Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to investigate primary school teachers’ experiences of implementing assessment policy in the Social Studies learning area. After adopting the new learner-centred schooling to replace the old teacher-centred education system in Namibian schools in 1990, the Ministry of Education made it mandatory to implement assessment policy in the schools. During the implementation of assessment policy teachers were forced to change their assessment practices from traditional testing and evaluation to continuous assessment. The study employed an interpretive research design to construct data during the exploration of the teachers’ experiences in teaching. Document analysis, lesson observations and in-depth interviews were used to collect the data. One of the main findings of the study is that teachers do not use assessment to inform their own practices, but rather only to record marks. Despite a world trend towards assessment for teaching, assessment, in this case, was only used as an instrument of teaching. It was also found that assessment policies did not take local contextual circumstances of schools and communities into consideration. As a result, of the de-contextualization of these policies, teachers are negatively positioned in the system because they have to adhere to departmental demands and policy prescriptions on the one hand while, on the other, working in contexts that are not conducive to effective teaching. Schools in such contexts therefore, need to be provided with the necessary infrastructure, guidance and support to facilitate the effective implementation of assessment policies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie was om laerskoolonderwysers se ervarings van die implementering van assesseringsbeleid in die Sosiale Studies leerarea te ondersoek. Na die goedkeuring van die nuwe leerder-gesentreerde onderrig om die ou onderwyser-gesentreerde onderwysstelsel in Namibiese skole in 1990 te vervang, het die Ministerie van Onderwys dit verpligtend gemaak om ʼn nuwe assesseringsbeleid in die skole te implementeer. Onderwysers was dus genoodsaak om hul assesseringspraktyke aan te pas vanaf tradisionele toetsing en evaluering na deurlopende assessering. Die studie het ’n interpretatiewe navorsingsontwerp gebruik om data tydens die verkenning van die onderwysers se ervarings te konstrueer. Dokument-analise, les observasies en in diepteonderhoude is gebruik om data te versamel. Die vernaamste bevindings van die studie is dat opvoeders nie assessering gebruik om hul eie praktyke te informeer nie, maar eerder net op punte op te teken. Ten spyte van ʼn teenoorgestelde wêreld-tendens, was assessering, in hierdie geval, nie aangewend vir onderrig nie, maar slegs van onderrig. Daar is ook bevind dat assesseringsbeleide nie plaaslike teenwerkende kontekstuele omstandighede van skole en gemeenskappe in ag neem nie. As gevolg van die dekontekstualisasie van hierdie beleide, word onderwysers negatief geposisioneer in die stelsel omdat hulle moet uiting gee aan departementele voorskrifte binne kontekste wat nie bevorderlik is vir effektiewe onderrig nie. Daarom moet skole in sodanige kontekste voorsien word van die nodige infrastruktuur asook leiding en ondersteuning ten einde die implementering van assesseringsbeleide meer effektief te maak.

