Browsing by Author "Quin, Jane Wilhelmina."

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A critical policy analysis of the proposed compulsory history policy of 2018.
(2021) Coelho, Lucinda Jane.; Quin, Jane Wilhelmina.
Using a Critical Policy Analysis tool known as What’s the Problem Represented to be? (WPR), I examine a proposed policy to make school History compulsory in South Africa. I apply the tool to three documents that address the proposed policy. The main objective of this particular critical policy approach is to offer a specific kind of theorising and policy analysis that makes politics visible by revealing how policies produce ‘problems’. WPR “offers seven interrelated forms of questioning and analysis to critically scrutinize problematizations (the ways in which “problems” are produced and represented) in governmental policies and practices, understood in broad terms” (Bacchi & Goodwin, 2016, p. 13). This approach challenges traditional policy analysis that assumes that problems exist outside of policies, ready to be solved. WPR involves analysing how problems are conceptualised and produced as particular kinds of problems within policies. It also reveals the underlying assumptions, gaps and effects of the ‘problem’ construction. The compulsory History proposal has provoked much debate with inferences that the imperatives for this unrealistic plan are more about cynical and parochial political objectives than educational and empowering objectives. My study aims to contribute to this debate, and to explore how the particular ‘problem’ representation may result in a compromise of democratic governance commitments. From the WPR analysis, I posit that the compulsory History policy proposal seeks more to construct learners as obedient and compliant citizens that support the current regime, rather than develop critical thinkers who will be active citizens safeguarding democracy in South Africa. The implications of this kind of policy-making practice for democracy in South Africa is alarming, indicating a trend dissonant from the discourse of the South African Constitution. This appears to align with a neo-liberal fight-back in a significant number of other countries around the world. If this is indeed a trend locally, then the rigorous analysis of legitimated policy making is an important step towards political resistance for freedom-loving democrats in South Africa, and even internationally.
Growing social justice educators : how do we improve our practice as social justice educators?
(2006) Quin, Jane Wilhelmina.; Christiansen, Iben Maj.; Hemson, Crispin Michael Cole.
In this study I am aiming to improve my practice as a Social Justice Educator of educator-students, basing my methodology primarily on Jean McNiff's (2002) approach to self-reflective action-research. The self-reflective action-research requirements mean that the study is necessarily an iterative process. I construct tools from within my praxis that has informed my work as a social justice educator. I apply these tools to the work of students (that has been informed by my praxis) to evaluate how well this same praxis lives up to its purpose. Through the same process I seek to improve the tools with which to better frame and name the praxis, for its improvement. From my own and collective writing, working, learning and reading experiences I have aimed to do this by constructing a Trajectory Model describing an understanding of social justice education to apply to the Self-Reflective Action-Research (SR-AR) Reports of our Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) students. I use this process to draw conclusions about the Trajectory Model and indications of social justice educator practice. The Trajectory Model - containing the Critical Elements for indicating social justice education-praxis - is the model I construct for and in this research - for use in our ongoing developmental praxis as social justice educators. The Trajectory Model, for social justice education, is constructed - and hence understood through - a series of layered models of informing concepts and theories. The Trajectory Model is my attempt to describe the standing; yearning-imagining-dreaming; gazing; seeing; thinking-naming and framing; and doing subjective being for social justice - in a way that is communicable and usable to articulate indicators of what I - in this contextual space, time and community of practice - understand to be critical in being a social justice educator 1. The trajectory Model discussion focuses particularly on three Critical Elements: Position and Stance; Indigenous Knowledge Construction; and Agency and Praxis. They are to be 'read' as being embedded within 'imagination and yearning' for a socially just, non-oppressive society - and they all imply self-reflexivity as an integral aspect of their existence. Thus while there are six numbered elements or aspects in the Trajectory Model, it is the three 'intersecting circles' (of the model diagram) that I name to be the central or Critical Elements - the other three being contextualising or 'embedding' 'aspects' rather than 'elements'. Through this process I came to the following primary conclusions: The method of researching the reports was inadequate for the purpose of drawing any but the most tentative conclusions about growth of social justice practice from the work contained in the reports. However, they proved of some value in students' self-reflections on their own social justice praxis. Through the process of engagement and analysis, indications emerged that the constructed tools have value for the purpose of facilitating analysis and articulation of social justice educator praxis through the provision of a conceptual structure to name and frame the work. This has beneficial implications for social justice educator pedagogical development with regard to both praxis and research possibilities for our community of practice as social justice educators at UKZN in the future. The self-reflexivity and collective engagement of the research process in this study has helped to strengthen my practice as an educator of social justice educators, primarily through improving definition and mapping of critical elements in educating for social justice, as I understand it, in relation to current understandings and practiecs in the literature. 1. The discussion in the Introduction to this study, on the reason for using an alternative set of words to the "dreaming, seeing, being" terminology, pertains.
