This thesis explores participatory research involving the author and a small group of adults with Asperger’s syndrome, as co-researchers. The research was based on the assumption that people with Asperger’s syndrome think differently from neuro-typical people (people who do not have Asperger’s syndrome or autism). It is not denied that people with Asperger’s syndrome have difficulties, but the thesis argues that these are caused by living in a world which is dominated by neuro-typical people who do not understand or allow for the differences that people with Asperger’s syndrome have. The research is based on the assumption that adults with Asperger’s syndrome are able to be co-researchers and that part of the task of the researcher and the co-researchers was to find a way of working together that was enabling to all involved in the research. The original aim of the research was to ascertain what kind of service provision adults with Asperger’s syndrome wanted and this formed the research question: ‘What support do adults with Asperger’s syndrome want?’ The findings of the research challenge traditional notions of support as the emphasis is taken away from support to consider forms of understanding. It has resulted in the proposal of a new way of understanding Asperger’s syndrome. It proposes models for understanding how people with Asperger’s syndrome and neuro-typical people relate to each other. These models challenge a currently prevailing deficit-based understanding of Asperger’s syndrome. The author and the co-researchers worked collaboratively to design research tools, collect and analyse data and disseminate findings. The data was collected from other adults with Asperger’s syndrome who took part in questionnaires and then different adults with Asperger’s syndrome who took part in a focus group and individual interviews. The work was informed by the literature on spatial understandings of how society is ordered. The thesis uses this spatial understanding as a way of analysing how people with Asperger’s syndrome are regarded in a society which is dominated by people who are neuro-typical. Insights from a spatial understanding are also used to consider the process of the research, including an application of the social model of disability to participatory research involving adults with Asperger’s syndrome. My original contribution to knowledge is that I have demonstrated that people with Asperger’s syndrome have the potential to work in group situations on a complex piece of research. I have shown that people with Asperger’s syndrome are able to make a significant contribution to the understanding of how people with Asperger’s syndrome and neuro-typical people relate to each other. I have also demonstrated how a non-disabled researcher and co-researchers with Asperger’s syndrome can work together and devise working methods which are enabling. In the words of the thesis, I have demonstrated how an ‘autistic research space’ can be created. This thesis discusses the role of the neuro-typical researcher in the creation of this research space. The research is regarded as having been co-produced and the meaning of this is explored. The thesis discusses the nature of participatory research using a spatial understanding. Emancipatory research is said to be based on the social model of disability, where non-disabled researchers are not involved. I have shown that participatory research can also be based on the insights from the social model of disability and achieve the outcomes required for emancipatory research. I have proposed a framework for planning and analysing participatory research. Perhaps the most significant contribution to knowledge is the new way of understanding Asperger’s syndrome proposed by the research which challenges the more traditionally accepted deficit based model.

This research explores the subjective experiences of women with mental health challenges residing in a supportive housing building in Southern Ontario. Drawing on principles of Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR), five women were brought together to engage in an arts-based workshop meant to provide the opportunity to reflect on their experiences, express themselves through alternative means, and connect with peers over shared experiences. Over six meetings, participants have been invited to contribute to group discussions by taking and analyzing photos that represent their journey while living in supportive housing. Drawing on a critical feminist and Mad Study scholarship, this project used intersectionality as its theoretical lens. This choice intends to emphasize the interconnected and compounded system of oppression that women experience when their identity intersects across various dimensions such as gender, gender expression, race, mental health status, class, and more. This research is essential because of the pervasiveness of discrimination, disempowerment and oppression of people diagnosed with a ‘serious mental illness’ and how these infiltrate relationships and social systems. However, little empirical data exists to explore the in-depth perspective of these individuals, who lack power and voice in society. In particular, women with a psychiatric diagnosis live at the intersection of multiple oppressive factors. Thus, to counterbalance oppression, it is essential to recognize these women as the experts in their lives. Moreover, women’s active participation in research and their photographs and stories offered a nuanced understanding of issues affecting them. From the photographs (visual data) and the meaning given by participants through their stories (narrative data), issues emerged related to stigmatization, gender-based violence, economic limitations, inadequate support, and various forms of discrimination. Furthermore, participants expressed their insights into desired changes within and beyond the supportive housing program. The relevance of this research is threefold: 1) it gave agency to women living in supportive housing to outline their unique needs and wants; 2) it contributed to the paucity of qualitative research situated at the intersection of gender and ‘mental illness’; 3) through KTE activities, it has the potential to inform housing and helping professionals on ways to improve housing projects, design activities, and foster residents’ engagement for this population group. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Published Articles / The dawn of a democratic South Africa in 1994 established a society entrenched in Human Rights milieu. As such, public schools are meant to align their policies with the rule of the law. Particularly, section 10 (1) of South African Schools Act, 84 1996 (hereafter SASA) respectfully prohibits the administration of corporal punishment directed at a learner in public schools. The subsequent section 10 (2) of SASA admonishes that any person contravening section 10 (1) of SASA is liable on conviction to a sentence which could be imposed for assault. These mentioned provisions of the school legislation are consistent with section 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) which affords every person the inherent right to dignity of the person. Against the afore-mentioned legislative provisions, teachers have resorted to the use of sarcasm as a tool to inflict punishment in the manner that it could be equated with corporal punishment. Sarcasm is a form of language that is used to cause emotional and psychological harm, belittle, ridicule and humiliate the person it directed at. Judged against the provisions of the legislation governing schools in South African public schools, sarcasm could be said to be a direct violation of fundamental rights of learners to dignity of the person. In order to explore the intonation of sarcasm as supplement for corporal punishment the research paper employed a qualitative critical emancipatory research (CER) approach. Data gathered through a purposive sample of ten secondary teachers was analysed by the use of textual oriented discourse analyses.

