This qualitative research study built on the existing research on young children’s composing. Although many researchers have examined the social nature of young children’s composing, there is little to no research that has focused on the social work of young bilingual children who are learning to write in two languages. This study explored the social activity of bilingual kindergarten writers in a two-way bilingual immersion program. Specifically, it examined (a) the face-to-face interactions of young bilingual writers, (b) the ways in which children’s interactions related to the written/drawn products that were being created at the writing center and during journal time and (c) the oral language that was being used as children engaged in writing activities. Data were collected for five months in a two-way immersion classroom in South Texas school district. Data sources, including expanded field notes, video recordings of students’ interactions, written/drawn artifacts and informal interviews with the students and the teacher were analyzed using the constant comparative method and microethnographic discourse analysis. Analysis revealed that bilingual children’s interactions were varied and complex. As they explored written language alongside their peers, the young writers in this study navigated through multiple peer worlds that were defined in part by the language and/or languages that were being spoken. In order to participate in these worlds the children had to draw on their entire linguistic repertoire, as well as differentiated social understandings that are unique to bilingual individuals. As children attempted to initiate interactions with their peers, they assumed the role of linguist; they made purposeful decisions about how and when they used both of their languages. Factors that influenced children’s oral language use included comfort level, peer culture and the out-of-classroom context. Also noteworthy is that these children drew on both languages to support their biliteracy learning. Both Spanish dominant children and those children who were balanced in their language use drew on their Spanish orally to support their writing in English while English dominant students tapped into their Spanish speaking capabilities to support their writing in English. / text

My dissertation examines the rights of children in the context of liberal conceptions of justice. The theoretical aspects of the dissertation concern liberal paternalism, autonomy, and the adequacy of Rawls's argument for the lexical priority of liberty. I apply my theoretical conclusions to practical issues of medical decision making for children, compulsory education, parental and state authority, and the age of majority. I begin with an analysis of paternalism in liberal political theory and its justificatory bases in the concepts of rationality and autonomy. On the basis of empirical studies of children's rationality I draw the preliminary conclusion that the age of majority should be lowered to fourteen years. Next, I consider utilitarian justifications for paternalistic treatment of children. I conclude that utilitarianism leads to an illiberal paternalism that would both maintain the present age of majority and call for expanded compulsory education and compulsory parent training. In light of utilitarian objections to rationality-based paternalism I consider whether the scope of liberal paternalism might be expanded to give greater weight to welfarist concerns. I argue against Rawls's lexical priority of liberty and for a more flexible balancing of liberty against welfare within the conception of justice as fairness. Turning to concrete problems, I analyze recent cases in law involving transplantation of organs between siblings, and argue that the nature of intimate relationships provides a ground for the partial compromise of freedom of the person in the context of family medical needs. However, I contend that adolescents should have authority to make their own medical decisions at age fourteen. I consider the proper scope of parental authority to shape the lives and values of children. I consider the justification and scope of compulsory education and propose a non-compulsory incentive system for continued education after the age of fourteen years. On the basis of my earlier argument for balancing welfare against liberty, I claim that it is permissible and advisable to set a higher age threshold for drinking, driving, marriage, and military service than is set for majority generally.

No description available.

While the participation of children in armed conflict has been evident for some time, internal community mobilization on the issue is fairly recent. In 1993, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution 48/157 in response to a request by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.<br /> <br /> At the present the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers reports that approximately 300,000 children in over 40 countries worldwide are engaged in armed conflict. Of the estimated 300,000 child soldiers in the world, 120,000 can be found in Africa alone.<br /> Apart from making them direct combatants, both governments and armed groups use children as messengers, lookouts, porters, spies able to enter small spaces, and even use them as suicide bombers and human mine detectors. In the due course of such use and abuse children are forced to kill or are themselves killed, sexually assaulted, raped, forced to become wives of the commanders, exposed to drugs and forced labour, showing the cross cutting nature and magnitude of the problem of child soldiers.<br /> <br /> There are a variety of international legal standards which, at first glance, seem to give some direction and guidance in the protection of child soldiers. In spite of these legal instruments for the protection of child soldiers in Africa, however, much remains to be done as the problem is continuing at a larger scale every day and new challenges keep cropping up. This study will look into ways of addressing these problems in the context of Africa.<br /> <br /> Therefore, in order to address the issue to the best possible level, the normative framework in place may need to be strengthened. Moreover, in an attempt to be comprehensive in addressing the problem, ways of dealing with child soldiers who have allegedly committed atrocities during armed conflict should be included. This piece explores how these issues could possibly be addressed to provide for protection to the child soldier in Africa.

