Browsing by Author "Hamlall, Vijay."

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Boys' narratives of violence in a technical high school in Chatsworth, Durban.
(2004) Hamlall, Vijay.; Morrell, Robert Graham.
This thesis is an analysis of the way a small number of grade 12 boys understand violence and how they describe and locate it in the narratives of their own masculinity. Semi-structured interviews with grade 12 boys attending a Technical School in Chatsworth were conducted and analysed in order to establish how these boys relate to violence in their lives and respond to their experiences of violence at home and in school. The school learner population consists of African, Coloured and Indian learners. The current racial composition of the learner population is as follows: 18 % - African, 8% - Coloured and 74% Indian. The entire staff is Indian and the majority are male. This study focuses particularly on physical violence at home and in school. The research also examines what the boys say about violence against the girls at the school. The major findings from the boys' narratives of violence at home are that the perpetrators of physical violence at home were the men. The physical violence experienced by the boys at school among peers has racial overtones. The Indian boys are the main perpetrators of violence and use violence to intimidate, threaten and dominate other boys in school. The African and Coloured boys although capable of violence seem to construct their masculinity in non-violent ways. Teachers are complicit in the enactment of physical violence in school. Physical violence against girls in school is non-existent, however girls are verbally harassed and abused. This study finds that race and ethnicity influences the manner in which masculine identities are constructed in school and that violence is intertwined into the construction of the boys' masculinities. This study will hopefully raise awareness of the importance of including a focus on masculinities in violence intervention strategies.
A gendered study of conflict and violence among boys in the construction of masculinities at a technical high school in Durban.
(2010) Hamlall, Vijay.; Morrell, Robert Graham.
The study analyses instances of disagreement or conflict among boys at Sunville, a technical high school in Chatsworth, Durban. In many, cases these episodes escalated and became physically violent encounters. In other instances, they were resolved without any physical violence. Conflict developed in two phases which were not mutually exclusive. In the first phase a learner would give various forms of provocation (for example insults). The provocations gave rise to or expressed conflict but did not necessarily lead to violence. In cases where physical conflict emerged various causes were at work. These related to the way boys saw themselves in the school and the manner in which they constructed their masculine identities. The major cause of fights (violence) was the hierarchal arrangement of masculinities in the school and the efforts used by boys to assert their power. Attempting to gain inclusion or hierarchical ascendancy led boys to jostle for position and this often led to physical violence. The competitive nature of hegemonic masculinity heightened the vulnerability of the boys. They responded to this vulnerability by forcibly and sometimes violently establishing their masculine credentials. Heterosexual masculinities are organised and regulated to a large extent through trying to bolster fragile masculinities or avoid humiliation. Avoiding humiliation is reactive and defensive and bolstering fragile masculinities is aggressive and assertive. Boys try to bolster their own fragile masculinity by humiliating other boys and they can do this most effectively and easily by picking on boys who are vulnerable, those who are not part of the main gang (the peer group that is most influential in defining hegemonic masculinity). This masculine practice was at the core of bullying at Sunville and bolstered and perpetuated hegemonic masculinity in its assertive, intolerant, blustering and violent form. Boys frequently used vulgar and offensive language to humiliate other boys. They also behaved in ways that proved allegiance to their peer group, took revenge, and involved themselves in acts of gambling to bolster their own masculinities. These actions often led to violence. Boys who largely reject hegemonic masculinity may be forced defensively to protect their own masculine identities when they are subject to aggression (often by hegemonic masculine frontline troopers). This explains why some ordinarily peaceful boys at the school got involved in fights and physical scraps. While the school’s hard boys were normally the aggressors they would also protect their own masculine identities (by reacting violently) if they felt vulnerable. This study looks at gender relationships, with a focus on how conflict and violence feature in the construction of masculinities. Two issues are important: a) how do conflict and violence contribute to the makings of specific masculinities and b) how do existing masculinities legitimate and delegitimate the enactment of conflict and violence. This study therefore examines, on the one hand, mechanisms by which conflict is mediated or resolved and, on the other, the processes by which conflict and disagreement escalate into violence. While there were high levels of tension at Sunville, not all conflict situations led to violence. Some conflict situations had peaceful resolutions. This study examines the specific circumstances that gave rise to these outcomes. In short, this study examines how conflict occurred among boys, how boys handled this conflict (violently or nonviolently) and how masculinities were implicated in handling conflict. What was common in all the incidents of conflict and violence was that boys projected certain images of themselves and sought to live up to certain versions of what it is to be a man. I argue in this thesis that the form of masculinity that boys subscribe to influences the manner in which they deal with provocation and conflict. The escalation or peaceful resolution of conflict depends largely on whether a boy subscribes to or rejects the values of the hegemonic masculinity that exist at Sunville, which include heterosexuality, toughness, authority, competitiveness, maintaining peer group prestige and the subordination of other boys. Those boys who subscribed to the hegemonic values of masculinity at Sunville in most instances were bound by its values to resolve conflict aggressively. Some boys had an allegiance to particular constructions of masculinity which are at variance with the school’s hegemony and this made it more likely that they would choose peace over violence in conflict situations. Their practices in handling conflict separated these boys from the hegemonic way of resolving conflict, which was to use force, aggression and violence. In those cases where the conflict was defused, different, alternative, non-confrontational understandings of masculinity were salient. The values which they asserted included respect, being able to exercise restraint, and being independent, strong willed and individualistic in their thinking and actions. I have identified the modus operandi of this group of boys as being autonomous. These boys took up autonomous positions in situations of conflict that did not support the hegemonic imperative at Sunville to escalate conflict into violence. I have chosen the term autonomous masculinity to describe that masculinity that is performed at a particular moment of conflict, at which moment particular non-hegemonic masculinity (in terms of the school’s masculinity) is drawn upon to avoid conflict. Masculinity is itself a contradictory gendered phenomenon and it is possible, and indeed quite common, for contradictory positions to exist side by side and indeed to be occupied simultaneously by boys. It is unlikely that boys will choose non-violence in every situation. Individuals occupy multiple positions and therefore have a range of identities with different ones acquiring significance in different contexts. Boys take up different positions in different contexts; identities are multiple and fluid. In dealing with conflict at Sunville there are hegemonic and counter-hegemonic positions that boys can inhabit and some boys inhabit one more than the other because they embrace particular masculine positions. The study was undertaken using a qualitative methodology. I undertook research by observing cases of provocation, actual instances of conflict and the manner in which conflict was defused or amplified into violence. My methods included observation and observation in class, around the school and during leisure activities, regular recorded informal discussions and formal interviews. I identified 10 boys to be the main respondents in this study. All the boys were in grade 10 (and were aged between fifteen and seventeen) when I began the research process. I conducted research with these boys for three years, gathering data on an ongoing basis. In the course of the research I used a snowballing technique to draw in further respondents. This study focuses on the uncritical conflation of conflict and violence in the existing literature on masculinities in schools. Conflict and violence are separate parts of a single process. The one does not automatically lead to the other, therefore this requires that we exercise caution when describing violent masculinities. Too often, in the desire to explain patriarchal violence, researchers have lumped aggression together with violence. In this study I witnessed aggression but show that it did not necessarily lead to violence. Connell (1989) has noted that schools are major sites for the making of masculinities. She argues that schools have particular patterns of gender relations (she terms this the gender regime) which impact on and are played out in the lives of boys. Conversely, male learners themselves contribute to the gender regime of the school. While each school may have one form of masculinity which is dominant and which prescribes the ideal form that masculine behaviour should take, there are always other masculinities present within a school. These may be marginal. They may be silenced or complicit or may challenge the dominant, hegemonic masculine form. This study contributes to debates about school masculinities in the context of conflict and violence. The study concludes that while there is a clear identifiable link between modes of the dominant masculinity and violence, there are other versions of masculinity that are being performed within the school that are democratic, peaceful and respectful. I propose that schools should be mindful and support these other versions of masculinity in order to reduce violence among boys in school.
School management of learner problems in the context of an impoverished school community.
(2012) Prammoney, Charmaine.; Ramrathan, Prevanand.; Hamlall, Vijay.
This study investigated teachers’ management of learner problems in the context of an impoverished school community. The rationale for the study took into consideration the constant demands placed on learners and teachers by poverty-related issues. By illuminating the factors that affect teachers’ work performance in the context of an impoverished school community, it is hoped that all education stakeholders would be motivated to support, assist and guide teachers to overcome the current challenges with regard to poverty in schools, thus enhancing their work performance as well as that of their impoverished learners. The study employed a qualitative research design. Through a process of purposive sampling, five teachers from a primary school from the Phoenix Ward of the Pinetown District in KwaZulu-Natal were selected. The data were generated by means of semistructured interviews. The data gathered were coded and organized into themes, categories and sub-categories. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings suggest that the consequences of poverty at school level are numerous and become even more complex when there is a lack of parental support at community level. Furthermore, they reveal that poverty impacts negatively on learners’ academic performance. Factors associated with poor work performance by learners included abuse, parental apathy, the environment, and a lack of resources, to name but a few. Praise and recognition, as well as democratic leadership styles on the part of teachers have a positive influence on learners’ work performance. Flexibility, care and visible intervention by teachers and the school have been found to have a positive impact on learners’ attitude towards school. The study concludes with a number of recommendations to address and manage the problems experienced by learners in impoverished contexts.
