Language-in-education policy and language practices in Botswana primary schools: a case study of 3 schools
- Authors: Tselayakhumo, Dumelang
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Translanguaging (Linguistics) , Multilingual education -- Botswana , Home and school -- Botswana , Language in contact -- Botswana , Language and education -- Case studies -- Botswana , Language policy -- Botswana
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68271 , vital:29226
- Description: This is a multiple case study of language practices in relation to the language-in-education policy of Botswana. The impetus for this study came after realising a decline in the academic achievement of learners as they move to higher levels of education. Taking into cognisance other factors like socio-economic background and marginalised communities, this study intended to investigate language practices at 3 primary schools at Standard 1, Standard 4 and Standard 7. Cases were selected from 3 various schools in different districts that present the language situation in Botswana. School A was in Kgalagadi district where the dominant spoken language is Shekgalagarhi, a minority language of Botswana. School B was in Southern district where the dominant spoken language is Setswana, the national language of Botswana and School C was in Gaborone city, the capital city of Botswana, where languages of Botswana come into contact and parents mainly use English to communicate with their children at home. Observation of language practices at these schools was the primary technique of data collection. The researcher also used questionnaires and focus group discussions for authentication. It was realised that whereas the language-in-education policy of Botswana is monoglossic, as it separates languages into separate functions, language practices in the three primary schools were transglossic, as they involved the use of different language varieties in the classroom. However, the researcher discovered that there was limited translanguaging that limited learner creativity and participation in class. The language practices revealed compliance and non-compliance of some schools to the national language-in-education policy. The researcher found language teaching to be one of the factors that limited content acquisition in content subject lessons. Realising the irrelevance of the policy to the linguistic needs of learners, this study proposes guidelines on the implementation of a multilingual micro policy that considers both the strong and the weak versions of translanguaging. This will open ways for translanguaging henceforth, active participation and enhanced performance for all Batswana. It also proposes the study of 3 languages: a minority language of Botswana, Setswana and English as compulsory subjects to embrace multilingualism and for the development of indigenous languages.
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Making meaning of reality television celebrities: the reception of South African Idol by young adults in Joza, Grahamstown
- Authors: Magade, Mncedi Eddie
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Talent shows (Television programs) -- South Africa , Television viewers -- South Africa , Television programs -- South Africa , Mass media -- South Africa , South African Idol (Television program) , Reality television shows
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/94217 , vital:31018
- Description: Reality television or “factual entertainment” is a hybrid of old television formats and factual programming in order to create a “new” entertaining show designed to draw the attention of audiences and increase viewership ratings. South African Idol is one popular local example. Adapted from the British programme Pop Idol, the show promises upward mobility for the young star who wins the competition. This show has become a subject of conversation amongst young people in South Africa who aspire to the “success” and “celebrity” status that is produced by participating on the show. This paper uses a Cultural Studies framework in order to examine the relationship between texts and audiences as an aspect of the “circuit of culture,” with its interrelated moments of production, texts, consumption and lived experience. My research focuses on the text and audience “moments” of this circuit. Audience studies research suggests that we should situate television viewing and the meanings made of TV programs in the natural setting of the home, and that this setting should be taken seriously as a unit of analysis. This study therefore, seeks to understand the ways in which audiences make meaning of this television programme within the domestic context.
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Memory of a dead river
- Authors: Mayo, Thandokazi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Short stories, South African (English) , South African (English)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92364 , vital:30716
- Description: My thesis is a collection of short stories that tap into cultural, literal references, both oral andvisual, and also draws on images I have seen and have struggled to get out of my head. The collection draws on Alissa Nutting’s distorted realism and Noy Holland’s evocative imagery to make even the most mundane things feel like something out of the ordinary. An unreal way of looking at real things. The stories are interrelated only insofar as they seek to normalise or neutralise the peculiarity of society’s seemingly outdated people who come from the rural areas. Their faces, their stories, their general mannerisms. To capture the tone of their emotions, their small plights, and to give an in-depth look into how where you are affects the very shape of your face.
