This case study investigates sense of place of youth amidst a background of change in postapartheid South Africa. As used in this study, sense of place refers to the attachments made to both physical and social places, and the social and cultural interactions and meanings associated with such places. The research was conducted with a group of 13 young adults at Mary Waters Senior Secondary School in Grahamstown. The literature suggests that the changes that occur in the lives of the participants at school-leaving age such as new opportunities to identify with global aspirations, tend to influence their sense of place in local contexts. Social change that occurs due to globalising forces such as access to new technologies and improved personal mobility, also influences sense of place in this context. Another integral factor is the structural influence of changing cultural and educational norms. These notions form part of the backdrop of this study. The research project was developed in response to calls for learning approaches that are situated more in local contexts and which include the youth as intrinsic participants informing environmental education approaches. This research draws attention to the significance of finding sustainable ways that enhance opportunities for agency on the part of the youth in future local and global environmental care-taking. The study took place over a period of 15 months in which time the participants undertook place-based activities in their communities around self-identified environmental concerns. The study was intentionally generative in approach as this allowed the voices of the participants and their environmental perspectives to be considered in developing methods and activities that were suitable to their particular contexts and interests. The study highlights the relevance of particular social contexts, through the perspectives of people and in this case learners, as key to environmental education enquiries. The combination of approaches that consider: a) knowledge about social context, b) the educational intervention (place-based activities) and, c) the situated social capital of the participants, all form the basis of meaningful pedagogical engagements and serve to address my research question: How is learners' sense of place developed and articulated through place-based activities, and what are the implications for environmental education amidst a contemporary landscape of change in South Africa?

No description available.

This research set out to investigate the role that community radio can potentially play as a space in which young people engage with their own role as citizens and, in so doing, participate in discussions that seek to address social problems in a community divided by class, income, gender and race. The study examines how a local community radio station - Radio Grahamstown - developed a youth programme Y4Yin which the producers of the show and its audience came together to negotiate the meaning of citizenship. The study examines whether this interactive programme was able to function as something like a public sphere where in young people were able to develop a greater sense of agency, at least in the realm of citizenship. Using evidence gathered through focus group discussions with a group of young school-going leamers, interviews conducted with the producers of the show Y4Y, and drawing on Dahlgren's elaboration of a functional public sphere, the research concludes that the show provided a useful platform for Grahamstown high school students to develop their own notions of citizenship and to, at least partially and tentatively, build some 'bridges' across the vectors of socio-economic division in the town. However, the research also concludes that the Y4Y producers often failed to use a mode of address contemporary to the youth and often did not use production techniques congruent with young people's cultural tastes. This limited the programme's appeal and its potential as an enabler of discussion about notions of citizenship and as a platform for social bridging. In addition, because of the producers' control over the choice of topics put up for discussion, open interaction was more limited than could have been expected. In addition, the study also concludes that various limitations to the leamers' freedom of expression (including their fear that teachers might be listening in to the shows) inhibited the programme's role as a deliberative public sphere where issues could be aired, common ground found, and solutions discussed.

Introduction: This project takes as its subject a particular example of ecstatic Christianity of the African Zionist type, practised by a group of urban African persons in Grahamstown, South Africa. The study is concerned specifically with the meanings of music (singing and drumming) and movement (dancing and clapping) in the context of a Church service whose overall intention is the employment of spiritual powers in the healing of sick persons.

The aim of this qualitative research study is to develop insights into the dynamics involved in work- family conflict, balance and coping strategies. The study explores the experiences of seven professional women, who are also mothers, employed in professional work positions in Grahamstown. The research is interpretive in nature as it aims to explore the conflicts experienced by the professional mothers in balancing their competing roles. The study focused on the demands that these women face and the coping strategies that these working mothers develop and use, in order to balance their career aspirations as well as their family responsibilities. It set out to explore the women’s perceptions of work- family conflict and the extent to which they experience it, further examining the compromises that the women have had to make and possible feelings of guilt or regret that they may have experienced. The findings indicated that this balance is sensitive to many facilitating and hindering factors. The participants revealed that they experience work- family conflict, and that the experience of it has largely to do with the guilt of not spending enough time with their family. Another significant finding was that the women expressed their coping strategies as being organised; forming a line between work and family life as well as employing domestic workers. The women further stated that there are constant compromises that have to be made to fit in the multiple roles, and that feelings of guilt and/or regret do set in at times.

The transformation processes occurring in the South African curriculum context has highlighted a need for improving ways of interpreting and implementing curriculum requirements, in ways that are relevant to the context of learners and their experiences. Outcomes Based Education (OBE) encourages teachers to develop learner centred and active learning approaches. In this research I explore the development of how a School Environmental Policy can contribute to active learning in the context of the National Curriculum Statement for Grades R-9 (NCS R-9). I employed a participatory action research approach in which I worked with other teachers in my school to develop a School Environmental Policy, and then implement associated lessons. In cycle 1 this research focused on the School Environmental Policy development processes. In cycle 2 the research focused on designing and implementing three Lesson Plans in Makana Public Primary School (in three phases). I used a range of data generation strategies such as observations, use of a reflective journal, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, a workshop, photographs and document analysis to generate data for the study. All participants collaboratively discussed and agreed upon the research , and the two teachers who developed the lessons with me also reflected on the process of Lesson Planning and active learning, but I was responsible for the final interpretation presented in this thesis. The research indicates that the School Environmental Policy led to the planning of active learning processes and that the School Environmental Policy and the active learn ing approach are consistent with OBE policy and philosophy. The study also indicates that the School Environmental Policy and the active learning approach strengthened the use of Learning Outcomes, but not necessarily Assessment Standards and that the active learning approach promoted enquiry in lessons. The research further indicates that the School Environmental Policy and active learning processes contributed to school improvement and work towards a healthy environment. The School Environmental Policy also encouraged educators to address school community environmental issues and build stronger links with parents. The study also led to a set of recommendations to improve the School Environmental Policy and active learning process in ways that address the NCS requirements for learning and assessment.