Teacher's management of learner discipline in a primary school in the Phoenix District.
(2012) Singh, Nirasha.; Ramrathan, Prevanand.; Hamlall, Vijay.
This study set out to explore how teachers at a primary school in the Phoenix area in Durban manage discipline problems among learners. I employed a qualitative approach to collecting data. This facilitated meaning making from the data by considering the bigger picture and converting the raw empirical information into what is known in qualitative research as ‘thick description’. The two main methods used were observations and face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. A series of semi-structured interviews with probing questions for clarity were used extensively, with each interview lasting approximately 40 minutes. The sample size was five participants. Participants were teachers purposively chosen from the researched school, all of whom resided in the Phoenix district. Data analysis of the responses to the open-ended interview questions were categorised and were inductive in establishing themes through the process of coding. These themes were then organised into increasingly more meaningful units of knowledge. Three broad findings emerged. The first is that many teachers use a heavy handed approach to manage discipline problems among learners. The second is that other teachers used a softer, more ‘gentle’ approach in handling discipline problems. The third is that the school policy does not seem to have the desired effect in terms of assisting teachers to manage discipline problems. While I arrived at these findings from my observations as well as from the interviews with teachers, it should be pointed out that some teachers, who may have subscribed to ‘softer’ forms of discipline, might also occasionally use a ‘tougher’ approach. Furthermore, other teachers who were routinely ‘tough,’ might have a ‘soft side’ (at times). This study recommends that a sound understanding of the learners’ local context and backgrounds will equip teachers to formulate practical ways to manage discipline which will act as a guiding tool in eradicating the problems that originate from having to make decisions in the absence of a firm set of principles. An appropriate discipline system should be established by teachers of their own accord and engineered to suit their personalities and the realities of their learners, the community and the school.
Teachers teaching in adversarial conditions : a narrative inquiry.
(2011) Varathaiah, Moses Krishnamurthi.; Ramrathan, Prevanand.; Hamlall, Vijay.
This study explores the concepts of adversity, the facets of adversity and the nature of adversity and how teachers cope under these adversarial conditions. Adversity is a phenomenon that is challenging to grasp yet it affects people daily. In this study, “those people” are the teachers whom I have engaged with. Adversity comes in different forms and under different circumstances and is very much a part of every persons life. These forms include physical structures, emotional inter-relationships and social interaction with teachers, learners and the community. Adversity in the context of this study means to have a great measure of misfortune, hardships, difficulty, danger, harsh conditions and hard times as these have negative connotations to it. The participants in this study share, impart, reveal and disclose both their personal experiences at home, with their families and professional experiences at school with the main stakeholders being the learners. The professional experience of adversity includes teacher intensification, for example, more administrative work, large class sizes, teaching second and third language learners, lack of promotion opportunities, educators with HIV/ AIDS, lack of educational resources such as computers and overhead projectors, changing curriculum, multicultural educational challenges, more meetings during school time and school fund raising. Educators salaries and their qualifications were another issue that needed to be addressed. Teachers reflect on their efforts to pursue tertiary studies, the cost they have incurred and the sacrifices they have made to achieve their diplomas and degrees. With this in mind teachers find that the remuneration they receive for the sacrifices they have made certainly do not match the efforts of their endeavors. Years of studying and the intellectual capacity needed to acquire a teaching diploma and degree remain unrewarded. Teachers continue to compare the salaries of employees in the private sector to those of the public sector. Teaching therefore, seems to more of a service than that of a ‘job’. The financial rewards for teachers continue to allude them. The state does not provide sufficient incentives for teachers to remain in the profession. Therefore, many teachers look for ‘greener pastures’ .Teachers find employment outside the teaching profession in the private sector or even x emigrate to cities like London to seek better financial rewards. Teachers acknowledge that to teach, one requires passion and dedication and zeal for it. This study concentrates on how teachers cope, manage, handle and deal with such conditions in the school setting. These conditions include high volumes of administration, learner apathy, miscommunication with senior management and the employer, handling difficult learners and parents and coping with limited resources. This study reveals how teachers survive these difficult conditions. It further explores the reasons and factors that motivate these teachers to continue teaching.