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Ndonakele
- Authors: Ngcelwane, Ayabulela
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Xhosa fiction , Xhosa poetry
- Language: English , Xhosa
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92721 , vital:30742
- Description: Le thisisi yingqokelela yemibongo egxile kwimingeni ejamelene noluntu kwimimandla efana neelokishi. Unobangela wale mingeni yintswelo-ngqesho, ukungafumani zindlu, ubundlobongela, isimo sezepolitiki, njalo-njalo. Imisebenzi kaRonnie Kasrils ngakumbi kwincwadi yakhe ethi A simple man, uRustum Siyongwana – Ubulumko bezinja uS. S. Mema – Umnxeba Wobomi, nezinye, zibe nefuthe kakhulu kule thisisi. Indlela abasebenzisa ngayo ulwimi lwemihla ngemihla, maxawambi bade basebenzise nesakhono esisetyenziswa ezintsomini ezifana nokusebenzisa abalinganiswa abazizilwanyana bekwekwa umba onobuzaza. Injongo yalo msebenzi kukugqamisa ukubaluleka kwentlalontle yoluntu, nokuvuselela isazela koongxowa ayibotshwa. Yiyo loo nto kuzanywe kangangoko ukusetyenziswa ulwimi olunokufikeleleka nakubani na. , English and Xhoxa versions provided for dual language submission
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Ndoxoza mphini wumbi!
- Authors: Saki, Sandile Dudu
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: South African fiction (English)
- Language: English , Xhosa
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92605 , vital:30741
- Description: My English half-thesis comprises semi-autobiographical short stories based on my own lived and observed experiences of patriarchal township life, but told through the eyes of others, often those who find themselves victims of societal ills and cruel injustices. The stories deal with issues ranging from rape culture, intimate femicide, social patriarchy and the vulnerability of women, children and people living with disabilities in such settings. Refusing didacticism, I seek to voice the complexity, bravery and beauty of my characters. I draw influence from Joel Matlou’s simple narration of the small details of daily life, Can Themba’s ability to find humour in the everyday, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s contemporary sass and Irenosen Okojie’s unconventional, subtle and deeply enigmatic approach to storytelling. , Le thisisi yingqokelela yemibongo enesingqi nefuthe endilincance kubabhali endihlangene nabo kwezi zifundo endingabala kubo uMxolisi Nyezwa, Rustum Kozain nabanye. Injongo yale thisisi kukonwabisa; ukucebisa mhlawumbi ukuthungulula iintongo emva kobentlombe. Maxa wambi ikukukhahlela nakwabo baye banegalelo kwizinto-yinto zokuhlala ngakumbi iimvumi zikaMasikhandi ezifana noMlindelwa ‘Inkunz’ emdaka’ Mralatya owaziwa njengovulindlela kaMasikhandi kwisizwe sakwaXhosa siphela. Bakho ke ababhali abasingqi sabo sindithimbileyo, naba bugcisa ndibuthandileyo endingabalula kubo uMzwandile Matiwana, M. S. Mlandu, Fundile Majola, John Solilo, J. J. R Jolobe kunye noS. E. K. Mqhayi. Liyavakala ifuthe labo kule mibongo, ngakumbi isingqi nokusetyenziswa kolwimi. , English and Xhosa versions provided for dual language submission
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Negotiating spaces, constructing identities and consuming symbolic resources: examining the complex interplay between identity formation, context and media consumption amongst black South African students at Rhodes University
- Authors: Willetts, Luke
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Mass media -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Mass media -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Mass media -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Mass media and culture -- South Africa , Mass media and race relations -- South Africa , Social movements -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Student movements -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Male college students -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Rhodes University -- Students -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/95207 , vital:31127
- Description: This thesis has looked at the complex interplay between media consumption and identity formation amongst a group of black South African male students within the context of a racially homogenous communal viewing area located on the Rhodes University campus during the #FMF protests in 2016. Using qualitative research methods the study concluded that the group context of communal viewing helped the students structure and make sense of their daily lives. They actively divorced themselves from the main student populace in an attempt to escape lived experiences of a repressive institutional culture expressed through the university’s monolingual language policies, aesthetics and course material. These students embodied the characteristics of a diasporic community characterised by displacement, dispersal and the continuous re-articulation of differences across contradictory social, cultural and economic contexts. They grappled with an alienating environment by creating a safe space for cultural reproduction aided by the communal consumption of local television programmes. Preferences for local content broadcast in African languages were shaped by a linguistic marginalisation experienced on the Rhodes campus. The politicisation of the context through #FMF in turn politicised the students’ subjectivities leading to a need to be informed of the movement’s progression through evening news broadcasts. Discussions around campus life were dominated by #FMF and the collective experiences of marginalisation in and from the university space. Communal viewing of local television shows allowed this group of students to transcend decades of essentialised African ethnic divisions bringing forward a group identity premised on a lived hegemony signified by blackness.