History as a school subject confronts a child with events, motives for action, and moral dilemmas, demanding a high level of abstract reasoning. Before the child reaches the cognitive stage of formal operations (14 years), his abstract reasoning is limited and egocentric in terms of time concept and social consciousness. To supplement this lack of abstraction, it seems necessary to enrich the teaching of history by means of substitute experiences. In an analysis of different teaching methods, it was found that abstract historical facts become more palatable to the pupil when historical novels are used to replace direct experience. The pupil thus identifies with the historical character of his own age group, and encounters history on a human level, because an emotional involvement with the facts has taken place. If a historical novel is to be utilized successfully it must therefore be more than a feebly romanticized, and superficial account of historical facts. Such a novel should capture the exact atmosphere of a specific era. It should attain a delicate balance between fact and fiction, gripping intrigue and real life characters in order to form an emotional bridge between reality and abstract historical facts. In reviewing South African history from 1488 to 1915, it seems that the fiction possibilities of this era have been adequately exploited. Novelists have however given preference to events of a more spectacular nature. More attention and focus has been given to novels for older children and teenagers. There is a great variety of these novels, enabling the pupil of middle childhood and adolescence to identify with the characters, thus experiencing universal needs and universal problems. The natural affinity for fantasy of early childhood has however not been utilized fully. The historical novel concerning the history of indigenous race groups is scantily represented. This jeopardizes the employment of historical novels in promoting positive attitudes towards other races and meaningful co-existence in South Africa. / MBibl, PU vir CHO, 1985

This thesis explores the impact of the new Children’s Act, Act 38 of 2005 on the acquisition by unmarried fathers of parental responsibilities and rights. The research has shown that the Children’s Act has fundamentally transformed the way in which parental responsibilities and rights are acquired. Parental responsibilities and rights can now be automatically acquired by a committed unmarried father. Although the Act has undergone major changes, unmarried fathers must still satisfy many more requirements than mothers, and thus it is asserted that the Act is deemed not to have been progressive enough. Granting full parental responsibilities and rights to both parents, based on their biological link to the child, would meet the constitutional demands of sex and gender equality. This would also place the focus on the child, and the best interests of the child. The importance in securing these best interests that the presence of both parents has in the life of the child is emphasised. / Thesis (LL.M. (Comparative Child Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

The present study investigated the relationship between self concept and children's figure drawings. The principle variable under consideration in each child's drawing were (a) size of the drawing and (b) number of colors used. The Tennessee Self Concept Scale (Fitts, 1965) was administered to 80 students selected from the seventh grade at Logan Junior High School, Logan, Utah. The subjects were then instructed to draw a picture of themselves. No further instructions were given regarding specific details of the requested picture. Ten colored pencils along with a regular pencil were made available to each student. No instructions were given as to the type or number of pencils to be used in their figure drawing. After the subjects completed their respective drawings, the experimenter rated each picture in terms of (a) number of colors used for the drawing, and (b) the height or vertical size of the drawing measured in millimeters from top to bottom of the drawing. It was hypothesized that students who obtain high scores on a measure of self concept (positive self concept) will use a greater number of colors in drawing a picture of themselves than will students who score low (negative self concept) on the same self concept measure. Students with high score on the measure of self concept will also draw a picture of themselves which is larger in size (height) than will students with low scores on the self concept measure. In addition to the two major hypotheses, it was also hypothesized that: (1) the high self concept group will have more smiles on the faces of their drawings than the low self concept group; (2) the high self concept group will draw more full figures than the low self concept group; (3) the high self concept group will use more total space on the paper than the low self concept group; and (4) the high self concept group will draw their figures more in the top two-thirds of the page and the low concept group will draw their figures more in the bottom two-thirds of the page. All of the subjects were ranked from high to low scores obtained on the Tennessee Self Concept Scale and were then divided into a high self concept group (top 20 scores) and a low self concept group (bottom 20 scores). Scores for the total sample of 80 students ranged from 193 to 394. Thus, the high self concept group was comprised of students with scores from 314 to 394. The low self concept group scores ranged from 193 to 246. The figure drawings of high and low scores on the Self Concept Scale were then compared to determine any apparent relationship between measured self concept and (a) number of colors used in the drawing and (b) overall size of the drawing. Analysis of the figure drawings indicated no significant differences, either in number of colors used, or in size of figure between high and low scorers on the Self Concept Scale. the mean number of colors used by high scorers was 3.5 millimeters. Thus, the basic hypotheses of the study were not substantiated by the results obtained. However, subjective inspection of the pictures in terms of the four sub-hypotheses did produce two significant findings in terms of projective-type ratings of the pictures and statistical analysis by the chi square method. In brief, these particular differences were that students who scored high in self concept drew more pictures with smiling faces and utilized the top two-thirds of the drawing paper, while students with low self concept drew pictures with sadder-looking faces and more toward the bottom of two-thirds of the paper. The data also showed a significantly higher number of boys than girls in the high self concept group.

