Floor crossing was an unknown phenomenon in Malawi until the re-emergence of multiparty politics in 1994. Since then the number of MPs crossing the floor in the Malawi National Assembly has steadily increased from around twelve in 1994 to more than sixty in 2005. This practice has continued even today. However, the biggest incident of floor crossing took place in 2005 when the State President, Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, under the United Democratic Front (UDF) decided to abandon the party that sponsored him into office to form his own, the Democratic Progressive Party in February, 2005. Following him were several opposition MPs, a move which sparked a lot of tension in the National Assembly. The purpose of this study was to investigate political factors contributing to this phenomenon, and it was established that, among other factors, institutional weaknesses of political parties and gaps in the Constitution contributed significantly to floor crossing. / Political Science / M.A. (African Politics)

Floor crossing was an unknown phenomenon in Malawi until the re-emergence of multiparty politics in 1994. Since then the number of MPs crossing the floor in the Malawi National Assembly has steadily increased from around twelve in 1994 to more than sixty in 2005. This practice has continued even today. However, the biggest incident of floor crossing took place in 2005 when the State President, Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, under the United Democratic Front (UDF) decided to abandon the party that sponsored him into office to form his own, the Democratic Progressive Party in February, 2005. Following him were several opposition MPs, a move which sparked a lot of tension in the National Assembly. The purpose of this study was to investigate political factors contributing to this phenomenon, and it was established that, among other factors, institutional weaknesses of political parties and gaps in the Constitution contributed significantly to floor crossing. / Political Science / M.A. (African Politics)

This study was aimed at finding reasons for nonparticipation in sport by black learners at secondary school level. It was carried out with a group of grade 9 to 12 learners who do not participate in sport at secondary schools in black townships. A nonparticipation in sport at secondary school level questionnaire was developed to measure the most important reasons for nonparticipation. Among the reasons learners cited were lack of sport facilities, political factors, social factors and factors related to self-image. Social circumstances were found to be intimately linked and overlapping with political circumstances. For learners coming from impoverished backgrounds, sport comes a very poor second. Based on the results of the study, a number of recommendations were made for education managers and sport administrators. Contributions of the study were highlighted and suggestions for further research made. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

Research has it that students in institutions of higher learning the world over evidence stifled critical thinking dispositions in their studies. Some researchers in countries like the United States of America have come up with findings about critical thinking dispositions peculiar to their contexts and hence not universally applicable. Factors that stifle critical thinking dispositions of students in Zimbabwean institutions of higher learning had not been studied per se. This research focuses on factors that stifle critical thinking dispositions of third year students at Morgenster Teachers’ College in Zimbabwe. Both the qualitative and the quantitative research approaches were employed in this research. Focus group interviews and questionnaires were used to generate data. Third year students at Morgenster Teachers’ College were studied. The research findings reveal that the factors that stifle critical thinking dispositions in the students are individualistic, structuralistic, socio-cultural and political. In this study, it is recommended that the lecturers can alleviate the effects of the factors that stifle critical thinking dispositions by exposing students to critical thinking situations. / Educational Studies / M. Ed.(Philosophy of Education)

The purpose of this investigation was to determine sociopoli tical factors related to students' attitude towards school. A questionnaire was compiled based on the literature study and was completed by 306 students doing standards eight, nine and ten at a secondary school in Benoni. Five socio-political factors were identified, namely: school experience, extrinsic motivation, pedagogical deprivation, political socialisation and school administration. The empirical study revealed: * A positive attitude towards school by the research group. * Significant correlations between attitude towards school and the five independent variables. * No significant difference in attitude towards school of: boys and girls, standard eight, nine and ten students and students staying with parents or with guardians. * The maximum variance in attitude towards school explained by a combination of variables is 43.2%. Recommendations are made for the enrichment of the family and school environments and areas of possible future research postulated. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