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Popular politics in the rural Western Cape, South Africa: a case study of Ruiterbos
- Authors: Ghedi Alasow, Jonis
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Political participation -- South Africa -- Cape Town , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Land tenure -- Political aspects -- South Africa , Land use, Rural -- Political aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96165 , vital:31246
- Description: This thesis argues that the philosophical foundations upon which human beings have been engaged have, across various schools of thought, made the mistake of presuming that some people are more modern than others. This suggestion is refuted throughout this thesis. To do this, intellectual traditions that take the fundamental rationality of all human beings as an indispensable starting point are engaged to argue for the need to acknowledge that everyone in the ‘now’ is indeed, of the ‘now’. This thesis connects these debates about modernity, rationality and humanity to the contemporary discussions around rural politics with particular reference to Ruiterbos in the Western Cape province of South Africa. By means of detailed empirical and ethnographic research, this thesis illustrates the issues around which people in Ruiterbos are politicised. Via this case study, the a priori assumption that rural politics will necessarily manifest itself only with respect to questions of land and agrarian reform or labour relations is complicated. The two issues around which people in Ruiterbos, during the time of this research, seem to be politicised – housing and education – are surfaced throughout this thesis. The thesis argues that the findings in this case study call for an expansion of the issues that are traditionally considered when the question of rural politics is raised. The often historicist approach that limits the possibilities for politics in rural areas should be suspended for an approach that takes popular politics and political agents in rural areas seriously. The thesis finally argues that the conclusions that are reached with respect to questions of modernity and rural politics ought to be adopted to allow for more detailed and thorough explanations of popular politics in places like Ruiterbos.
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Psychotherapy in post-colonial SA: exploring attitudes, views and beliefs of rural ‘black’ communities on psychotherapy
- Authors: Mthembu, Thembekile Thobeka
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Black people -- Attitudes -- South Africa , Black people -- Psychology -- South Africa , Black people -- Mental health -- South Africa , Psychotherapy -- South Africa , Client-centered psychotherapy -- South Africa , Rural families -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71419 , vital:29847
- Description: The appropriateness and effectiveness of the field of psychology and its branch psychotherapy has been met with fierce criticisms especially in contexts outside of Western or Euro American or urban Southern Africa. This thesis explores attitudes, views and beliefs of rural ‘black’ communities on psychotherapy (the healing process of the mind and soul). It is important to understand how the healing process of the mind and soul is constructed and practised in South African black rural communities, and this remains an imperative of psychology. The study takes an exploratory qualitative research approach. Nine participants from two rural communities in Kwa-Zulu Natal were interviewed through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was utilised as a method of data analysis. The study employed social constructionism and Afrocentricity as theoretical points of departure. The findings were understood through employing Afrocentricity theory underpinned by post-colonial theory. Four main themes were derived with supporting subthemes. The themes indicate that rural black communities’ attitudes, views, and beliefs on psychotherapy are at variance with the Western perspective of psychotherapy. This is further associated with the practise of psychotherapy in rural black communities. The findings of this study can possibly assist in new understandings of psychotherapy as constructed in different contexts and instigate future research to be conducted in often-neglected areas such as rural communities.