Immanent Umthakathi: critically self-reflexive Dung Beetle Doing: contextually appropriate education for be(com)ing better with_in the world now.
Quin, Jane Wilhelmina.; Hugo, Wayne.
‘Yearning to be bold’, carefully crossing borders of transformative, pragmatic and indigenous paradigm spaces in search of decolonised radical democratic living and learning liberation, this PhD addresses the question: How is critical education for social justice a contextually appropriate response to teacher development for a more just and equitable world? As indicated in the title, through the ‘miracle of metaphor’ this study ‘faces and embraces’ the paradox of domesticating for submission as a PhD, a thesis seeking means to productively balance the love and rage of struggling to do being in better balance within the radical presence of forever becoming living learning of liberation. The entangled whole is presented for intersubjective sensemaking through bricolage, genealogically weaving together critically self-reflexive ethnography of the Parts, defying fracture of dominant definitions. At least, that is the hopeful possibility pursued as a contributory stream. The reflexive journey produced the applied grounding methodology of the whole offering: Dung Beetle Doing, a regenerative cycle working with Seed Pearl conceptual praxis tools. Originally imagined as a ‘PhD by publication’ three Parts shape the whole. Form is maintained through a structural Beanstalk presenting the cultural production of the ‘Bean’ articles it houses. The titles and taglines of the articles hint at their intersecting contribution:  Growing Social Justice Educators: a pedagogical framework for social justice education  Not the Poor Relation: regarding in-service education development programmes as appropriate assets for our context instead of deficit models for of full contact courses  Teachers Changing Worlds: presenting self-reflective action research of in-service social justice education student teachers  A case study on RPL: reflexive practice in continuing education for Teacher Development  Copying the Dung-Beetle: classic enablers and resistors in the search for contextually appropriate teacher learning and knowledge  Harvesting the Bean Pod: PhD proposal: investigating the use of critical social justice education pedagogy as a contextually appropriate approach to teacher development in South Africa within the current global context  JAW-ly making the Book of WOMB in the way that Dung Beetles Do: Justice and Women workers critically self-reflexively document their work in social rights and reproductive health  Dung Beetle Doing: critically self-reflexive praxis for living liberation Readers are welcomed into participation through a Preamble, leading to a Homestead tour laying out the terrain within.
Immanent umthakathi: critically self-reflexive dung beetle doing: contextually appropriate education for be(com)ing better with_in the world now.
(2021) Quin, Jane Wilhelmina.; Hugo, Wayne.
‘Yearning to be bold’, carefully crossing borders of transformative, pragmatic and indigenous paradigm spaces in search of decolonised radical democratic living and learning liberation, this PhD addresses the question: How is critical education for social justice a contextually appropriate response to teacher development for a more just and equitable world? As indicated in the title, through the ‘miracle of metaphor’ this study ‘faces and embraces’ the paradox of domesticating for submission as a PhD, a thesis seeking means to productively balance the love and rage of struggling to do being in better balance within the radical presence of forever becoming living learning of liberation. The entangled whole is presented for intersubjective sensemaking through bricolage, genealogically weaving together critically self-reflexive ethnography of the Parts, defying fracture of dominant definitions. At least, that is the hopeful possibility pursued as a contributory stream. The reflexive journey produced the applied grounding methodology of the whole offering: Dung Beetle Doing, a regenerative cycle working with Seed Pearl conceptual praxis tools. Originally imagined as a ‘PhD by publication’ three Parts shape the whole. Form is maintained through a structural Beanstalk presenting the cultural production of the ‘Bean’ articles it houses. The titles and taglines of the articles hint at their intersecting contribution:  Growing Social Justice Educators: a pedagogical framework for social justice education  Not the Poor Relation: regarding in-service education development programmes as appropriate assets for our context instead of deficit models for of full contact courses  Teachers Changing Worlds: presenting self-reflective action research of in-service social justice education student teachers  A case study on RPL: reflexive practice in continuing education for Teacher Development  Copying the Dung-Beetle: classic enablers and resistors in the search for contextually appropriate teacher learning and knowledge  Harvesting the Bean Pod: PhD proposal: investigating the use of critical social justice education pedagogy as a contextually appropriate approach to teacher development in South Africa within the current global context  JAW-ly making the Book of WOMB in the way that Dung Beetles Do: Justice and Women workers critically self-reflexively document their work in social rights and reproductive health  Dung Beetle Doing: critically self-reflexive praxis for living liberation Readers are welcomed into participation through a Preamble, leading to a Homestead tour laying out the terrain within.
