Changing words and worlds?: a phenomenological study of the acquisition of an academic literacy
- Authors: Thomson, Carol Irene
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Education -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa College student development programs -- South Africa Literacy -- South Africa Education, Higher -- Philosophy Educational change -- South Africa Phenomenology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1446 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003327
- Description: This study is contextualised within the field of post-graduate, continuing teacher education, and the vibrant and demanding policy context that has characterised higher education in post-apartheid South Africa. Situated within a module specifically designed to address what is commonly understood to be the academic literacy development needs of students in the Bachelor of Education Honours programme at the former University of Natal, it aims to unveil the lived experiences of students taking this module. The module, Reading and Writing Academic Texts (RWAT), was developed in direct response to academics’ call that something be done about the ‘problem’ of students’ reading and writing proficiency. As a core, compulsory module, RWAT was informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics and drew on Genre Theory for its conceptual and theoretical framework. It foregrounded the genre of the academic argument as the key academic literacy that was taught. The motivation for this study came from my own increasing concern that the theoretical and conceptual framework we had adopted for the module was emerging as an inherently limiting and formulaic model of literacy, and was resulting in students exiting the module with little or no ‘critical’ perspective on any aspect of literacy as social practice. I was also keen, in a climate of increasing de-personalisation and the massification of education, to reinstate the personal. Thus, I chose to focus on individual lives, and through an exploration of a small group of participants’ ‘lived’ experiences of the RWAT module, ascertain what it is like to acquire an academic literacy. The key research question is, therefore: What is it like to acquire an academic literacy? The secondary research question is: How is this experience influenced by the mode of delivery in which it occurs? For its conceptual and theoretical framing, this study draws on social literacy theory and phenomenology, the latter as both a philosophy and a methodology. However, although the study has drawn significantly on the phenomenological tradition for inspiration and direction, it has not done so uncritically. Thus, the study engages with phenomenology-as-philosophy in great depth before turning to phenomenology-as-methodology, in order to arrive at a point where the methods and procedures applied in it, are justified. The main findings of the study suggest that, despite the RWAT module espousing an ideological model (Street, 1984) of literacy in its learning materials and readings, participants came very much closer to experiencing an autonomous model of literacy (Street, 1984). The data shows that the RWAT module was largely inadequate to the task of inducting participants into the ‘situated practices’ and ‘situated meanings’ of the Discourse of Genre Theory and/or the academy, hence the many ‘lived’ difficulties participants experienced. The data also highlights the ease with which an autonomous model of literacy can come to govern practice and student experience even when curriculum intention is underpinned by an ideological position on literacy as social practice. Finally, the study suggests that the research community in South Africa, characterised as it is by such diversity, would be enriched by more studies derived from phenomenology, and a continuing engagement with phenomenology-as-a-movement in order to both challenge and expand its existing framework.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Thomson, Carol Irene
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Education -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa College student development programs -- South Africa Literacy -- South Africa Education, Higher -- Philosophy Educational change -- South Africa Phenomenology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1446 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003327
- Description: This study is contextualised within the field of post-graduate, continuing teacher education, and the vibrant and demanding policy context that has characterised higher education in post-apartheid South Africa. Situated within a module specifically designed to address what is commonly understood to be the academic literacy development needs of students in the Bachelor of Education Honours programme at the former University of Natal, it aims to unveil the lived experiences of students taking this module. The module, Reading and Writing Academic Texts (RWAT), was developed in direct response to academics’ call that something be done about the ‘problem’ of students’ reading and writing proficiency. As a core, compulsory module, RWAT was informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics and drew on Genre Theory for its conceptual and theoretical framework. It foregrounded the genre of the academic argument as the key academic literacy that was taught. The motivation for this study came from my own increasing concern that the theoretical and conceptual framework we had adopted for the module was emerging as an inherently limiting and formulaic model of literacy, and was resulting in students exiting the module with little or no ‘critical’ perspective on any aspect of literacy as social practice. I was also keen, in a climate of increasing de-personalisation and the massification of education, to reinstate the personal. Thus, I chose to focus on individual lives, and through an exploration of a small group of participants’ ‘lived’ experiences of the RWAT module, ascertain what it is like to acquire an academic literacy. The key research question is, therefore: What is it like to acquire an academic literacy? The secondary research question is: How is this experience influenced by the mode of delivery in which it occurs? For its conceptual and theoretical framing, this study draws on social literacy theory and phenomenology, the latter as both a philosophy and a methodology. However, although the study has drawn significantly on the phenomenological tradition for inspiration and direction, it has not done so uncritically. Thus, the study engages with phenomenology-as-philosophy in great depth before turning to phenomenology-as-methodology, in order to arrive at a point where the methods and procedures applied in it, are justified. The main findings of the study suggest that, despite the RWAT module espousing an ideological model (Street, 1984) of literacy in its learning materials and readings, participants came very much closer to experiencing an autonomous model of literacy (Street, 1984). The data shows that the RWAT module was largely inadequate to the task of inducting participants into the ‘situated practices’ and ‘situated meanings’ of the Discourse of Genre Theory and/or the academy, hence the many ‘lived’ difficulties participants experienced. The data also highlights the ease with which an autonomous model of literacy can come to govern practice and student experience even when curriculum intention is underpinned by an ideological position on literacy as social practice. Finally, the study suggests that the research community in South Africa, characterised as it is by such diversity, would be enriched by more studies derived from phenomenology, and a continuing engagement with phenomenology-as-a-movement in order to both challenge and expand its existing framework.
