This dissertation describes the educational experiences of Congolese immigrant families and their children attending Philadelphia K-12 schools. The objectives of the study were to explore the educational experiences, needs and expectations of Congolese immigrant parents and their children in the U.S., and to confirm which of the many assimilation theories was applicable to this group of immigrants. The study aimed at providing American schools and curriculum developers with knowledge that they can use to meet the needs of this neglected group of immigrants. Although the number of Congolese immigrant families has been increasing in Philadelphia (Lewis Mumford Center, 2000), there is little knowledge and many faulty assumptions about African immigrants, and particularly, Congolese families. Most of what the American public and American teachers know about Congolese and African immigrants is based solely on biased media coverage, old stories, and myths that are not supported by valid research. African immigrants and their children have been especially excluded from educational research (Rong & Brown, 2002). Scholarship about Congolese immigrants from their African perspective is scarce, if not totally lacking. As a result of the lack of research about African immigrants and their children, not only have the special needs of these immigrants been neglected, but Congolese students in American schools continue to be victims of demeaning treatments and attacks, including violent attacks by some American students motivated by ignorance, prejudice, misconceptions and stereotypes (Traore, 2002; The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 2005). If the presence of Congolese immigrant children continues to be overlooked while the African immigrant population grows, many Congolese immigrant children may develop a dislike or disinterest in school which would place them at-risk for underachievement and dropping out (Stringfield & Land, 2002). The growing number of African immigrant children in American schools also poses new and different challenges for American education generally (Traore, 2002). Therefore, research on this group of immigrant children is much needed. A qualitative study using observations, individual and group interviews, and questionnaires was conducted among a group of African immigrants represented by families of Congolese immigrants including their children living in Philadelphia and neighboring areas. The study found that reasons for coming and staying in the U.S., the threat of losing Congolese identity and culture, parental role reversal, stereotypes, and misconceptions were the most important factors related to their children's experience in American schools. The accommodation `without assimilation' theory (Gibson, 1988) was found to be the most appropriate assimilation theory applicable to these Congolese families. This study provides American teachers, educational leaders and curriculum developers with knowledge and insights based on the voices and experiences of Congolese parents and children. This new knowledge and perspectives can be used to meet the educational needs and expectations of Congolese parents and their children who are experiencing schooling in America. / Urban Education

Fazendo uso da teoria da interseccionalidade, a presente pesquisa objetiva caracterizar, através da interpretação da narrativa construída pelo jornal Le Soir sobre a comunidade congolesa em Bruxelas, o imaginário belga acerca dos fluxos migratórios entre a atual República Democrática do Congo e a Bélgica contemporânea, durante o lapso temporal compreendido entre 1989 e 2000. Neste esforço, dentro do período estabelecido, foi possível identificar as levas migratórias de congoleses e sua relação com os diferentes contextos políticos e econômicos do país africano; ficaram visíveis, também, uma realidade de falta de interseccionalidade nas políticas públicas, de abusos, por parte das autoridades, de insuficiência, por parte das instituições, e de estranhamento e exotização, por parte do belga, de forma geral, ante a comunidade imigrante congolesa e também africana presente no país / Using the theory of intersectionality, the present research aims to characterize, through the interpretation of the narrative constructed by the Belgian newspaper Le Soir on the Congolese community in Brussels, the Belgian imaginary of the migratory flows between the now Democratic Republic of Congo and contemporary Belgium, during the temporal lapse between 1989 and 2000. In this effort, within the period established, it was possible to identify the Congolese migratory movements and their relation with the different political and economic contexts of the African country; also, became explicit a lack of intersectionality in public policies, abuses by the authorities, a institutional insufficiency on the part of the institutions, and a relation of estrangement and exoticization, in general, on the part of the Belgian, regarding the Congolese and the African immigrant community living in the country

Fazendo uso da teoria da interseccionalidade, a presente pesquisa objetiva caracterizar, através da interpretação da narrativa construída pelo jornal Le Soir sobre a comunidade congolesa em Bruxelas, o imaginário belga acerca dos fluxos migratórios entre a atual República Democrática do Congo e a Bélgica contemporânea, durante o lapso temporal compreendido entre 1989 e 2000. Neste esforço, dentro do período estabelecido, foi possível identificar as levas migratórias de congoleses e sua relação com os diferentes contextos políticos e econômicos do país africano; ficaram visíveis, também, uma realidade de falta de interseccionalidade nas políticas públicas, de abusos, por parte das autoridades, de insuficiência, por parte das instituições, e de estranhamento e exotização, por parte do belga, de forma geral, ante a comunidade imigrante congolesa e também africana presente no país / Using the theory of intersectionality, the present research aims to characterize, through the interpretation of the narrative constructed by the Belgian newspaper Le Soir on the Congolese community in Brussels, the Belgian imaginary of the migratory flows between the now Democratic Republic of Congo and contemporary Belgium, during the temporal lapse between 1989 and 2000. In this effort, within the period established, it was possible to identify the Congolese migratory movements and their relation with the different political and economic contexts of the African country; also, became explicit a lack of intersectionality in public policies, abuses by the authorities, a institutional insufficiency on the part of the institutions, and a relation of estrangement and exoticization, in general, on the part of the Belgian, regarding the Congolese and the African immigrant community living in the country

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

This study was based on the heterosexual form of sexuality as it is the most dominant form of masculinity amongst the Congolese. The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the type of migrant Congolese heterosexual men living in Durban who mostly use sex-enhancing substances and the reasons behind the practice. It sought to explore the impact of the black African isiZulu cultural environment influence about the use of sex-enhancing substances on the DRC men heterosexual in their negotiation of masculinities within the transnational space Further, the study critically examined how migrant Congolese heterosexual men are renegotiating their masculinities in a transnational space through sex enhancing substances. The key question in this study was “How are men from the DRC using sex-enhancing substances to re-negotiate their masculinities in the transnational space”? The methodology was qualitative and in-depth interview was utilized as the method of data collection. The results of this study indicated that the migrant Congolese heterosexual men in renegotiating their masculinities within the transnational space through sex-enhancing reinforce existing hegemonic notions of masculinities and also end up creating new forms of hegemonic notions of masculinities. Keywords: Masculinities, Gender identities. / Thesis (M.A.)-Universtiy of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

This study explores the schooling experiences in South Africa of migrant children from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Migration has been an area of interest within political, social and academic circles. In recent times, studies have been and are being conducted on issues on migration especially with the aim of exploring migrants’ experiences and challenges. This study addresses the experiences of migrant children from the Democratic Republic of Congo in schools in South Africa and their social identity as migrants. It aims to bring these issues into focus and to encourage further research and debate with the aim of finding ways of ensuring better schooling experiences for these migrant children. As its objective, and in line with the aspirations of inclusion and diversity of the present system of education in South Africa, this study: enables an insight into the Congolese migrant children’s school experiences and the resulting challenges for schooling in South Africa, provides an avenue to explore these challenges and experiences in the light of educational policies in place in South Africa and how these challenges affect the children’s education, raises critical issues regarding inclusion and diversity in the South African educational context, and contributes to ongoing debate, awareness and research interest in the area of study. The study addresses the extent to which the inclusive schooling system in South Africa does in reality include these migrant children. This study is situated within the critical paradigm and engages Social Identity Theory as its theoretical framework. It employs a case study methodology to explore the schooling experiences of migrant children from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The theoretical framework as well as the methodology used in this study makes provision for a critical engagement in the analyses of these experiences. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2010.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, 1999. / In this study I will examine two texts by the Congolese author Sony Labou Tansi, namely The Seven Solitudes of Lorsa Lopez and Parenthesis of Blood. The aim of the research is to examine how and why the author uses techniques of allegory and magic realism instead of realism in his work. By closely examining the two texts and with the help of comparisons with his other works, I intend to show that the world he is representing is too fabulous to be rendered in a realistic manner. The use of allegory and irony in the text is a strategy that helps the author to challenge the oppression and despair in his society. The issue of gender is also important in both texts, therefore, I will examine how Labou Tansi portrays women in his works. I will do this by comparing his presentation of women to other female characters found in African canonical works by male writers.

Se o exercício comparativo desta pesquisa iniciou seu percurso recorrendo a breves elementos comuns e numerosas diferenças entre os romances Nós, os do Makulusu, de José Luandino Vieira, e Un fusil dans la main, un poème dans la poche, de Emmanuel Dongala, o desenvolvimento analítico permitiu construir um diálogo profícuo entre as obras valendo-se dos conceitos de oposição e contradição, didática e dialética. À sua maneira, cada uma das duas narrativas materializa questões que parecem apontar para diferenças significativas também na constituição dos sistemas literários vizinhos a que pertencem. Neste sentido, ao dar enfoque às complexas relações que articulam a produção literária às dinâmicas sociais de seus contextos, empreendeu-se um esforço de reflexão acerca das tensões e contradições que marcaram os processos históricos das colonizações portuguesa e francesa em Angola e Congo-Brazzaville partindo das particularidades de composição verificadas em cada um dos textos literários. Através desse processo, buscou-se explicitar como as contingências agem de modo complexo e intrincado, de forma a influenciar dialeticamente as possibilidades de representação e as escolhas formais dos autores. / If the comparative exercise of this research began its course using brief common elements and numerous differences between the novels Nós, os do Makulusu, by José Luandino Vieira, and Un fusil dans la main, un poème dans la poche by Emmanuel Dongala, the analytical development allowed to construct a fruitful dialogue between the texts using the concepts of opposition and contradiction, didacticism and dialectic. In its own way, each one of these two narratives materializes issues that seem to point to meaningful differences also on the nature of the neighboring literary systems in which they belong. In this sense, by giving focus to the intricate relations that articulate the literary production to the social dynamics of its contexts, an endeavour of reflection was undertook about the tensions and contradictions which branded the historical processes of the Portuguese and French colonizations in Angola and Congo-Brazzaville starting from the peculiarities of composition verified in each of the literary texts. Through this process, it was sought to make explicit how the contingencies act in complex and intricate ways, in order to dialectically influence the possibilities of representation and the formal choices of the authors.

The survival of the majority of refugees in their host countries is characterised by poverty resulting from different sets of vulnerabilities. Formal education/training appears to offer the only opportunity for refugees to improve their survival chances. This study examined formal education/training as a livelihood strategy of Congolese refugees who have graduated in different fields of study in South Africa and are currently living in Durban and what have been its outcomes. This study found that, though formal education/training has the potential to improve the livelihood opportunities of Congolese refugees who graduated in South Africa, by increasing their chances of accessing better pay employment and improving their well-being, it still needs to be strengthened through the protection and promotion of refugees’ rights, a change in public attitude towards refugees and the careful selection of fields of study. In order for formal education/training to effect sustainable positive changes in the lives of respondents, there is also a need to formulate and implement supportive policies and legislations with the view to address specific livelihood challenges pointed out in this study. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Le discours de promotion des technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC) s'est traduit, entre autres, par une approche technocentriste du développement de la presse, faisant de l'usage de ces dispositifs techniques la norme universelle de tout progrès, dans ce secteur d'activité. Assisterait-on, aujourd'hui, à un nivellement des pratiques journalistiques, dans toutes les sociétés humaines, où les TIC auraient été introduites dans les activités de la presse ? Refusant de nous enfermer dans le carcan diffusionniste des techniques, nous avons orienté notre étude sur l'analyse de la relation entre la presse et ses publics, en la circonscrivant dans les procès de collecte et de traitement de l'information, au niveau de la presse congolaise. L'analyse révèle une inconciliabilité de perspectives, entre la promotion des TIC et le développement d'une presse évoluant dans un contexte de dépendance politique, où le champ de l'action politique se présente comme l'unique instance de construction sociale du sens. Ce contexte a induit un procès de médiatisation exclusive, consistant en la couverture quasi exclusive des opinions relevant de l'élite politique au pouvoir. Le déploiement de ce procès cristallise ainsi l'appropriation professionnelle des TIC autour des logiques sociales de la communication, où la construction de l'information de presse se conçoit comme une simple opération de valorisation de la parole de l'élite politique. Dès lors, la presse congolaise, évoluant dans un tel contexte, paraît encore inapte à toute forme d'innovation économique et professionnelle significative, que l'usage des TIC est censé accompagner. Ce constat contraste avec ce que l'on observe au niveau d'une presse française, par exemple, évoluant dans un contexte sociopolitique libéral, où les TIC accompagnent déjà des innovations organisationnelles et des pratiques journalistiques, qui se traduisent par la mobilisation des stratégies de coopétition, entre les médias dits « traditionnels » et les « nouveaux » acteurs de l'information et de la communication. / Promoting information technology and communication (ICT) has induced among other things, a technocentric approach in the development of the press, making the use of these technical devices as the universal norm for all progress in this business segment. Therefore, it raises the question in knowing if we attend today, a leveling of journalistic practices in all human societies, where ICT has been introduced in the press activities. Refusing to be locked in the diffusion of techniques ideology, we focused our study on the analysis of the relationship between the press and public, limiting this relationship in the process of collecting and processing of information, in the Congolese press. The analysis reveals an irreconcilability of perspectives, between the promotion of ICT and the development of media, operating in a context of political dependence, where the field of political action is presented as the unique authority in the social construction of meaning. This context leads to a process of the exclusive media coverage, consisting in almost exclusive media coverage of political elite opinions. The deployment of this process is crystallizing the professional appropriation of ICT around social logics of communication, where the construction of press information is conceived as a simple valorization of the political elite opinions. Therefore, the Congolese press, operating in such a context, still seems incapable of any significant form of economic and professional innovation that the use of ICT is supposed to accompany. This finding contrasts with what is observed in a French press, for example, operating in a liberal sociopolitical context, where ICT is already accompanying organizational innovations and journalistic practices, which results in the mobilization of coopetition strategies, between "traditional" media and "new" operators in the field of information and communication.