Thesis (MEd) -- Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explored the views of thirteen youth at Victoria High School about what they
regarded as achievement and how this influenced their lives and what they thought about their
futures. The starting premise of the study was that all learners think about achievement. The
goal of the study was thus to show how different learners connect this understanding of
achievement with their respective aspirations and the kinds of social and schooling worlds
they inhabit.
The key contribution of the study is the ways it links the social, cultural, and economic worlds
of each of the thirteen learners to what they say about what they do and what they want to do,
who they are and who they want to be, and what they think they do and what they think they
want to do. The study shows that the life-worlds of each of the learners are significantly
different yet the ways they go about making sense of that world are fairly similar. In that
regard it is shown that the school, and what learners, parents and educators think it is and
does, plays a crucial role in the sense-making process. As Berkhout (2008) notes, the different
contexts that shape the lives of individuals are not simply external forces but rather are
integral parts of their identity-making process.
The study used the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Arjun Appadurai to bring together a
framework by which to understand what learners said about their worlds and their aspirations,
as well to develop a narrative that showed the rich and complex ways in which learners
engaged with their realities.
The study followed an interpretive qualitative approach to explore the issue of achievement
and based its arguments on interviews conducted with thirteen youth between the ages of
fifteen and seventeen years old. In this regard, a key finding was that learners approached the
notion of achievement in developmental, cumulative, and progressive ways.
These views included wanting to be popular, gaining new knowledge, preparing for future
material acquisition, developing skills to lead decent lives, acquiring happiness, developing
the ability to overcome their challenges and circumstances, and gaining skills and recognition
that set up their futures. Five staff members at Victoria High school were also interviewed for
their views of the schooling context and the kinds of cultures and legacies that framed their
practice. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die tesis is gefokus op die denke van dertien studente van Victoria Hoërskool aangaande die
nosie van prestasie, en hoe hierdie denke hul lewens beïnvloed sowel as wat hulle dink van
hul toekoms. Die vertrekpunt van die verbande studie was dat alle leerders oor prestasie dink.
Die doel van die tesis (daaruitvoortspruitend) was dus om aan te toon hoe verskillende
leerders ʼn verband aanlê tussen hul beskouing van prestasie, hul aspirasies en die
maatskaplike- en skoolwêrelde wat hul beleef.
Die kern bydrae van die tesis is die verbande wat gemaak is in die verbande studie tussen die
sosiale, kulturele en ekonomiese wêrelde van elkeen van die dertien leerders ten opsigte van
hul beskouing aangaande wat hulle doen en wil doen, wat hulle is en wil wees, en wat hulle
dink hulle doen en wil doen. Die tesis toon aan dat die leefwêreld van elk van die leerders
merkbaar verskillend is, maar dat die wyse waarop hulle betekenis gee aan hul leefwêreld tog
redelik ooreenstem. In hierdie verband is dit getoon dat die skool, en wat leerders, ouers en
onderwysers daaromtrent dink, ʼn kardinale rol speel in hul betekenisvormingsproses.
Berkhout (2008) voer in hierdie verband aan dat die verskillende kontekste wat die lewens
van individue vorm nie slegs eksterne magte is nie, maar eerder integrale dele van hul
identiteitsvormings proses is.
Die studie maak gebruik van die werk van Pierre Bourdieu en Arjun Appadurai om ʼn
raamwerk te ontwikkel om leerders se beskouinge van hul wêrelde en aspirasies te verstaan,
sowel as om ‘n narratief te ontwikkel wat die ryk en komplekse wyses waarop leerders met
hul realiteite omgaan, aan te toon.
Die tesis, en verbande studie, het ʼn interpretatiewe, kwalitatiewe benadering gevolg om die
idee van prestasie te verken en het die tesis argumente baser op onderhoude met dertien
leerders tussen vyftien tot sewentienjaar oud. ʼn Kernbevinding in hierdie verband was dat
leerders die idée van prestasie op ontwikkelings-, kumulatiewe- en progressiewe wyses
benader. Beskouinge van leerders in die verband sluit onder andere in, die behoefte om
populêr te wees, die verkryging van nuwe kennis, voorbereiding om materiële goedere in die
toekoms te bekom, die ontwikkeling van vaardighede noodsaaklik vir ʼn ordentlike lewe, die
strewe na geluk, die ontwikkeling van die vermoë om hul uitdagings en omstandighede te
oorkom, en die ontwikkeling vaardighede en erkenning noodsaaklik vir hul toekoms.
Onderhoude is ook gevoer met vyf personeellede van Victoria hoërskool om hul beskouinge
ten opsigte van die skoolkonteks en die soort kulture en erfenisse wat hul praktyk informeer te
bepaal.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/20271 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Matope, Jasmine |
| Contributors | Azeem Badroodien, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Education Policy Studies. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ix, 134 p. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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