A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. / This thesis explores various ways in which Kalanga ethnic identity has been (re)constructed, negotiated, manipulated and transformed by different interest groups such as missionaries, colonists, Kalanga cultural entrepreneurs, chiefs and ordinary Kalanga people in Bulilimamangwe district. Using a collection of both primary and secondary sources, the thesis posits that among other markers of Kalanga identity, Kalanga language has been central in the Kalanga clamour for their official recognition by the state in colonial and post-colonial Zimbabwe. It challenges the conventional interpretations of African identities by arguing that pre-colonial Kalanga society was characterised by fluid and flexible identities which constantly shifted boundaries. The study demonstrates how the colonial government, through the appointment of Ndebele chiefs in Kalanga areas fuelled Kalanga ethnic consciousness which was deployed by Kalanga chiefs and their subordinates during the opposition to the implementation of the Native Land Husbandry Act in Bulilimamangwe district. The study further argues that the Kalanga Cultural Promotion Society (KCPS) played a significant role in contributing to the escalation of Kalanga ethnic consciousness especially in post-independent Zimbabwe where ethnicity became an important feature amongst the marginalised groups. As a result of being alienated from the independent state, there was a resurgence of Kalanga ethnic mobilisation which was led by the KCPS and the Kalanga Language and Cultural Development Association (KLCDA), the Associations that lobbied for the recognition of Kalanga language in the education system and in state/public radio broadcasting. The thesis therefore contributes to the scholarship on ethnic identities by elaborating how Kalanga experiences with various factors such as social, political and physical environment contributed to the shifts and fluidity of Kalanga ethnic identity from 1946 to 2005.

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<p>The study attempts to understand how distance education practices influence the learning of calculus. Understanding student learning in a distance education environment is an important factor to consider in improving the learning experiences of students who for one reason or the other opt not to study in conventional institutional of higher education. On one hand, understanding student learning may illuminate the influences that the learning environment has on student learning and on the other hand, it may inform on how learning experiences can be improved. The aim of this study is to acquire a deeper understanding of the diverse manner in which distance students learn calculus, Specific focus is also placed on the distance education contect of the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) influences student learning. The study describes a group of student's experiences of learning calculus in the ZOU distance education environment.</p>

<p>The thesis examines continuity and change in the agrarian history of the Mwenezi District, southern Zimbabwe since 1980. It analyses agrarian reforms, agrarian practices and development initiatives in the district and situates them in the localised livelihood strategies of different people within the Dinhe Communa Area and the Mangondi resettlement Area in Lieu of the Fast-Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) since 2000. The thesis also examines the livelihood opportunities and challenges presented by the FTLRP to the inhabitants of Mwenezi.The thesis contributes to the growing body of empirical studies on the impact of Zimbabwe's ongoing land reform programme and to debates and discourses on agrarian reform.</p>

A study was made to determine the environmental education needs of Rhodesian African primary school pupils and procedures for meeting those needs within the framework of an Environmental Science Course which would complement an Environmental Social Studies Course. Procedures used to investigate the needs and ultimately determine the scope, aims, methods, and materials for the course were: (1) two questionnaires to stratified samples of education officers, supervisors, headmasters, and teachers--the first to 168 and the second to 504; (2) a questionnaire and interviews with local professional environmentalists; (3) classroom observation and trial teaching of lesson units, as they were developed, across a broad spectrum of schools; (4) an informal survey of the activities and materials produced by agencies and organizations concerned with environmental issues; (5) review of currently existing geography, science, and gardening courses and materials; (6) meetings with provincial education officers, headmasters, and supervisors; (7) meetings with teacher trainers in three major teacher training institutions in the country; and (8) reference to pertinent literature. Results of the questionnaires provided the basis for the topic content of the course, and defined the major areas of concern as being: natural resources, agriculture, the natural physical environment, the man-made physical environment, health, and body systems. Areas emerging from the study which required special attention were: language, traditions, limited physical resources, introduction of new teaching-learning approaches, rural nature of 90% of the schools, terminal aspect of primary education for roughly 80% of the pupils, communication of the teacher-learner strategy, large proportion of teachers with minimum training, and meeting national needs and aspirations in a time of war. The main outcome of the study was a curriculum plan for an Environmental Science course whose broad aims are to: (1) make pupils aware of the ecological inter-relationship of the physical and biological factors that make up the environment, and of man's relationship to it; (2) motivate pupils to responsible action toward better management of the environment so as to ensure survival and improve the quality of life; (3) provide pupils with basic skills and concepts in science, gardening, and geography; and (4) foster the development of positive interests, attitudes, and aesthetic awareness of the environment. The components of the system are presented, as well as a scheme, tentatively incorporating 50 lesson units. Recommendations regarding the learning objectives (content, concepts, skills, attitudes) teaching approaches, instructional materials, pacing, the role of the participants, and pupil assessment procedures are given. The curriculum plan, as presented, was approved by the Ministry of Education for further development and eventual implementation into the schools of the country. Recommendations are made for the next phase of the project. These emphasize the development and evaluation of instructional materials, establishment of teacher training programs, and evaluation of the curriculum.