The study seeks to identify factors affecting compliance to TB treatment and determine those that make some patients complete TB treatment in Andara district, Kavango region in Namibia. The self-efficacy model by Shortridge-Baggett and Van der Bijl (1996) was the conceptual framework which guided this study. A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive and comparative study design was used. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire administered by a registered nurse. A total of 49 respondents were interviewed: (23 compliant and 26 non-compliant). Informed consent was obtained from each respondent prior to data collection. SPSS and MS Excel were used to analyse data and describe differences between the two groups. Respondents (N=26) gave „feeling better‟ 7 (27%), „distance‟ 8 (31%), „lack of family support‟ 4 (15%), no food 2 (8%), side effects 2 (8%), other reasons 2 (8%) and medicines not working 1 (4%), as their reasons for not completing treatment. However, long waiting times at the clinic, non availability of food and lack of knowledge of TB or treatment are the significant factors contributing to non-compliance. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

In Namibia, parents are mainly responsible for the establishment of preschools in their communities. However, many preschools in rural areas are beset by problems such as poor basic infrastructure and a shortage of trained staff. In light of evidence that parent involvement in Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes is beneficial, this study includes a literature review of parent involvement in rural preschools as well as the place and role of parents in BCD provision in Namibia. A qualitative investigation of parent involvement in four rural preschools in the Kavango region was conducted. The data were analysed, discussed and synthesised. Among others it was found that preschools do not have a clear policy on parent involvement and that both parents and teachers lack knowledge on home-school partnerships. Poor socioeconomic circumstances and a lack of leadership exacerbates the problem. Based on the findings, guidelines for improving home-school relationships are proposed. / Educational Studies / M.Ed (Comparative Education)

In Namibia, parents are mainly responsible for the establishment of preschools in their communities. However, many preschools in rural areas are beset by problems such as poor basic infrastructure and a shortage of trained staff. In light of evidence that parent involvement in Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes is beneficial, this study includes a literature review of parent involvement in rural preschools as well as the place and role of parents in BCD provision in Namibia. A qualitative investigation of parent involvement in four rural preschools in the Kavango region was conducted. The data were analysed, discussed and synthesised. Among others it was found that preschools do not have a clear policy on parent involvement and that both parents and teachers lack knowledge on home-school partnerships. Poor socioeconomic circumstances and a lack of leadership exacerbates the problem. Based on the findings, guidelines for improving home-school relationships are proposed. / Educational Studies / M.Ed (Comparative Education)

HIV and AIDS still challenges the best efforts of public health and medical establishments and continues to ravage communities around the world. While measures have been put in place to preclude it from further spread, recent studies in the field of HIV and AIDS prevention intimate that for more efficacious intervention to be realized, it is critical to understand and address the social and cultural practices which influence sexual behavior, particularly understanding how issues of masculinity plays a role in the perpetuation of these behavior. Relying on Bourdieu’s theory of social practice, this study explores the inherent enduring nature of habitus and its role in the production and maintenance of masculine and sexual identities that predispose young men to HIV and AIDS. The study was conducted in Rundu Urban Constituency in Kavango Region of Namibia to gain insight into male youth’s masculinity and conceptions of risk and vulnerability to HIV and AIDS. The study design was qualitative and interpretive in nature. Data collection strategies included focus group discussions and individual interviews. Twelve male youth aged 17-20 years in two secondary schools (six in each) were selected to participate in the study. Four focus group discussions and fourteen individual interviews were conducted. Institutional ethical clearance from both regional education office and the schools were obtained before undertaking the study. Participants also signed written consent forms before interviews started. The findings of this study revealed that young men from this community were under constant pressure to conform to dominant masculine norms and values. Key in the case of youth in the study was the need to procreate as a dominant marker of one’s masculine and sexual identity because it represented a primary source of a ‘real’ man’s social identity in this community. This masculine and sexual identity seemed in itself to be constructed along paternal lines and cultural beliefs, which youth preserved by not only complying, but also reproducing. The sexual activities they reported that would secure their position as `real` men were often those that put them at risk and made them vulnerable to the epidemic.