Black girls continue to suffer from inequitable treatment in schools resulting in disparate academic and social outcomes. While deficit ideologists have continued to attribute outcomes to cultural deficiencies within the Black community, research has found various systemic issues of racism and sexism seriously affecting Black girls in schools. However, the experiences of this population remain under or uninvestigated. When Black girls’ experiences in school are investigated, they are commonly framed as a group in need of saving and their perspectives and voices eliminated from the work. Further, this group is often homogenized and all their experiences limited to those of the inner-city or urban environments. Using a critical raced-gendered epistemology, grounded in critical race theory and Black feminism/womanism, this qualitative interview study explores Black high school girls’ experiences in a predominately White suburban public school in the southeast. Through the method of storytelling that includes constructing counter narratives, five girls (ages 14-16) relay their experiences in this predominately White suburban educational space. Parent reflections as well as document review augment these girls’ stories to further illuminate their experience. A grounded theory analysis of these data uses my own cultural intuition. This analytic approach foregrounds the intersectionality of Black girls’ understanding of their racial and gendered educational experiences in a predominantly White suburban environment, the systemic barriers that serve to inhibit their success, and the methods of resistance girls use to persist in these spaces. This study is significant in both its methodology as well as results, offering critical insight into how to conduct equitable and liberatory research and create education policies to improve outcomes for this underserved group.

Published Article / This research study explores how black male student teachers in their final fourth year programme at the University of Technology conceptualise the 'in loco parentis' aspect of their professional moulding. Male student teachers in their final fourth year studies are placed for a period of six months at various schools, as part of their professional preparation. Based on this phenomenon it has become important to explore how they perceive their position as male teachers in preparation against the delegated position invested in them by common law, as well as legal positive law. The researcher used the Critical Emancipatory Research (CER) approach as a transformative and liberatory mechanism to move away from the problems that are associated with being a male teacher and the abuse of power directed at learners in their care. A critical discourse analysis (CDA) was used to analyse the narratives of ten black male student teachers through in-depth interviews that were audio-taped. The ten male student teachers were based in different secondary schools in the Lejweleputswa district.

