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D.Ed. (Philosophy of Education) / The madressa is a system of instruction for Muslim children, believers in the religion of Islam. Madressa classes are held daily, concurrently with classes of the ordinary secular school. Classes begin after the ordinary school day has ended. They start at about 14:30 and last for about two and a half hours. Most Muslim children, about 97% in Lenasia, attend these classes. This study originated from a concern about the educational justifiability of the madressa system. The madressa involves the religious formation of children. It shapes the attitudes, consciousness and behaviour of those who attend it, yet it is not subject to any form of control or supervision by an outside agency. If it is not in conformity with educational criteria, it can be open to abuse. There is also an enormous expenditure of time and effort on the madressa. It is necessary to consider whether the madressa is worth the effort devoted to it, whether it fulfils its religious purposes. The aim of the study was therefore, to determine whether the madressa: operates within the framework of acceptable educational criteria; fulfils its religious purposes. The research techniques employed are primarily qualitative, but a quantitative component has been added to make the study more comprehensive. Criteria for education have been established through literature study. These criteria serve as the bases for the evaluation of the madressa. The structure of an educational situation has been examined and has been divided into the following component parts: the aim; the learning content; the method; the persons involved: the educator and the learner; educational relations, particularly authority, discipline and punishment. Criteria for each of these components have been determined. The madressa owes its existence to its religious purposes. It exists to prepare learners to be good Muslims, who know and fulfil their religious obligations. For these reasons, the principles of Islam have also been described. There has also been a detailed study of the practices in the madressa. The research has revealed that: the practices in the madressa are in conformity with educational criteria; the madressa is directed towards achieving its religious purposes. However, there are areas of the madressa's activities that need further attention: there has to be much greater concentration on improving the skills of the educators and on ensuring that they have the required attributes; it is also necessary to promote greater co-operation between parents and educators; it is essential that both parents and teachers provide positive examples of behaviour; greater self-discipline has to be acquired by learners as this is crucial to the performance of religious duties. This study can provide the bases for a reconsideration of aspects of the madressa's activities to promote more effective education. This study also provides an example of a community's ability to create educational structures, by its own efforts, to reproduce its beliefs and values.

Young people are currently affected in the realm of self-esteem, identity development and relational behaviour amidst advancing technology. There is the need for research in this area. Obstacles include fragmented homes, distance job–location and back-log parental education. There is the need for spiritual direction and for the formation of Christian spiritual principles. This is evident in the attraction of young people to cults and the influences of the New Age. The study will explore the complexity of relationships, identity and behaviour in young people. The empirical research will be obtained with permission from a school in the Eastern Cape; the focus group of this study is ages 11 – 18 years. The aim of this study will be to explore interventions which can help facilitate better personal, family and peer relationships in adolescents. The aim will further be to help bring about better integration in their personalities, relationships and communication. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

This research study explores the ways in which children from diverse family backgrounds can construct or reconstruct their God representations. These were probed by using 'object relations theory' and 'matemal deprivation theory' as means of further gaining insight into children's initial formulations of interpersonal and emotional relationships and how these were translated into the way they imagined God to be for themselves, given their age-group. Parallels were drawn between the interface of psychology and theology by using theories on faith development. There is a clear acknowledgment that there are certain steps of development that individuals go through in their growth at both psychological and spiritual levels. This confirms that there is a need for these two disciplines to draw from each other as means of creating conducive climate to allow for an integrated approach towards formulations of spiritual development among children. Through the use of questionnaires the children were given the opportunity to explore images of God and to also express these in the form of a drawing. The content analysis of this study demonstrated that there were no distinct differences on how children perceived God between abandoned children being raised in an institutional setting and those children being raised by biological parents. This finding highlighted the fact that there are other factors that impact children's spiritual development. These include care, nurture and emotional security. This study contributes to future research on developing new theologies by children, thus enabling them to play a central role in formulating contextual and relevant curriculums on religious education. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

The basis for the work at hand is a look at current and future societal challenges in living together in communities. Public Theology claims to offer an important contribution as far as the overcoming of societal issues is concerned. The aim of this research is to shed light on this theoretical claim by relating it to a practically applied project while asking the question how the existing challenges can be dealt with. It is explicitly about participatory structures and their advancement. Participation is considered a key element for functioning communities in society. The advancement of participation for young people contains an element of activation, support and care. This research investigates which access paths the young people chose for their participatory engagement, how these are designed and experienced, and finally, how these paths can be strengthened and developed. The response to these questions resulted in concrete courses of action for the research project STC-Bremen, and furthermore, in generalized interpretations which can aid the development of other fields of action. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

