Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012. / The study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a group intervention program among learners of Ongoye High School in dealing with school violence. Ultimately, the study wanted to assist and encourage emotional well-being by improving the current intervention program aimed at helping leaners deal with psychological effects of violence in Ongoye High School. The sample consisted of ten (10) participants which included learners from grade eleven to twelve. The study was conducted for a period of two weeks. The results of the study were drawn from focus group discussion including the distribution of pre and post questionnaires. The results brought on additional knowledge that could be incorporated into the program and be administered at other High Schools in dealing with the issues of school violence.

Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Theology in the field of Practical Theology at the university of Zululand, 2005. / This research is an investigation into spiritual formation programmes available at different theological institutions in Kwa-Zulu Natal with the aim of finding out how spiritual formation is being intentionally or specifically pursued and whether these programmes are meeting the spiritual needs of the students. The research is based on the hypothesis that spiritual formation should have a legitimate place in theological education in spite continuing disagreements about the nature and place of spiritual formation. If it is imperative that theological graduates be people of competence and character, then spiritual formation must be as much a part of the agenda of the institution as academic competence. Curricular standards for theological education involves concern about intellectual, professional and spiritual formation. Unfortunately the current dominant structure of theological curricula tends to favour academic instruction, tolerate the practical and compartmentalize the spiritual. The average Protestant theological institute suffers from the perception that spiritual formation is not necessary. A reason for this can be traced to a belief that the church is the proper environment for spiritual formation. Cognitive instruction is thought of as the province of the curriculum, with spiritual formation happening implicitly, informally and on a personal basis. The present study contributes empirical data to the growing literature on the relationship between spiritual formation and theological education. Research was conducted at five selected theological institutions to reveal an imbalance in the nature of theological education where the focus is on the academic aspects of learning. This study shows that attempts to take spiritual formation seriously were met with resistance. The field-work revealed that only one of the selected theological institutions has an intentional spiritual formation programme. In the main, the majority of theological institutions did not have an intentional spiritual formation programme despite the fact that they feel an obligation to develop students spiritually as seen by the varied spiritual activities in place. The spiritual maturity of future Christian leaders is an important problem and needs to be addressed throughout theological training. Spiritual formation cannot be left to chance, any more than the pastoral or strictly academic components of ministry formation. This study highlighted a critical task of theological education: the responsibility to develop students holistically. While spiritual formation can and should be intentionally pursued in specific courses, it is important to see it as a crucial dimension of theological education as a whole. This study concluded with general observations about the future of theological education, especially the need for an integrated education. An approach to spiritual formation was offered for an evangelical theological institution. The findings of this study underscore a much neglected area in the training and equipping of pastors that needs immediate remedial action. The weight of the research's contribution lies in its empirical research and it is of publishable quality

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment or partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at University of Zululand, South Africa, 2004. / The present investigation had two objectives. The first aim was to examine educators' attitudes towards the inclusion of mildly mentally retarded learners into mainstream education. The second aim was to determine the extent to which educators were influenced by factors such as gender, age, teaching experience, special education qualification and teaching phase qualification. A questionnaire was administrated to all race groups of educators teaching in mainstream primary schools, located in the Umlazi District. Fifty two and a half percent (52,5%) of the educators were found to have a positive attitude towards the inclusion of mildly mentally retarded learners in mainstream classes. Forty seven and a half percent (47.5%) displayed a negative attitude towards the inclusion of mildly mentally retarded learners in mainstream classes. Results also illustrated that the variables of gender, age and years of teaching experience have no influence on educators' attitude towards the inclusion of mildly mentally retarded learners in mainstream education. However, the results did indicate that there is a relationship between educators' qualification in special education and their attitude towards the inclusion of mildly mentally retarded learners in mainstream education. Fourteen percent (14%) had special education qualification and the majority of this group had positive attitudes towards the inclusion of mildly mentally retarded learners in mainstream education. Finally with regard to the variable of teaching phase qualification, there appeared to be insufficient evidence to make a decision as to the relationship between teaching phase qualification and educators' attitude towards the inclusion of mildly mentally retarded learners in mainstream education.

