Doctoral Degrees (Social Science Education)

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Social dynamics of labour relations in rural and urban industry : a sociological perspective of South African industry.
(1986) Lucas, Brian Henry.; Schlemmer, Lawrence.
From a review of sociological theory, and the main features of the South African labour environment, the enquiry was designed to identify pressures for change amongst South African industrial workers. Research involved 554 workers in five industrial situations, ranging from that peripheral to 'black homeland' areas to that of settled urban workers in metropolitan Durban, and 43 managers and supervisors. Factor analysis of data revealed three themes (the 'social dynamics' ) in terms of which workers responded consistently. The first was the causative integration dynamic, the second the responsive dynamic of orientation to change. The interaction of these dynamics defines the nature of internal labour relations. Successful management of these dynamics demanded effective conmunication and involvement. The third theme was identified as the adherence dynamic, representing extrinsic pressures or responsibilities compelling workers to find employment, and inhibiting or regulating their freedom of egress. The external environment is beyond the control of management, and is influenced by both government policy and general economic conditions. Conclusions are that historic restrictions on labour mobility and residence in South Africa have contributed significantly to conditions hindering achievement of South Africa's full growth potential. Growth impediment arises from accumulation of workers in work situations not of their choice, from which they cannot easily escape, and in which they become increasingly uncommitted and alienated. This contributes to gradual development of potential conflict which, considered generally assumes the character of that based on social divisions of class and race. However it also explains, through the example of South African industry, how it is possible for societies to function over long periods of time when significant levels of internal conflict and opposition remain within the bounds of equilibrium. Capitalism in South Africa is seen in the context of an interdependent spiral of gradual economic decline and rising political discontent. Essential steps in its reversal would include removal of all restrictions on personal freedom of movement, and urgent integrative management strategies. South African industry is compared with American and Japanese industry in the social dynamics context. The study draws independent support from, and lends support to theory evolved in United States industry from work done particularly by Hirschman (Hirschman, A.O., 1970), and Sayles (Sayles, L.R., 1958).
The influence of Parthenius on the new poets.
(1996) Somaroo, Harichand.; Matier, K. 0.
This thesis examines the influence of Parthenius' doctrine of erotika pathemata on the Neoteric epyllion. His influence on Cinna has been readily acknowledged, but except for a few incidental and tentative references, little has been made of his role in determining important features of Neoteric poetry; in fact, many Leading scholars in the field fail even to mention him. A survey of the evolution of the epyllion in the Hellenistic world shows a radical transformation of the Callimachean type by Euphorion and Parthenius", in the late Alexandrian era. It is clearly the late Alexandrian epyllion that became popular with the Neoterics, as the relevant works of Catullus and, what can be conjectured about the nature of the lost Neatenc epyllia suggest. There is a marked bias towards tragic love-stories, sensational and bizarre, often metamorphic and with ample scope for emotional analysis and a subjective treatment. These features closely parallel the tenor of Parthenius', summary of 36 love-stories in the Erotika Pathemata, his only wholly extant work. While the collection was dedicated to Comelius Gallus well after most of the Neoteric epyllia were written, it is safe to assume that Parthenius preached his doctrine from the time of his arrival at Rome, as his widely acknowledged influence on Cinna's Zmyrna, perhaps the first Latin epyllion, seems to suggest. This thesis cannot pretend to defend Ross' extravagant claim that "without Parthenius' timely arrival there could have been no New Poetry"; but it can attempt to illuminate Parthenius' central role in establishing the nature of the Neoteric epyllion. This study has been undertaken, then, in the belief that Parthenius' influence on the Neoterics and on the creation of a new genre at Rome warrants closer scrutiny than has so far been attempted. Thus, it seeks to provide an alternate basis for the analysis of poems like 63 and 64, and heralds a possible shift from the emphasis on the autobiographical approach, which, though undoubtedly valid, has been belaboured in recent years to the point of excess. Abbreviated title: Erocika Pathemata and the Neoteric Epyllion.
Formative assessment in accounting : exploring teachers' understanding and practices.
(2012) Ngwenya, Jabulisile Cynthia.; Suriamurthee, Moonsamy Maistry.; Samuel, Michael Anthony.