- Full Text:
The role of discourse in the constitution of radiographic knowledge: a critical realist account
- Authors: Wright, Jennifer Lynne
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa Language and education Discourse analysis Radiography -- Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1320 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003953
- Description: The ways in which knowledge is constituted in Higher Education in South Africa today needs to take into account the historical diversity of learners’ academic and literacy competencies. The thesis begins by considering the ways in which, historically, many learners in Higher Education have been under prepared for the challenges of studying complex disciplines through the medium of English, which is often their second or third additional language. It also considers the sometimes inappropriate response of Higher Education to the plight of these learners and the present and potential role of language specialists working in collaboration with disciplinary specialists to support these learners. In this ethnographic research, I use an ontological metatheory, critical realism, as my analytical lens. Critical realism is an appropriate analytical lens for exploring and gaining insight into the possible causal mechanisms that generate the stratified and often inscrutable nature of social reality, including the role of language and discourse in education. I employ a case study design to explore the role of discourse in lecturers and clinical radiographers’ constitution of the knowledge of entry level Radiography learners at the Groote Schuur campus of Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Taking discourse as my unit of analysis, I develop a model of knowledge constitution based on a Hallidayan framework (1978). This model comprises two contexts of culture (Higher Education and Health Care) within which are embedded two contexts of situation (the university classroom and a clinical radiography workplace). In these contexts, I focus on how lecturers and clinical radiographers constitute radiographic knowledge through the field, tenor and mode of their discourse. My research sheds light on learners’ construal of various aspects of this process of knowledge constitution, and I consider implications for Radiography teaching and learning. I conclude that, because of the dual contexts in which the learners’ knowledge is constituted, literacy requirements in the two contexts are quite different. For this reason, learners may often be unmotivated to enhance their literacies, particularly in reading and writing; yet, in the interests of the future growth of the profession, the latter will be required of them as practitioners who conduct research and publish. I argue that the real empowerment of Radiography learners thus lies in their lecturers’ agency: there is a need for them to implement certain practices that will shape the learners’ identity, not only as clinical practitioners, but as researchers and writers. In doing this, they will ensure that the learners’ potential is realised and they have the capacity to make meaningful contributions to the growth of the future radiography profession.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Wright, Jennifer Lynne
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa Language and education Discourse analysis Radiography -- Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1320 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003953
- Description: The ways in which knowledge is constituted in Higher Education in South Africa today needs to take into account the historical diversity of learners’ academic and literacy competencies. The thesis begins by considering the ways in which, historically, many learners in Higher Education have been under prepared for the challenges of studying complex disciplines through the medium of English, which is often their second or third additional language. It also considers the sometimes inappropriate response of Higher Education to the plight of these learners and the present and potential role of language specialists working in collaboration with disciplinary specialists to support these learners. In this ethnographic research, I use an ontological metatheory, critical realism, as my analytical lens. Critical realism is an appropriate analytical lens for exploring and gaining insight into the possible causal mechanisms that generate the stratified and often inscrutable nature of social reality, including the role of language and discourse in education. I employ a case study design to explore the role of discourse in lecturers and clinical radiographers’ constitution of the knowledge of entry level Radiography learners at the Groote Schuur campus of Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Taking discourse as my unit of analysis, I develop a model of knowledge constitution based on a Hallidayan framework (1978). This model comprises two contexts of culture (Higher Education and Health Care) within which are embedded two contexts of situation (the university classroom and a clinical radiography workplace). In these contexts, I focus on how lecturers and clinical radiographers constitute radiographic knowledge through the field, tenor and mode of their discourse. My research sheds light on learners’ construal of various aspects of this process of knowledge constitution, and I consider implications for Radiography teaching and learning. I conclude that, because of the dual contexts in which the learners’ knowledge is constituted, literacy requirements in the two contexts are quite different. For this reason, learners may often be unmotivated to enhance their literacies, particularly in reading and writing; yet, in the interests of the future growth of the profession, the latter will be required of them as practitioners who conduct research and publish. I argue that the real empowerment of Radiography learners thus lies in their lecturers’ agency: there is a need for them to implement certain practices that will shape the learners’ identity, not only as clinical practitioners, but as researchers and writers. In doing this, they will ensure that the learners’ potential is realised and they have the capacity to make meaningful contributions to the growth of the future radiography profession.
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A critical ethnographic study of report writing as a literacy practice by automotive engineers
- Authors: Harran, Marcelle
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: English language -- Written English -- South Africa Written communication -- South Africa Literacy -- Social aspects -- South Africa Engineers -- Language -- South Africa Communication in engineering -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1476 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003357
- Description: This study describes the social practices involved in the situated activity of report writing in an engineering automotive discourse community in South Africa. In particular, the study focuses on the subjectivity of predominantly English Second Language (ESL) engineers writing reports by determining what literacy means to them and what meanings they give to dominant literacy practices in report writing, especially feedback in text production. In the South African engineering workplace, because of the diversity and complexity of language and identity issues, the appropriation of the required literacy skills tends to be multifaceted. This context is made more complex as English is the business language upon which engineering is based with engineering competence often related to English proficiency. Therefore, the study is located within the understanding that literacy is always situated within specific discoursal practices whose ideologies, beliefs, power relations, values and identities are manifested rhetorically. The basis for this critical theory of literacy is the assertion that literacy is a social practice which involves not only observable units of behaviour but values, attitudes, feelings and social relationships. As the institution’s socio-cultural context in the form of embedded historical and institutional forces impact on writer identity and writing practices or ways of doing report writing, notions of writing as a transparent and autonomous system are also challenged. As critical ethnography is concerned with multiple perspectives, it was selected as the preferred methodology and critical realism to derive definitions of truth and validity. Critical ethnography explores cultural orientations of local practice contexts and incorporates multiple understandings providing a holistic understanding of the complexity of writing practices. As human experience can only be known under particular descriptions, usually in terms of available discourses such as language, writing and rhetoric, the dominant practices emerging in response to the report acceptance event are explored, especially that of supervisor feedback practices as they causally impact on report-writing practices during the practice of report acceptance. Although critical realism does not necessarily demonstrate successful causal explanations, it does look for substantial relations within wider contexts to illuminate part-whole relationships. Therefore, an attempt is made to find representativeness or fit with situated engineering literacy practices and wider and changing literacy contexts, especially the impact of Higher Education and world Englishes as well as the expanding influence of technological and digital systems on report-writing practices.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Harran, Marcelle
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: English language -- Written English -- South Africa Written communication -- South Africa Literacy -- Social aspects -- South Africa Engineers -- Language -- South Africa Communication in engineering -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1476 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003357
- Description: This study describes the social practices involved in the situated activity of report writing in an engineering automotive discourse community in South Africa. In particular, the study focuses on the subjectivity of predominantly English Second Language (ESL) engineers writing reports by determining what literacy means to them and what meanings they give to dominant literacy practices in report writing, especially feedback in text production. In the South African engineering workplace, because of the diversity and complexity of language and identity issues, the appropriation of the required literacy skills tends to be multifaceted. This context is made more complex as English is the business language upon which engineering is based with engineering competence often related to English proficiency. Therefore, the study is located within the understanding that literacy is always situated within specific discoursal practices whose ideologies, beliefs, power relations, values and identities are manifested rhetorically. The basis for this critical theory of literacy is the assertion that literacy is a social practice which involves not only observable units of behaviour but values, attitudes, feelings and social relationships. As the institution’s socio-cultural context in the form of embedded historical and institutional forces impact on writer identity and writing practices or ways of doing report writing, notions of writing as a transparent and autonomous system are also challenged. As critical ethnography is concerned with multiple perspectives, it was selected as the preferred methodology and critical realism to derive definitions of truth and validity. Critical ethnography explores cultural orientations of local practice contexts and incorporates multiple understandings providing a holistic understanding of the complexity of writing practices. As human experience can only be known under particular descriptions, usually in terms of available discourses such as language, writing and rhetoric, the dominant practices emerging in response to the report acceptance event are explored, especially that of supervisor feedback practices as they causally impact on report-writing practices during the practice of report acceptance. Although critical realism does not necessarily demonstrate successful causal explanations, it does look for substantial relations within wider contexts to illuminate part-whole relationships. Therefore, an attempt is made to find representativeness or fit with situated engineering literacy practices and wider and changing literacy contexts, especially the impact of Higher Education and world Englishes as well as the expanding influence of technological and digital systems on report-writing practices.
