Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Psychology at the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, South Africa, 2010. / The purpose of this study was to explore an intervention programme that could be used by class teachers to address the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. The goals of the study were: (i), to explore the educator’s perceptions regarding the role that the class teacher could play in addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children and (ii) to stress the impact of the proposed intervention. The sample in the first phase of the research consisted of 120 rural primary school educators from the Dududu Circuit in Southern KwaZulu-Natal. These educators completed a survey in the form of a structured questionnaire. The descriptive method of research was used to collect data, and inferential statistics were used to test the null hypotheses using the Chi-squared test. The results of the study indicated, among other things, that educators had generally agreed that the form teacher was best positioned to address the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. Educators were in agreement that the form teacher should facilitate life-skills training and organise peer-support programmes for orphans and vulnerable children. Gender and age group did not influence the views of educators. Educators also expressed a strong desire to be trained in programmes relating to the care and support of orphans and vulnerable children. The quasi-experimental-comparison group pretest-posttest design was used in the second phase of the research to determine the success of the intervention strategy. This phase of the research entailed the following: distribution of questionnaires to 20 educators in the comparison school and 20 educators in the experimental school; presenting the intervention strategy via a workshop to educators in the experimental school; and conducting a posttest survey using the same set of questionnaires to educators in both the schools. The intervention entailed the presentation of the following: a life-skills model, a peer-support programme, and the asset-based approach. The outcome of the intervention was then gauged through the use of self-constructed questionnaires. The posttest survey showed that 60% of educators in the experimental school had implemented all three models and had accordingly noted the direct benefits to orphans and vulnerable children. This implied that the intervention was successful. Being successful, the intervention creates a gateway for much desired relief for orphans and vulnerable children. The intervention holds the key for similar applications in areas such as substance abuse, physically challenged children and children who display various psychological problems.

Nurse educators play a crucial role in the nursing profession, as they are concerned with the important task of preparing responsible, efficient, competent and knowledgeable nurses; and also with the task of strengthening nurses as independent and critical thinkers not just for now, but for the future. Within the South African educational environment, and more specifically, a nursing college in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, the roles expected of nurse educators are numerous, and in some cases part from the facilitation of learning in the college and the clinical area, they are also expected to teach subjects outside of their areas of expertise. Although the provincial nursing college, as the context for this study, provides unique and challenging opportunities for theoretical and clinical teaching and learning, the environment and the relationship between the stakeholders seems to be questionable, and needs improvement from all stakeholders to be more conducive for learning. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the perceived roles of nurse educators in the context of a provincial nursing college. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design served as framework for this study. Data was collected by means of focus-group discussions, with samples selected from two populations of stakeholders with first-hand experience of the expected roles of nurse educators. The first participating group consisted of seven nurse educators, and the second participating group consisted of twelve nursing students. The focus of the focus group discussions was based on the participants’ ‟experience of how they perceived the current role of nurse educators” in a provincial nursing college in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The findings of the research resulted in five (5) main and seventeen (17) sub-themes from the participating nurse educators, and four (4) main and eleven (11) sub-themes from the participating nursing students. The participants in this study perceived the current roles of the nurse educators within the provincial nursing college as those of mentor, support-giver, teacher and facilitator, collaborator and scholar. The nurse educators also viewed their current roles as including managerial and administrative tasks. These findings were integrated with relevant national and international literature to culminate in conclusions, limitations and recommendations of the study. The concluding statements served as a basis for the recommendations to nurse educators, nursing education, nursing education management and nursing research. These recommendations include the advice that nursing education within the provincial nursing college should be viewed and treated as a scholarly activity. Cooperation, teamwork and collaboration also came to the forefront as essential for the sustainability of nursing education within the provincial nursing college context. Role conflicts also came out as an integrated and essential part of understanding and developing the current role expectations of the nurse educator in the provincial nursing college context. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Nurse educators play a crucial role in the nursing profession, as they are concerned with the important task of preparing responsible, efficient, competent and knowledgeable nurses; and also with the task of strengthening nurses as independent and critical thinkers not just for now, but for the future. Within the South African educational environment, and more specifically, a nursing college in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, the roles expected of nurse educators are numerous, and in some cases part from the facilitation of learning in the college and the clinical area, they are also expected to teach subjects outside of their areas of expertise. Although the provincial nursing college, as the context for this study, provides unique and challenging opportunities for theoretical and clinical teaching and learning, the environment and the relationship between the stakeholders seems to be questionable, and needs improvement from all stakeholders to be more conducive for learning. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the perceived roles of nurse educators in the context of a provincial nursing college. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design served as framework for this study. Data was collected by means of focus-group discussions, with samples selected from two populations of stakeholders with first-hand experience of the expected roles of nurse educators. The first participating group consisted of seven nurse educators, and the second participating group consisted of twelve nursing students. The focus of the focus group discussions was based on the participants’ ‟experience of how they perceived the current role of nurse educators” in a provincial nursing college in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The findings of the research resulted in five (5) main and seventeen (17) sub-themes from the participating nurse educators, and four (4) main and eleven (11) sub-themes from the participating nursing students. The participants in this study perceived the current roles of the nurse educators within the provincial nursing college as those of mentor, support-giver, teacher and facilitator, collaborator and scholar. The nurse educators also viewed their current roles as including managerial and administrative tasks. These findings were integrated with relevant national and international literature to culminate in conclusions, limitations and recommendations of the study. The concluding statements served as a basis for the recommendations to nurse educators, nursing education, nursing education management and nursing research. These recommendations include the advice that nursing education within the provincial nursing college should be viewed and treated as a scholarly activity. Cooperation, teamwork and collaboration also came to the forefront as essential for the sustainability of nursing education within the provincial nursing college context. Role conflicts also came out as an integrated and essential part of understanding and developing the current role expectations of the nurse educator in the provincial nursing college context. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Free play is a term that often common in educational activities. The definition of the term is difficult, but it is about the children themselves decides the scope, content and process in their play. On an after-school, this may mean that it is the children are given the opportunity to freely choose their own activity in the leisure constraints. Free play can be an alternative to other, more controlled activities where adults control framework. The purpose of this study is to investigate the variations in how some children perceive and experience the phenomenon of free play in the after-school and how the children perceive the teacher´s role in the free game. The study empirical data is limited to a class, in a department in an after-school center in the inner suburbs of Stockholm. School centers and schools are integrated with each other and operations are in close cordinations and cooperation in common areas. Study based in two qualitative semi-structured focus group interviews with three children in each other group. To analyze the material used a phenomenographic analysis model. The result show that children feel that it is imortant to have free play in the school center. The children experience a degree of freedom, because you yourself may determine the content of their play. Pedagogue role in the free game perceive children as a role, where the adults keep order and ensure that the children needs are met and to avoid conflict. Educators will alto be assisting with activities to inspire creativity. Free play is also linked to emotions such as desire and curiosity and to friends enriches free play greatly.