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Religious pluralism: an analysis of its practice and effect in four historical examples
- Authors: Groves, Samuel Peter
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Religious pluralism , Christianity and other religions , Freedom of religion -- History , Alexandria (Egypt) -- History , Athens (Greece) -- History , Alexandria (Egypt) -- Religion , Athens (Greece) -- Religion , Eusebius, of Caesarea, Bishop of Caesarea, approximately 260-approximately 340 , Constantine I, Emperor of Rome, -337 , Constantine I, Emperor of Rome, -337 -- Religion , Rome -- History -- Constantine I, the Great, 306-337 , Rome -- Religion , Jews -- Spain -- History -- Expulsion, 1492 , Spain -- History -- Ferdinand and Isabella, 1479-1516 , Spain -- Religion
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67709 , vital:29132
- Description: Despite the fact that religious freedom is considered a basic human right, provided for in the South African constitution, the practise of religious freedom is often denied in certain countries and discouraged in others. The goal of this thesis is to examine four historical examples in which religious freedom was practised or denied, and the effect this decision had on the countries or people concerned. The first example of Alexander's empire is a positive example of religious liberty. His practise of religious pluralism offered peace to the Greeks and Jews of Alexandria, and it prompted creative and intellectual pursuits that would have been impossible without religious freedom. The second example is of Paul the Apostle's approach to positive religious engagement, as recorded in Acts 17 of the New Testament. Paul models constructive religious debate as he engages with the Athenian philosophers. The third example is of Constantine's pursuit of unity through religious prescription. In his bid for one empire under one God, he created both a divided empire and a divided church. The final example is of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, who through the persecution of Jews and Muslims, caused the economic collapse of Spain and the division of the church within Spain. This thesis provides historical evidence that religious pluralism benefits humanity and it is my hope that it will encourage religious and political leaders to uphold religious pluralism for the good of society and for the good of religion.
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Shifting white SADF veteran identities from apartheid to contemporary South Africa
- Authors: Weich, Francois
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: South Africa -- History -- 1961-1994 , Angola -- History -- South African Incursions, 1978-1990 -- Veterans , South Africa -- History, Military -- 1961- , Veterans -- South Africa -- Personal narratives , South Africa -- Armed forces , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1961-1978 , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1978-1989 , South Africa. South African Defence Force
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76106 , vital:30504
- Description: The ideologies and structures of the apartheid state have received extensive academic attention, but the legacies of the militarisation of white South African men – a group that exists at a unique intersection of apartheid privilege and exploitation – have not been sufficiently addressed. Even as beneficiaries of apartheid, white men were militarised through structures of coercion and the mobilisation of identity constructions that resulted in the widespread submission to conscription and support for apartheid militarism. This thesis explores the relationship between those militarised identities and the historical processes of apartheid through a consideration of a broad range of white SADF veteran narratives from the Missing Voices Oral History Project archive. This consideration of the role of identity mobilisation in apartheid can shed light on the effect of historical processes of militarisation on white men in South Africa, as well as address the persistence of values and behaviours that may present barriers to the social transformation of South Africa towards a true constitutional democracy. The thesis explores identity in SADF veteran narratives through the application of social constructionism in order to determine the effect of coercive structures and identity mobilisation on individuals, and to gauge the persistence militarised identities after the social and political structures underpinning them had become defunct. The identity content of the narratives is contextualised in relation to structures of coercion employed by the apartheid state and the SADF alongside a consideration of the effect of political transition on veterans. The legacy of the historical environment and the impact of political transition on SADF veterans’ constructed identities is investigated in relation to these veterans’ own visions of their roles in post-apartheid South Africa. Therefore, this thesis endeavours to contribute to the expansion of the field of historical and identity study by considering the construction and renegotiation of military identities that maintained, benefited from, and were exploited by the apartheid state.