This study notes the relationship between changing conceptions and focus of Accounting as a discipline and its influence on the changed South African school education curriculum. The study probes whether these above conceptual and curricular changes influence teachers’ understandings of their daily practices as Accounting teachers or not, especially with regard to formative assessment and the selected pedagogy of their classrooms. In particular, the study was interested in exploring the practices of rural teachers, a relatively under-explored area of South African educational research. The study utilised a case study design focusing on one rural school in Umgungundlovu District in KwaZulu-Natal. This qualitative, interpretive inquiry was characterised by multiple data collection methods. Three Accounting teachers who were teaching Accounting in the further education and training band were purposively selected at the school, based on their experience and expertise in Accounting. Data were collected from interviews, lesson observations and document analysis to respond to the key research questions of the study. Field-notes were used to elaborate further on the data produced from interviews and lesson observations. The critical research questions explore teachers’ understandings of formative assessment and their use of it in their classroom, attempting to explain why they understand and apply formative assessment in the way that they do with respect to Accounting teaching in their specific contexts. The study revealed that teachers ostensibly seemed to know about the changes in the official curriculum expectations of the new educational policy. However, these shifts in understanding were relatively superficial and procedural; hence the teachers were not able to translate them into any deep cognitive level in their teaching practice. Their changes in practices were also marginal and limited with respect to the nature of the reconceptualisation of Accounting as a discipline. This was reflected in simple operational level of implementation of the specified curriculum requirements. Their practices placed their learners and their backgrounds as central to their selected teaching choices, instead of the nature of their rural schooling context. Findings of this study revealed that the over-specification of the formal curriculum, teachers’ under-developed understandings of the discipline and the new curriculum and their interpretation of contextual pedagogical responsiveness appear to be possible impediments to teachers’ practices. In an attempt to cope with these challenges teachers devised their strategies to sustain their practices. What emerged from the study is a kind of ‘communal pedagogy’ which teachers developed through their practices in a rural context. Although these practices are not regarded as of a qualitatively sophisticated progressive kind of pedagogy, teachers see contextually appropriate value in them. The study emphasises the need to look beyond the overt practices of rural school teachers, and instead to focus on what informs these practices. While the study is not celebratory of the communal pedagogy, it does attempt to shift the thinking about these practices by focusing on understanding what they are trying to respond to. The study therefore highlights the need to understand teachers’ own explanations of their practices, rather than condemning them. The study suggests that the teaching practices within rurality should not be judged and pathologised because of their specificities of responsiveness to highly contextualised and more likely appropriate factors.
Managerial accounting and financial management students' experiences of learning in a writing intensive tutorial programme.
(2012) Bargate, Karen.; Suriamurthee, Moonsamy Maistry.
Managerial and Financial Management (MAF) has traditionally been perceived by students as a difficult subject. Students do not fully grasp the underlying disciplinary concepts and struggle to transfer knowledge from one context to another. There is a dearth of research, particularly in South Africa, into how students learn in accounting programmes. This study sought to explore MAF students’ experiences of learning in a Writing Intensive Tutorial (WIT) programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The WIT programme is based on the principle of using informal exploratory writing, writing-to-learn, to support students’ learning of MAF. Informal writing is low stakes, ungraded, and encourages critical thinking and the learning of concepts, rather than focusing on grammatical correctness. The study was informed by the tenets of social constructivism and was conducted within a qualitative interpretative framework. Principles of case study research were applied in the data generation process. Purposive sampling was applied that reflected the MAF population in regard to race and gender demographics and academic ability. The participants were 15 MAF students who voluntarily participated in an 18-week WIT programme. Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) (Northcutt & McCoy, 2004) was used for the research design and as a data analysis tool. Following IQA protocol, focus groups were used to generate affinities (themes) of students’ experiences of learning in the WIT programme. From the affinities generated a system diagram was constructed. In-depth semi-structured individual interviews were conducted at the end of the programme to further probe participants’ learning experiences. The primary affinity driving the system was the programme structure. which drove the other affinities – understanding of concepts, challenging the participants, the written tasks undertaken (secondary drivers), making learning fun, improved study techniques and test preparation, criticism of the programme (secondary outcomes), increased personal confidence and the interactive nature of the programme (primary outcomes). The thesis concludes with a proposal of an inductively theorised model. The model derives from the major findings in the study regarding students’ experiences of learning in the WIT programme. The model offers insights for higher education programme designs that utilise writing-to-learn pedagogies and can provide opportunities for students’ to develop deep, conceptual learning in higher education.
An investigation into how history learners view history as a subject in the secondary phase of schooling.
(2016) Subbiah, Charmaine.; Wassermann, Johannes Michiel.
