The focus of this dissertation is to explore contextually relevant ideas through conversation around behaviour problems, specifically bullying, experienced in primary schools situated in the township of Mamelodi. The study explores the relationship around bullying between the members of the school staff involved with the children, the children identified as manifesting bullying behaviour, their families and any relevant community system or individuals as identified by the research participants themselves through conversation. It focuses on providing a description of experiences around bullying behaviour facing the participants by exploring their own perspectives and meanings around their situation and any possible solutions that they may offer. The focus is of an exploratory and descriptive nature to provide a basis for an intervention that is contextually relevant to this community by acknowledging these locally constructed discourses. An ecological approach within a postmodern social constructionist theoretical backdrop is chosen for this study. It is an approach that emphasises the importance of context and the social constructionist influence emphasises the importance of language. Three primary schools in the Mamelodi Township were approached to participate. One ecological case study from one of the three schools is used in the analysis to explore the aims of this research. Data was gathered through semi-structured open-ended interviews. Discourse analysis is used to construct the various discourses emerging from the conversations resulting from the interviews. Through the discourse analysis the various meanings, experience or understanding around bullying are constructed. The interaction of these various discourses and influence that they have on each other are also considered. The possible influence of background discourses of the wider community and society are included. These discourses are presented not as truths but as a plausible a construction of an ecology of bullying grounded in background and events. Using theses discourses some of the possible implications for a contextually and locally relevant intervention programme and further ideas for research are suggested. As the study focuses on contextual relevance, arguments around indigenous psychology, cross cultural research and the role of interpreters are also considered. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted

The aim of this study is to explore some of the ways in which masculinity is constructed in relation to HIV/AIDS. A review of literature about masculinity describes a normative masculinity where being a man is often associated with harmful practices. The review also shows that such a normative conceptualisation of masculinity has been contested through a call for less rigid and simplistic descriptions of what it means to be a man. The literature review also shows that research that specifically addresses the intersection between masculinity and HIV/AIDS tends to provide a marginalising and negative account of men’s position in the epidemic. However, it also shows a growing awareness of the inadequacy of such an approach. The present study aims to critically explore the ways in which masculinity is constructed by a group of men living with HIV. More specifically it explores how men living with HIV experience their masculinity and whether their HIV status impacts on their views of themselves as men. The study is located in a social constructionist framework and utilises a qualitative methodological approach. Discourse analysis was used to analyse the text produced during focus group discussions with a group of black South African men who are living with HIV. From the discourse analysis, six discourses were identified as operating in the text. The first three discourses can be described as contributing to an idealised or normative construction of masculinity. This idealised masculinity is constructed by the participants as something that is valued and to which men need to conform. At the same time it is also constructed by the participants as something that men cannot always attain and that they experience as a burden in that they continually need to engage in actions that affirm their position as ‘real’ men. This tension is constructed as a sense of not being able to ‘live up to’ hegemonic notions of masculinity that participants describe as being valued by their partners, family members and others in their community. </p > This construction of masculinity was spoken of as operating in a restrictive manner, where men are limited in the kind of actions available to them, such as seeking support or acknowledging their vulnerability to HIV. Specific discursive acts were mentioned as contributing to this idealised masculinity, such as getting married, having children, being a financial provider, having multiple sexual partners and being in a position of authority in the home. In the last three discourses that were identified the manner in which HIV contributes to constructions of masculinity became a more prominent feature of the discourses. Participants constructed HIV as a life event that interferes with conforming to notions of a normative masculinity. This emerged in talk of how illness or other periods of vulnerability disrupts the notion of men being invulnerable. It also emerged in talk of how living with HIV complicates attaining traditional signifiers of masculinity, such as getting married or having children. The final discourse that emerged from the text relates to a transformed masculinity, where men living with HIV reconstruct their masculinity in the face of the challenges that HIV poses. Living with HIV is constructed as requiring of men to re-evaluate and change their masculinity as conforming to normative constructions of masculinity is perceived as restrictive and harmful. Such an idealised masculinity prevents men from accessing the support they need in managing their health and men therefore look towards change. The study contributes to the growing body of research that explores masculinity as fluid and constructed in relation to various influences, rather than viewing masculinity as a fixed identity. It presents an account of how men living with HIV challenge and resist dominant constructions of masculinity, thereby indicating that there are possibilities for change. This has implications for interventions that aim to increase the potential positions men can assume in promoting responsible sexual practice as well as deconstructing notions of masculinity that limit the courses of action available to men living with HIV when seeking support. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted

The researcher aimed to explore the construction of menopause through and by available discourses within South Africa. A postmodern paradigm and social constructionist framework informed the choice of discourse analysis as methodology. South African newspapers containing texts related to menopause were utilised. English articles that are available on a publically accessible library database were selected. The basic guideline for selection of 37 texts was the keyword menopause. The researcher identified and explored eight dominant discourses and two supplementary discourses. The researcher concluded that discourses are interconnected and that each discourse is strengthened or resisted by multiple complementary and conflicting discourses forming a network through which society understands and experiences their reality. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Psychology / unrestricted