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Template ecological analsyis of the narratives of partner’s and family member’s of women who consumed alcohol in pregnancy
- Authors: Tsetse, Agrinette Nontozamo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Pregnant women -- Alcohol use -- Social aspects , Substance abuse in pregnancy , Fetus -- Effect of drugs on , Pregnancy -- Psychological aspects , Pregnant women -- Substance use , Substance abuse -- Social aspects , Ecological Systems Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/114905 , vital:34055
- Description: Although there is increasing research on alcohol in South Africa, most of this work has an epidemiological focus. Very little research has explored alcohol use during pregnancy specifically from the perspective of the woman’s partner or family member or focused on contextual risk factors beyond the pregnant woman. This information is important to ensure that interventions are formulated based on the social contexts within which drinking in pregnancy takes place and in guiding interventions that aim to prevent prenatal alcohol use, thereby preventing the occurrence of FASDs. This study was guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory to understand partners’ and family members’ perspectives of prenatal exposure within the actual environments in which alcohol use takes place. According to this theory, an individual exists within layers of social relationships: the family, intimate partners, friendships, and healthcare workers (microsystems), interactions among these microsystems, for example, interaction between healthcare workers and intimate partner and family and social workers (mesosystem), accessibility of alcohol in the neighbourhoods (exosystems), religion, culture and society (macro-systems) and changes of the individual and socio-historical context (chronosystem). The data were collected using a biographic narrative interpretive method of interviewing. Thirteen narratives interviews were conducted with partners and family members in a disadvantaged community in Buffalo City, Eastern Cape Province. The interviews were analysed using Template Analysis within the Ecological Systems Theory to interrogate the stories of partners and family members. According to participants, some of the reasons women consumed alcohol in pregnancy are: drinking habits before pregnancy that were difficult to break in pregnancy; women drank during the first trimester of their pregnancy because of unplanned pregnancy; women continued drinking throughout their pregnancies to cope with the emotional upset caused by the trauma of rape and losing loved ones, stress, receiving HIV-diagnosis in pregnancy, intimate partner violence, infidelity, rejection and denial of pregnancy from partners. After birth, some women continued drinking. Consequently, their children were taken away from them by social workers and family members because the parents were unable to care for the child due to alcohol use. There was lack of compliance of shebeens with liquor regulations, heavy drinking, high rates of alcohol use in pregnancy, and easy accessibility of alcohol within this study community. Pregnant women used religious coping beliefs to cope with their circumstances such as changes in their health, relationships and finances. Drinking during pregnancy is a complex problem that stems from multiple social and structural issues and interventions should therefore not only focus on the individual, but also on social networks and communities.
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The effectiveness of sandplay therapy with a Xhosa child
- Authors: Snelgar, Orrin Glenn
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Sandplay -- Therapeutic use -- Case studies -- South Africa , Play therapy -- Case studies -- South Africa , Child psychotherapy -- Case studies -- South Africa , Children, Black -- Psychology -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179168 , vital:39876
- Description: This case study sought to determine whether Kalffian Sandtray Therapy was effective with a Xhosa child. In the context of ongoing discussions surrounding evidence-based practice and culturally appropriate interventions, no published research has yet explored the effectiveness of this classical tool within this significant South African demographic. In an effort to address this omission, the research adopted a mixed methods approach where Kalffian analysis of the sandplay process was evaluated in conjunction with quantitative measures (the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Young Person’s Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation). The results of this triangulation revealed a complex picture of improved interpersonal functioning and stagnant (or worsened) emotional wellbeing after five sessions. Contextualised interpretations of these findings are discussed and recommendations made for future sandplay practice and research in the South African context.
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The experiences of health service providers working with children with physical disabilities and their caregivers in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Mathaba, Yollandah
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Children with disabilities -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Caregivers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies , Caregivers -- Psychology , Children with disabilities -- Care
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76299 , vital:30545
- Description: The prevalence of childhood disability in South Africa is significant. In an attempt to meet the constitutional rights of children with disabilities, there are a variety of services available for children with disabilities. These services are aimed at rehabilitating children with disabilities and integrating them in society. Amongst such services are health services. Due to the nature of some childhood disabilities, it is recommended that they should be seen by a multidisciplinary team. While the field of childhood disability has been researched extensively. Limited research has been conducted on the experiences of health service providers working with children with disabilities and their caregivers. The current study explored the experiences of health service providers working with children with disabilities and their caregivers in the Eastern Cape. To achieve this aim, the study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Five participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling methods. Semi-structured interviews were used to allow participants to freely share their experiences of working with children with disabilities and their caregivers. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed for analysis purpose. The analysis process generated five master themes namely: Positive experiences of their work; negative experiences of their work; perception of their role as changing over time; managing challenges in their work; and experiences of a service learning programme as complementary to their work. The findings of the study highlighted both the positive experiences and the negative experiences of their work. On the one hand, the participants reported positive affect and that they found their work meaningful. They also reported a sense of feeling supported by fellow colleagues and enjoying their work at the clinics. On the other hand, the participants reported negative affect in relation to their wok difficulties such as feelings of frustration, feelings of being unappreciated by management and finding the work distressing. The participants reported that professional and emotional growth in conjunction with perspective taking contributed to developing better coping mechanisms. A service learning programme offered in the community was experienced as a good contribution to the work done at the clinics and distinguished as addressing the emotional needs of the caregivers which cannot be addressed at the clinics. The findings of the study supports and expands the literature on the experiences of health service providers working with children with disabilities in South Africa.