This study investigates how history learners view history as a subject in the secondary phase of schooling in a South African context. The study was guided by two research questions namely: how do history learners in the secondary phase of schooling view history as a subject and; why do history learners in the secondary phase of schooling view the subject the way they do? Although history is perceived as a subject with great value in a democratic South Africa, twenty-one years after the apartheid system was dismantled; South Africans seem to be faced with a scenario where the number of learners taking history at secondary school level is declining. Understanding how school history is viewed in the secondary phase by history learners can lend to an investigation into the declining history learner population in a democratic South Africa. The research methodology that was adopted to explore this topic was qualitative. To guide this qualitative inquiry I decided the most suitable paradigm for the investigation was ‘interpretivism’ from the epistemological stance of constructionism. This linked well with the theoretical framework for the study which was ‘symbolic interactionism’ which guided me as the researcher as I moved from theory to data and from data to theory. The sample for the study consisted of four chosen schools and seventeen learners within the schools. Learners involved in the study fell between the ages of 16 to 18 years old and were grade 11 learners who chose to do history as a subject at secondary school level. The methods used to collect data were creative arts-based research in the form of collages. Other related methods revolving around the collages included presentations of the collages in the form of a gallery walk, group discussions and field-notes. The research data for the study was analysed on two levels. The first level of analysis was based on analysing individual collages using an ‘open coding’ method. The second level of analysis was conducted using an instrument based on six benchmarks which I devised to further analyse the collages and the related methods used in the research study. The major findings that emerged in an inter-textual manner from the study included broad ideas about the content such as school history is viewed as being about South African political history; school history is more than a South African story; school history is about people and school history is about war and violence. Additional findings that emerged were related to school history being about the conceptual and pedagogical idea of the subject and school history is viewed as having an affective/emotive side. Findings revealed that the learners’ participating in this study, as per the theory of symbolic interactionism seem to be very idealistic by dint of their age and way of thinking. Thus, grand ideas of love, and critical views of school history were demonstrated. These participating learners related school history assertively to ‘big truths’. This kind of thinking can be attributed to the fact that as 16 -18 year old learners of grade 11 are so-called philosophical thinkers, according to Egan (1997). Overall, the study has contributed to the literature on how history learners view history as a subject in the secondary phase of their schooling as well as why history learners view the subject the way they do, therefore contributing to filling the gap in the literature for the particular context in which it was conducted.
The geographies of migrant learners in three South African schools : a narrative inquiry.
(2016) Nnadozie, Jude Ifeanyichukwu.; Morojele, Pholoho Justice.
In the recent times, migrants including significant numbers of African migrants have continued to enter South Africa. The high volume of immigrants into South Africa has attracted research attention. However, perhaps overlooked in research is inquiry into the migrant learner’s experience, in terms of what are the migrant learner’s schooling experience and how does it matter. In particular, focal attention is given in this study to the migrant learners from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zimbabwe. Drawing on a qualitative research approach, and employing narrative inquiry methodology, this study explores the schooling experiences of migrant learners from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe in three schools in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Central to the inquiry in this research is the understanding of migrant learner experience of school as space and place in South Africa. The ways the migrant learner experience school as space and place is very much material to the quality of their overall schooling experience which in turn is consequential to the ways in which schools as space and place are constructed in the cultural economy of current South Africa.The study is situated within Social Constructionism and engages the New Sociology of Childhood and Children’s Geographies as the theoretical framework. The theoretical framework as well as the methodology employed in this study make provision for a critical engagement in the analysis of these experiences. The findings in this study reveal the factors that contribute to the schooling experiences of the study participants. Eight themes emerged from the data collected through the means of story account, open-ended interviews and photo voice by the participants. The themes unveil the challenges and limitations the study participants encounter as migrant learners in South Africa. Among the challenges and limitations experienced by the participants are issues of difficulty in gaining access to schooling in South Africa, lack of proper participation in school as a result of lack of proficiency in the use of the languages of instruction and communication in school, experiences of stereotypes about migrants in South Africa and the resulting xenophobic tendencies from some learners and some teachers in school, a sense of exclusion and isolation in school as a result of differences in identities and value systems with South African locals, cultural alienation in school as a result of differences between the way things are done in schools in South Africa and the way things are done in schools in home countries of the participants. On the other hand, findings of the study also reveal the opportunities the study participants have gained from schooling in South Africa, such as opportunities to interact with people from diverse backgrounds and the knowledge gained from such interactions, learning new cultures and languages as well as exposure to better learning resources which the study participants were not used to in their home countries. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations are made for the attention of education authorities, school authorities and educators, authorities in the Department of Home Affairs, authorities in charge of social development in South Africa and recommendations for further research.
Gender representation in four SADC high school Business Studies textbooks.
(2017) Pillay, Preya.; Suriamurthee, Moonsamy Maistry.; Singh, Shakila.
