This study explores young men understandings of, and engagement in, risky sexual behaviours. The group of young men the study focuses on is in a high school in Lesotho. They are aged between 16 and 17 years. The motivation for the study is that, despite a series of campaigns designed to increase awareness and knowledge associated with sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV/AIDS, young boys in Lesotho continue to engage in risky sexual behaviours and practices. It is in this context that the purpose of the study was to investigate how gender power is intimately tied in with meanings young men in Lesotho attach to sexuality. The related aspect investigated in this study, furthermore, was to investigate ways in which gender power operates, and ultimately contribute into boys’ and girls’ risky sexual behaviours that make them vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The study employs qualitative research methods to achieve these aims and, accordingly, utilises focus group and individual interviews, with six purposively selected high school boys as research instruments. The findings reveal that, while some boys engage in risky sexual practices, others express determination to practice safe sex. Thus, the study reveals that despite the fact that some boys are engaged in unsafe sexual practises and multiple sexual partners in heterosexual relationships to comply with the notion of masculinity and societal expectations of MANHOOD, others are beginning to question such attitudes. There is therefore multiple and varied perspectives on this issue among the small sample selected for this study. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The aim of this study was to explore African high school boys' articulations of masculinity, the meanings they give to their sexuality and risky sexual behaviours in the age of HIV/AIDS. The study focused on finding out what explanations boys offer for engaging in risky and unsafe sexual practices. The study used qualitative research in the form of focus group discussions and individual interviews. Seven African high school boys aged 16 turning 17 were the source of data. The findings show that some boys engage in unprotected sex, while others indicated that unprotected sex is risky. This study argues that the risky sexual behaviours that boys engage in are closely related to their constructions of masculinity. It also found that the meanings boys give to their sexuality are also influenced by external factors whereby they imitate what their peers do in order to gain acknowledgement from them and the society. Alcohol is a key factor promoting unsafe sexual practices, while social networks, such as Facebook and Mixit, are used by boys to share sex videos and pictures, thus exposing them to too much sex. With regards to implications, this study shows that the notion of being a real man is something that most boys want to achieve. Being a real man is tantamount to being courageous enough to engage in risky practices. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / The purpose of this study is to determine whether affective considerations have a claim on inclusion in the curriculum and, if so, how these claims may be accommodated. The target group is the adolescents in their secondary school phase. Current research has indicated beyond doubt that curriculum planning can no longer be restricted to the cognitive domain. Feelings and emotions are involved in every learning experience and hamper or enhance cognitive development. Therefore the teacher's responsibility should be extended to include the education of feeling and emotion as well. The study proposes an approach based on sound educational principles and scientifically acquired data. The point of departure is the widely accepted principles and criteria for curriculum design. The relatively new communicative curriculum provides a useful framework, but it has innate weaknesses. Only if care is taken to counter the possible effects of such weaknesses, will the new sillabi have a chance of success. Affective aims should, however, not oust cognitive aims. Intellectual development is the primary goal of the school curriculum. A continuous stream of interaction flows between the affective and the cognitive fields. On all levels of curriculum design the approach should be to take the development patterns of the adolescents as the vantage points, formulate aims to accommodate affective development and only then to choose the relevant cognitive aims. Such an approach will hopefully lead to the achievement of a more balanced education for the volatile adolescent.

The literature review shows that gender inequality in computer use exists today. The inequality begins at birth with society giving boys and girl's roles that they have to play. One possible solution to gender inequality in computer use is to put a gender equity program in place at public schools. Such a program would have to be woven into teaching practices and school activities to strengthen girls' confidence and their ability to achieve in computers.

The purpose of the current study was to discern the effects of three latent constructs – self-efficacy, academic engagement, and student-teacher relationships on Algebra I achievement among ninth-grade African American male students. A nationally representative sample from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS09) was used in the study. Study participants were 697 African American males enrolled in ninth grade in the fall of 2009 across the United States. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analytical procedures were performed to test the hypothesized relationships of Bandura’s social cognitive theory (SCT) theoretical assumptions. The results indicate that the three latent variables directly or indirectly were related to Algebra I achievement among ninth grade African American male students. Moreover, the results revealed that self-efficacy and student-teacher relationships constructs had direct significant impact on Algebra I academic performance; nonetheless, the relationships were not strong. These two latent variables had small effect sizes of 5% and 1%, respectively. Combined, self-efficacy, academic engagement, and student-teacher relationships explained only 8% of the variance in the Algebra I achievement among African American males across the United States (R2=.08). The magnitude effect of these factors on Algebra I achievement was minimal. Overall, these findings suggest that the self-efficacy and student-teacher relationships latent variables had a negligible effect as predictors of Algebra I academic success among ninth grade African American male students. A summary of the results are presented and future research is recommended.

Research has shown that African American males are performing poorly in American public schools and are disciplined at a higher rate than other ethnic and gender groups. Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) has a long history of success with individual students and more recently in school-wide settings. School-wide PBIS offers schools the ability to tailor their rules, rewards, and consequences to the specific needs and culture of a school. This descriptive and quantitative study sought to determine if implementation with fidelity of SWPBIS positively correlated to reduced disciplinary measures. The object of this study was to determine in what ways disciplinary rates for African American males differ in American public schools that identify as using SWPBIS with fidelity as compared to American public schools that do not implement SWPBIS with fidelity. Disciplinary rates examined included ISS, OSS single incident, and OSS multiple incidents. Descriptive findings indicated that schools that implement SWPBIS show a lower rate of ISS and OSS incidents for African American males. The quantitative findings did not yield a statistically significance between schools with fidelity of implementation of SWPBIS and schools without fidelity of implementation of SWPBIS.

This dissertation sets out to analyze the manner in which the writers of dramatic fiction deconstruct the mythology and ideology of the private boys' boarding school in their work. It also seeks to interrogate the sociological and philosophical notions that underpin this fictional work. The central thrust of this dissertation is to explore the representation of the private boys' boarding school experience on the South African stage, with particular reference to writers whose work reflects their personal experiences within such institutions. Private boys' boarding schools promote the ideology that they provide a superior education based on liberal and democratic principles. These institutions supposedly oversee the development of the individual's mental, physical, spiritual, cultural and social education. The projected ideology of the private boys' boarding schools has become entrenched and has manifested itself as a pervasive mythology, which glorifies and glamourises the social reality of such institutions. This mythology is challenged and refuted by the appropriation of various sociological, and philosophical theorists, including: traditional Marxist critiques such as the theories of Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis (1976); structuralist theories such as those proposed by Louis Althusser (1971) and Antonio Gramsci (1971), whose notions of hegemony carry much relevance when considering private boys' boarding schools; and finally, Michel Foucault's (1977) theories of power and power hierarchies (Lotringer, 1989; Smart, 1985). Since South Africa's democratization in 1994, a number of fictional works have emerged that have engaged with the social reality of private boys' boarding schools. Most notably, two plays, Anthony Akerman's Old Boys (2000) and John van de Ruit's War Cry (1999), have highlighted issues surrounding private boys' boarding schools in South Africa. Together with a variety of texts written for different media these works have formed a critical base that, to some degree, has undermined the supremely positive resonance of the entrenched private school mythology, and in so doing, challenge the projected ideology. This dissertation's prime focus is on South African private boys' boarding schools; however, it also includes texts that articulate the social reality of private education in England and America. These texts are relevant firstly because the South African private schools are modeled very closely on the English public school system and secondly, because their inclusion adds weight and variety to the discussion. Important areas of study within this dissertation will be the interpretation of the various thematic concerns raised, and character constructions created by the various writers. This will be underpinned by the theoretical framework, which analyzes systems of power and power hierarchies, and the notion of hegemonic masculinity. Finally, the private boys' boarding school will be examined as a site for hegemonic struggle where power and privilege are continually contested in a relationship characterized by coercion and consent. The critical discourse of the fictional texts and its theoretical underpinning will be placed in opposition to the elitist mythology of the private boys' boarding school and the ideology that these institutions espouse. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

Young men of Portuguese heritage in Toronto continue to demonstrate lower levels of educational attainment. American and Canadian research increasingly points to gender and masculinity to address boys’ academic underachievement, yet studies have not focused a gender lens on Portuguese male youth in Toronto to interrogate educational achievement. This qualitative exploratory study explores gender through constructions of masculinity to better understand young Portuguese-Canadian men and their choices concerning education. Through their narratives, participants revealed that masculinity does inform their attitudes and choices concerning education and school. Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and field are used to explore how masculinity and educational mobility generate considerable struggle and tension in participants’ lived experiences. This study ultimately surfaced more questions surrounding resistance to help-related educational resources, effects of educational mobility on ethnic identity and cultural cohesiveness, and how and when young men of Portuguese ancestry arrive at decisions to de-select education.

Young men of Portuguese heritage in Toronto continue to demonstrate lower levels of educational attainment. American and Canadian research increasingly points to gender and masculinity to address boys’ academic underachievement, yet studies have not focused a gender lens on Portuguese male youth in Toronto to interrogate educational achievement. This qualitative exploratory study explores gender through constructions of masculinity to better understand young Portuguese-Canadian men and their choices concerning education. Through their narratives, participants revealed that masculinity does inform their attitudes and choices concerning education and school. Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and field are used to explore how masculinity and educational mobility generate considerable struggle and tension in participants’ lived experiences. This study ultimately surfaced more questions surrounding resistance to help-related educational resources, effects of educational mobility on ethnic identity and cultural cohesiveness, and how and when young men of Portuguese ancestry arrive at decisions to de-select education.

This quantitative study investigates the disparity that exists between girls and boys and how changes can be implemented to keep boys from disengaging from reading. It examines the reading materials that are available to increase boys' interest in reading and discusses ways in which teachers can develop programs and parents can take action to change boys reading habits. The study employed teacher surveys and student surveys from sixth grade boys in three San Bernardino middle schools.