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The implementation of a developmental-contextual framework for young adults’ career explorations
- Authors: Roberson, Natalie Georgia
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Vocational guidance -- South Africa , Focus groups , Action research , Youth -- South Africa -- Social conditions -- 1994- , Self-Directed Search Questionnaire , Occupational aptitude tests -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/114895 , vital:34053
- Description: Career development theory and counselling practices in South Africa, which have traditionally utilised imported theory, have long been and continue to be criticised as being unsuitable in contexts different to those in which they were developed. In light of this, the aim of this study is to customise and trial the Vondracek, Lerner, and Schulenberg (1986) Developmental-Contextual Framework of career development with a group of employment-seeking young adults at a local community-based setting, as the basis of a career development intervention. Research questions asked were ‘In what ways is the examination and discussion of developmental-contextual factors of the individual facilitative of career exploration, in addition to seeking to identify contextual factors that influence career thinking and associated decision making. In doing so, this study aims to contribute to the existing literature on the career development of South Africans. Focus group methodology, within an overarching framework of collaborative action research, was employed. The approach to career exploration here was that of peer learning through group discussion of developmental-contextual factors of the individual. Data were generated through pre-intervention questionnaires, collaborative action research cycles, participatory observation, focus group discussions, and post-interventionist semi-structured individual interviews. Template Analysis was used for the thematic organisation and analysis of the data. Findings were that the intervention facilitated increased self-knowledge in relation to career development, increased knowledge of work and careers, and enhanced career planning abilities. Findings further highlighted the limitations of imported career development theories and the importance of the utilisation and development of local career assessment instruments. The group setting was found to be of value in facilitating self-reflection, a source of motivation and a valuable source of career-related information.
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The Intsomi Ambassadors: using communicative ecologies to enhance home literacy practices amongst working class parents in Grahamstown
- Authors: Gush, Cathy
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Communication in economic development -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Literacy -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Literacy programs -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Education -- Parent participation -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Intsomi Project
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71459 , vital:29855
- Description: Utilising theories of Communication for Development, the research explores how literacy practices in the homes of a group of working class, English second language parents in Grahamstown are affected by the introduction of new literacy material and insights Furthermore, it discusses how, and through which forms of media, these observed dynamics and changes in practice are best communicated to similar households. The issue of children's literacy development in South Africa is of serious concern, in particular the role that parents play and the level of support they give through home literacy practices. The context is one in which South African children have performed very poorly with regard to literacy levels in international benchmark testing as well as in national assessments. The summary report on the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) found that some of the factors contributing to these poor results were the lack of reading resources in homes, as well as the lack of strong home-school partnerships in which parents took up the role of co-educators, or even of primary educators at the preschool stage. A group of parents employed by Rhodes University at the Grade 1 - 5 levels signed up to be the recipients of a programme supporting the literacy development of their primary and pre-primary school children. The Intsomi Project is run by the Rhodes Community Engagement Office as part of the Vice-Chancellor’s Education Initiative and provides close to 100 families with weekly reading material and educational games for their children, as well as workshops on the use of these materials and how they might benefit the children. Following a Participatory Action Research approach, a “vanguard” group of parent participants, known as the Intsomi Ambassadors, developed their role as literacy activists, becoming co-creators of media messages that utilised and built on the first stage of their communication within the group. The research explored how the principles and techniques of development support communication, and those of communicative ecologies, could be applied to explore, enhance and disseminate those qualitative changes in behaviour within households that positively affect children’s literacy development. In the process, it aimed to explore whether media representations that reflect the stories of parents trying out new literacy practices can create authentic, endogenous messages that resonate with people in similar circumstances, and can stimulate debate around the issue.
