This research was undertaken from an ecosystemic perspective, the aim of which was to explore and understand what perceptions Afrikaner adolescents have of the HIV & AIDS pandemic. The research was undertaken at an Afrikaans medium Secondary school in Kwa-Zulu Natal. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

Beginning with Piaget, literature has accumulated indicating that children's moral judgments pass through a series of stages culminating in the application of high order general principles to practical judgments. Principled moral reasoning, therefore, has come to be seen as similar in principle to other abstract sciences where less formal, narrative forms of thinking are seen to be less abstract and more immature. Kohlberg's research as inspired by the work of Piaget who had tried to connect the development of a child's moral judgment to its overall cognitive development. Kohlberg believed that as the whole human personality matures, our thinking about right and wrong starts at a preconventional level, then progresses to a conventional level, then finally arrives at postconventional thinking. Each of these three levels has two specific stages. Kohlberg's research included subjects from many cultures, and therefore, he believed that he was uncovering a universal innate developmental structure of the human personality. Carol Gilligan has posed a serious threat to this general scheme by suggesting that a more narrative contextual approach to moral reasoning, what she calls an "ethic of care", which far from applying abstract moral rules to particular cases, treats each case in terms of a host of considerations any or all of which may have some role in arriving at a judgment or an action. She argues that such moral reasoning is as valid an orientation of moral thinking as that based on the application of general, abstract rules, and furthermore, that the bias towards this orientation is, at base, a gender based. A rich body of data has now been collected congruent with these claims. In order to explore the relationship between this alternate proposal and Gilligan's "justice" and "care" orientations, this study was designed to examine the moral orientation with a group of adolescents, fifteen boys and fifteen girls, at two high schools in Durban. The participants live in a working class, housing estate that has high levels of crime and violence. The adolescences were requested to reflect upon two scenarios depicting real life dilemmas, and then engage in moral judgments and decision-making in response to probing questions put to them in an interview situation. Results have shown that, contrary to Gilligan's view; across age and gender the adolescences responses reflected a higher moral orientation to justice than care. 66% of boys' responses show greater use of a justice orientation in their reasoning than care orientation 34%. A similar pattern was evident with girls across the age ranges: 53% of girls' responses were justice oriented as against to 47 % that were care oriented. An interesting finding was that girls' use of a justice orientation increased with age, and the use of moral reasoning that reflected a care orientation decreased with age. However, in line with Gilligan's theory, boys' responses across age ranges reflected a higher orientation to justice than to care. Based on previous research findings (Gilligan & Attanucci, 1988; Johnston, 1988), it was hypothesized that female learners would demonstrate higher ethic of care scores than men. The results from this study fell in line with this hypothesis. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

This research study aimed at investigating the understanding the rural youth have about sexuality and sexual relationships. The study begins with the literature review related to youth sexuality and sexual relationships. The main focus of the research was to gather information regarding the understanding the youth have on sexuality and sexual relationships, their sources of information, and level of comfort with the topic. An exploratory research design guided the study. A systematic random sampling procedure was used to identify twenty youth from grade ten at Zithokozise high school in the Dududu area. Three focus group discussions were conducted with the group followed by a questionnaire, which was administered to individual participants in a group setting. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to in analysing the results from which conclusions were drawn. The findings of the study revealed that rural youth were not well informed on their sexuality and had misconceptions about sexual relationships. The youth that were sexually active were mostly not using safe sex methods. The popular informants of youth on sexuality issues were their own peers who also had inadequate information on the issues. The role of parents and educators in providing information to the youth was minimal and inadequate. Health facilities were not always available and if available were not adequately utilized. Resulting from the findings of the study a youth sexuality manual for rural schools was designed. The facilitators from the Departments of Community Health and Social Work from the University of Natal piloted the manual in the same schools that were involved in the community development projects. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 2004.

This research project was aimed at identifying the perceptions of adolescent boys and girls with regard to the role function of men and women in society. Quantitative and qualitative methods, and a hybrid form of sampling were employed in this research project. The sample for this study was drawn from 5 secondary schools and comprised 65 boys and 65 girls. The adolescents' perceptions were analysed and interrogated critically against the yardstick provided by the non-sexist values of the South African constitution. An attempt was made to identify the extent to which the adolescents' perceptions are in synch with rigid patriarchy, sexism and the gendered division of labour, and the extent to which the adolescents' perceptions are in synch with the non-sexist South African constitution. The analysis of the adolescents' perceptions were informed inter alia by the theories of essentialism and constructivism. The research revealed, inter alia, that most of the adolescents reject rigid patriarchy; reject the gendered division of labour in some spheres ; accept the gendered division of labour in some spheres ; accept and favour the economic empowerment of women ; believe that sex should be negotiated ; believe that men are more suited to be leaders than women ; are against the perpetration of violence by either of the sexes and are homophobic and heterosexist • It was also evident that while both boys and girls rejected rigid patriarchy; girls were decidedly more receptive to the empowerment of women than boys. The study revealed that while there has been an erosion of the rigid division of the masculinized public sphere and the feminized domestic sphere, the public sphere is perceived as one in which men should dominate while the domestic sphere is deemed more suitable for women than men with women and men playing supportive, subdued albeit ever increasing roles in the public and domestic spheres respectively - the researcher as termed the existing perception the yin-yang worldview and the emergent perception the yanging-yin-yining-yang worldview. The study also highlighted that perceptions are not determined entirely by knowledge and ideals and served to bring home forcefully, the overriding potency of social realities and conditioning in shaping and regulating perceptions. In short the study demonstrated that the adolescents have not fully embraced the non-sexist values of the new constitution. The findings of the study were utilized by the researcher as a diagnostic instrument to produce recommendations and solutions - based on Freirean praxis - for the elimination of sexist, patriarchical perceptions. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2003.