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A social realist account of the emergence of a formal academic staff development programme at a South African university
- Authors: Quinn, Lynn
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa Education, Higher -- South Africa Graduate students -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa -- Graduate work
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1321 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003954
- Description: Using social realist theory and particularly the morphogenetic/morphostatic methodology advocated by Margaret Archer, this study offers a critical examination of the emergence of a formal academic staff development programme at a small South African university (SSAU). Archer’s morphogenetic approach enabled an investigation of the interface between culture, structure and agency (at macro, mezo and micro levels) in order to theorize about the material, ideational and agential conditions that obtained and which in turn enabled the emergence of the Postgraduate Diploma of Higher Education (PGDHE) at the SSAU. The study therefore advances concrete propositions about the cultural, structural and agential conditions for transformation which existed at a particular time in the history of higher education (and the subfield of educational development) which enabled the introduction of the PGDHE. Analysis of the data suggests that what occurred at SSAU was a disruption of the morphostatic synchrony between structure and culture brought about by new discourses and structures emanating from the broader international and national higher education context. In particular, it seems that attempts at reconciling the constraining contradictions between the discourses and structures related to quality assurance on the one hand and educational development on the other resulted in a conjunction between transformation at the levels of both the cultural system and social structure. This conjunction, along with the actions of key Institutional agents and the morphogenesis of the staff of the Educational Development Unit, created sufficiently enabling conditions in the Institution for the introduction of the PGDHE. The research adds to knowledge through insights into the contribution that the ideas, beliefs, values, ideologies and theories about higher education broadly and about educational development specifically make to enabling or constraining conditions for the professionalization of academic staff in higher education institutions. It uncovers how relevant structures at the international, national and institutional levels can shape the practice of educational development and specifically staff development. It has generated insights into how the relevant people and the positions they hold can impact on staff development practices. In summary, the research could contribute towards emancipatory knowledge which could be used by SSAU and educational development practitioners elsewhere to inform future planning and decision making in relation to educational development and more specifically staff development practices in their contexts.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Quinn, Lynn
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa Education, Higher -- South Africa Graduate students -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa -- Graduate work
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1321 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003954
- Description: Using social realist theory and particularly the morphogenetic/morphostatic methodology advocated by Margaret Archer, this study offers a critical examination of the emergence of a formal academic staff development programme at a small South African university (SSAU). Archer’s morphogenetic approach enabled an investigation of the interface between culture, structure and agency (at macro, mezo and micro levels) in order to theorize about the material, ideational and agential conditions that obtained and which in turn enabled the emergence of the Postgraduate Diploma of Higher Education (PGDHE) at the SSAU. The study therefore advances concrete propositions about the cultural, structural and agential conditions for transformation which existed at a particular time in the history of higher education (and the subfield of educational development) which enabled the introduction of the PGDHE. Analysis of the data suggests that what occurred at SSAU was a disruption of the morphostatic synchrony between structure and culture brought about by new discourses and structures emanating from the broader international and national higher education context. In particular, it seems that attempts at reconciling the constraining contradictions between the discourses and structures related to quality assurance on the one hand and educational development on the other resulted in a conjunction between transformation at the levels of both the cultural system and social structure. This conjunction, along with the actions of key Institutional agents and the morphogenesis of the staff of the Educational Development Unit, created sufficiently enabling conditions in the Institution for the introduction of the PGDHE. The research adds to knowledge through insights into the contribution that the ideas, beliefs, values, ideologies and theories about higher education broadly and about educational development specifically make to enabling or constraining conditions for the professionalization of academic staff in higher education institutions. It uncovers how relevant structures at the international, national and institutional levels can shape the practice of educational development and specifically staff development. It has generated insights into how the relevant people and the positions they hold can impact on staff development practices. In summary, the research could contribute towards emancipatory knowledge which could be used by SSAU and educational development practitioners elsewhere to inform future planning and decision making in relation to educational development and more specifically staff development practices in their contexts.
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Academic literacy right from the start?: a critical realist study of the way university literacy is constructed at a Gulf university
- Authors: Picard, Michelle Yvette
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Gulf University Education, Higher -- Persian Gulf Literacy -- Persian Gulf Academic writing -- Study and teaching -- Persian Gulf English language -- Study and teaching -- Persian Gulf
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1323 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004121
- Description: The aim of this research was to examine how university literacy is constructed at a university in the Arabian Gulf and to evaluate the appropriateness of this construction where students of a low level of English are exposed to academic English (Right from the Start). Unpacking this construction is a complex task and to gain even a limited insight into the numerous Discourses, epistemologies and pedagogies constituting the construction of university literacy at Gulf universities, a stratified approach that probes the layers of ‘reality’ is necessary. Therefore, a critical realist approach is engaged, along with a variety of methods to probe the layers of the phenomenon. In terms of thesis organization, the traditional empirical structure common to the Social Sciences and the argumentative structure common to the Humanities are integrated. While the information obtained by a variety of methods is analysed and conclusions are reached, this material is also used along with additional literature to support the central contention that university literacy and academic English are possible ‘right from the start’, if the students’ literacy is examined from a certain perspective and if there is an appropriate pedagogy which promotes the desired literacies. This combination of thesis structures would be deemed appropriate in the critical realist ontological framework since the rigour of the thesis lies both in its “reliability” resulting from the empirical data and its focus on the ‘real’; and its “reflexivity” and “persuasivness” arising from the transparently ‘critical’ argument of the thesis (Cadman 2002). In order to conduct the empirical research, the lenses suggested by each of the major views of literacy as outlined by Lea and Street (1998) - namely the “study skills” view, the narrow “academic socialization view” and the “academic literacies view” are utilized in succession. However, the central argument is revealed as the manifestations of each ‘view’ of literacy in the specific context are examined, the research outcomes obtained by utilizing each view in succession are outlined and both are critiqued from the perspective of the “academic literacies” view. Corpus research is undertaken from a “study skills” perspective and the effect of the vocabulary taught to the students on their use of vocabulary in their writing is examined. Also, using the “study skills” lens, the students’ “global language development” in terms of changes or fluctuations in “fluency, accuracy and complexity” (Wolfe-Quintero, Inagaki et al. 1998) over a period of at least three semesters is examined. Utilizing a narrow “academic socialization lens”, studies conducted at the University on learning strategies and motivation and the comments made by respondents in interviews and on an electronic discussion board are compared to comments made by teachers and lecturers. Major flaws in these views of academic literacy are acknowledged and the way each view manifests itself in the Discourse(s) prevalent at this particular university is demonstrated. Finally, Discourses evidenced in the student interviews in particular, are unpacked and then compared and contrasted with those in the lecturer interviews as well as the curriculum and other university documents. The limitations of the study are examined and suggestions for further research and ways to address ‘problems’ associated with university literacy are given.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Picard, Michelle Yvette