This study assumes that text – the printed word and visual representations – is never neutral; it is always embedded with ideological representations. Textbooks, which are the dominant defining authorities of the curriculum in schools, can therefore be regarded as a key contributor to the curriculum as a site of ideological struggle. Significantly, there may be limited understanding among educators and educational authorities of the ideological nature of the contents of textbooks. As instruments of socialisation, textbooks are important vehicles in the construction of beliefs and attitudes about gender that may not be immediately apparent to the untrained eye. The purpose of this study is to understand the way in which gender is represented in four Business Studies textbooks selected from countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and to theorise their particular representation. More specifically, the focus of this study is to understand how gender is represented in the four SADC textbooks and to develop a theoretical explanation for how the phenomenon presents. This qualitative study is located in the critical paradigm and engages the tenets of feminist critical discourse analysis as the key analytical frame. The purposive sample comprised four contemporary Business Studies textbooks from the last phase of schooling preceding tertiary education. Feminist poststructuralist theory was used in order to examine gender representation in the selected textbooks. Both semiotic and textual representations were examined. The findings reveal that the representations of women and men in these textbooks are indeed ideologically invested and contribute to the perpetuation of patriarchal constructions. At a semantic level, the mention of the male pronoun first in sentences and conversation and not the female pronoun endorses the principle of the firstness and superiority of the masculine. In terms of representation, intersectionality of race, gender and disability is pervasive in the four textbooks. This reinforces the ideology of the able-bodied, heterosexually masculine and white person as the norm for entrepreneurial success. Management, leadership and entrepreneurial knowledge are scripted almost exclusively in favour of the male gender. Representations related to sexual diversity are also absent, thereby endorsing a construct of the idealised businessperson as a white, heterosexual, able-bodied male, excluding females, those of another race or gender, and the disabled. In terms of ‘ideal’ business personality traits, women and others are constructed as relatively incompetent and dependant, while men are portrayed as assertive and forthright. Gender and race bias in occupational roles and careers is also evident in the texts, with women and ‘others’ shown in low-paid occupations or domestic settings, whereas white men are shown in high-paying, high-status, technological occupations, and are mostly absent from domestic settings. The four textbooks promoted Western ideals in which the Western male white canons were reinforced as the norm for business success. These Western ideals are responsible for the different manifestations of marginalisation stereotyping, silencing and limited representation of women and minorities in exceptional roles. This may not be done intentionally – textbook knowledge appears to be constructed ‘unconsciously’ or in ways that reflect oblivion to institutionalised prejudice. The implication of these findings is that development of a more gender-inclusive curriculum is needed, where there is not only representation of the idealised businessperson as a white, heterosexual male. This research suggests that teachers, pre-service teachers and learners may need to engage with the textbooks critically and examine how particular texts are written and why they are written in particular ways. Teachers, pre-service teachers and learners are encouraged to interrogate textbook content. There is also a need for textbook writers to question their own ideological assumptions of gender. This demands a robust introspection of possible stereotypes and uncritical assimilation of regressive gender ideologies that may be perpetuated. It is only by reflecting on and reworking oppressive gender norms, that a gender-inclusive curriculum might be contemplated.
The experiences of Rwandan secondary schools' history teachers in teaching the genocide against the Tutsi and its related controversial issues.
(2017) Buhigiro, Jean Leonard.; Wassermann, Johannes Michiel.
After the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, a moratorium was placed on the teaching of history in Rwandan secondary schools. This was done because the subject was considered as one of the causes of the Genocide. When reintroduced the subject contained content related to the Genocide. This study was motivated by the idea of understanding the experiences of Rwandan secondary schools’ history teachers on teaching the Genocide against the Tutsi and its related controversial issues. This study adopted a qualitative approach with a sample of seven history teachers from across Rwanda. A range of research methods, including drawings, photo-elicitation, semi-structured interviews and self-interviews, were used for gathering the data for this thesis. It was found that the commencement of teaching the Genocide was a daunting task which inspired fear and anxiety. This was due to the fact that the Genocide is a recent event and the wounds are still fresh in the minds of both teachers and learners who were affected in one way or another by the event. Due to the sensitivity of the topic the participating teachers, as stipulated by the curriculum, hardly used the participatory approach. Equally, parents feared talking to learners about certain topics related to the Genocide. The overarching reasoning being to prevent hatred ideas, that could contradict the official version of the history of the Genocide, from finding its way into classrooms. Consequently, teachers were more inclined to use teacher centred methods and comply with the curricula and official version of the history of the Genocide. This was done so as to educate patriots capable of preventing genocide, and promote unity and harmonious living. Moreover, the prevalence of teacher centred methods led the teacher to avoid the actual Genocide by focusing on topics such as the pre- and post-colonial histories of Rwanda. In the teaching process, a range of issues including the content, the curriculum, the collaboration with parents and the teaching methods have been identified as controversial. Issues such as, for example, the double genocide theory and the naming of the Genocide were considered as controversial. Additionally, certain vi resources such as films proved to be inappropriate because they traumatised learners. Consequently learners’ emotions also hindered the achievement of the stated aims as most of the teachers lacked the ability to deal with such situations. Evidence from teachers’ experiences indicated that most controversial issues were actually raised by the learners. In the analysis process, the theoretical framework on teaching controversial issues by Stradling (1984) and other scholars did not totally fit the Rwandan context. Some specific positions, such as playing devil’s advocate and risk-taking, were avoided for not propagating Genocide denial or divisive ideas. Instead alongside indoctrination and stated commitment, compliance for self-care emerged as the best explanation for why the history teachers taught the Genocide and its related controversial issues the way they did.
Investigating Holocaust education through the personal stories of history teachers.
(2017) Gouws, Brenda Raie.; Wassermann, Johannes Michiel.