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The Kinshasa-based Kin ArtStudio in the Democratic Republic of Congo: visual arts spaces and the potential to challenge global art's representative and legitimizing mechanisms
- Authors: Tshilumba Mukendi, Jean-Sylvain
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Space (Art) , Art -- Congo (Democratic Republic) , Art and globalization , Postcolonialism and the arts -- Congo (Democratic Republic) , Arts, Modern -- 21st century , Arts publicity , Arts, Modern -- 21st century -- Economic aspects , Arts, Modern -- 21st century -- Social aspects , Bondo, Vitshois Mwilambwe , Kin ArtStudio , Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115050 , vital:34073
- Description: The emergence of visual art spaces over the past few decades on the African continent invites art practitioners, historians and critics to re-examine the conditions of production, diffusion and reception of contemporary art of Africa. In this thesis I critically engage with these conditions in relation to artworks and practices of the Democratic Republic of Congo, considering the curatorial logic that has governed the ‘global art world’. I focus on the Kin ArtStudio as my main case study. I undertook research within this art space in 2016, from the 10th of April to the 15th of June, and again from the 16th of July to the 12th of September. My position as a participant observer turned out to be as engaging as informative. The Kin ArtStudio is a Kinshasa-based visual art platform founded in 2011 by the Congolese artist Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo. It was established out of the will to empower emerging artists in that specific context, and facilitate the negotiation that the legitimization of their creations entails in today’s global art and cultural dynamics. In order to evaluate the stakes of such negotiation, I start with reviewing the existing mechanisms, trends and networks that have legitimized visual art productions of the Democratic Republic of Congo on a global stage, as exemplified by the Beauté Congo – Congo Kitoko exhibition (2015). Then, my enquiry evolves towards specificity, towards the immediacy and the subjectivity that characterize Kinshasa's urban and socio-cultural context, and visual art practices therein. Subjectivity also applies to my four months immersive experience with that art space. Drawing from my observations, setbacks, hopes and recent academic and practical debates around contemporary art practices on the African continent, the role those art spaces can play in the curatorship, circulation, reception and commodification of contemporary art productions cannot be underestimated. While operating in lasting postcolonial settings, they are going through the negotiation of their global and translocal situatedness, which can in turn lead to new legitimizing narratives. These will more appropriately inform understandings of contemporary art practices of Africa, challenging the identifying prism sustained by the ‘global art world’.
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The meaning of community: the viability of Public Sphere theory and Social Cohesion on social media groups: a reception study of the ‘Grahamstown’ Facebook Group
- Authors: Ferreira, Ettioné
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Digital media -- Social aspects , Facebook (Firm) , Social participation -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Public sphere -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Group identity -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Grahamstown Facebook Group
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/114870 , vital:34043 , Digital media -- Social aspects , Facebook (Firm) , Social participation -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Public sphere -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Group identity -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Grahamstown Facebook Group
- Description: This study explores the meaning of community to Grahamstown’s online social media community, through a case study of the ‘Grahamstown’ Facebook group (GFG). The study explores the possibilities of social media as a public sphere and the way geographically-based social media sites might contribute to social cohesion in a community. The study explores what kinds of discussions take place on the GFG and why they are happening. It investigates whether these discussions can promote understanding and social solidarity, and whether useful deliberations are taking place, in some kind of approximation of a public sphere. Is this Group contributing to the wellbeing of the community, and how? Drawing on public sphere theory and various conceptions of the concept of social cohesion, the dissertation aims to find out how much of an impact the GFG has on Grahamstown/Makhanda inhabitants’ lives and sense of community. The study argues that with the advent of digital media, another ‘structural transformation’ in Habermasian terms, is underway, both empirically and theoretically. Through more than a dozen in-depth interviews combined with content analysis (via participant observation), the study finds that participation in and exposure to the GFG does lead, for many, to a sense of belonging and social cohesion as community members come together to act in relation to the state, local business and other institutions. The viability of ideas of highly localised (in time and space) ‘public sphericules’ as an alternative to broader more overarching concepts of a public sphere, is explored in this study. The study also suggests a typology of users, identifying the frequency, tone of voice and motives for participating on the GFG and attempts a periodisation of the GFG’s changing role in the community over the past decade.