[An intergenerational critically reflective participatory study of] the effects of education on changing livelihood strategies of San people in the Oshana resettlement farm at Okongo, Namibia.
(2021) Ngodji, Iyaloo Ndapewoshali Pendapala.; Quin, Jane Wilhelmina.
San people in Namibia have faced numerous challenges over the years to the extent of even being classified as marginalised even though they are the first living known [in]habitants on the motherland. This study took a critical approach to understanding the effect education has on the livelihood strategies of San People from Oshanashiwa Resettlement Farm in Okongo Constituency of Ohangwena Region. The main objectives were to develop/construct my critical understanding of the nature of livelihoods of young and old San people at Oshanashiwa Resettlement Farm, to investigate the role of non-formal, informal and formal education and learning over time on livelihood strategies and finally to create awareness about contextually appropriate/inclusive education and socioeconomic development policies that better support sustainable livelihood strategies for San people in Oshanashiwa Resettlement Farm and other San people that shares a similar context. Through a participatory research, this qualitative study supported by a critical paradigm used focused groups and a community discussion for data collection. Four focused groups; two groups for participants aged 18 to 45 years, two groups of participants above 45 and one community discussion of a mixed group of both young and old community members were conducted. The grouping was consciouly done to accommodate inputs, opinions and knowledge from different generations of San people. This approach was necessary to get various experiences of livelihoods and educations at different times in the history of San people from Oshanashiwa Resettlement Farm. The analysis found that San people from this farm are going through various social, economic and health challenges such as chronic illnesses, hunger, violence, and abuse. The analysis also revealed that livelihood strategies currently present in the farm such as subsistence farming, selling of crafted items, piecework and food aid from the government are not sustainable. When it came to education and its role on livelihood strategies, formal education has not played a major nor a significant role as most participants only have a primary level education. However, informal and non-formal education predominantly contributed to the current livelihood strategies respectively.
A participatory action research project to improve school readiness in rural Grade R classes in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2018) Mather-Pike, Catherine Elizabeth.; Quin, Jane Wilhelmina.
School readiness in the South African context has multiple complex facets to consider. Many children in South Africa are entering school not ready to learn for a whole range of reasons, sometimes resulting in low levels of reading, learning delays and difficulties and slow progress in their whole development. Long lasting consequences include an inability to break out of the cycle of poverty because of factors contributing to a large percentage of South African children not getting the opportunity to thrive and learn in an optimal environment. Teaching in South Africa therefore has many problems and challenges. Thinking of ways for transforming our South African systems to support all our children reaching their potential is challenging in itself. With our historical past still drenched in Apartheid and power dynamics so much needs to be taken into consideration when thinking about approaches to enable change. This thesis looks at what it means to enable change in South Africa with such a past and such a current situation for many of our children. Participation is explored through a rich, critically reflective process, bringing consciousness to this topic through creating opportunities for change that come from the ground up, by supporting educational development in not only a sustainable way, but one that also engages with pertinent issues of power in our South African context. This study is about the deep, ground level learning that came from participating within a participatory action research project that was planned within a critical paradigm. It is deeply embedded in a critically self-reflective approach using an experiential cyclical way of learning, to activate and facilitate change and development. The PAR team comprised of a mixture of pre-school, Grade R and Grade 1 teachers who, together with myself, sought ways to improve school readiness of children in their particular disadvantaged rural school setting. The overall findings include a systematic way of improving practice in such spaces, highlighting the importance of self-awareness and building relationships.