This study highlighted the implications of the absence of well-delineated criteria for the workplace-effective mobility of employees with disabilities in South Africa for their employment, development and organisational mobility. In response to the dearth of research on workplace-effective mobility, and cognizant of the importance of well-delineated workplace criteria to oppose continuing workplace prejudice and discrimination against employees with disabilities, this two-phase sequential triangulation study aimed to identify and confirm criteria and compile a theoretical model for workplace-effective mobility of employees with disabilities. The study has significance for the achievement of greater workplace equity and redress, which will enhance the strategic human resources management and the productive image of employees with disabilities, as well as reduce welfare costs by enabling more people with disabilities to access paid employment opportunities. To attain the study objectives, the study was done in two phases. The first was a qualitative phase during which focus group interviews with participants with disabilities were conducted. The second phase involved a five-point Likert scale-based Delphi process with industrial and organisational psychologists. Focus group participants were formally employed or self-employed in various organisations and were recruited from four disability categories (people who are blind or deaf, or have a physical or speech impairment) in four provinces in South Africa (the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape). The industrial and organisational psychologists who participated in the Delphi phase were used as experts with prior experience in the employee recruitment area. The study found that workplace-effective mobility is (a) a multi-dimensional concept comprised of a positive self-concept, self-efficacy, workplace accessibility, a sense of coherence and a positive sense of independence, which form the crux of criteria for workplace-effective mobility; (b) a result of self-efficacy beliefs, enabling organisational practices and workplace accessibility; and (c) at the heart of the pursuit for workplace equity to redress prejudice and discrimination against employees with disabilities in the workplace. The participating experts also reached consensus in their understanding of the term workplace-effective mobility. Within-group differences were identified for a number of categories; and therefore it is recommended that future research should be conducted on distinct categories of disabilities. Using the identified dimensions (positive self-concept, self-efficacy, workplace accessibility, sense of coherence and a positive sense of independence) and outcomes (organisational and personal effectiveness), a theoretical model of workplace-effective mobility was compiled. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

This thesis traces the inception and evolution of a combined collaborative action research project and living theory action research project. Six academic staff members attempted to improve our practice of generating locally relevant research in a university psychology clinic. This process impacted not only on the lives of the participants, but facilitated the enactment of the three tasks of universities and so influenced the lives of the student and residential communities to whom we had a responsibility. This thesis explores two research questions that formed the first part of the study, namely: “How can we improve the functioning of Itsoseng Psychology Clinic?” and “How can we increase our research output?” The second part of the study was a self-study action research project in which I examined my attempts to improve my academic practice by inquiring into my practice of facilitating the collaborative action research project as a peer support initiative. In the form of my living theory, this thesis therefore also explored my answers to the questions: “How can I facilitate a peer support research initiative?” and “How can I improve my academic practice through facilitating such an initiative?” I take a macro-level view of the relationship between a university and surrounding communities and discuss within the South African context three discernable mandates or tasks that universities fulfil: teaching, research and community engagement. I discuss the relevance of this study to psychology and specifically university psychology clinics as potential interface between the university and the surrounding community when enacting community engagement as the third academic task. I also discuss the implications of this study to action research methodology and the concept of transformation in emancipatory research. The main argument of my living theory of my academic practice is that the formation and nurturing of a regular, supportive and critical audience in the form of peer support research meetings contributed to the transformation of resources into assets when we worked towards improving the service delivery and local relevance of a university psychology clinic. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Psychology / unrestricted

No description available.

The purpose of the research in this mini-dissertation was to explore the perceptions of teachers regarding the implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in one of the schools in Nzhelele West Circuit. The particular area was chosen because there are a number of rural, disadvantaged schools. The study further identified and clarified the possible obstacles to the implementation of CAPS. This study was exploratory and qualitative in nature, and adopted a case study research design to investigate teachers’ perceptions of the implementation of CAPS in the chosen area. The research was performed with a sample of purposively selected participants, namely the principal, one Head of Department, and four teachers. Semi-structured interviews, observation and document analyses were the methods of data collection. Document analysis was used to corroborate the data collected through observation and interviews. The findings indicated that teachers were not ready to accept and implement the new curriculum. Although the findings highlighted the differences in their knowledge regarding the introduction of CAPS, they shared the same sentiments regarding the interpretation and understanding of CAPS content and components. Furthermore, this study revealed that some encounters impeded teachers from successfully implementing the CAPS. It was clear that teachers required comprehensive orientation and further training on the subject, as well as relevant teaching and learning support material, support and frequent monitoring, proper infrastructure, and a conducive teaching and learning environment. The findings highlighted that without the mentioned challenges, it was not possible to successfully implement CAPS. Based on the findings from interviews, observations and document analysis, the study made the following recommendations: in order to ensure effective CAPS implementation, the Department of Education and curriculum designers have to consult widely and involve teachers and parents during the planning phase. In addition, teacher development has to be a priority in the process of introducing every new curriculum, and teachers need to be monitored and supported in order to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)