This study investigates Grocott’s Mail’s rape reporting through a participatory action research process. It draws on feminist cultural studies, sociology of news, and normative theories of the media to inform the research project. The participatory action research process explored three areas with the journalists at Grocott’s Mail: their understanding of the community they serve and their own professional identity as a community of practice, roles of the media in society which inform reporting, and rape as a social issue and problem. Through this process the study found that the pervasiveness of rape in the Grahamstown community, the complexities around rape reporting which include the significant legal challenges, the personal impact rape cases have on journalists, and the journalistic roles and approaches employed in rape reporting all influence how the paper covers rape. In analysing these matters the study found that the primary factor inhibiting a successful strategy for managing rape reporting was that Grocott’s Mail does not place gender-based violence on their news agenda as an issue requiring attention in order to develop the community they serve.

This study looks at language policy and practice at two Eastern Cape schools. It further explores the link between language learning and teaching. Language implementation strategies were the main focus of this study. The Language-in-education policy of the Republic of South Africa (1997) promotes the use of all nine African languages, which have been afforded the status of official languages. This study looks at the language teaching practices at two Grahamstown primary schools, where isiXhosa and Afrikaans have been used as media of instruction. Qualitative methods were used, and the study took the form of interpretive case studies. / Thuto e, e ikaelela go tshegetsa patlisiso e e ka ga gore dipuo tsa Selegae tsa Seaforika mo Aforikaborwa di tshwanelwa ke go tsewa ka maemo le mokgwa o o lekanang go ya ka Molaotheo wa Aforikaborwa. Ka jalo, e tlaa utolola,e ribilole ditsela le go batla malepa a puso ya Aforikaborwa e ka fitlhelelang setšhaba se se kwa magaeng, se bokgoni jwa kitso ya Seesimane bo leng kwa tlase mo go bona. Bothata ke gore Aforikaborwa e laolwa bogolo ke tiriso e e kwa godimo ya Seesimane mme puso e tshwanelwa ke gore e tlose dikgoreletsi tse di leng teng ga jaana tsa puo. E bowe gape e thibele go se lekalekaneng ga botshelo ka kakaretso mo loagong go go tlholwang ke go sa lekalekaneng ga kitso ya dipuo mo setšhabeng ka kakaretso. Ditshwanelo mo puong fela jaaka ditshwanelo dingwe le dingwe tsa botho, di tshwanelwa ke go sireletswa, jaaka di akareditswe mo Molaotheo o mošwa wa temokerasi wa Aforikaborwa.

There is a considerable body of literature on the challenges faced by learners who speak an African language at home but who are taught through the medium of English. Less research has focused, however, on contexts where isiXhosa-speaking learners have Afrikaans as their Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT), especially in Foundation Phase classrooms where teachers may not speak their learners’ home language. Such learners face the triple challenge of simultaneously learning a second language, learning to read in that language, and also learning new content and concepts through it. Using a multiple case study design, this investigation explores the mathematics teaching practices of Afrikaans-speaking Grade 3 teachers teaching isiXhosa-speaking learners through the medium of Afrikaans. Separate contextual profiles of the teaching practices of the participating teachers at the three schools are presented. Data were derived from school, classroom, and lesson observations (at least five complete mathematics lessons of each teacher), plus interviews with the teachers and with their school principals. By drawing on Vygotskian sociocultural theory and the interactive model of second language acquisition, this study highlighted the teaching practices of the three teachers as they mediated their learners’ mathematical conceptual development. An inductive data analysis approach was used to isolate recurring themes and patterns. Four main themes were identified: structuring of teaching and learning, facilitating of interaction, language use and implementation of mediating strategies. Analysis of the data shows that all three teachers’ language use displayed high levels of modified input, and high levels of context-embedded support. The levels of scaffolded learner talk were, however, found to be much lower than the levels of teacher talk, especially as far as academic registers were concerned. The teachers’ mediation strategies also displayed high levels of teacher-directed input which, on the whole, did not provide optimal opportunities for learners to develop independent levels of academic discourse. The study highlights the need for further research to inform teacher education and development with regard to more effective support structures to assist teachers with the sorts of challenges outlined above.

This Thesis examines the socio-political perceptions of Grahamstown, a small South African City, during the period 1946 to 1960. The ‘White English’ population of Grahamstown is the specific focus, as it formed the dominant social group during the period and consequently provided the majority of information for this work. During this period the majority of Grahamstowns ‘White English’ population thought of their City as holding many attractive features and experiences despite the slum-conditions and poverty that were rife in the Locations. During the British Royal Familie’s tour of the Union of South Africa in 1947, Grahamstown was one of the Cities visited. The loyalty that Grahamstown’s ‘White English’ citizens felt towards the Royal Family and the United Kingdom is explored in connection with the regard that ‘White English’ Grahamstown held for the 1820 Settlers. To highlight the Grahamstown City Council’s activities during this period five events are analysed: The Grahamstown Financial Crisis, The Grahamstown Housing Crisis, The Beer Hall Debate, The establishment of a Tuberculosis Hospital and the granting of Full University Status to Rhodes University College. It is shown, with regard to the politics of the period, that ‘White English’ Grahamstown, unequivocally supported the United Party and were vocally anti-Nationalist. The implementation of Apartheid policies within Grahamstown is explored, with specific focus placed upon the Group Areas Act. Finally the anti-republican sentiment espoused by ‘White English’ Grahamstown is reviewed.