In the period between the granting of self-government in 1923 and 1938, the 'native' policy formulated by Europeans in colonial Zimbabwe had three dimensions. The first was a land and agricultural policy designed to restrict competition from Africans in the produce market. The second was a labour policy addressed at the chronic labour shortages in the European mining and agricultural sectors. The third was a series of control measures seeking to impede black political organization. The goals of these policies were largely achieved by 1938 due to a combination of government initiatives and the impact of the depression. Part of this success was directly due to the effects of the depression; as economic conditions improved, Africans regained some of their economic autonomy and reasserted themselves politically.

<p>The study attempts to understand how distance education practices influence the learning of calculus. Understanding student learning in a distance education environment is an important factor to consider in improving the learning experiences of students who for one reason or the other opt not to study in conventional institutional of higher education. On one hand, understanding student learning may illuminate the influences that the learning environment has on student learning and on the other hand, it may inform on how learning experiences can be improved. The aim of this study is to acquire a deeper understanding of the diverse manner in which distance students learn calculus, Specific focus is also placed on the distance education contect of the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) influences student learning. The study describes a group of student's experiences of learning calculus in the ZOU distance education environment.</p>

<p>The thesis examines continuity and change in the agrarian history of the Mwenezi District, southern Zimbabwe since 1980. It analyses agrarian reforms, agrarian practices and development initiatives in the district and situates them in the localised livelihood strategies of different people within the Dinhe Communa Area and the Mangondi resettlement Area in Lieu of the Fast-Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) since 2000. The thesis also examines the livelihood opportunities and challenges presented by the FTLRP to the inhabitants of Mwenezi.The thesis contributes to the growing body of empirical studies on the impact of Zimbabwe's ongoing land reform programme and to debates and discourses on agrarian reform.</p>

This study is a critical assessment of the degree of political consciousness of the Zimbabwean Wesleyan Methodist indigenous ministers from 1891 to 1980. It documents the nature of the domination that the Wesleyan Methodist indigenous ministers experienced. It also documents and analyses how the indigenous ministers responded to the domination. The study relies upon primary documents from the National Archives of Zimbabwe, the Methodist Connexional Archives and other private archives. Information found in these archives includes minutes of synods, minutes of quarterly meetings, minutes of conferences, ministers' personal files and many other documents. The thesis also depends on interviews and other secondary material relevant to the study. Additionally, this thesis explores the training of the indigenous ministers. It emerges that the theological training of the indigenous ministers brought about some form of political radicalism. This was strengthened by the fact that the stipends and working conditions were not attractive. This thesis argues that the indigenous ministers had no clear position with regard to the significance of African culture. They oscillated between its rejection and acceptance. When they were politically inspired they rejected African culture to embrace it when it seemed expedient to do. It is further observed that the indigenous ministers contributed immensely to the liberation struggle. Using, Of Revelation and Revolution, Peasant Consciousness, Domination and the Arts of Resistance and Savage Systems as theoretical frameworks, this thesis concludes that the level of political consciousness of the indigenous ministers increased phenomenally in the second half of the 20th century. This was because of a number of reasons including the role played by mission churches in education, the impact of the Second World War, and adherence to certain constructions of John Wesley particularly those with liberation emphasis and many more. It also emerges that, although the political consciousness of the indigenous clergy was high, quite a number of them oscillated between two poles of patriotism and expediency. Put differently, the indigenous clergy were sometimes ambivalent in terms of what they adhered to. This was particularly so in cases to do with African culture. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

This thesis is articles-based submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. It consists of articles that were submitted and published, and others that were submitted and awaiting comments. This thesis makes a contribution to the ongoing debate on the most appropriate method of measuring poverty for interventionist purposes in rural areas. It is infonned by the Zimbabwe experience that income-based measures may not always adequately target those most in need of social support. A new approach is posited that focuses on the nonincome component of poverty. The aim is to assist 'technocrats' to better target the poor in need of a social safety net in crisis situations. The search is for a 'credible' measure that will be acceptable to various interest groups including the poor. Thus the proposed measure derived by means of a consensual approach meets this objective. The literature review describes and discusses the weaknesses of conventional poverty measures, divided into two broad categories of those pre- and post-dating Sen's introduction of the capability concept. The thesis then uses these to explore the conventional approaches (the dominant income measures) and flag their operational deficiencies, and then postulates an asset threshold model, the minimally adequate asset level (MAAL), based on the consensual approach. It also postulates the Poverty Diagnostic Model (PDM) which helps to describe and analyse factors that impact poverty at the individual level and helps in unpacking the linkages between the detenninants of poverty given its multi-dimensionality and how these are conditioned by both internal and external factors. Additionally to the contributions, this thesis posits drawing asset-poverty lines as well as combined asset and income poverty lines as a new contribution to yield asset-based Foster-Greer- Thorbecke (FGT) index, asset-income FGT index, networth FGT index and asset-gini coefficient. It also provides new tools with differentiating capacity to identify those who are either asset poor or income poor or both; as well as those who are 'networth poor', understood as asset-income threshold less debt. It advocates scaling of assets to enable capturing of the asset-holding of the poorest of the poor to fonn intensity scales on which an asset threshold is based. A further contribution of this thesis is the introduction of the notion of enclavity within a family around husband/wife relationships as a new fonn of resilience/collectivity due to deepening poverty. There is evidence to suggest that ethics and networks breakdown as a result of poverty. The final contribution of this thesis is the definition of a poverty line on the basis of an asset threshold using the consensual approach as postulated by Mack and Lansley (1985): thus this thesis posits an asset-by-asset point index. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.