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Gulf University Education, Higher -- Persian Gulf Literacy -- Persian Gulf Academic writing -- Study and teaching -- Persian Gulf English language -- Study and teaching -- Persian Gulf
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1323 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004121
- Description: The aim of this research was to examine how university literacy is constructed at a university in the Arabian Gulf and to evaluate the appropriateness of this construction where students of a low level of English are exposed to academic English (Right from the Start). Unpacking this construction is a complex task and to gain even a limited insight into the numerous Discourses, epistemologies and pedagogies constituting the construction of university literacy at Gulf universities, a stratified approach that probes the layers of ‘reality’ is necessary. Therefore, a critical realist approach is engaged, along with a variety of methods to probe the layers of the phenomenon. In terms of thesis organization, the traditional empirical structure common to the Social Sciences and the argumentative structure common to the Humanities are integrated. While the information obtained by a variety of methods is analysed and conclusions are reached, this material is also used along with additional literature to support the central contention that university literacy and academic English are possible ‘right from the start’, if the students’ literacy is examined from a certain perspective and if there is an appropriate pedagogy which promotes the desired literacies. This combination of thesis structures would be deemed appropriate in the critical realist ontological framework since the rigour of the thesis lies both in its “reliability” resulting from the empirical data and its focus on the ‘real’; and its “reflexivity” and “persuasivness” arising from the transparently ‘critical’ argument of the thesis (Cadman 2002). In order to conduct the empirical research, the lenses suggested by each of the major views of literacy as outlined by Lea and Street (1998) - namely the “study skills” view, the narrow “academic socialization view” and the “academic literacies view” are utilized in succession. However, the central argument is revealed as the manifestations of each ‘view’ of literacy in the specific context are examined, the research outcomes obtained by utilizing each view in succession are outlined and both are critiqued from the perspective of the “academic literacies” view. Corpus research is undertaken from a “study skills” perspective and the effect of the vocabulary taught to the students on their use of vocabulary in their writing is examined. Also, using the “study skills” lens, the students’ “global language development” in terms of changes or fluctuations in “fluency, accuracy and complexity” (Wolfe-Quintero, Inagaki et al. 1998) over a period of at least three semesters is examined. Utilizing a narrow “academic socialization lens”, studies conducted at the University on learning strategies and motivation and the comments made by respondents in interviews and on an electronic discussion board are compared to comments made by teachers and lecturers. Major flaws in these views of academic literacy are acknowledged and the way each view manifests itself in the Discourse(s) prevalent at this particular university is demonstrated. Finally, Discourses evidenced in the student interviews in particular, are unpacked and then compared and contrasted with those in the lecturer interviews as well as the curriculum and other university documents. The limitations of the study are examined and suggestions for further research and ways to address ‘problems’ associated with university literacy are given.
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A case study of the goals of the business communication course at Technikon Witwatersrand
- Authors: Vongo, Mthuthuzeli Rubin
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Communication in education -- South Africa Communication -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa Curriculum change -- South Africa Competency-based education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1316 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003949
- Description: At Technikon Witwatersrand, Business Communication is offered as a service subject, which is compulsory for a variety of diplomas and the majority of students are obligated to do the course. Its broad intention is to assist students in developing their proficiency in English, enabling them to cope with studying at Technikon and preparing them for the workplace. Despite the fact that the course is designed to assist them, many students question why they have to do the course and whether it is simply a repetition of high school work. The study attempts to examine the implicit and explicit goals of Business Communication, to explore the process through which the goals have been developed and changed over the years (i.e. how the goals have been constructed), and to elicit and compare the perspectives of the different stakeholder groups as to the goals. Both a qualitative and a quantitative approach are used in the research design. Interviews with four fulltime lecturers were conducted and a self-designed questionnaire was administered to students. These were the main means of data collection. The data reveals that the goals of Business Communication are implied rather than explicit. Despite this, students and lecturers see the course as important. Recommendations are made to help the Department of Business Communication to reflect on their practice with particular emphasis given to material development and the application of OBE principles.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Vongo, Mthuthuzeli Rubin
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Communication in education -- South Africa Communication -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa Curriculum change -- South Africa Competency-based education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1316 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003949
- Description: At Technikon Witwatersrand, Business Communication is offered as a service subject, which is compulsory for a variety of diplomas and the majority of students are obligated to do the course. Its broad intention is to assist students in developing their proficiency in English, enabling them to cope with studying at Technikon and preparing them for the workplace. Despite the fact that the course is designed to assist them, many students question why they have to do the course and whether it is simply a repetition of high school work. The study attempts to examine the implicit and explicit goals of Business Communication, to explore the process through which the goals have been developed and changed over the years (i.e. how the goals have been constructed), and to elicit and compare the perspectives of the different stakeholder groups as to the goals. Both a qualitative and a quantitative approach are used in the research design. Interviews with four fulltime lecturers were conducted and a self-designed questionnaire was administered to students. These were the main means of data collection. The data reveals that the goals of Business Communication are implied rather than explicit. Despite this, students and lecturers see the course as important. Recommendations are made to help the Department of Business Communication to reflect on their practice with particular emphasis given to material development and the application of OBE principles.