Thesis (MScFor)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Kiaat trees in Namibia are threatened by unsustainable harvesting practice. This study’s aim was to estimate the total value of an average Kiaat tree selected for harvesting with a focus on current timber use value, value of an optimally utilised tree, carbon value, and alternative uses of Kiaat trees. To accomplish this aim, the following specific objectives were set: (1) to estimate the total tree volume and optimum utilisable timber volume of an average Kiaat tree; (2) to estimate the amount and value of carbon stored in the above-ground parts of an average Kiaat tree; (3) to determine timber utilisation levels; and (4) to identify alternative use options to reduce timber losses of Kiaat trees. Previous studies on Kiaat in Namibia and elsewhere focused on growth, development and socio-economical aspects of Kiaat trees. A combination of a socio-economic survey and tree volumes and biomass determination was used to collect data. The survey entailed Kiaat products assessment and face-to-face personal interviews with known key-informants in and around Rundu. Loggers with permits to harvest Kiaat trees were asked to harvest 40 Kiaat trees and data collected from each tree before and after felling included: lower-stem diameter, diameter at breast height (DBH), upper-stem diameter, stem length, stump height, recovered merchantable logs lengths and lower-and-upper diameters and lengths of branches greater than 10 cm in diameter. All canopy parts smaller than 10 cm in diameter were directly weighed, sampled and oven-dried at 105°C until constant weight. Volume of different tree parts was calculated and in combination with basic wood density used to calculate the biomass. It was established that a typically harvested Kiaat tree had an above-ground dry volume of 1.63 m3, of which 1.34 m3 (82%) was utilisable timber volume but that only 0.37 m3 (23%) was used and 0.97 m3 (59%) was left behind in the field. Merchantable logs were mainly cut into planks from which finished products - beds, chairs, doors and tables - were made. An average of 10.7 planks were cut per trunk and the local price of planks was N$45.26 at the time of the study. More income is generated from finished products compared to selling loose planks. Canopy parts were mainly cut into woodcrafts – bowls, music drums, and walking sticks. Current timber use value (N$484.73) surpasses carbon value (N$123.74). A further result of the study was that a significantly higher income could be earned for local livelihoods from Kiaat trees in the Kavango Region if trees were optimally used. Carbon trading is a noble conservation initiative, particularly when trees unsuitable for timber are considered. Use of timber trees exclusively for carbon trading is, however, not a viable option in respect of supporting local people’s livelihoods. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kiaatbome in Namibië word bedreig deur onvolhoubare ontginningspraktyke. Die doelwit van die studie was om die totale waarde van ‘n gemiddelde Kiaatboom, wat gekies is vir ontginning, te bepaal met die fokus op huidige houtwaarde, waarde van ‘n optimaal gebruikte boom, koolstofwaarde en alternatiewe gebruike vir Kiaatbome. Om hierdie doelwit te bereik is die volgende spesifieke sub-doelwitte gestel: (1) bepaal die totale boomvolume en optimale bruikbare houtvolume van ‘n gemiddelde Kiaatboom; (2) bepaal die hoeveelheid koolstof wat in die bogrondse dele van ‘n gemiddelde Kiaatboom gestoor word en bereken die monitêrewaarde daarvan; (3) bepaal die houtgebruiksvlakke en houtvermorsing van Kiaatbome; en (4) identifiseer alternatiewe gebruike om die vermorsing van Kiaatbome te verminder. Vorige studies oor Kiaat in Namibië en elders het gefokus op groei, ontwikkeling en sosio-ekonomiese aspekte van Kiaatbome. ‘n Kombinasie van ‘n sosio-ekonomiese opname en boomvolume en biomassa bepalings is gebruik vir die insameling van data. Die opname het ‘n Kiaat produkbepaling en gesig-tot-gesig persoonlike onderhoude met sleutel informante in en om Rundu behels. Boomkappers met permitte om kiaatbome te ontgin is gevra om 40 Kiaatbome te ontgin en data is versamel van elke boom voor en na ontginning. Die data het ingesluit: lae-stam deursnee, deursnee op borshoogte (DBH), bo-stam deursnee, stamlengte, stomphoogte, herwinde bruikbare stomplengte, bo- en onder- deursnee en lengtes van takke wat 10 cm of groter deursnee het. All kroondele 10 cm en kleiner in deursnee is geweeg en ‘n steekproef versamel wat oondroog gemaak is by 105ºC totdat konstante gewig bereik is. Die volume van verskillende boomdele is bereken en in kombinasie met houtdigtheid gebruik om biomassa te bereken. Dit is bereken dat ‘n tipiese geoeste Kiaatboom ‘n bogrondse droë volume van 1.63 m³ het, waarvan 1.34 m³ (82%) bruikbare houtvolume is. Net 0.37 m³ (23%) van die bruikbare houtvolume is egter gebruik en 0.97 m³ (59%) is agtergelaat in die veld. Bruikbare stompe is meestal opgesaag in planke waarvan finale produkte soos beddens, stoele, deure en tafels gemaak is. ‘n Gemiddeld van 10.7 planke is verkry per stomp en die plaaslike prys van planke was N$45.26 gedurende die studie tydperk. Meer inkomste is verkry van finale produkte as van die verkoop van los planke. Kroondele is meestal opgesaag in houtkunswerke soos bakke, musiekdromme en kieries. Die huidige houtwaarde van N$484.73 is meer as die koolstof waarde (N$123.74) van die bome. ‘n Belangrike resultaat van die studie is dat ‘n beduidende groter inkomste gegenereer kan word vir plaaslike lewensbestaan van Kiaatbome in die Kavangostreek as bome optimaal benut word. Koolstofhandel is ‘n edele bewaringskonsep, veral as bome ongeskik vir houtgebruik is soos in die geval van krom bome en jonger bome. Die eksklusiewe gebruik van houtbome vir koolstofhandel is nie ‘n lewensvatbare opsie om plaaslike mense se lewensbestaan te ondersteun nie.

