The purpose of this study is to analyse and discuss current trends in the construction and development of home economics subjects in South Africa and Zimbabwe, trends that reflect the direction that home economics is taking in the new millennium. Practical/pre-vocational subjects were introduced in secondary school curriculum for both general education and labour market reasons, that is, for the preparation of pupils to 'enter employment' and/or for 'self employment'. Over the years national education planners have debated over the future of practical/vocational subjects on the school curriculum. Many writers note that the concern of these groups is related to the challenges of technology and globalisation and general concerns for youth employment and poverty alleviation. As a result, far from phasing out from the secondary school education scene in Africa, technical and vocational subjects (correctly termed pre-vocational education) are offered along with academic subjects. They have undergone change in an attempt to better meet the needs of the labour market and the challenges that technology and globalization bring.

This study explores the learning experiences of training instructors from tne clothing industry, who had been sponsored by their SETA to attend the Diploma in Education offered by the University of Cape Town. Their attendance on the course was to prepare them to implement Learnerships, as the new mode of delivery for workplace-based training in their workplaces. The research focused on the students' learning experiences on the Diploma and their perceptions of how this was instrumental in changing their practice, transforming their identities and the implications of this for transforming learning in their places of work.

During the last twenty years, there have been telling changes in how teachers teach and schools are run. One major reason for this has been the growth of Information and Communication Technologies (lCT). A consequence of the growth of these technologies has been a change in the global economy, which has become increasingly interconnected and dictated by profits. Teachers have had to adapt to this new global landscape. The changes required have not been easy. This study sought to find out more about the implication of these changes in teachers professional lives. The key findings point to a change in the work that teachers do as a result of computer technology and increased attention to market related practices in schools. Teachers have also had to explore different approaches to teaching and learning . These changes have thrust teacher's professional identities into the limelight as the profession adapts to the prevailing circumstances.

The topic of my research is an exploration of the concept of the 'mute body. The mute body is the body which stages a certain inderminacy and distance from the viewer. It is a form of hiding, but also a form of play with narcissistic implications and perhaps even seductive intent. The mute body is a response to the fear of power and what power has done to bodies in history. Conversely, it is also the location of power - the exercising of the choice to remain silent is a wilful act of retention or withholding. The mute body is not the vacant body. It is the body of which we are unable to say with certainty whether it is unable to signify or unwilling to signify.

Someone once told me: ""In order to write well, you have to write what you know"" - this piece of advice seems obvious and simple and yet - as it turned out, it was the most difficult piece of advice to process and follow. The reason: what I know was that I was a young, female, Cape Malay filmmaker. My experiences, has largely taken place within the Cape Malay community. Religious documentaries aside, I had never before seen any representation of myself, or may community on screen. The task I had set myself seemed impossible. I had researched Thirld world theory in cinema and the weight of expectation that I felt afterward seemed a burden too hard to carry. This was not because I was in unchartered territory, but because this path has been walked by many before me: African-American filmmakers; Non-resident Indian filmmakers; Pilipino-American filmmakers; Mexican-American filmmakers; Afro-Brazilian filmmakers; Asian-American filmmakers. The list goes on and on. The one common thread is that these people felt a need to provide another point of view other than the ones seen in mainstream film and television. Their films have been like voices for the token characters that we've seen in countless mainstream films.

This dissertation is a formal study of musical bow revivals in South Africa, based on an assessment of the instruments' historical and current usage, and functions. This study is also the inevitable result of my responses to certain musical experiences during the past three years, and which generated in me a personal commitment to the practice of African cultural music, which I 'discovered' through studies with Dizu Plaatjies and other African music specialists, who also speak through this study. My growing interest drew me to musical bows, which have become my principal instruments for musical compositions, and also personal expression. The primary focus of the dissertation is current bow practice in the Eastern and Western Cape, and certain areas in KwaZulu Natal, and personal interaction with people who became my main informants and teachers.

This study was conducted during the first year of the implementation of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) in Grade Five in South Africa. It is compulsory for teachers to implement the RNCS in this country. Investigations play a central role in learning in science education, and this study focuses on the Assessment Standard of Learning Outcome 1 in the Natural Sciences Learning Area that relates to children's abilities to ask questions that they can investigate themselves. Children struggle to formulate questions that can be used for investigations, and so they need to be taught how to do this. However, there is a paucity of research literature providing empirical evidence of how to teach children to ask investigable science questions. The aim of this study was to provide empirical data on the use of the teaching strategies suggested in the research literature, that is, to investigate which strategies science teachers use in teaching children how to ask questions that can be used in science investigations.

In this paper, I investigate the idea of cross-community professional theatre as a means of dissolving fixed georgraphical landscapes. Key to this is the synergy between mainstream and community theatre, out of which this idea emerges. I explore how theatre facilitates conversations across differences. 'Differences' encompass questions of geographical, class and racial divides as well as the ideological differences between mainstream and community theatre. Cross-community professional theatre involves working with people from different communities around specific issues. Professional actors work alongside non-professional actors from communities to create a piece of theatre. Community members are involved in the process as well as in the performance. Cross-community refers not only to the exchange between professional actors and non-professional actors, but also to the idea of theatre providing a framework for conversations between different communities.

This paper reports the results of a study, which was carried out to investigate the information needs of the attorneys in a large South African law firm. The survey research method was employed and a single survey conducted within a particular time-span. Two methods of data collection were employed, namely the analysis of documentary sources and questioning. A combination of self-administered questionnaires and interviews were used to gather the data. The questionnaire designed by the researcher consisted of closed and open-ended questions and a rating scale was used where appropriate to enable the respondents to express their opinions or strength of preferences. The majority of the questions included a general response category that made it possible for respondents to enter other relevant data and personal observations. The questionnaire was sent to all the Bowman Gilfillan attorneys via electronic mail. The email, which included the questionnaire as a MSWord attachment, introduced and explained the purpose of the questionnaire. All questions incorporated in the questionnaire were subjected to cross-tabulation to establish the impact of the independent or classification variables on the dependent variables. The following variables were considered during cross-tabulation: respondent's age, position in the firm and number of years experience as attorney. To establish which results were significant the Pearson chi-square statistical test was applied to all bivariate relations. Results that yielded a chi-square statistic below the .01 significance level were rejected. This study sought to investigate why the attorneys need work-related information, what type of work-related information they require, which sources and systems of information they use and what the factors are that influence their information-seeking behaviour. As a law librarian, the researcher also investigated the role of the law librarian and library in the provision of work-related information to the attorneys. The findings revealed that the attorneys required access to work-related information to provide a legal service to their clients and that their most important information need is to establish the current status of the law and to keep up-to-date with the latest legal developments. The attorneys made use of various informal and personal sources of information (e.g. colleagues) and the library and required access to primary and secondary sources of law as well as non-legal information. The findings also indicated that the attorneys required quick and easy access to current and accurate information and that factors such as age, number of years experience as an attorney and position in the law firm appeared to influence the use of the various sources and systems of information as the younger, less experienced attorneys had a greater need for the various sources and systems of information. The study also found that law librarians and libraries undoubtedly have an important role to play in the provision of work related information.

This dissertation is a study of the impact of OBE (Outcomes-based Education) and C2005 (Curriculum 2005) on the professional lives and teaching of a select group of high school teachers. The research was a combination of a case study approach and reflective professional practice. It sought to identify and explain key aspects that had produced such a marked alteration in the position of the teachers within such a short period.