This study is an investigation into Holocaust education through the personal stories of history teachers. It answers two research questions: what are the personal stories of history teachers and how do these stories shape their teaching of the Holocaust? Following narrative inquiry theory and methodology, the study examines the personal stories of seven history teachers in KwaZulu-Natal who teach the Holocaust as part of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for History in a post-apartheid, post-colonial context. Whilst some history teachers in South Africa have taken part in targeted Holocaust education workshops, the majority have not. This study focuses on those history teachers who teach the Holocaust with only the curriculum, textbook and personal stories at hand. Responding to the first research question, the restoried stories of the seven participants are told. To answer the second research question, I conducted a cross-story thematic analysis of the restoried stories to find common themes and categories and thereby develop a deeper understanding of how the Holocaust is taught in South African schools. The study draws on the theories of Clandinin and Connelly to theorise that history teachers use their personal stories to teach this complex, emotive topic to fourteen- and sixteenyear-old learners, the majority of whom have had little or no contact with Jews. It also seeks to expand the body of methodological knowledge and pushes narrative inquiry boundaries by telling the restoried stories in a manner that narrativises real events and places them in a creative setting. The result is a model for assessing history teachers’ personal story usage in Holocaust education. It illustrates that history teachers tell both overt and veiled stories. Overt stories are educative, societal, connective and biographical in nature, while veiled stories are both seen and unseen. There are even irrelevant stories, depending on what transpires in the Holocaust classroom. And finally, there are stories that are not told; submerged stories that lie below the surface but nonetheless shape the teaching of the Holocaust. The study concludes with ways in which the thesis adds new knowledge to the body of work on Holocaust education and history teachers’ personal stories.
Teaching practices in management accounting and finance.
(2017) Wood, Nicholas Anthony.; Suriamurthee, Moonsamy Maistry.
Attempts over many years internationally to reform higher education teaching and learning in the discipline of accounting, by broadening curricula and adopting learner-centred pedagogies to more effectively equip graduates with the requisite professional skills and attributes, have proved elusive, owing to a number of interrelated barriers at faculty, institutional, student and professional levels (O’Connell, 2015; The Pathways Commission, 2012). More recently, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) (2010), the professional accounting association that accredits South Africa’s higher education institutions’ accounting programmes, introduced a competency-based framework with similar objectives to those specified above. Although accounting education literature offers general insights into the nature and influencing factors of teacher- and learner-centred practices in lecturing and tutoring contexts, the depth of understanding is limited, owing, it appears, to the paucity of rich qualitative case study research on pedagogy in accounting courses. To address this gap, and against the background of attempts to reform accounting education, an in-depth qualitative case study was conducted, exploring managerial accounting and finance lecturing and tutoring practices in a postgraduate module at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The study’s use of multiple data sources, including module materials, direct observations supplemented by video recordings, and conventional and video-stimulated reflection (VSR) interviews, yielded rich insights into the phenomena. Convenience sampling was used to select the two educator participants in the study, one on the Westville campus and the other the Pietermaritzburg campus. The data was analysed using a content and thematic analysis approach. Confirming the literature, teacher-centred practices dominated lectures while tutorials were more learner-centred, but in each context the participants experienced constraints in their attempts to initiate higher levels of student engagement. These barriers, together with enablers that emerged from the study, were uniquely modelled in the context of Shulman’s (1986) knowledge bases to demonstrate their influence on teaching practices. By differentiating barriers into explicit or implicit categories, and enablers according to pedagogical or content knowledge, the model highlights, as in this study, the imperative of addressing educators’ restricted pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge to vi enable them to negotiate teaching tensions experienced as they seek to adopt more learner-centred practices. In this way the model extends theory by providing fresh insights into the challenge of overcoming obstacles to adopting learner-centred pedagogies. While the most significant explicit and implicit barriers in this study were SAICA’s accreditation requirements and the participants’ restricted pedagogical knowledge, the strongest enabling factors were critical reflection and continuing professional development (CPD). A further unique contribution of the study to accounting education literature was its highlighting of the value, and the novel revelation in this higher education context, of VSR processes as a means of prompting educators’ critical reflection on their practices. In this instance, it marked the commencement of constructive discussion and engagement on advancing teaching and learning practices, thus laying the foundation for pointed, situation-specific CPD.
Students' learning of threshold concepts in undergraduate economics.
(2017) Schroenn Goebel, Jessica Luise.; Suriamurthee, Moonsamy Maistry.
