<p>This is a study of the discourses of empowerment and disempowerment that emerge from the critical discourse analysis (CDA) of life-histories written by two classes of Grade 11 high school learners in a township school in Cape Town, South Africa. The line of argument presented by this thesis is that there are political, socio-economic, familial and institutional factors and the discourses that construct them which affect learners&rsquo / resilience.</p>

<p>This is a study of the discourses of empowerment and disempowerment that emerge from the critical discourse analysis (CDA) of life-histories written by two classes of Grade 11 high school learners in a township school in Cape Town, South Africa. The line of argument presented by this thesis is that there are political, socio-economic, familial and institutional factors and the discourses that construct them which affect learners&rsquo / resilience.</p>

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This is a study of the discourses of empowerment and disempowerment that emerge from the critical discourse analysis (CDA) of life-histories written by two classes of Grade 11 high school learners in a township school in Cape Town, South Africa. The line of argument presented by this thesis is that there are political, socio-economic, familial and institutional factors and the discourses that construct them which affect learners&rsquo; resilience. / South Africa

A qualitative and quantitative study was undertaken to understand the support for learning provided by African parents in the education of their children. In this study we investigated the extent, level, form and content of the support of parents in the learning of their children during the Foundation Phase with special reference to a Tsonga community. Parents’ support is regarded as an essential factor in children’s learning, but more information is needed about the practices of such support for African children in the Foundation Phase. There are some parents (educated or not) who do not provide effective support. In some instances, parents do not stay with their children because of migratory labour practices and siblings have to carry the responsibility. Some of the parents leave early for work and return home late while children are asleep, which makes it difficult for them to provide optimal support. It was found in this research that the amount and nature of literacy materials did not differ much between the working families and those who were not working. It was again found during the work sessions with both the literate and illiterate parents that there was extremely little variation in support methods in as far as numeracy and language were concerned. / Thesis (PhD (Orthopedagogics))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the relationship between resilient and less-resilient middle-adolescent learners and their township school context. This research was guided by Bioecological theory and the Resiliency Wheel programme to understand resilience as manifested in the proximal processes within the microsystems of the school and the family. The degree of resilience of learners was observed in behaviour and development outcomes inferred from personal characteristics and adverse family conditions demonstrated in the person, proximal processes, context and time. The study sequentially employed a mixed method approach of quantitative and qualitative research. In Phase 1, the construct ‘resilience’ was operationalised and defined in a Resilience Scale for Middle-adolescents in a Township School (R-MATS). The questionnaire was validated on 291 middle-adolescent learners in two township schools. In Phase 2, an Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) was performed. Focus groups were conducted with 16 middle-adolescents in the two schools. In answer to the main research question, ‘How does the school influence the resilience of middle-adolescent learners in a black-only township school?’, it was found that the school environment can influence the resilience of middle-adolescent learners in township schools by providing or failing to provide a supportive teaching and learning environment with effective implementation of rules and educational policies, that provide for care and safety of its learners and ensure they realise their future goals. In answer to the sub-question, ‘What are middle-adolescent resilient learners’ experiences of their black-only township school system?’ it was found that the resilient middle-adolescent learners acknowledged the contribution of their school to their resilience and development. The learners were aware of the school policies and engaged with them to benefit from their schooling, but were critical of their school if they perceived a lack of provision and support by the school. In answer to the second sub-question, ‘What are middle-adolescent less-resilient learners’ experiences of their black-only township school system?’ it was found that the less-resilient learners experienced their school environment as less supportive. They struggled to access school resources and experienced the school as an environment where they could use their personalities to grow and develop, or just exist. Overall, it was found that township schools do have resources for their learners to use, but implementation of policy and the accessibility of resources are problems to less-resilient learners who struggle within their proximal processes in their school microsystem. Middleadolescent learners appreciate and require clearly defined rules, structure and consistent implementation to ensure a stable, supportive and caring learning and teaching environment to grant them opportunities for realising their future goals. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