A dissertation of limited scope submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the course-work Postgraduate Diploma in Recreation and Tourism in the Centre for Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, 2003. / The study was conducted in the light of the background that there is a rising concern from the government that the companies should give socio-economical benefits to the local communities. In the aspect of recreation and tourism the Department of Sports and Recreation (DSR) is expecting the reserve to give the socio-economical benefits to the local communities in a very participatory way. The reason above led to the initiatives to explore at the local reserve, which is Shongweni Resources Reserve whether it co-operates with what have been said in the white paper. For example the White Paper (1994:35) said Recreation development should be demand driven and community based. It also said communities must be empowered to participate in the planning, implementation and evaluation of recreation programmes. The people responsible for looking at that realised that there was poor relationship between the Shongweni Resources Reserve and local communities. It was from that perspective that there was a need for someone to conduct a study that would look at their relationship and the reasons and motives behind that relationship. The study had specific objectives to be explored, which are: • To determine the relationship between the local communities and the reserve. • To establish whether the communities are being involved or participate in the reserve activities. • Investigate whether there is any development initiative the reserve is offering to the local community. • Find out whether the local people are aware of the kind of socio- economic development they can get from the reserve. All these four objectives have been met because the whole study was formulated around these objectives. The study looked at the relation between local communities and the reserve and found that it is not healthy. It also looked at the communities whether they are involved or not, and found that they are very participating. The development initiatives the reserve is offering to local communities have been also explored and the findings showed that there are development initiatives the reserve is offering to the communities. The issue of whether the local people are aware of the kind of socio-economic development they can get from the reserve was also looked at, and found that the local people are not aware of the type of socio-economic development. There are also expectations that have been formulated as guidelines for the study. There were four expectations that had been formulated, and out of those four expectations half of them have been proven correctly and half of them have been proven wrong. The expectations that have been formulated are: • That there is poor relationship between the local communities and the reserve. • That the local communities are less involved in the activities of the reserve. • That there are inadequate recreation and tourism development initiatives offered to the local communities. • That the local people are not aware of the socio-economic development benefits for them in the reserve. There were different findings that were found. Most of the people considered development as medium and the community members are prepared to take the responsibilities of the development of the Shongweni Resources Reserve. They are fairly involved in the management and maintenance of the reserve. The involvement of communities in participating for the recreation activities is happening. This has happened by considering the period and the frequency of their participation, which have positive responses. The communities are also allowed to use recreation activities found in the reserve. When considering the socio-economical aspects, the reserve is giving very less economical aspects to the local communities. They are not allowed to sell their crafts and to cut wood for carving, and there are very few local employees. There are various factors that were found to be the cause of bad relationship. One of them was the communities were not clear about community benefits they should get from the reserve. The recommendations that have been surfaced are that the reserve should be transparent, socio-economical improvement, and to conduct the future study that would involve the Shongweni Resources Reserve staff to include their perspectives.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, 2000. / This research examined the role of principals in promoting teacher professionalism. The study made use of questionnaires to determine what principals do / do not do to promote and maintain teacher professionalism. On the basis of views from respondents, the study concluded that teachers in the areas studied, perceive some principals as promoting professional behaviour. The research project established that there are teachers who are unprofessional in some of the schools that were investigated. The research recommended strategies to enhance professionalism in schools.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Management and Planning) in the Department of Educational Planning & Administration University of Zululand, 1999. / The South African School Act No. 84 of 1996, the White Paper on Education and Training of 1995 and many other policy documents on Education and Training in and after 1994, proposed greater involvement of major stakeholders, in particular, the educators, in the process of decision-making in educational institutions. This opened a chapter of a major transformational shift from the apartheid and bureaucratic governance to integration and democratic system of education. In this study, a small sample of educators in the Upper South Coast area of Durban South Region in Umbumbulu district has been chosen to investigate their responses to the issue of educator involvement in decision-making in schools. The questionnaire was used as the research instrument for this study. The major findings that emerged from the survey were as follows: The educators in the Upper South Coast area of Durban South Region regard the decisions made about the management of the school as directly affecting them. They believe that they have a major role to play in the management of the school and should therefore be not limited to the classroom. They support the participation in the planning, development and general management of the school but believe that they are not being trained by the Department to meet the challenges of a new democratic system. In particular, they (educators) believe that they lack skills in managing the school because they were not adequately prepared during their teacher training and no relevant in-service programs are currently organised for such developments. As recommendations to the above major findings, educator development holistic approach should be adopted to provide educators with basic managerial skills. The Department, Universities and Colleges must work jointly in organising short-term accredited courses for educators. The Department of Education must involve educators in the planning of in-service programs for educators. In order to create a favorable climate for educator development, it must be integrated with whole school development through, for example, school focussed in-service training.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, 2005. / This study set out to investigate the prevalence of burnout among teachers. To this end, the following objectives were formulated: To (a) ascertain the incidence of burnout among teachers in KwaZulu-Natal. (b) determine the manner in which teachers manifest burnout, (c) find out whether there is any association between teachers' biographical factors and burnout. In order to investigate the aims of the study the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Educators Survey was used. This instrument was administered to a sample of 364 teachers who teach in traditionally black secondary schools in three districts of the Zululand region of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Data was analysed by means of the chi-square one-sample test and the analysis of variance (ANOVA). After the analysis and interpretation of data was done, the study came to the following conclusions: (i) teachers differ in the extent to which they experience the incidence of burnout. There is a group of teachers who experience low burnout levels, there is also a group that experience moderate burnout levels and a group that experiences high burnout levels. However, the test revealed that the majority of teachers experience low burnout levels, (ii) There is a positive relationship between the variable of the level of education and emotional exhaustion, and between the variable of gender and personal accomplishment. This means that teachers who hold a postgraduate qualification experience high emotional exhaustion compared to their counterparts who hold lower qualifications. This further means that male teachers experience high personal accomplishment levels compared to their female counterparts, (iii) Finally the study revealed that there is no relationship between teachers' biographical factors (gender, age, marital status, level of education, position at school, work experience, average number of learners in classes taught, location of school) and burnout.