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The morphotactic constraints of verbal extensions in isiXhosa
- Authors: Mkabile, Hlumela
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Xhosa language -- Grammar
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92849 , vital:30749
- Description: Bantu verbal suffixes, also known as extensions, follow a rather rigid pattern when they attach to the verb. Studies (e.g. Hyman 2002, Good 2005, 2007, among others) have shown that the order followed by these extensions is: Causative, Applicative, Reciprocal, Passive (CARP). Although this pattern is widespread across Bantu, some variations in the ordering of these extensions have been observed in some languages (Kathupa 1991, Simango 1995, Sibanda 2004, among others), which suggests that the template is not as rigid as one might think. This study investigated the morphotactic constraints between four verbal extensions in isiXhosa, the Causative, Applicative, Reciprocal and Passive. It focused on the morphotactics of the transitivising extensions (Causative and Applicative) in the first instance, and morphotactics of the detransitivising extensions (Reciprocal and Passive) in the second instance. The study found that although the co-occurrence of causatives and applicatives is a regular feature in Bantu languages, isiXhosa has restrictions on the co-occurrence of these extensions on some verbs. The study also found that although Causative-Applicative is the expected order the language permits Applicative-Causative in certain contexts. With respect to the detransitivising extensions, the study revealed that there are limited contexts in which these extensions co-occur and, crucially, that these extensions are freely ordered in the language.
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The role of psychologists in the #FeesMustFall movement in South Africa: a thematic analysis
- Authors: Kramer, Briony
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Higher education and state -- South Africa , Psychologists -- South Africa , Student movements -- South Africa , College students -- Psychology -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Student movements -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76287 , vital:30544
- Description: Since 2015, students across South Africa have protested for free tertiary education. This protest movement is known as #FeesMustFall. It was deemed important to understand what psychologists could do in this movement, as these protests have highlighted the existing inequality and lack of transformation in South African universities. Further, these protests have shown to cause psychological sequelae, and, at present, there is very little information regarding the role of psychologists in these types of protests. In response, this current qualitative study explores what four psychologists believe their role could be within the protests, specifically within Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and a Thematic Analysis methodology and Critical Psychology approach were used to analyse the findings. The results of the study revealed that these psychologists understood they could have varying roles within the protests. These varying roles linked to the broader concept of transformative versus ameliorative interventions. Ameliorative practices are usually more short-term in their effect to initiate change and are mainly aimed at the individual level, while transformative approaches are long-term and are mainly aimed at the societal level. Under the ameliorative approach, the psychologists’ roles included that they provide individual therapy to students who were affected by the protests. The transformative approach, on the other hand, included that the psychologists use their role to act as advocates, negotiators or advisors, and therefore take an active role in assisting the University with the protests. The findings also showed that some participants were ambivalent and uncertain about their role. This ambivalence led to these participants questioning the protests themselves. Results also showed limiting factors within the Psychology profession, which prevented psychologists from taking a more active stance in the protests. The limiting factors referred to phenomena which prevent psychologists from being able to take a role, not only in protests, but in society as a whole. These factors included the idea of the psychologist being a bystander and/or being limited by the professional scope of practice. The implications of these findings highlight the possible key roles that psychologists can play in protest situations. However, it shows that perceived limiting factors sometimes prevent these roles from being fully realised. The findings also then point to a broader issue within the Psychology discipline, specifically relating to its relevance in the South African context.
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The Zulu girl and other poems
- Authors: Ngidi, Sandile Brian
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Xhosa poetry
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92748 , vital:30744
- Description: My thesis is a collection of English poems that converse with Mazisi Kunene’s literary corpus. I draw from both Kunene’s early works, which followed the pioneering work of the Zulu poet BW Vilakazi, and his socio‐political later work, which is at once Pan African in scope and intent yet deeply rooted in a Zulu socio‐linguistic milieu. Like Kunene, I aim to create a poetics of exile by working between languages, writing in Zulu and then translating into English to express my alienation in South Africa and what it means to be exiled from language and culture and speak a foreign language with your mother tongue. Here, I also take influence from the rich, evocative imagery in Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish's poetry of exile and the quest for a lost homeland, as well as Brazilian poet Adela Prado’s wit and direct speech. I also engage popular contemporary forms of expression and use poetry to question some themes in the popular music genre maskandi, especially its rhetoric on identity, class and gender politics.
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