Economics is often experienced by students as a difficult subject. Disciplinary difficulty manifests internationally in high failure rates and concerns about the quality of learning and teaching in undergraduate economics. These concerns may be compounded in the South African higher education context, where academic underpreparedness among students is one of many challenges. There is a need to deepen qualitative understanding of students’ learning in economics, and of ways in which it may be facilitated, which calls for a broader framing than the one inherent in the quantitative investigations of performance that predominate in economics education research in this country. This study therefore set out to explore economics students’ learning in a tutorial programme informed by the threshold concepts framework (Land et al., 2016; Meyer and Land, 2003) — a theoretical perspective that offers an encompassing view of disciplinary learning not previously used in this context. This was a qualitative, interpretive study informed by social constructivist principles in teaching and learning as well as research methodology. The case study was set in a threshold concepts-infused, peer-group discussion-centred tutorial programme based in Intermediate Microeconomics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and attended by twenty volunteers from the mainstream class. Interactive Qualitative Analysis (Northcutt and McCoy, 2004) was used to generate and analyze data: focus groups generated affinities (themes) reflecting students’ learning, from which a system diagram was constructed. The affinities were elaborated in individual interviews, supplemented by participants’ written reflections. Together the data provided rich descriptions of learning in the students’ voices. The primary driver of learning was the Group Dynamics affinity — peer interactions in the tutorials — which influenced the other affinities: the Learning Journey through disciplinary concepts and metalearning to Economic Thinking, the Goals that directed and mediated learning, the Personal Outcomes participants related, and the Feelings which pervaded and influenced the course of learning. The systemic nature of this representation of learning and the reciprocal influences among its elements could accommodate complexity and variation in students’ experiences. The thesis offers a graphical and conceptual representation of the experiences and processes of learning in the threshold concepts-infused programme, abstracted from participants’ descriptions. This tentative model depicts disciplinary learning as a challenging and transformative process, requiring that students engage with both head (cognition and metacognition) and heart (conation, affect and identity). In this case, the pedagogy involving peer-group learning supported both aspects. If the discipline as experienced aligns with students’ sense of self, learning is more likely to be experienced as meaningful, facilitating the engagement of students’ inner resources to sustain academic commitment, and in turn enhancing cognitive and metacognitive development. This view of learning can open up our understanding of what it means to learn and to teach in economics and in higher education.
Black African parents and school history: a narrative inquiry.
(2019) Langa, Mauricio Paulo.; Wassermann, Johannes Michiel.; Maposa, Marshall Tamuka.
This study set to explore narratives on how Black African parents experienced school history in the apartheid era and how these experiences informed the parents’ views of school history in post-apartheid South Africa. Literature on schooling during apartheid shows that most Black Africans’ experiences were characterised by difficulty. It also shows how school history was abused as a tool to promote the apartheid ideology. However, Black Africans’ experiences of school history are under-researched. This motivated the need to explore narratives of Black Africans, especially if one considers the fact that these Africans are now parents whose views may inform their children’s decisions on studying school history. This study was guided by two research questions: What are the narratives of Black African parents as they relate to school history in both apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa; and How do their narratives explain why their children do or do not do school history? The Narrative Inquiry methodology was employed to make sense of the lived experiences of the participants (Black African parents). The study was situated within the critical paradigm, which tallies with Critical Race Theory, which is the theoretical framework. The sample comprised ten participants, who were purposively chosen middle class Black African parents. The data was generated through semi-structured interviews enhanced by photo elicitation and was analysed through open-coding. The first level of analysis generated narratives which both diverged and converged. The findings from the second level of analysis showed that the participants had negative experiences of education in general and school history in particular during the apartheid era. As a result of these negative experiences, Black African parents admit to not wanting their children to study history, despite the acknowledgement that the post-apartheid school history curriculum has improved. This shows that the parents project their negative experiences of school history onto their children. This is not helped by the finding that while the apartheid government’s conception of school history deterred the participants from promoting history, the post-apartheid government has inadvertently continued to solidify the parents’ anti-history resolve because of the promotion of sciences over humanities. This phenomenon is theorised as Perpetual Stagnation a model that explains how Black African parents’ narratives in relation to school history have remained largely negative regardless of change in time and circumstances. Therefore, the study concludes that Black African parents viewed apartheid as monstrous and evil as well as oppressive system. Also, school history education under apartheid was viewed by participants as meaningless and memory discipline thus leading the participants to dislike the subject. Furthermore, the study showed that in post-apartheid South Africa Black African parents have much expectations for their children while at the same time admitting that school history curriculum has changed for the better since apartheid. In nutshell, the study concludes that while apartheid policies made the school history unlikable to participants, the post-apartheid policies of prioritising mathematics and science has equally made school history unlikable. This stagnation shows how some things have changed in post-apartheid era, while some have remained the same.
South African primary school migrant teachers’ school-based experiences in the Arab Gulf countries.
(2020) Anganoo, Lucille-Dawn.; Manik, Sadhana.