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An analysis of how the Senior Certificate examination constructs the language needs of English second language learners
- Authors: Blunt, Sandra Viki
- Date: 2006 , 2013-06-11
- Subjects: Habermas, Jürgen Education, Secondary -- South Africa Examinations -- South Africa -- Evaluation English language -- Examinations -- South Africa English language -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Foreign speakers Language and education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1902 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006243
- Description: The Senior Certificate (SC) examination, a focus of the research described in this thesis, has an important function in terms of the quality of the education system overall and also in terms of the contribution of education to the achievement of national goals. The SC examination functions i) as a measure of achievement at school ii) as an indicator of work readiness and iii) as an indicator of the potential to succeed in higher education. This thesis offers a critique of the SC examination in respect of its functions. The way in which learners' language related needs are constructed is crucial in discussing the SC examination's legitimacy since perceptions about the needs of learners are reflected in what is taught and assessed. Since the majority of candidates writing the SC exarnination do so using a language which is not their mother tongue, the research described in the thesis attempted to identify the way in which the English second language (ESL) SC examination papers construct learners' needs. Examination papers represent a particular domain of social practice and are constructed through discourse. In the context of the research described in this thesis, discourses are understood as sets of ideas which are shared by communities of people and which give rise to practices which then define and sustain those communities and, thus, the discourses themselves. Discourse is language insofar as it converges with power and positions people in the interests of power. The ideological nature of discourse necessitates a critical orientation to research which interrogates, challenges and critiques the status quo. To identify the discourses constructing ESL learners' needs I conducted a critical discourse analysis on a representative sarnple of ESL SC exarnination papers and also interviewed six ESL examiners to corroborate the findings of the analysis. This then allowed me to identify several dominant discourses constructing ESL learners' needs: meaning-related, literature-related and process-related. The first meaning-related discourse, 'Received Tradition' discourse, focuses on the rules of grammar and spelling. Rather than approaching language as a resource to enable learners to understand the ideas to which they are exposed, learners are being taught discrete 'skills' to equip them for higher education study and the workplace. It is argued that school-based language literacy practices are not generalizable to the workplace and to higher education. Another aspect of 'Received Tradition' discourse holds that the study of English literature is a medium for understanding life and that there is moral value in teaching English literature. Learners are therefore constructed as lacking these values and their needs as having to acquire them. 'Received Tradition' discourse also overlaps with a second meaning-related discourse, 'Autonomous Text' discourse, which holds that the text's meaning is explicit and that if the learners can manipulate the rules of English grammar, 'have' vocabulary and can spell, they can retrieve meanings from texts they encounter in a wide range of contexts and construct texts for themselves. It is argued that a lack of awareness that meaning is constructed through recourse to other contexts, texts and the learner's experience is disadvantaging ESL candidates. 'Language as an Instrument of Communication' discourse, the last meaning-related discourse identified, sees language as the vehicle used to convey ideas, thoughts, information and beliefs, which are viewed as having been constructed independently of language. It is assumed that the answers, which, according to 'Autonomous Text' discourse, are in the text, can be conveyed if the tools of language are used correctly. The first literature-related discourse identified is 'Literature Study Develops Language Proficiency'. It is argued this is a misperception since language is learned as part of situated practice and instruction must thus be embedded in meaningful communicative contexts involving situated practice. The second literature-related discourse identified, 'Literature Study is a Medium for Understanding Life', is connected to the 'Received Tradition' discourse referred to above which holds that there is moral value in teaching English literature. This research identifies the ideological implications of these discourses, arguing that values are culture-specific and learners from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds experience life differently from the way it is depicted in English literature. Process-related discourses, which are part of the processes of teaching and assessment, concern the inadequacy of the ESL learner and of the markers and therefore dictate what can and cannot be expected of ESL learners in the SC examination. The research showed how all of the above discourses work through the SC curriculum to impose the values and beliefs of particular dominant groups on the ESL learner. Because of the robust and invidious nature of discourses this is a cause for concern. Although it is difficult to set a school leaving examination which serves both workplace and academic functions, there is a need to move beyond traditional, hegemonic approaches to understanding language learning. This thesis offers an analysis which can be used to inform practice.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Blunt, Sandra Viki
- Date: 2006 , 2013-06-11
- Subjects: Habermas, Jürgen Education, Secondary -- South Africa Examinations -- South Africa -- Evaluation English language -- Examinations -- South Africa English language -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Foreign speakers Language and education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1902 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006243
- Description: The Senior Certificate (SC) examination, a focus of the research described in this thesis, has an important function in terms of the quality of the education system overall and also in terms of the contribution of education to the achievement of national goals. The SC examination functions i) as a measure of achievement at school ii) as an indicator of work readiness and iii) as an indicator of the potential to succeed in higher education. This thesis offers a critique of the SC examination in respect of its functions. The way in which learners' language related needs are constructed is crucial in discussing the SC examination's legitimacy since perceptions about the needs of learners are reflected in what is taught and assessed. Since the majority of candidates writing the SC exarnination do so using a language which is not their mother tongue, the research described in the thesis attempted to identify the way in which the English second language (ESL) SC examination papers construct learners' needs. Examination papers represent a particular domain of social practice and are constructed through discourse. In the context of the research described in this thesis, discourses are understood as sets of ideas which are shared by communities of people and which give rise to practices which then define and sustain those communities and, thus, the discourses themselves. Discourse is language insofar as it converges with power and positions people in the interests of power. The ideological nature of discourse necessitates a critical orientation to research which interrogates, challenges and critiques the status quo. To identify the discourses constructing ESL learners' needs I conducted a critical discourse analysis on a representative sarnple of ESL SC exarnination papers and also interviewed six ESL examiners to corroborate the findings of the analysis. This then allowed me to identify several dominant discourses constructing ESL learners' needs: meaning-related, literature-related and process-related. The first meaning-related discourse, 'Received Tradition' discourse, focuses on the rules of grammar and spelling. Rather than approaching language as a resource to enable learners to understand the ideas to which they are exposed, learners are being taught discrete 'skills' to equip them for higher education study and the workplace. It is argued that school-based language literacy practices are not generalizable to the workplace and to higher education. Another aspect of 'Received Tradition' discourse holds that the study of English literature is a medium for understanding life and that there is moral value in teaching English literature. Learners are therefore constructed as lacking these values and their needs as having to acquire them. 'Received Tradition' discourse also overlaps with a second meaning-related discourse, 'Autonomous Text' discourse, which holds that the text's meaning is explicit and that if the learners can manipulate the rules of English grammar, 'have' vocabulary and can spell, they can retrieve meanings from texts they encounter in a wide range of contexts and construct texts for themselves. It is argued that a lack of awareness that meaning is constructed through recourse to other contexts, texts and the learner's experience is disadvantaging ESL candidates. 'Language as an Instrument of Communication' discourse, the last meaning-related discourse identified, sees language as the vehicle used to convey ideas, thoughts, information and beliefs, which are viewed as having been constructed independently of language. It is assumed that the answers, which, according to 'Autonomous Text' discourse, are in the text, can be conveyed if the tools of language are used correctly. The first literature-related discourse identified is 'Literature Study Develops Language Proficiency'. It is argued this is a misperception since language is learned as part of situated practice and instruction must thus be embedded in meaningful communicative contexts involving situated practice. The second literature-related discourse identified, 'Literature Study is a Medium for Understanding Life', is connected to the 'Received Tradition' discourse referred to above which holds that there is moral value in teaching English literature. This research identifies the ideological implications of these discourses, arguing that values are culture-specific and learners from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds experience life differently from the way it is depicted in English literature. Process-related discourses, which are part of the processes of teaching and assessment, concern the inadequacy of the ESL learner and of the markers and therefore dictate what can and cannot be expected of ESL learners in the SC examination. The research showed how all of the above discourses work through the SC curriculum to impose the values and beliefs of particular dominant groups on the ESL learner. Because of the robust and invidious nature of discourses this is a cause for concern. Although it is difficult to set a school leaving examination which serves both workplace and academic functions, there is a need to move beyond traditional, hegemonic approaches to understanding language learning. This thesis offers an analysis which can be used to inform practice.