After independence in 1990, Namibian schools were required by the new government to shift from a hierarchical organisational structure with authoritarian leadership to a more democratic type of leadership that offers teachers the opportunity to participate in school leadership and in decision-making processes. This shift is suggested in a number of national policies in Namibia that highlight the sharing of leadership within the organization and, in particular, the sharing of leadership with teachers. As such, teacher leadership is a manifestation of distributed leadership which emphasizes that leadership can be located in the position of the principal but can spread over many people who work in a school at various levels. While teacher leadership is well researched in developed countries, it is under researched in Namibia. Against this backdrop, the purpose of my study was to explore the concept and practice of teacher leadership as an organizational phenomenon in a case study school in the Ncuncuni circuit of the Kavango region in Namibia. It also examined the factors that enabled and inhibited the practice of teacher leadership. My study was conducted within a qualitative interpretive paradigm and it adopted a case study approach in one school. The study used the following instruments to collect data: a closed questionnaire, document analysis, observations and individual interviews. The primary participants were the principal and three teachers, while the entire school teaching staff constituted my secondary participants. Quantitative data was analysed manually using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analysed thematically using a model of teacher leadership (Grant, 2008). The findings of my study indicated that while the concept of teacher leadership was new to all participants, they had a common sense understanding of it. Although teachers in the study understood teacher leadership in a range of different ways, the overarching idea of the whole school was that teachers lead both in and outside the classroom. My study also found that teachers in the school practiced teacher leadership across the entire four zones. These included how teacher leadership was practiced inside the classroom and how teachers worked as leaders with colleagues and learners beyond their classroom in curricular and extra-curricular activities. It also included how teachers led outside their classroom in whole school development as well as how teachers led beyond their schools in the community. Teacher leadership was strong in the first three zones and weaker in the fourth zone, which constituted an example of 'successful teacher leadership' (Harris and Muijs, 2005). There were factors that promoted teacher leadership in the case study school such as a supportive culture and ongoing professional development. Factors that constrained the practice of teacher leadership were also evident like the SMT who used its power at times to control teachers' decisions and a lack of time also emerged as a barrier that impeded teachers from taking leadership roles because they already had full teaching programmes. Even though there were some barriers to teacher leadership, a dispersed distributed leadership context prevailed at the case study school.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The thesis examines mental illness as it is understood and treated by traditional healers in Kavango, based on ethnographic data collected over twelve (12) months in three (3) different phases from 2014 to 2016. The thesis offers ethnographic material and theoretical insight on the socio-cultural construction of three common mental disorders (CMD) which were identified and treated by traditional healers: Nyambi, Kasenge and Ndjangura. I employed the ‘cultural models’ of Dahlberg et al (2010, p. 282) as a framework to understand mental illness and its treatment by traditional healers - who deal with sick persons on a daily basis. The three common mentally related illnesses appear to be specific to the Kavango people, based on their cultural settings. I argue that these mental illness categories are not fixed or objective, but rather reflect the expertise of the Vanganga (Traditional healers) who identify them, and ultimately treat the afflicted. While traditional healers themselves assume that these local notions of mental illness are static, in reality they are not. Rather, these are active concepts constituted by culturally and socially relative categories whose precise boundaries and meanings vary and are highly contested. It was evident that the conceptualization (expression of belief patterns, thoughts and ideas) by the Vanganga (Traditional healers) of the three local mentally related illnesses differed, in the ways they perceived and treated similar conditions. The manner in which these perceived signs and symptoms informed their diagnoses differed, but also overlapped: in terms of basic assumptions that underlay explanations and treatment, and the ways in which the conditions became manifest. The thesis postulates that Traditional healers form part of the local health care system, historically unregulated. There have been calls for the recognition and regulation of traditional healers and their medicines, but to date such recognition and regulation has, if anything, been sporadic, insufficient and controversial. In response to this I provide a new way of classifying traditional healers in Kavango and propose the use of three categories: Kangangwena (assistant traditional healer), Nganga (general traditional healer) and Nkurunganga (expert traditional healer). The thesis discusses the cultural epistemology of traditional healing concerning the use of medicinal plants as treatment for mental illness. Plant knowledge and its application by traditional healers is explored, with the emphasis on the medicinal plants used to treat various mentally related illnesses. In addition, administration methods and the medicinal plants used in the treatment of mental illness are examined. I argue that medicinal plants are believed to possess powers that need to be "enticed or seduced" by healers, in order to produce a therapeutic effect on the muveri (sick person). I contend that medicinal plants are perceived to have an agentivity which is embedded in the community and people who utilize them. Thus, I intend to show that medicinal plants have power that work at different levels via ritual healing ceremonies and communication to the ancestors, as a way of "seducing" them to bring forth their therapeutic effect on the sick person. The plants in question were "seduced" inter alia by boiling, powdering, crushing and soaking, to increase their rate of reaction and generate more therapeutic power. A total of 37 medicinal plant species belonging to 24 families were reported to be used traditionally in Kavango regions in Namibia, to treat the five different categories of mental disorders. The most reported use of plants was of Albizia tanganyicensis, Ancylanthos rubiginosus, Bobgunnia madagascariensis, Dialium engleranum Diospyros virgata, Elaeodendron transvaalense and Guibourtia coleosperma. Roots and leaves were most frequently used in treatment. Remedies were prepared by boiling, while oral intake and steaming were most commonly used by healers to administer them. / National Research Foundation (NRF) and National Commission on Research Science and Technology (NCRST)

Magister Artium - MA / Namibia was under South African rule until March 1990. On 11 September 1962, the Odendaal Commission was set up by the State President of South Africa to enquire into the welfare and progress of all the inhabitants of South West Africa, particularly the African people. The Commission was required to make recommendations for the development of the various African people inside and outside their designated areas. The outcome of the Commission was the division of South West Africa into ten designated areas for the various native nations. These areas later became the homelands for the Africans in South West Africa. This thesis was concerned with examining the Kavango Legislative Council, its constitution, its powers, the role of the traditional authorities within the body, and the legislation passed by the Council. / South Africa

<p>This study focuses on socio-cultural issues, which affect Kavango women&rsquo / s decision to participate in the PMTCT programme. It investigates the treatment methods used by HIV-positive pregnant women for themselves and their unborn babies, neonatally, during pregnancy and after delivery, particularly in relation to the prevention of transmission of HIV. The thesis further investigates whether women choose alternative services such as traditional healers for medical attention during pregnancy, birth and post-natally. The research aims to establish and describe the role of local notions and practices concerning anti-retrovirals on the aforementioned programme. Ethnographic and thus qualitative research methods were used to gather and analyze data. I spent three months working as a nurse in two health facilities that offer PMTCT in Rundu, Kavango. I also held semi-structured and open-ended interviews, formal and informal discussions, formal and informal focus groups with nurses, community counselors, pregnant women, women who had recently given birth in the health care facility and traditional health care practitioners. In the case of the latter, I utilized narratives of healing to understand their perception of HIV/AIDS, their beliefs and practices as well as their healing methods. Furthermore, I employed other informal conversations outside the formal research participants. The study shows that there is a paucity of partner involvement and in some cases women have to first seek permission from their partner before enrolling into the programme. My research findings further indicate that women utilized various traditional herbal medicines for themselves and their babies as part of their cultural beliefs and practices. It was evident that some of these, such as Likuki, affect women&rsquo / s participation in and adherence to the protocols of the PMTCT programme. </p>