Young people are currently affected in the realm of self-esteem, identity development and relational behaviour amidst advancing technology. There is the need for research in this area. Obstacles include fragmented homes, distance job–location and back-log parental education. There is the need for spiritual direction and for the formation of Christian spiritual principles. This is evident in the attraction of young people to cults and the influences of the New Age. The study will explore the complexity of relationships, identity and behaviour in young people. The empirical research will be obtained with permission from a school in the Eastern Cape; the focus group of this study is ages 11 – 18 years. The aim of this study will be to explore interventions which can help facilitate better personal, family and peer relationships in adolescents. The aim will further be to help bring about better integration in their personalities, relationships and communication. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

In this research the use of the Lions-Quest programme “Skills for Adolescence“ at an intermediate secondary school level is examined qualitatively. It is investigated how pupils at a German intermediate secondary school perceive the social skills training and how that training affects the social competencies of the pupils. It is also explored if the pupils can relate their acquired competencies with their values and beliefs. Based on the empirical-theological praxis cycle, the planning, carrying out and the results of thirteen one-to-one interviews and three group interviews are presented. Five types of adolescents can be distinguished in terms of knowing and applying social skills as result of different grounded theory coding strategies: the power-conscious, the autonomous, the ambivalent, the self-confident and the competent. This study wants to contribute to a better evaluation of the implementation of social skills programmes at schools and particularly in religious education. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

Text in German, summaries in German and English / Rund 70% aller Ostdeutschen gehoren keiner Kirche oder Religionsgemeinschaft an, und sind somit uberwiegend konfessionslos. Die Konfessionslosen sind jedoch keine homogene Gruppe. Zudem ist Konfessionslosigkeit ein Negationsbegriff, der lediglich besagt, was jemand nicht glaubt. Um die konfessionslosen Ostdeutschen besser mit dem Evangelium zu erreichen, ist es jedoch hilfreich zu wissen was sie glauben. Denn in dieser Untersuchung wird davon ausgegangen, dass auch Konfessionslose an etwas glauben. Der Fokus dieser Studie, richtet sich auf die Glaubensvorstellungen der ostdeutschen jungen Erwachsenen, im Alter von 18-26 Jahren, die nach der Wende 1989 geboren und sozialisiert wurden und somit ,,postsozialistisch" sind. Von Interesse ist die inhaltliche Fullung, die sinnstiftenden Elemente, die Pragung, sowie die Lebens- und Alltagsrelevanz des Glaubens dieser jungen Erwachsenen, als auch die missionarische Ansprechbarkeit auf der Grundlage dieser Ergebnisse. Dazu wurde in der brandenburgischen Stadt Cottbus, auf die sich diese Studie beschrankt, eine qualitative Studie mit halbstandardisierten Leitfadeninterviews durchgefuhrt. / Approximately 70% of Germans living in East Germany (the former German Democratic Republic) belong neither to a church, nor to a religious fellowship. These "confession-less" are, however, not a homogenous people group. To describe people as confession-less is negative terminology, which says simply that they do not believe. In order to better reach the confessionless East Germans with the Gospel, it is helpful, of course, to know what they believe. This study proceeds from the assumption, that every person believes on something. The focus of this study is on young adults in eastern Germany from 18-26 years of age, who were born and received their socialization after the peaceful revolution of 1989 and who are therefore "post-socialistic''. The belief of these young adults is analyzed in regard to its content, the elements that give it meaning, its characteristics and its relevance for their lives in general, as well as for their everyday life. In addition, of concern is their level of missional responsiveness, based on the results of this analysis. In this study, quality-based, partially standardized, guided interviews were employed in the city of Cottbus (Brandenburg, Germany), to which this study is limited. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

In this research the use of the Lions-Quest programme “Skills for Adolescence“ at an intermediate secondary school level is examined qualitatively. It is investigated how pupils at a German intermediate secondary school perceive the social skills training and how that training affects the social competencies of the pupils. It is also explored if the pupils can relate their acquired competencies with their values and beliefs. Based on the empirical-theological praxis cycle, the planning, carrying out and the results of thirteen one-to-one interviews and three group interviews are presented. Five types of adolescents can be distinguished in terms of knowing and applying social skills as result of different grounded theory coding strategies: the power-conscious, the autonomous, the ambivalent, the self-confident and the competent. This study wants to contribute to a better evaluation of the implementation of social skills programmes at schools and particularly in religious education. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

This qualitative study explores the perceived influence of spirituality on ethnic minority adolescent's outcomes in faith-based residential group homes. Study results offer a deeper understanding of the influence and implementation of spiritual practices among children impacted by child welfare.