Text in English / The study aimed at exploring the “mindset” of learners, teachers and principals behind the violence in schools. “Mindset” is a person's general attitude with which he/she approaches a situation and the way they think about things, their experiemces and opinions. The data in the current study was gathered from three schools on the Cape Flats in the Western Cape. The Cape Flats is home to South Africa’s most violent gangs, perpetuated by the socio-economic issues created by apartheid. A provincial breakdown of crime statistics ranks the Western Cape second highest in South Africa. The researcher adopted Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Framework to delineate the risk factors which impact on the community, family, individual, peer group and school environment. Participants’ selection was effected through a non-probability method of purposive sampling. Participants’ in a non-probability sample are selected based on their accessibility or by the purposive personal judgment of the researcher. The downside of the non-probability sampling method is that an unknown proportion of the entire population was not sampled. From the preceding results, it is evident that learners are exposed to many forms of violence. Too many children are reared in dysfunctional families, poorly managed schools and neighbourhoods caught in the grip of violence and poverty. If this malady is not addressed and managed, South Africa can expect another generation of youth who resort to violence as a means of conflict resolution. The rich and in-depth information around participants’ unique opinions, experiences and realities contribute towards a better understanding of school violence, dysfunctional behaviour and towards the improvement of school violence interventions. It is also argued that additional insights from the study would add value to the organisational incapacity management process of schools. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

There has been a vast amount of research regarding domestic violence. However, the literature is centered on a linear, cause and effect approach. This study aimed to explore domestic violence from the experiences of young female adults, and will be approached from a postmodern perspective. The participants were selected based on purposive sampling and willingness to participate. The sample consists of two participants and the data was obtained through their written stories and semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Themes were then extracted from the data and were explored through hermeneutic analysis which is consistent with the postmodern approach. A qualitative methodological design was used in order to allow meaning to emerge. The results were then presented in an interpretive and descriptive manner. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

This study was undertaken to determine the extent of aggressive behaviour exhibited by secondary school learners. Many factors were considered when investigating the problem of aggressive behaviour. The problem was traced from the theorists' perspectives and factors related to the family, school and community. An extensive literature review showed that the above factors contribute to aggressive behaviour among adolescents. In order to support or reject the findings of the literature study, quantitative (questionnaire) research and qualitative research (interviews) were conducted. The results of the quantitative research concerning learners' aggressive behaviour in secondary schools were analysed and interpreted while at the same time a deeper understanding of aggressive behaviour was revealed through qualitative research. The results of the empirical research indicated that the more negative the family climate, school climate, community climate or influence of friends are, or the more negative the emotional self-concept of the adolescent is, the more aggressive the adolescent is, and vice versa. Based on these findings recommendations for the implementation of prevention programmes were made. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

Psychology / M. A. (Clinical Psychology)

Text in Afrikaans / This study, which was undertaken within a qualitative and quantitative methodological framework, is a collaborative action research project that focuses on the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) teaching in the classroom as intervention to prevent the inappropriate behaviour of learners that could lead to violence and crime. The study also concentrates on how action research can enhance the educator’s teaching practices. The objective was to prevent learners from misbehaving by implementing EI as a teaching strategy in the classroom on the basis of various definitions and models of EI. This research project also explored the coordinated and integrated management of positive learner behaviour, overall school development and the management of a culture of positive behaviour. The empirical study concludes that there is a correlation between EI teaching methods and learners’ behaviour. In view of the fact that the use of EI in the classroom can prevent the inappropriate behaviour of learners it can therefore be regarded as preventative discipline. / Psychology / M.A. (Sielkunde)

In this qualitative study five police stations in the Tshwane Policing Precinct were selected. The objectives were to describe and explore the South African Police Service (SAPS) officials’ experiences on the nature and extent of domestic violence and the responsive strategies by relevant stakeholders thereof. Data collection literature review and key informant interviews were selected. Purposive sampling was adopted to cater for 40 sworn SAPS officials; each station was represented by seven participants. The findings suggest that many academics around the world overlook the importance women and children as core victims. As a result, they become the neglected people in our society. Thus, there is no simple solution to this crime to date. For recommendations a multi-agency approach whereby all relevant stakeholders try to address this scourge is needed to enhance reporting channels, advance SAPS skills and obtain more convictions. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Policing)

Abstracts in English and Nyanja / Violent community protests are a common occurrence in South Africa ever since democracy. The aim of the study was to determine teachers’ views on the impact of violent community protests in a specific high school. Ineffective municipality leadership led to violent community protests which disrupted schooling activities. A qualitative design and one case study was employed in this study, and data were collected using individual interviews, observation and document analysis. Differences in ethnicity between community members and lack of service delivery were the cause of community protests. The study revealed that vandalising and burning down schools affect teachers’ ability to work. This study contributes to the body of knowledge to create safer learning environments in South African schools. Recommendations were made on how the community could work together and strengthen their relationship in protecting their schools’ assets. / U gwalaba ha vhadzulapo ho no tou vha kutshilele kwa misi fhano Africa Tshipembe u bva tshe ra wana mbofholowo. Ngudo heyi i amba nga ha toduluso ya migwalabo ino kwama vhadededzi musi vha tshikoloni. Migwalabo yone zwavhudi vhudi i kwama zwihulwanesa mbekanya mishumo ya tshikolo na uri ina masala ndo itwa asiya vhudi kha tsireledzo ya vhadededzi. Dzi tsedzuluso nga mutodisi wa dzi ngudo o nanga vha imeleli vhane vha do thusa kha unea vhutanzi nga ha thaidzo heyi. Kha vha imeleli uya nga ha dzi ngudo ho nangiwa vhatanu na muthihi. Nga u fhambana ha mirafho kha vhadzulapo, zwi sumbedza uri ndi tshinwe tsha zwiitisi kha uswa ha zwikolo zwinzhi Vuwani. U sa vha na nyandano na u sa pfana vhukati ha vha dzulapo zwi disa migwalabo ine ya thithisa vhadededzi na vhana zwikoloni. Dzi tsedzuluso dzo wana uri u fhisiwa ha zwikolo zwi shela mulenzhe ka ku shumele kwa Vha-dededzi. Ho themendeliwa uri vhadzulapo kha vha farisane, vha shume vhothe, vha vhe na vhuthihi kha u tsireledza ndaka ya tshikolo. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)

This study investigated the causes and manifestation of aggression among secondary school learners. Aggression was defined. Various theories of aggression were discussed. From the literature study, nine hypotheses were developed. The study used a quantitative approach by means of a survey design. The research site was a rural, secondary school. A closed-ended questionnaire was used as data collection tool. Only learners were involved as respondents. The impact of various moderator variables was considered. The study discovered that aggressive behaviour is not confined to a specific gender. Above all, female aggression is on the rise. Possible causative factors were confirmed and risk factors were identified. Recommendations were made in line with the findings based on the empirical results. Limitations of the study were also pointed out. / Education Studies / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Text in Afrikaans / The researcher has identified the research problem for the study as the underlying dynamics of physical violence amongst adolescent girls in the school system. The purpose of this study was to investigate these dynamics. The researcher viewed the girls from a holistic perspective and tried to explore and describe the girls' behavior by bringing their environment into consideration. A qualitative study was used to determine the dynamics of physical violence among adolescent girls in the school system. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews. From this data it is evident that the dynamics of physical violence among girls is a multi-dimensional and complex phenomenon and cannot be attributed to a single factor. Because of this the researcher tried to make recommendations that touched each level of the girls' functioning. In such a way the researcher tried to address the problem holistically. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Spelterapie)

The extant South African literature base on male homicide is relatively small and reveals a paucity of qualitative studies. This study aimed to elicit discourses embedded within the narratives of men involved in homicidal encounters, and to analyse them from a social constructionist perspective. Semi-structured, individual interviews were conducted with 30 male prisoners who were convicted of murder. An analysis of narrative forms, followed by a critical discourse analysis of the narrative contents, was conducted and aimed to assess the social and ideological significance, functions and effects of these discourses. Participants' talk included masculine performances that allowed for positive self-presentation and ways of constructing meaning of their actions for themselves, the interviewer and an `invisible audience'. Narrative forms of stability/continuity, decline, and transformation/growth that relied on normalising, reifying, tipping point, propitiatory and rehabilitatory lexical registers were deployed as a means to position participants as reasonable, normal, rehabilitated, and as `successful' men. Within the narrative contents, participants constructed homicide through exculpatory and justificatory discourses to rationalise and minimise their agency, and drew on essentialist, moral and deterministic notions of male violence. Discourses of spectacular and instrumental violence were also evident. References to male honour, status and power; a defence against emasculation; the assertion of control over commodified female partners; the maintenance of referent familist and ageist discourses; and the normalisation of male violence as a utilitarian tool to access resources in unequal social contexts, underpinned these discourses. The homicidal acts thus represented adapted performances of hegemonic masculinity in a noxious context where this dominant form of masculinity is often unattainable. While participants' talk reproduced hegemonic constructions of masculinity within broader social contexts, it also contested hegemonic orders of moral discourses that govern the legitimacy or illegitimacy of violence. The findings reveal how contexts of discoursal production have a contradictory response to violence - denouncing it, but also simultaneously acting as a pernicious incubatory environment for male homicide. It concludes that the prevention of male homicide must involve the de-linking of masculinities and violence at material, structural and institutional levels, but also within systems of signification, if non-violent masculinities are to gain ascendancy. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil.(Psychology)