- Full Text:
Competing interests and change within the pharmacy education system in South Africa
- Authors: Allan, Lucie
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Pharmacy -- South Africa Pharmacy -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Pharmacy -- Practice -- South Africa Community pharmacy services -- South Africa Community health services -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPharm
- Identifier: vital:3741 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003219
- Description: This thesis provides a historical account of the emergence of the pharmacy education system in South Africa, and an analysis of the influence of competing interest groups over the pharmacy education curriculum. It provides a critical evaluation of structural-consensus and micro-interpretive approaches to medical and pharmacy education, and sets out a macrointerpretive account of pharmacy education in South Africa. Following Margaret Archer (1979) it analyzes three forms of negotiation between competing interest groups in their efforts to change the pharmacy curriculum; these are political manipulation, external transaction and internal initiation. The thesis argues that whilst the private sector interest group (comprising of retail, wholesale and manufacturing pharmacy) dominated the pharmacy education system until 1994, since then a newly emerged government interest group has begun to compete for educational control. The priorities pursued by this interest group have consistently reflected the objectives set out in the ANC National Health Plan of 1994. The thesis maintains that given its frustration over the non-implementation of the ANC’s health policy objectives, the government interest group is likely to resort to direct political manipulation by passing legislation to alter the content of the current pharmacy curriculum. Such changes would seek to ensure that the syllabus more accurately reflects the ANC Plan’s community health and primary health care objectives. The thesis asserts that such an outcome (of direct political manipulation of the curriculum) is not inevitable, and can be avoided through a process of internally initiated change. It presents the findings of an interpretive case study into how the Rhodes University Community Experience Programme (CEP) influenced final year pharmacy students’ perceptions of the role of the pharmacist. The students’ comments were collected by means of focus group interviews, participant observation and documentary analysis. Whilst the CEP did not successfully transform their concept of the pharmacist’s role, it did succeed in influencing students’ understanding of the notions of community pharmacy and primary health care in line with the government interest group’s health objectives. This thesis concludes that internally initiated change within the pharmacy education system, would be preferable to that imposed through external political manipulation, as such change would be more likely to preserve the independent professional interests of pharmacy academics.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Allan, Lucie
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Pharmacy -- South Africa Pharmacy -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Pharmacy -- Practice -- South Africa Community pharmacy services -- South Africa Community health services -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPharm
- Identifier: vital:3741 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003219
- Description: This thesis provides a historical account of the emergence of the pharmacy education system in South Africa, and an analysis of the influence of competing interest groups over the pharmacy education curriculum. It provides a critical evaluation of structural-consensus and micro-interpretive approaches to medical and pharmacy education, and sets out a macrointerpretive account of pharmacy education in South Africa. Following Margaret Archer (1979) it analyzes three forms of negotiation between competing interest groups in their efforts to change the pharmacy curriculum; these are political manipulation, external transaction and internal initiation. The thesis argues that whilst the private sector interest group (comprising of retail, wholesale and manufacturing pharmacy) dominated the pharmacy education system until 1994, since then a newly emerged government interest group has begun to compete for educational control. The priorities pursued by this interest group have consistently reflected the objectives set out in the ANC National Health Plan of 1994. The thesis maintains that given its frustration over the non-implementation of the ANC’s health policy objectives, the government interest group is likely to resort to direct political manipulation by passing legislation to alter the content of the current pharmacy curriculum. Such changes would seek to ensure that the syllabus more accurately reflects the ANC Plan’s community health and primary health care objectives. The thesis asserts that such an outcome (of direct political manipulation of the curriculum) is not inevitable, and can be avoided through a process of internally initiated change. It presents the findings of an interpretive case study into how the Rhodes University Community Experience Programme (CEP) influenced final year pharmacy students’ perceptions of the role of the pharmacist. The students’ comments were collected by means of focus group interviews, participant observation and documentary analysis. Whilst the CEP did not successfully transform their concept of the pharmacist’s role, it did succeed in influencing students’ understanding of the notions of community pharmacy and primary health care in line with the government interest group’s health objectives. This thesis concludes that internally initiated change within the pharmacy education system, would be preferable to that imposed through external political manipulation, as such change would be more likely to preserve the independent professional interests of pharmacy academics.
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Using experiential learning to facilitate pharmacy students' understanding of patients' medication practice in chronic illness
- Authors: Williams, Kevin F
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Chronic diseases -- Chemotherapy Chronically ill -- Care Pharmacy -- Study and teaching Pharmacy -- Practice Social medicine Health -- Sociological aspects Diseases -- Sociological aspects Health -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1322 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003955
- Description: This study originates from experiences which led me to question the way pharmacists are equipped to advise and support the medicine-taking practice of patients using chronic medication. The study offers a critical theoretical consideration of underlying perspectives informing pharmacy education. I propose following a critical realist ontological perspective, a social realist understanding of social structure and human agency, and a sociocultural epistemology. Based on these perspectives, I consider a sociological critique of ‘health’, ‘disease’, ‘illness’ and ‘sickness’ perspectives on medicine-taking, and of pharmacy as a profession. I then propose an experiential learning approach, with an emphasis on developing reflexivity through affective learning. I follow this with an illustrative case study. Following a critical discourse analysis of student texts from the case study, I conclude that there is evidence that experiential learning may prove useful in developing pharmacy students’ reflexive competency to support the provision of pharmaceutical care to patients using chronic medications.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Williams, Kevin F
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Chronic diseases -- Chemotherapy Chronically ill -- Care Pharmacy -- Study and teaching Pharmacy -- Practice Social medicine Health -- Sociological aspects Diseases -- Sociological aspects Health -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1322 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003955
- Description: This study originates from experiences which led me to question the way pharmacists are equipped to advise and support the medicine-taking practice of patients using chronic medication. The study offers a critical theoretical consideration of underlying perspectives informing pharmacy education. I propose following a critical realist ontological perspective, a social realist understanding of social structure and human agency, and a sociocultural epistemology. Based on these perspectives, I consider a sociological critique of ‘health’, ‘disease’, ‘illness’ and ‘sickness’ perspectives on medicine-taking, and of pharmacy as a profession. I then propose an experiential learning approach, with an emphasis on developing reflexivity through affective learning. I follow this with an illustrative case study. Following a critical discourse analysis of student texts from the case study, I conclude that there is evidence that experiential learning may prove useful in developing pharmacy students’ reflexive competency to support the provision of pharmaceutical care to patients using chronic medications.
