A Thesis presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. December 1969, / No abstract

Magister Artium - MA / The subject of rural development has been at the forefront of South Africa’s government discourse and policy. In post-apartheid South African rural development policy has paid significant attention to poverty alleviation, job creation and food security by attempting to commercialize agriculture in the former ‘homelands’. This has been mainly encouraged through agricultural programmes such as Masibambisane Rural Development Initiative (MRDI) and the Massive Food Production Programme (MFPP). To support these agricultural development programmes, the South African government has directed a significant amount of its public budget towards their development. However, literature suggests that to a large extent these agricultural programmes have not succeeded in improving the agricultural situation as well as livelihoods of rural dwellers in the former ‘homelands’. Despite the efforts made by the South African government, agriculture and field cultivation in rural areas continue to show a decline. Furthermore, many agricultural projects that have been initiated to improve the lives of rural people have been abandoned. This thesis investigates the interface between the actors that are involved in agricultural development projects in Mnquma Local Municipality in the former homeland of Transkei, Eastern Cape. Two irrigation schemes in Mnquma Local Municipality are interrogated, namely Ntuzenyandu Irrigation Scheme and Mirlees Masibambisane Irrigation Scheme, as case studies for this study. The main objective is to investigate the causes of dissonances between the actors that are involved in these agricultural projects, as well as how these dissonances influence the outcomes of agricultural projects in Mnquma Local Municipality. It is the micro-politics of development at the interface between the various actors that must be studied in order to gain a full and nuanced picture of why the irrigation schemes have faced challenges. This study uses the actor-oriented and social interface approach. The study identifies community politics, struggles over state allocated resources, power relations between the actors, lack of community involvement and a ‘discourse of blaming’ between the actors as key challenges that are hindering the success of these agricultural projects. It is hoped that this study can shed some important insights for policy makers on how to improve and implement state-funded agricultural projects that will be able to achieve government objectives and expectations of the rural people.

Considerable attention has in recent times been given to the attitudes of secondary school pupils towards Geography among black schools in South Africa. Many reasons account for this. It is partly because of the poor results and falling numbers of pupils in the discipline. Concern has also been expressed on the relevance of the Geography syllabus to the black pupils. Evidence suggests that these problems are evident in Transkei. The need therefore exists to assess pupils' attitudes towards Geography in Transkei. Arising from this background, this study sets out to assess the attitudes of secondary school pupils in Transkei towards Geography. Two hundred and thirty four pupils from eight urban and rural secondary schools in the Butterworth District of the Republic of Transkei were used in the study. Attitudes were measured in terms of "interest in Geography", "desire to study the discipline", "commitment to Geography" and the perceived relevance of the discipline. Through the use of techniques such as percentages, chi-square and principal component analysis - among others - for the analysis of the data, the following information emerged from the study: (1) Geography is generally perceived as being worthy of study; (2) Differences in responses were noted to result from a complex of factors which were grouped into home environmental factors and school environmental ones. (3) The major factor influencing attitudes towards Geography was noted to be home environmental conditions.In general pupils from lower income families expressed more positive views about the worth of Geography than those from the upper income families. From the above findings, it has been proposed that teachers and educational planners need to be made aware of these findings as they are important for classroom practice. It has also been recommended that there is a need to improve certain school practices such as taking pupils on Geography excursions more often as factors such as this were shown to improve pupils' attitudes towards the discipline.

The aim of establishing the Transkei Teachers’ In- Service College (Trinset) in 1986 by the former Transkei Department of Education, was to alleviate the problem of inappropriately qualified teachers. This problem was seen as impacting negatively on the performance of matriculation candidates in the final examinations. In the twelve years since the college’s inception there has been no formal evaluation, this despite the perception of the importance of evaluation as an integral part of planning and implementation for any educational endeavour (Mc Naught, Taylor & O’Donoghue, 1990). This study analyses the courses offered at Trinset with particular reference to the subject of Geography. The aim is to explore how best these courses can support educators in the light of the current changes in South African education. The analysis of the in-service courses used a multifaceted approach guided by the participatory principle underlying Fourth Generation Evaluation. The analysis of the in-service courses offered by Trinset, in particular by the Geography Department, has served to raise questions and to highlight issues that are seen as particularly valuable in the reconfiguration of Trinset that is part of the current educational transformation process in South Africa in terms of the provision of in-service education.

The purpose of the study was to collect and collate information pertaining to common misconceptions of components of the concept of chemical equilibrium amongst a sample of Transkeian matriculants. 'Equilibrium' is a fundamental concept in physics and chemistry and 'chemical equilibrium' is an important chemistry topic in both the higher grade and standard grade South African matriculation physical science syllabuses. In recent years, South African teachers have identified chemical equilibrium as the most difficult section of the matric physical science syllabus for both teachers and pupils. It has been shown that teachers themselves lack understanding of the basic concepts underlying chemical equilibrium. Constructivist learning theories arise out of research in cognitive psychology. These theories conceive of cognitive development as the assimilation and accommodation of new ideas into extant, dynamic cognitive structures. An inference from the theories is that a study of the preconceptions and/or misconceptions held by pupils before they are exposed to instruction would enable teachers to avoid generating or reinforcing misconceptions. Hence teachers could also take deliberate steps to eradicate those already existing. The sample consisted of 112 Transkeian matriculants from four government senior secondary schools in the Southern Transkei. All were taking physical science. The test consisted of a 40 item multiple choice battery. Each question had three distracters and the options were randomized to avoid patterns and hence guessing. Questions dealing with closely associated concepts were grouped in the paper but no indication of this was given in the paper. The questions are analyzed singly. A brief introduction and outline of the theory on which the group of questions was based is given in each case. The analysis makes use of the frequency of choice of all options, discrimination indices, although they were generally low and item difficulties. The intent in each analysis is to identify the possible misconception(s) underlying wrong answers. Finally conclusions based on the discussion are drawn and recommendations for teaching and further research made.

The study examines the socio-religious role of women in traditional African societies using the Hlubi of Qumbu, Transkei as a case study. Qualitative methodology was used to look at Hlubi women holistically in their past and the situations in which they find themselves today. Primary sources of African traditional religion such as myths, proverbs and taboos were also used in assessing the socio-religious role of Hlubi women. The following observations were made about Hlubi women: 1. They do not constitute an homogenous group. 2. Sexual division of labour allocates to women the responsibility of sustaining the household. 3. They have multiple workloads: namely, survival, household and income generating tasks. 4. They experience ambivalence regarding their roles - responsibility without proper authority. 5. Hlubi women share with their male counterparts the role of traditional healers. 6. In spite of increased involvement of women in church activities they are still denied leadership positions. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Religious Studies)

Parents of cerebral palsied children have the duty of educating and leading their children towards adulthood. Parents, as educators, must know about cerebral palsy and its effects on the child and the whole family. The success of the parents in assisting the child is influenced by numerous factors. One factor is the manner in which parents understand ·themselves as parents of a cerebral palsied child. Such an understanding directs their behaviour positively or negatively. Another factor is the involvement of parents in the child' life. Involvement demands perseverence, dedication, and understanding of cerebral palsy. Parents may also experience feelings of frustration or acceptance. Experience influences the quality of relationships as well as the parents' view of life and the quality of their educational role. If parents lack understanding, have an apathetic involvement and unpleasant experiences, the progress of a cerebral palsied child towards adulthood will be hampered. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Orthopedagogics)

Digital geographical information systems (GIS) are tools for handling spatial data. Initially developed in First World countries, the technology is fast being taken up as a tool for handling spatial information by many Third World countries. GIS has been used for any number of applications involving spatial data, one of its primary uses has been in various planning fields where the advantages offered to planners by the technology have been highlighted by a number of publications and studies. GIS has been actively used as an urban planning tool in South Africa since the mid-1980s, (Vosloo 1987) however its use as a tool for rural planning has not developed to the same extent. As early as 1986 reference was made to the possible advantages offered by GIS to rural planning in South Africa (Fincham 1986). Despite this early recognition, the use of GIS in the rural planning sphere remains negligible. This study examines the. possible reasons for this by attempting to answer the question, "is GIS appropriate to rural planning in South Africa?" A number of approaches to rural planning are practised in South Africa. This study examines the appropriateness of applying GIS to one of these approaches, rural community development planning. Components of the study included i) an examination of the issues affecting the use of GIS in the rural development field, achieved through the use of a literature and questionnaire survey and ii) a case study examining the feasibility of incorporating GIS as a tool to the Shixini Development Project, Transkei. The study does not examine the intricacies of rural development theory, but it does acknowledge the fact that the approach employed by an organisation to rural development will have important implications concerning the use of a GIS in a project. The approach adopted to a project affects amongst others the administrative structure, the planning process, the flow of spatial data and its use, and consequently the possible role of GIS. The Shixini Rural Development Project was classified as a community development project, and as a result the study concentrates on this approach to rural development. This may limit the study to a particular planning process, however most rural case studies will have certain aims and factors which are unique to its situation. In order to place the results of the Shixini case study in a wider context the results of the study are linked to the questionnaire and literature survey. From this basis the usefulness of GIS in the rural development sphere was examined. Available literature on GIS indicates that the majority of problems associated with GIS rarely reside with the technology itself but rather with its supporting mechanisms. The study identified and concentrated on these support mechanisms, both at the project level and what is referred to in the study as the operating environment in South Africa. The results of the study revealed that a number of problems exist with regard to the attitude with which GIS is regarded in development organisations. It was found that these attitudes are legitimately based on a number of problems associated with incorporating the technology into project based organisations. It was concluded that GIS was appropriate to rural community planning, but is presently limited to certain aspects of the planning process and possibly to certain applications.

Authority as it operates in the daily lives of married women in Gcaleka society is reinforced and maintained by a body of avoidances which women need to observe during their married lives. Avoidances constitute part of the control system in the society whereby wives are being 'kept in their place'. Avoidances do not only restrict her, but also safeguard her position and her interests. Lines of authority emerge through the process of interaction; the structure reveals itself as avoidances are acted out in time and space. This study was conducted in Qwaninga, an administrative area in the coastal area of the Willowvale district, Transkei. The research started out as a study of ritual impurity and the status of women in a traditional, 'red' Gcaleka society. It soon became clear that pollution practices and beliefs associated with women form part of a greater body of avoidances which women need to observe during their married lives. Avoidances entail economic, dietary, sexual, linguistic and spatial prohibitions; as well as restrictions concerning what a woman is supposed to wear, and her withdrawal from social life. These restrictions are enforced through certain ritual and other sanctions. Three forms of avoidances are identified in this study, and are discussed and analysed. Avoidances are found in the everyday male/female division in society; in the ways through which the wife shows respect towards her husband and her in-laws (especially her husband's ancestors); and in the reproductive situations a woman finds herself in from time to time. In many anthropological studies in the past women have often been hidden in the background. This study is an attempt to give women the prominence they should be given, to show that nonwestern women are not as subordinated as people in Western society like to assume. In Gcaleka society the authority structure affecting the position of women is not only based on a distinction being made between males and females. It will be shown that a finer authority structure operates in this society whereby gender as well as age and kinship distinctions are being made. These distinctions constitute a system of classification which is safeguarded and protected by the avoidances and other restrictions imposed on women.

This research is intended to examine the internal organisational structure of the existing [voluntary welfare] organisations to ascertain what relationship may prove effective between themselves and the [Border Local Welfare] Board. This aim introduced the need to ascertain whether a) the organisations in any town were connected with organisations in other towns or to a central administrative office either in the area of investigation or outside it; or b) the organisations of any town were simply ad hoc units unrelated to any other organisation or similar organisations elsewhere. If the latter were the case then the difficulty of co-ordination and representation on the Board could probably be no better arranged than an ad hoc system as at present. If, however, the former was the predominant pattern, then it would suggest other and more convenient means to the end in view. Fourthly, it was hoped to gain some knowledge of the fund raising methods of welfare organisations, the nature of the people controlling them, the attitudes of managing committees to social work, and what they thought a case work agency should do; and, lastly, some indication of the history of social work as practised by the voluntary agencies in the area of investigation. These latter topics were not intended to form the principal subject matter of the work. They have not been treated fully in the text, but the information gathered has been included in appropriate places throughout.