In the beginning of the 1990s the responsibility for the schools shifted from the government to the local authorities. This started an era with a freedom of choice for students where they themselves could choose which school to go to. The new system also opened up the possibility for independent private schools to exist side by side with local authority held schools. The overall aim of this study is to determine the factors that affect the location of these independent schools and the geographical pattern these independent schools create. The study in this paper is based on materials from statistics and interviews. The statistics is from SCB (Statistics Sweden), Skolverket (a government agency that work for the Ministry of Education) and Skolinspektionen (a government agency that supervises that schools follow laws and regulations) and the interviews are with principals and owners of independent schools and representatives from Skolverket, Skolinspektionen and Friskolornas riksförbund (The national association for independent schools). Since the 1990s the independent schools have become nearly as many as the local authority held schools, but are concentrated to 41 percent of Sweden’s municipalities. When comparing this to the local authority held schools that are in 96 percent of Sweden’s municipalities means that the independent schools are in high numbers in a few municipalities. The study shows a geographical pattern of independent schools mainly in large cities. In this paper I examine if the concentration of independent schools in a small part of Sweden’s municipalities is due to political reasons or economical reasons. In conclusion the study indicates that economical factors is the main reasons for their geographical location. The main reasons for locating in urban areas are based on the number of students, diversity, opportunity, and the closeness to universities but also the closeness to entertainment as cafés.

This study was aimed at finding reasons for nonparticipation in sport by black learners at secondary school level. It was carried out with a group of grade 9 to 12 learners who do not participate in sport at secondary schools in black townships. A nonparticipation in sport at secondary school level questionnaire was developed to measure the most important reasons for nonparticipation. Among the reasons learners cited were lack of sport facilities, political factors, social factors and factors related to self-image. Social circumstances were found to be intimately linked and overlapping with political circumstances. For learners coming from impoverished backgrounds, sport comes a very poor second. Based on the results of the study, a number of recommendations were made for education managers and sport administrators. Contributions of the study were highlighted and suggestions for further research made. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

Research has it that students in institutions of higher learning the world over evidence stifled critical thinking dispositions in their studies. Some researchers in countries like the United States of America have come up with findings about critical thinking dispositions peculiar to their contexts and hence not universally applicable. Factors that stifle critical thinking dispositions of students in Zimbabwean institutions of higher learning had not been studied per se. This research focuses on factors that stifle critical thinking dispositions of third year students at Morgenster Teachers’ College in Zimbabwe. Both the qualitative and the quantitative research approaches were employed in this research. Focus group interviews and questionnaires were used to generate data. Third year students at Morgenster Teachers’ College were studied. The research findings reveal that the factors that stifle critical thinking dispositions in the students are individualistic, structuralistic, socio-cultural and political. In this study, it is recommended that the lecturers can alleviate the effects of the factors that stifle critical thinking dispositions by exposing students to critical thinking situations. / Educational Studies / M. Ed.(Philosophy of Education)

The purpose of this investigation was to determine sociopoli tical factors related to students' attitude towards school. A questionnaire was compiled based on the literature study and was completed by 306 students doing standards eight, nine and ten at a secondary school in Benoni. Five socio-political factors were identified, namely: school experience, extrinsic motivation, pedagogical deprivation, political socialisation and school administration. The empirical study revealed: * A positive attitude towards school by the research group. * Significant correlations between attitude towards school and the five independent variables. * No significant difference in attitude towards school of: boys and girls, standard eight, nine and ten students and students staying with parents or with guardians. * The maximum variance in attitude towards school explained by a combination of variables is 43.2%. Recommendations are made for the enrichment of the family and school environments and areas of possible future research postulated. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Understanding the sexual behaviour patterns that can place the adolescent at risk for the development of sexually transmitted diseases is crucial in the HIV I AIDS epidemic era. An explorative descriptive survey was conducted among adolescents in the age group 14 to 19 years attending sexually transmitted disease services in the Vaal Region clinics. The purpose of the study was to explore the sexual behaviours of the adolescents and the impact the life style health education programme had on their sexual practices. Of the 89 respondents who attended the sexually transmitted disease clinic more than half were found to be engaging in sexual intercourse on a weekly basis. The study further revealed that the adolescents lacked in-depth information on sex and sexuality and expressed the need for change in the implementation of the adolescent life style health education programme. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)