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A critical investigation into discourses that construct academic literacy at the Durban Institute of Technology
- Authors: McKenna, Sioux
- Date: 2004
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1317 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004121
- Description: This thesis examines the construction of academic literacy at the Durban Institute of Technology through a discourse analysis of interviews with educators and learners. Academic literacy comprises the norms and values of higher education as manifested in discipline-specific practices. Students are expected to take on these practices, and the underlying epistemologies, without any overt instruction in, or critique of, these ways of being. Lecturer and student discourses are identified and discussed in terms of their impact on the teaching and learning process. This broad context of educator and student understandings is set against the backdrop of the changing educational policies and structures in post-Apartheid South Africa. The changes in approach to academic development are also traced as a setting for the institutional study. The discourses about the intersection between language and learning were found largely to assume that texts, be they lectures, books, assignments etc, are neutral and autonomous of their contexts. Difficulties some learners experience in accessing or producing the expected meaning of these texts were largely ascribed to their problems with language at a surface level rather than to their lack of shared norms regarding the construction of these texts. The study provides an analysis of how the ‘autonomous’ model is manifested iii and illustrates the limitations on curriculum change imposed by this understanding of how texts are constructed and interpreted. Discourses of motivation presume that students’ difficulties in taking on the literacy practices esteemed by the academy are related to attitude. This discourse assumes that learners have a fairly fixed identity, an assumption that did not bear out in the data. The multiple identities of the learners often presented tensions in the acquisition of discipline-specific academic literacies. The learners were found not to invest strongly in an academically literate identity, or were found to experience conflict between this target identity and the identities they brought with them to the institution. The elevation of academic literacy practices is questioned if the surface features, characteristic of these practices, are valued without a concomitant claim to knowledge production. The rapid emergence of a high skills discourse in Universities of Technology in South Africa is also interrogated, given the current emphasis on training for economic growth over discourses of social redress and transformation.
- Full Text:
- Authors: McKenna, Sioux
- Date: 2004
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1317 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004121
- Description: This thesis examines the construction of academic literacy at the Durban Institute of Technology through a discourse analysis of interviews with educators and learners. Academic literacy comprises the norms and values of higher education as manifested in discipline-specific practices. Students are expected to take on these practices, and the underlying epistemologies, without any overt instruction in, or critique of, these ways of being. Lecturer and student discourses are identified and discussed in terms of their impact on the teaching and learning process. This broad context of educator and student understandings is set against the backdrop of the changing educational policies and structures in post-Apartheid South Africa. The changes in approach to academic development are also traced as a setting for the institutional study. The discourses about the intersection between language and learning were found largely to assume that texts, be they lectures, books, assignments etc, are neutral and autonomous of their contexts. Difficulties some learners experience in accessing or producing the expected meaning of these texts were largely ascribed to their problems with language at a surface level rather than to their lack of shared norms regarding the construction of these texts. The study provides an analysis of how the ‘autonomous’ model is manifested iii and illustrates the limitations on curriculum change imposed by this understanding of how texts are constructed and interpreted. Discourses of motivation presume that students’ difficulties in taking on the literacy practices esteemed by the academy are related to attitude. This discourse assumes that learners have a fairly fixed identity, an assumption that did not bear out in the data. The multiple identities of the learners often presented tensions in the acquisition of discipline-specific academic literacies. The learners were found not to invest strongly in an academically literate identity, or were found to experience conflict between this target identity and the identities they brought with them to the institution. The elevation of academic literacy practices is questioned if the surface features, characteristic of these practices, are valued without a concomitant claim to knowledge production. The rapid emergence of a high skills discourse in Universities of Technology in South Africa is also interrogated, given the current emphasis on training for economic growth over discourses of social redress and transformation.
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Regionalism and conflict resolution in the Horn of Africa : the role of inter-governmental authority on development in the Sudanese civil war
- Authors: Onyango, Moses
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1900-1974 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1974- , Africa, Northeast -- Foreign relations -- 1974- , Federal government -- Africa, Northeast , Sudan -- History -- Civil War, 1955-1972 , Mediation, International , Culture conflict Sudan
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2869 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007715 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1900-1974 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1974- , Africa, Northeast -- Foreign relations -- 1974- , Federal government -- Africa, Northeast , Sudan -- History -- Civil War, 1955-1972 , Mediation, International , Culture conflict Sudan
- Description: This thesis expounds the theoretical underpinnings of problem-solving approach to conflict resolution. It also criticizes the traditional state-centric approach to conflict resolution being followed by the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the Sudanese civil war. IGAD was initially known as Inter Governmental Authority on Drought and Desertification (IGADD), but was renamed IGAD in 1996. Its objectives were reformulated to give priority to conflict prevention, resolution, and management, and humanitarian affairs. It is stipulated in the thesis that IGAD faces problems that need attention if the Sudanese civil war is to be resolved. A key problem is that while IGAD's objectives were reformulated to give priority to conflict resolution, IGAD's management structure has remained the same. The management structure is state-centric and lacks neutrality, which is a very important ingredient in deep-rooted social conflict resolution. The management structure, which was initially based on combating drought and desertification, was not restructured to conform to the realities of a problem solving approach to conflict resolution. The committee that was formed to look into the Sudanese conflict is composed of states in dispute with Sudan. The other structural problem cited in the thesis is that the IGAD peace process is cumbersome and does not include all aggrieved parties. The meetings involve heads of state, ministers, ambassadors and other government representatives. The peace process is not inclusive of other important players such as other rebel movements. This thesis concludes that: 1. there is a need for peace keeping forces from neutral African Union (AU) member states; 2. conflict resolution specialists are deployed in the region whose main task would be to assist the belligerent groups to reach a common understanding of their problems; 3. the United Nations (UN) acts proactively to create international awareness to the Sudanese problem.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Onyango, Moses
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1900-1974 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1974- , Africa, Northeast -- Foreign relations -- 1974- , Federal government -- Africa, Northeast , Sudan -- History -- Civil War, 1955-1972 , Mediation, International , Culture conflict Sudan
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2869 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007715 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1900-1974 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1974- , Africa, Northeast -- Foreign relations -- 1974- , Federal government -- Africa, Northeast , Sudan -- History -- Civil War, 1955-1972 , Mediation, International , Culture conflict Sudan
- Description: This thesis expounds the theoretical underpinnings of problem-solving approach to conflict resolution. It also criticizes the traditional state-centric approach to conflict resolution being followed by the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the Sudanese civil war. IGAD was initially known as Inter Governmental Authority on Drought and Desertification (IGADD), but was renamed IGAD in 1996. Its objectives were reformulated to give priority to conflict prevention, resolution, and management, and humanitarian affairs. It is stipulated in the thesis that IGAD faces problems that need attention if the Sudanese civil war is to be resolved. A key problem is that while IGAD's objectives were reformulated to give priority to conflict resolution, IGAD's management structure has remained the same. The management structure is state-centric and lacks neutrality, which is a very important ingredient in deep-rooted social conflict resolution. The management structure, which was initially based on combating drought and desertification, was not restructured to conform to the realities of a problem solving approach to conflict resolution. The committee that was formed to look into the Sudanese conflict is composed of states in dispute with Sudan. The other structural problem cited in the thesis is that the IGAD peace process is cumbersome and does not include all aggrieved parties. The meetings involve heads of state, ministers, ambassadors and other government representatives. The peace process is not inclusive of other important players such as other rebel movements. This thesis concludes that: 1. there is a need for peace keeping forces from neutral African Union (AU) member states; 2. conflict resolution specialists are deployed in the region whose main task would be to assist the belligerent groups to reach a common understanding of their problems; 3. the United Nations (UN) acts proactively to create international awareness to the Sudanese problem.