To create a successful development in sports, gender equality is required. The lack of gender equality within the sport as an organization is therefore a problem and historically, sports is characterized by a gender structure where women is subordinate to men. The purpose of this essay is therefore to increase the knowledge of  the position of women within the field of ice hockey, and to open up for an analyzis of the gender equality within the rules of ice hockey using the theory of social constructionism. The theory makes it possible to highlight the meaning of commonly used concepts within the gender equality debate such as masculinity and femininity as social constructions depending on culture and history and how they change over time. This leads to the question of how the level of gender equality in the rules of ice hockey can be understood by using a social constructive theory. In order to achieve the purpose, the essay has the legal analyzis method as a basis to make the analyzis more nuanced. Interwiew as a method has also been used to create additional support for the conclusions. The study shows that there are significant differences in the rules of ice hockey that causes a problem with gender equality, but if you look under the surface, you could find that what seems to be natural, really is not. The rules of ice hockey, and the problem of gender equality are social constructions that changes under influence by the social environment.

As the United States prepares to elect a new president, immigration continues to be one of the most controversial topics on the national agenda. While Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president with the intent to build a wall along the border with Mexico, the Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, has opted, instead to push for comprehensive immigration reform. The difference in approach is symptomatic of the divisiveness within the immigration debate. To explore this divide in depth, the dissertation’s research question is: What does the discourse on undocumented immigration in the United States in the 2000s reveal about the most salient drivers of conflict related to immigration. Using qualitative discourse analysis, the dissertation investigated coverage of the discourse on undocumented immigration in the mainstream news media, hoping to break the discourse into parts that can be examined to gain a deeper understanding of sources of conflict. Through the use of qualitative data analysis software, coding categories determined through identified sources of tension in the discourse spawned themes and topics that helped to analyze points of conflict. Through analyses of these themes, the research uncovered elements in the discourse that facilitated intergroup conflict through negative constructions of the out-group by the in-group. In order to mitigate conflict, the discourse on undocumented immigrants in the United States needs to be reconstructed in a way that untangles immigration issues from security issues and addresses the racialization and criminalization of immigration. In-depth media coverage of immigration stories with context can help facilitate a more constructive discourse.

This qualitative study aimed to enhance our understanding of youth engagement experiences from the perspective of Aboriginal youth living in the Canadian North, as positive youth development programs can foster community engagement among youth and may have implications for Aboriginal youth involvement in community healing. With an asset-based orientation that recognizes that youths’ strengths co-exist with, and are understood in relation to, environmental challenges, narrative inquiry was used to explore the experiences of six Aboriginal youth who participated in a program that promotes community engagement. Rich participant accounts resulted in better understanding youth engagement as a profound culture-bound process rather than simple participation in a program, and illuminates the importance of positive relationships, adult support, and pre-program community involvement to building subsequent engagement. This study has implications specific to Aboriginal youth as having a role in promoting health and healing in their communities through their engagement.

This research project explores and evaluates the usefulness of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as a methodological framework for Educational Psychology consultations with young people. A significant part of the role of an Educational Psychologist (EP) can be to hold consultations with young people in secondary schools who are perceived to be experiencing difficulties or challenges. These difficulties can often prevent young people from engaging positively in the learning opportunities available to them putting them at risk of under achievement and possible exclusion from school. AI is more commonly known as an organisational development methodology, however by drawing explicitly from the philosophical and theoretical paradigms of social constructionism and the social model of disability, this project’s unique contribution to knowledge is to reconfigured AI as a framework to engender the inclusion and participation of young people in identifying positive changes at school. AI is a change methodology that begins with the premise that within any system or organisation there already exist success, positive experiences, and strengths that are life giving and life affirming. The nature of the exploration is centred on uncovering narrative accounts of what is already working in order to inform any future change.The project was based within a secondary school and was designed specifically to run concurrently with an ‘in house’ programme of support run by the school’s Learning Mentor, so that data from the AI consultations could be used to inform and support the work of the Learning Mentor. The findings (both content and process) indicated that AI consultations with students can support their inclusion and participation. Students identified change through co-constructing alternative narratives that challenged the ‘authority’ view of the students’ difficulties. The process of using AI as a methodology in this way is described as a multidirectional cycle (differing from traditional AI cycles which are presented as unidirectional). Being fluid, flexible and emancipatory the AI consultation framework is considered both useful and appropriate in providing an epistemological basis for Educational Psychology practice.

M.A. / The aim of this study was to examine how the members of Agape came to construct themselves as a healing community. An ecosystemic epistemology and social constructionism were used as a lens by which to view the events unfolding at Agape Healing Community and to illuminate how meanings, expressed through language and ritual, are negotiated and shared. Discourse analysis was used as an analytical tool to infer meaning from the participants’ speaking and to locate these discourses in the fabric that constitutes South African society.

This study can be seen as an exploration of the contributions (or lack thereof) made from various schools of family therapy with regards to culture, and, as an augmentation to the current literature, through articulating a South African Indian Muslim family narrative. It commences with a review of the academic literature, comprising of the studies and general approaches taken towards the subject matter of culture and family therapy within this field. The study thereafter offers a description of the epistemological framework from which the author is operating which can be seen as a combination of second-order cybernetics and social constructionism. This serves to familiarize readers with the frame of reference that has guided the approach to this study as it impacts significantly on the manner in which research is conducted. A detailed discussion of the research approach adopted in this study thus ensues. The research approach assumes a postmodern flavour and can be regarded as alternate paradigm research. The study also engages in an examination of the various discourses or schools of thought that have provided the predominant epistemological orientations within the field of family therapy. These are the systemic, first and second order cybernetics, constructivist, social constructionist and narrative approaches. The core characteristics of these discourses are critically described and their associated ramifications for culture are explored. Finally, the study attempts to articulate a South African Indian Muslim family narrative. In doing so, it draws on a number of combined resources. The primary source of data is in the form of personal narratives that are extracted from the author's own experiences and observations of being a member of this specific cultural group. This data is supplemented with community narratives regarding the family. These narratives are extrapolated through participant observation in a community setting. The main themes that emerge from both sources are then utilized as areas of discussion. At the same time, these narratives reflect specific cultural and religious discourses as the latter is threaded into the fabric of the former. The main areas of discussion involve family structure, cohesion, role allocation, communication, hierarchy and life cycle. Those academic narratives which are considered to be applicable and relevant are applied to the data where necessary, thereby highlighting features of significance and illuminating points of convergence and contrast. The author also attempts to explore the systems of meaning that may inform the patterns in the family. / Thesis (MA (Clinical Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Psychology / unrestricted

Orientadores: Rúbia Barcelos Amaral, Samuel Rocha de Oliveira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T08:53:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Stivam_ElenPriscila_M.pdf: 2054215 bytes, checksum: e6d20b9bbaa3aac9aa234af2e64c2e2f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo investigar a integração entre TIC (Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicação) distintas no que tange ao ensino de Função do 1º grau. Algumas TIC entre vídeos, softwares, livros didáticos e Caderno do Aluno (originado a partir da Proposta Curricular do Estado de São Paulo) foram selecionadas com o propósito de compreender os aspectos que cada uma traz como diferencial quando entendidas como recurso didático, e assim analisar possibilidades de se integrarem, de modo a permitir que o aluno construa seu próprio conhecimento, com mediação constante do educador. Apoiada na abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa, os potenciais educativos das TIC foram analisados a partir de estudos que avaliaram estes recursos. Posteriormente, foi realizada uma discussão envolvendo as possibilidades de integração entre elas, com base nas ações da Espiral da Aprendizagem, apresentadas através do Construcionismo, que busca contribuir com a autonomia do aluno, a partir de suas reflexões. Concluo que é possível a realização de integrações entre as TIC, envoltas por seus potenciais didáticos, porém é necessário que o professor se aproprie destes recursos, adequando seu uso para diferentes situações, considerando as necessidades e os tipos de atividades propostas. Estas integrações podem contribuir para que o aluno interprete as minúcias do conteúdo de Função do 1º grau, através de diferentes perspectivas. Assim é possível desenvolver Micromundos, compostos pela integração de diferentes tecnologias, envolvidos por aspectos construcionistas, trazendo contribuições para o ensino de Função do 1º grau. / Abstract: This research studies the integration of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) regarding the teaching first degree functions. Some ICT among videos, software, textbooks and the Caderno do Aluno (Student's Notebook - originated from the Curriculum Proposal of the State of São Paulo) were selected with the purpose of understanding the aspects that differentiate each one of them when regarded as a teaching resource, and thus analyze possibilities to integrate them in order to allow students build their own knowledge with the constant mediation of the educator. Supported by the qualitative approach of the research, the educational potential of ICT was analyzed from studies evaluating these resources.This was followed by a discussion involving the integration possibilities between them, which was based on the actions of the Spiral Learning, presented by the Constructionism, which aims to contribute to student's autonomy from his reflections. I conclude that it is possible to perform integrations between ICTs, surrounded by their didactic potential, but it is necessary that the teachers get a total control of these resources, adapting their use for different situations, considering the needs and the types of activities proposed. These integrations can help the student grasp the minimum details of the subject of first degree functions through different perspectives. So it is possible to develop Microworlds, composed by the integration of different technologies, related by constructiveness, bringing contributions to the teaching of first degree functions / Mestrado / Mestra em Multiunidades em Ensino de Ciências e Matemática