M.A. / Mental health workers are becoming more and more aware of the need to address all youths at risk in South Africa. While different contexts place youths at different types of risks, of particular interest in this study, is the phenomenon of street youths – a visible manifestation of a disrupted political and socio-economic society. Over time, it has come to be recognised that it is not enough to simply place these children in institutions, but that it would be more helpful to understand who these children are as individuals. Knowing how they function on an emotional and psychological level, their culture, their values and their dreams has profound implications for interventions that aim at improving the quality of their lives. Moreover, understanding the needs of these youths in more depth provides them with the opportunity to be included in decision-making processes pertinent to their future as contributing members of society. In view of the above, this study examines the personality development of street youths with the purpose that mental health workers combine developmental principles into their interventions. Thus, it is argued that by building on the knowledge that these youths already have of themselves and their lives, and by carefully examining their developmental needs, more appropriate and responsible programs can be created. Many studies on street youths have found that there is a high incidence of pathology in street youths. Much of this has been attributed to the abusive, dysfunctional and neglected home environments that these youths come from, and is generally exacerbated by the life style they lead on the streets. Therefore, this study examines the context from which street youths have emerged with particular emphasis on family systems, social contexts, beliefs and values, and the general infrastructure of the community at a government level. It was decided to use projective testing on a sample of street youths in the hope of identifying to what extent these youths' development has been compromised. In this respect, their needs, traits, strengths, conflicts and defenses were examined. The results were then integrated with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as well as Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, and then examined against the backdrop of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory. The results of this study found that generally, healthy development in these youths has, indeed, been compromised. Any need for achievement, autonomy, dependency or security was found to be absent in these youths. It has therefore, been argued that these youths have been arrested at their first level of development, mainly because their primary focus is on fulfilling their basic physiological needs, to the extent that any higher order needs cannot be met. The results did, however, find that the majority of the youths in this sample are extroverted and flexible, and despite their living conditions, they are not negative or evasive. Whether these traits are inherent or learned is unknown, however, it is argued that these traits assist them to survive more successfully on the street. It was also found that, although these youths are not very adaptable, they are accessible, a possible survival skill making them more receptive to both welfare institutions and the public, on whom they depend on for their survival. Interestingly, it was found that a significant percentage of these youths indicate a presence of organicity. While the source of this may be due to extensive substance abuse, physical abuse or birth defects, its presence may also explain the presence (or absence) of other traits and conflicts in this sample. As such, these youths do indicate any significant pathological conflicts, except for paranoia. The presence of paranoia is to be expected in these children because, in order to survive, these youths need to be constantly alert to the dangers in their environment. This finding also lends support to the fact that these youths should not be pathologised but must rather be seen within the larger context of societal problems and issues. Finally, it was found that the youths in this sample do not indicate defenses. This is an unusual finding as by the time they reach adolescence, these youths should have developed certain defenses in order for successful negotiation of the environment to occur. Further study could shed light on why defenses were absent in these youths. In conclusion, it has also been argued that it is important to note that, because different studies indicate different results, it must be recognised that street youths experience street life differently, and that not all street youths experience negative life circumstances as equally stressful. Thus, it can be concluded that healthy personality development of street youths is not solely based on their experiences at home or on the street. It may also depend on predispositional traits, how they perceive their situations, how they construe themselves, their internal locus of control, their resilience levels and their social support systems.