The South African education system has been evolving since the country became democratic in 1994 and a number of curriculum reforms have been introduced within a short space of time. These reforms revolve around power and control and therefore, Bernstein’s concepts of classification and framing form the conceptual framework for this study. This study attempts to give a picture of what is currently happening in schools pertaining to the implementation of the grade 10 Life Sciences (LS), Business Studies (BS), and Engineering Graphics and Design (EGD) Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). The dual aim of this study was to find out educators’ understanding and interpretation of the CAPS that can be observed in their teaching practice and to establish how decisions on subject content (selection, sequencing and pacing) are made. Also of importance was to determine whether educators view and treat their subject as unique or as similar to other subjects. The study used a qualitative approach, using case study design. Observations were used as the main method for data construction. Four LS, BS and EGD educators from four different schools were observed teaching the same class for five consecutive lessons. Thereafter, these educators were interviewed. For triangulation purposes, learners and the subject advisor were participants in this thesis. For this purpose a group of ten randomly selected learners from observed classes per subject and school were requested to complete a questionnaire and the LS, BS and EGD subject advisors were interviewed. The subject advisors insisted that educators follow the CAPS so that learners would be able to write common assessment tasks at the end of each term. Although educators claimed that they were following the CAPS regarding content selection, sequencing and pacing, observations showed that educators were not following the CAPS document. The findings suggest that well coordinated interventions are required to support and monitor educators’ practice. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The South African education system has been evolving since the country became democratic in 1994 and a number of curriculum reforms have been introduced within a short space of time. These reforms revolve around power and control and therefore, Bernstein’s concepts of classification and framing form the conceptual framework for this study. This study attempts to give a picture of what is currently happening in schools pertaining to the implementation of the grade 10 Life Sciences (LS), Business Studies (BS), and Engineering Graphics and Design (EGD) Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). The dual aim of this study was to find out educators’ understanding and interpretation of the CAPS that can be observed in their teaching practice and to establish how decisions on subject content (selection, sequencing and pacing) are made. Also of importance was to determine whether educators view and treat their subject as unique or as similar to other subjects. The study used a qualitative approach, using case study design. Observations were used as the main method for data construction. Four LS, BS and EGD educators from four different schools were observed teaching the same class for five consecutive lessons. Thereafter, these educators were interviewed. For triangulation purposes, learners and the subject advisor were participants in this thesis. For this purpose a group of ten randomly selected learners from observed classes per subject and school were requested to complete a questionnaire and the LS, BS and EGD subject advisors were interviewed. The subject advisors insisted that educators follow the CAPS so that learners would be able to write common assessment tasks at the end of each term. Although educators claimed that they were following the CAPS regarding content selection, sequencing and pacing, observations showed that educators were not following the CAPS document. The findings suggest that well coordinated interventions are required to support and monitor educators’ practice. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

This is a transdisciplinary study of how ‘popular cultures of survival’ regenerate and rehumanise township residents and communities whose social fabric and intergenerational bonds have been violently torn by endemic suffering. I focus specifically on township mothers’ and daughters’ lifeworlds with the aim of recentering these marginalised lives so that they can inform us about retheorising marginality and in this way enrich our limited academic discourses on the subjectivities of poor urban African women. Located in the interdisciplinary field of popular culture studies, the study draws on and synthesises theoretical insights from a number of disciplines such as sociology, political-science, anthropology, history, literary studies, womanist and feminist studies and indigenous studies, while using a variety of methods and sources such as interviews, reports, observation, newspapers, field notes, photo-albums, academic articles and embodied expressions to create a unique theory on the lived and embodied suffering and healing experiences of township women. I have called this situated conceptual framework that is theoretically aligned to African womanism and existential phenomenology, but principally fashioned out of township mothers and daughters ways of understanding the world and their place in it--Township mothers’ and daughters’ lived and embodied ‘cultures of survival’. And in order to surface their popular cultural survival strategies I have adopted an African womanist interpretative phenomenological methodological framework. This suggested conceptual and methodological framework has allowed me to creatively explore the dialectical tensions of the everyday township philosophies, aesthetics and moralities of ‘ukuphanta’, to hustle and ‘ukuhlonipha’, to respect, and show how they create the moral-existential ground for township mothers and daughters not only to continue to survive, but to reclaim lives of dignity and sensuality amidst repeated negation and historical hardships. / Sociology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)