This study explored the reasons for South African teachers from primary schools migrating to teach in the Arab Gulf. It also examined what were migrant teachers’ initial school-based experiences in the Arab Gulf countries and after six months including why they have these particular experiences. Theories of international migration (neoclassical, dual labour, new economics and social networks) relevant to the migration of the highly skilled and theories on migrant teachers’ experiences (Huberman, 1989; Day & Kington, 2008; Bailey & Mulder, 2017; Miller, 2019) and acculturation (Bense, 2016), informed the study. The data was generated from a qualitative ethnographic case study using interviews, focus group discussions and diary entries. The majority of the teachers in the sample migrated to primary and secondary schools in Abu Dhabi due to feelings of ‘relative deprivation’ as a result of economic reasons and the enormous perks offered by recruitment agencies in this destination. Their profiles revealed that they were also predominantly seasoned teachers of Indian descent. The pull factors influencing their decisions were greater than the push factors and these included the high salary earned abroad, better professional development opportunities, living in an Islamic country and easy travel to other destinations from the Arab Gulf. A key finding of the present study, was that of unencumbered movers in the sample: seasoned female migrant teachers who were single, with no children. Common migrant teachers’ experiences included having an abundance of resources that assisted in curriculum delivery, perceived ill-disciplined learners and a lack of parental involvement in public schools in Abu Dhabi, the language barrier inhibiting teaching and learning and xenophobia. Migrant teachers showed initiative in quickly learning how to customize their lessons according to each learner’s ability so that learners were able to pass their assessments. The findings revealed that those migrant teachers who integrated within a year, were attached to the Gulf society and chose to remain and some had returned for a second contract in the Gulf, whereas those migrant teachers who endured unpleasant experiences such as racial and professional discrimination, felt excluded and marginalised, and harboured thoughts of returning to South Africa. The professional identities of migrant teachers were clearly not fixed but altered through acculturation in the host country.
Integrating indigenous knowledge into the teaching of weather and climate in the geography curriculum in secondary schools: the case of Manicaland in Zimbabwe.
(2020) Risiro, Joshua.; Manik, Sadhana.
The aim of this study was to explore integrating Indigenous Knowledge (IK) into the teaching of weather and climate in Geography in secondary schools in Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe. The study was motivated by the need to enhance and promote the integration of IK into the teaching of Geography in Zimbabwe. Available literature has shown that very little has occurred to integrate IK in the teaching of Geography in Zimbabwe. Most of the available literature has focused on the nature and importance of IK without explicitly focusing on the application of IK in teaching. This study therefore focused on the views of teachers and community elders regarding decolonisation of the curriculum and integrating IK in the teaching of weather and climate in Geography. The study further explored how IK can feature in the teaching of weather and climate in Geography. Finally, the study examined the challenges that might be faced in the process of integrating IK in the teaching of Geography. The interpretive paradigm guided the study. A Qualitative research method that made use of interviews and focus group discussions was used to collect data from the participants. The population sample included interviews with fourteen (14) community elders and sixteen (16) education practitioners. In addition, seven (7) focus group discussions with community elders and another seven (7) with educators were facilitated. Purposive sampling was adopted to select the participants of the study. The study revealed that integrating IK into the Geoography syllabus was strongly mooted as a way of decolonizing the curriculum. The community elders were of the view that the integration of IK in the teaching of Geography was a way of restoring Zimbabwean national heritage which had been lost due to foreign influences stemming from colonisation. The elders believed that, the teaching of Geography was supposed to incorporate African unhu/ubuntu values and experiences among the learners that build a total person. Teachers believed that integrating IK in Geography would enhance the use indigenous pedagogical practices resulting in a better understanding of geographical concepts. It was revealed that the teachers could use various pathways of integrating IK in the teaching of Geography. Both the community elders and teachers believed that local language/dialect usage, indigenous methods of weather forecasting and the role of spirituality should be integrated in the teaching of Geography and this would provide a much-needed authentic education in the Geography curriculum. Thus, indigenising the Geography curriculum can also be heralded as cultural and linguistic pluralism in the syllabus which is currently absent. However, disappointingly, many Geography teachers held negative beliefs of indigenous practices and they did not believe that IK held equal status with western Science. They provided simplistic ideas such as cultural songs in the lesson introduction as a way of integratiing IK into lessons on weather and climate. Several challenges to the integration of IK in the teaching of weather and climate in Geography were suggested by the participants and these included religious factors, government policies, modernisation, a lack of resources and assessment. The study advances a process model for the integration of IK in the Geography curriculum in Zimbabwe. It was observed that there was a need for future studies to research the use of indigenous knowledge and practices in classroom teaching to grow the literature in this field.
Discourses of entrepreneurship in contemporary commerce textbooks in secondary schools in selected Southern African Development Community (SADC) Countries.
(2020) Hutchinson, Maud Victoria.; Maistry, Suriamurthee Moonsamy.
