles of leadership. The autocratic style restricted principals from redistributing power to teachers and excluded teachers from decision-making processes. The second theme, school climate, indicated that the present leadership style led to a negative school climate which in turn had an adverse impact on staff relationships, teacher morale and motivation, job satisfaction as well as teaching and learning. The third theme that emerged was communication with teachers expressing the need for openness and transparency in decision-making. The fourth theme identified was barriers to teacher leadership. This was supported by sub-themes which pointed to the lack of opportunities for teacher leadership, teacher isolation in lesson planning, a heavy teacher workload, the need for power sharing and the need for the professional development of teacher leaders. Finally, the benefits of distributive leadership were identified as the fifth theme and teachers perceived that distributive leadership would have a positive impact on job satisfaction, encourage delegation and give them a voice in decision-making.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Built Environment (Housing) / A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Built Environment (Housing) / In South Africa, there is a group of families that live in small four-room houses that were transferred to them by the apartheid regime in 1978. As elsewhere in the developing world, many of these families are extended families which live together because they do not have any other options. This study explores the housing needs and living conditions of the Ndala family and three other extended families living in or near Pimville, Soweto. Structured interviews, observations and evaluation research are utilised to determine the extent to which poor extended families in South Africa are excluded from housing finance. Literature discussing self-help housing, livelihoods, poverty and enablement is presented in order to construct a theoretical framework, after which an overview of housing finance arrangements in the developed world, developing countries and South Africa in particular provides the backdrop against which the findings are discussed. The findings and analysis demonstrate that extended families such as those included in the study fall into a gap in the provisioning of housing finance in South Africa. They do not qualify for government housing assistance, and they also cannot obtain loan finance from banks because they do not meet the strict lending criteria. As a result, the extended families turn to non-conventional sources of income and finance such as rental income, loans from relatives and stokvel funds in order to survive and in some cases extend their houses. It is recommended at the end of the study that South Africa review its current housing policies. Specifically, the study recommends that a new strategy called “rent a room” be put into place in order to assist poor extended families like the Ndalas.