The study took as its point of departure the Children’s Act No 38 of 2005 that emanated from the Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996). This Act has as its primary aims, to promote the preservation and strengthening of families and to give effect to the rights of children as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, including: protection of children from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation and the fact that the best interest of a child are of paramount importance in every matter concerning children. It was anticipated that the areas of the Children’s Act with its emphasis on the rights of children would empower them in relation to their protection and development in that particular context. When the Act was introduced, it evoked mixed reactions with certain segments of society applauding the government for its efforts, and others condemning the government’s approach towards reproductive health issues affecting children. The primary aim of the research project was to explore the views of a group of parents in the Johannesburg Metro Region 11 regarding reproductive health care as embedded in the Children’s Act. The study took the form of a small-scale, mixed methods, descriptive, cross-sectional survey research design as it sought to elicit participants’ views on those specific clauses in the Act. In addressing the aims and objectives of the study, interview schedules were administered to 35 participants on an individual, face-to-face basis. Participants were adults drawn from Johannesburg Metro Region 11 and the data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. The main findings that emerged from the study were that, participants did not participate in the process leading up to the promulgation of the Children’s Act No 38 of 2005. Consequently, participants had little knowledge about the Act and did not have any knowledge about its objectives. The fact that participants did not support certain clauses has implications for amendment of the Act with reference to the clauses on reproductive health care.

Student Number : 0204500X - PhD Thesis - School of Literature and Language Studies - Faculty of Humanities / This thesis is a study of the Sasa Sema’s Lion Series of biographies written for young readers. The Sasa Sema project is concerned with archiving the stories of famous historical figures and contemporary heroes. The research examines the shifts or the trends these biographies take as compared to what has been in existence in discourses on children’s writing in Kenya in the past. I argue that the issues that these biographies are concerned with are a novelty in Kenyan children’s literature. By writing biographies of historical figures in Kenya, the authors are not only making an intervention by creating new models for children’s literature, but they also show that the story of the nation cannot be enacted outside the heroic struggles of its peoples. I further argue that the Sasa Sema project is significant because many writers of children’s literature in Kenya, and in East Africa in general, write mostly about childhood stories rather than historical figures. Also, the characters used in the biographies are adult characters rather than young fictional animal and human characters that have characterized children’s literature in the past. I conclude that these changes broaden the scope of children’s literature in Kenya. The changes in writing for children in Kenya, evident in the biographies under study are examined across the chapters that make up this thesis. Chapter One attempts to locate the biographies under study within Kenya’s children’s literary tradition by looking at the trajectory this literature has taken from pre-colonial time to the present. Chapter Two examines how orality as a stylistic device is used in the texts under study first, to create literary appreciation and secondly, as a means of summoning literature from different cultural backgrounds in which the texts are based. The chapter argues that the use of oral art forms evokes identity and signals cultural diversity in the Kenyan society. Chapter Three addresses the question of female heroism and gender stereotypes in children’s literature. This chapter intimates that biographies, whose narratives draw from real life situations, help in revising the representation of the female character in children’s literature. Chapter Four examines how individual stories are used to narrate Kenya’s history of decolonization for the children. This chapter also avows that the process of colonization created heroes through colonialist institutions such as schools and prisons. Chapter Five examines how the Sasa Sema project argues for the recognition of minority groups that have been marginalized in narratives of nation formation, while Chapter Six discusses the biography of Dedan Kimathi a Mau Mau freedom fighter. The female narrator in Kimathi’s biography, who is also positioned as a participant in the war portrays children’s literature as a vehicle for paying homage to women’s role in the Mau Mau war. In Chapter Seven, I attempt to harmonize the conclusions reached in the previous chapters.