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An examination of the drafting-responding process used to develop students' writing in an English Language for Academic Purposes Course
- Authors: Quinn, Lynn
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers , Rhodes University -- Academic Development Programme , Academic writing -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Educational anthropology -- South Africa , Educational sociology -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2359 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002642 , English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers , Rhodes University -- Academic Development Programme , Academic writing -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Educational anthropology -- South Africa , Educational sociology -- South Africa
- Description: Many students when they arrive at university do not possess the “cultural capital” (Bourdieu 1977) which is favoured by the institution. The purpose of the English Language for Academic Purposes (ELAP) course and the drafting-responding process is to help students to begin to acquire the “cultural capital” required to succeed at university. The research reported on in this thesis examined the drafting-responding process as it is used to develop students’ writing in the ELAP course at Rhodes University. The process involved students submitting drafts of their essays on which they received constructive and formative feedback from their ELAP tutor. This feedback was then used to revise their essays before a final version was submitted for assessment. The research took the form of a case study with an essentially interpretive orientation. I examined the drafts (with the tutor’s comments) and final versions of seven students’ ELAP essays. Additional data was obtained by interviewing the students and the tutor. Underpinning my beliefs regarding the role of writing in learning as well as my orientation to research is an understanding of knowledge and learning as being socially constructed. All writing is embedded in and dependent on, not only the immediate social circumstances, but also the broader social and cultural context. In analysing and discussing the data in this research I used Halliday’s (1985) definition of context, in which he draws a broad distinction between the immediate context of situation and the broader context of culture The research findings showed that the drafting-responding process can help students with the process of developing the academic literacy they need in order to write essays within specific situational contexts, in this case, the context of the ELAP course. In addition, at a broader level, it can help students to begin the process of being initiated into the culture of the university as a whole.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Quinn, Lynn
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers , Rhodes University -- Academic Development Programme , Academic writing -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Educational anthropology -- South Africa , Educational sociology -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2359 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002642 , English language -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Foreign speakers , Rhodes University -- Academic Development Programme , Academic writing -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Educational anthropology -- South Africa , Educational sociology -- South Africa
- Description: Many students when they arrive at university do not possess the “cultural capital” (Bourdieu 1977) which is favoured by the institution. The purpose of the English Language for Academic Purposes (ELAP) course and the drafting-responding process is to help students to begin to acquire the “cultural capital” required to succeed at university. The research reported on in this thesis examined the drafting-responding process as it is used to develop students’ writing in the ELAP course at Rhodes University. The process involved students submitting drafts of their essays on which they received constructive and formative feedback from their ELAP tutor. This feedback was then used to revise their essays before a final version was submitted for assessment. The research took the form of a case study with an essentially interpretive orientation. I examined the drafts (with the tutor’s comments) and final versions of seven students’ ELAP essays. Additional data was obtained by interviewing the students and the tutor. Underpinning my beliefs regarding the role of writing in learning as well as my orientation to research is an understanding of knowledge and learning as being socially constructed. All writing is embedded in and dependent on, not only the immediate social circumstances, but also the broader social and cultural context. In analysing and discussing the data in this research I used Halliday’s (1985) definition of context, in which he draws a broad distinction between the immediate context of situation and the broader context of culture The research findings showed that the drafting-responding process can help students with the process of developing the academic literacy they need in order to write essays within specific situational contexts, in this case, the context of the ELAP course. In addition, at a broader level, it can help students to begin the process of being initiated into the culture of the university as a whole.
- Full Text:
Lecturer and student perceptions of an academic writing task
- Authors: Olivier-Shaw, Amanda
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: Education, Higher Communicative competence Thought and thinking -- Study and teaching (Higher) Academic writing -- Study and teaching Philosophy -- Study and teaching (Higher) Language and education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1665 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003548
- Description: This research considers the perceptions of an academic writing task held by a lecturer and first year students in the Philosophy department at the University of Zululand. The research takes as its starting point the following premises: that language is inextricably linked to learning; that each academic discipline has a particular discourse which students have to acquire in order to participate as accepted members of the academic community; that learning proceeds most effectively when teaching starts with what is known and moves into the unknown; and that learning takes place through experience and involvement, rather than transmission. The research suggests that many first year students bring with them to university an understanding of the nature of learning and of knowledge which makes it difficult for them to understand the implicit rules of the discourse of analytical philosophy. My investigation uncovered several of these rules in the study guide written for the course, but it appears that students were not able to discover them and, as a result, experienced great difficulty in fulfilling the assignment task in a way which promoted their understanding of the content. The research also shows that the lecturer's expectations of the task were far removed from the manner in which the students implemented the task. It is argued that the students appear to have reverted to their established writing strategies which consisted of simply repeating what the 'authority' has said. From this it is argued that unless rules of the discourse are made explicit to students, and students understand the content of the course, they will revert to copying and relying on other sources to tell them what to write. One way of making these rules explicit and encouraging students to integrate new knowledge with previous knowledge which they bring with them to university is through providing well-structured writing tasks, and where necessary, developing clearly defined assessment procedures. Writing is the principal means of mediation between the lecturer, who is trying to offer students entry into the discipline, and the student apprentice trying to make sense of the discipline and find his or her own 'voice' within that discipline.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Olivier-Shaw, Amanda
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: Education, Higher Communicative competence Thought and thinking -- Study and teaching (Higher) Academic writing -- Study and teaching Philosophy -- Study and teaching (Higher) Language and education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1665 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003548
- Description: This research considers the perceptions of an academic writing task held by a lecturer and first year students in the Philosophy department at the University of Zululand. The research takes as its starting point the following premises: that language is inextricably linked to learning; that each academic discipline has a particular discourse which students have to acquire in order to participate as accepted members of the academic community; that learning proceeds most effectively when teaching starts with what is known and moves into the unknown; and that learning takes place through experience and involvement, rather than transmission. The research suggests that many first year students bring with them to university an understanding of the nature of learning and of knowledge which makes it difficult for them to understand the implicit rules of the discourse of analytical philosophy. My investigation uncovered several of these rules in the study guide written for the course, but it appears that students were not able to discover them and, as a result, experienced great difficulty in fulfilling the assignment task in a way which promoted their understanding of the content. The research also shows that the lecturer's expectations of the task were far removed from the manner in which the students implemented the task. It is argued that the students appear to have reverted to their established writing strategies which consisted of simply repeating what the 'authority' has said. From this it is argued that unless rules of the discourse are made explicit to students, and students understand the content of the course, they will revert to copying and relying on other sources to tell them what to write. One way of making these rules explicit and encouraging students to integrate new knowledge with previous knowledge which they bring with them to university is through providing well-structured writing tasks, and where necessary, developing clearly defined assessment procedures. Writing is the principal means of mediation between the lecturer, who is trying to offer students entry into the discipline, and the student apprentice trying to make sense of the discipline and find his or her own 'voice' within that discipline.
- Full Text: