Emotions, social transformation and education
- Authors: Delport, Aletta Catherine
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Educational sociology -- South Africa , Education -- Philosophy , Emotions (Philosophy)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
- Identifier: vital:11009 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/318 , Educational sociology -- South Africa , Education -- Philosophy , Emotions (Philosophy)
- Description: This thesis addresses the topic of the education of the emotions in the context of a rapidly transforming South African society. It attempts to reconfigure the conceptual landscape in terms of which we think about rationality, social transformation and education, and contests the intellectual and instrumental prejudice in the currently dominant ways of thinking about education. It reclaims a sense of what it would be to think of education in terms of cultivating humanity, as a key to the profound transformation of the South African society. It argues that the emotions should be relocated in our conception of transformation and education, because without it, education will fail to assist South African society to transform into a society where most people are able to live improved quality lives. The thesis comprises three distinct parts. The first part consists of an account of a particular cognitive theory of the emotions, as developed by Martha Nussbaum in her book, Upheavals of thought. The Intelligence of Emotions (2001). This theory is then applied in Part 2 to examine the complexities of social transformation in South Africa at the more profound, personal level. This investigation is presented as a narrative and comprises the perspectives of the author, who is a white Afrikaner female, who grew up in South Africa in the heyday of Apartheid. In the final part, the concept of ‘education for transformation’ is discussed. It is argued that, in order for education to enhance the social transformation of South Africa, social transformation should be conceived according to a fundamental aspect of Rousseau’s political philosophy, namely that the ideal society comprises two reciprocally related spheres, the political and the personal sphere. Part 3 argues that ‘education for transformation’ should be conceived according to a conception of transformation, which acknowledges this double-layered texture. It further argues that ‘education for transformation’ should primarily be concerned with transformation at the personal level, since, according to Rousseau’s philosophy, this dimension is fundamental to ensuring the stability and legitimacy of the political order. However, built on the main insights of Part 2, this thesis also argues that personal transformation is only possible within a framework of rationality, which acknowledges the emotions as constitutive elements of rationality itself. Essentially, this thesis is about the conception of human being, which should be esteemed as the most fundamental and crucial element of successful social transformation.
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- Date Issued: 2004
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.
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- Date Issued: 2000