The aim of the research was to generate a way of identifying resilient and non-resilient middle-adolescent learners in Grade 8 and 9, in a South African township secondary school. The theoretical frameworks on resilience, the developmental context and middle-adolescence were explored and two questionnaires were developed using the literature reviews and the theoretical frameworks. A Resilience Scale was developed to identify resilient and non-resilient learners in a township school, in terms of self-evaluation. A Learning Behaviour Scale was developed to determine the ability of teachers to identify learners’ resilient and non-resilient (academic and social) behaviours. In-depth interviews were conducted to identify themes of resilience and non-resilience in the coping behaviour of adolescents in township schools, and to evaluate the credibility and dependability of the Resilience and Learning Behaviour Scales. The Grade 8 and 9 learners of the school were targeted for the research, since they are within the middle-adolescent age range (14-16 years). The participants were 190 Grade 8 and 9 learners, who all completed the Resilience Scale. In-depth interviews were conducted with twelve learners (in three groups of four according to their Resilience Scale scores, that is, highest, lowest and those grouped most closely around the mean). The curricular teachers were requested to complete the Learning Behaviour scale for the selected interviewees. Although all the items of the Resilience Scale proved statistically reliable, the scale appeared not to reliably identify resilient and non-resilient learners, as judged by the interview data, which indicated ten to be resilient and two to be non-resilient. The interview data were used to determine the resilience status of each learner according to the Resilience Process Models of Kumpfer and Boyd and Eckert. Interviews were found to be the most reliable research tool to identify the resilience and non-resilience status of the participants. The Learning Behaviour Scale yielded strongly inconsistent results and thus failed to identify resilient and non-resilient learners. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Magister Educationis - MEd / Role-play is a teaching strategy which is very useful in enhancing the acquisition of knowledge and conceptualisation of some topics in Life Science. According to the theory of constructivism, learning science is a process in which learners construct understanding of the materials. Role-play and constructivism are intertwined, yet role-play as a teaching strategy lacks classroom application in the teaching of Life Sciences. Role-play is not often used in the teaching of Life Sciences, and to be specific, in the teaching of the circulatory system. The study is motivated by learners’ misconceptions of the circulatory system. The study is undertaken to determine the effect of role play on the learners’ conception about the human circulatory system. Random sampling resulted in the selection of one out of 6 grade 10 classes with 49 learners in each from one school in the Metro East District in Cape Town.

<p>The study&rsquo / s main starting premises is that there is a disjuncture between the rich educational engagements of these students in their environmental space and how their learning practices are framed, informed and positioned in the institutional space. My study is underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm in terms of which I set out to describe and understand the meanings that the student respondents assign to their learning practices when they are involved in discursive practices of speaking, knowing, doing, reading and writing. Qualitative research instruments: field notes, participant and non-participant observations and formal and informal interviews were used in order to answer my research question and achieve the desired research aims of this thesis. The findings are presented in a narrative format after deriving at categories and themes using narrative analysis. Finally, my research shows how these students are positioned in and by their lived spaces (whether environmental or institutional) in specific ways, and they, based on their own resources, networks and interactions, and by exercising their agency, actively construct their own spaces of learning. I describe these active constructions by these students as their &lsquo / conceptual space of learning&rsquo / to highlight the complex ways in which they go about to establish their learning practices in their lived spaces. The study provides an analysis of the basis upon which each of these four students go about constructing their learning practices.</p>

<p>The study&rsquo / s main starting premises is that there is a disjuncture between the rich educational engagements of these students in their environmental space and how their learning practices are framed, informed and positioned in the institutional space. My study is underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm in terms of which I set out to describe and understand the meanings that the student respondents assign to their learning practices when they are involved in discursive practices of speaking, knowing, doing, reading and writing. Qualitative research instruments: field notes, participant and non-participant observations and formal and informal interviews were used in order to answer my research question and achieve the desired research aims of this thesis. The findings are presented in a narrative format after deriving at categories and themes using narrative analysis. Finally, my research shows how these students are positioned in and by their lived spaces (whether environmental or institutional) in specific ways, and they, based on their own resources, networks and interactions, and by exercising their agency, actively construct their own spaces of learning. I describe these active constructions by these students as their &lsquo / conceptual space of learning&rsquo / to highlight the complex ways in which they go about to establish their learning practices in their lived spaces. The study provides an analysis of the basis upon which each of these four students go about constructing their learning practices.</p>

Magister Educationis - MEd / The study's main starting premises is that there is a disjuncture between the rich educational engagements of these students in their environmental space and how their learning practices are framed, informed and positioned in the institutional space. My study is underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm in terms of which I set out to describe and understand the meanings that the student respondents assign to their learning practices when they are involved in discursive practices of speaking, knowing, doing, reading and writing. Qualitative research instruments: field notes, participant and non-participant observations and formal and informal interviews were used in order to answer my research question and achieve the desired research aims of this thesis. The findings are presented in a narrative format after deriving at categories and themes using narrative analysis. Finally, my research shows how these students are positioned in and by their lived spaces (whether environmental or institutional) in specific ways, and they, based on their own resources, networks and interactions, and by exercising their agency, actively construct their own spaces of learning. I describe these active constructions by these students as their 'conceptual space of learning' to highlight the complex ways in which they go about to establish their learning practices in their lived spaces. The study provides an analysis of the basis upon which each of these four students go about constructing their learning practices. / South Africa