Strong emphasis has been placed on entrepreneurship in recent times as scholars and policy makers, including those in the field of education, regard it as a remedy for the social and economic challenges facing societies. Various programmes and courses promoting entrepreneurship can thus be found in the official school curriculum in many countries and numerous textbooks, specifically commerce textbooks are dedicated to the study of this phenomenon. In many classrooms, textbooks are a popular resource for the dissemination of ‘factual’ knowledge, such as entrepreneurship education to students. However, a number of studies have reported that the seemingly objective knowledge in textbooks that has been thoroughly screened by educational officials and approved for classroom use is not neutral but loaded with various ideologies and other one-sided incomplete knowledge. Against this background, this study adopted a qualitative critical research approach and applied the tenets of Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA) to critically analyse entrepreneurship discourses in contemporary commerce textbooks in selected Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. MDA encompasses Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Visual Semiotics Analysis (VSA). The CDA and VSA methods drew on the frameworks of Fairclough (1989; 2001), Huckin (1997), Machin and Mayr (2012) and Nene (2014) to uncover the construction of entrepreneurship in the selected commerce textbooks. The findings of the study indicate that, despite regular revision, the analysed textbooks present an ideological rather than a factual perspective of entrepreneurship. The main ideological formations identified were the ease of business formation; personal enrichment; foregrounding of males as exemplary entrepreneurs, leaders and managers; stereotyping of gender roles; women on the lowest rung of the entrepreneurship hierarchy; economic growth; job creation; solution to poverty; improved standard of living and effortless globalisation. This resulted in selective entrepreneurship knowledge being presented to students in textbooks, with little attention paid to the realities of this phenomenon. Moreover, the ideologies that emerged promoted neoliberal and capitalistic values and were gender biased and gender insensitive. Students are thus presented with a one-sided version of entrepreneurship. This can be attributed to the assumptions in entrepreneurship scholarship and the neoliberal capitalistic ideology that is entrenched in societies and educational institutions around the globe, as well as the fact that entrepreneurship is not gender neutral. Finally, textbooks are biased political and ideological tools. The implications of these findings are that the different stakeholders involved in the production of textbooks should scrutinise them on a regular basis and improve them by including the reality of entrepreneurship, such as business failure, hardship and the many taken-for-granted assumptions and ideologies underlying entrepreneurship scholarship. The quality of textbooks and whether they are suitable resources to impart entrepreneurship knowledge should also be taken into consideration. This would help to enhance learning and also convey only factual and up-to-date knowledge to students in classrooms.
An exploration of the intended, enacted and achieved environmental education curriculum within the Social Studies teacher education programme at a Nigerian university.
(2020) Aladejebi, David Toyin.; Singh-Pillay, Asheena.
The global environmental crises relating to issues such as climate change and environmental degradation has become a thing of great concern to all nations of the world. In response to the impeding environmental challenges the Nigerian Government established the Federal Environmental Protection Agency that developed the National Policy on Environment Education. This Federal Environment Protection National Agency is responsible for provision of policies and guidelines for the management of the Nigerian environment and for ensuring that the Nigerian population is environmentally literate. However, despite the policy intervention to safeguard the environment and natural resources as well as the Nigerian population’s high levels of literacy they are oblivious of the National Policy on Environmental Education goals and continue to degrade the environment. Consequently, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency identified inadequate environmental literacy as the factors responsible for Nigerian citizens degrading the environment. The National Policy on Environment Education identified teachers of Social Sciences as key role players to promote environmental literacy among learners at schools and the communities within which they work. It is worth noting that the level of environmental knowledge acquired by the teachers will determine what and how they will teach. Therefore, for teachers to effectively play their roles of raising the level of awareness of the Nigerian population about demonstrating environmentally friendly behaviour, the need to acquire adequate knowledge about and understanding of environmental issues cannot be underscored enough. In other words, the teachers have very important roles to play in raising citizens that would take informed decisions aimed at achieving the sustainability of the human environment and its resources for present and future uses. This qualitative study employs a case study research design within the interpretative paradigm in a bid to explore the intended, enacted and achieved Environmental Education Curriculum within the Social Studies Teacher Education Programme. The study draws on Remillard and Heck’s (2014) model of the curriculum policy, design, and enactment system for its theoretical framework. The study was carried out at AA University in Nigeria and seeks to establish how the Pre-service Social Studies teachers are trained to teach EE in schools. Six Social Studies lecturers and twenty- vii four pre-service Social Studies teachers were purposively selected for the study. The data generation was done through document analysis of two policy documents (the National Policy on Environment and AA University’s SS curriculum/lecture pack) to ascertain the level of alignment between both; other data generation instruments are open-ended questionnaire, individual interviews, focus group interviews and classroom observation, while the data generated from the responses of the participants was analyzed through content analysis. Findings from the study revealed that there is constructive alignment and convergence between the NPEE and the AA University’s Social Studies curriculum in terms of the need being attended to by both policy documents, the targeted audience, the goals of both curricula and the content area covered by both curricula. Furthermore, findings revealed a divergence between the intended SS curriculum and the enacted curriculum due to the fact that chalk and talk/lecture method was predominantly used rather than constructive teaching strategies advocated for the training of the PSSSTs as contained in the SS curriculum. In view of the divergence observed between the intended SS curriculum and the enacted curriculum, it becomes difficult to achieve what was advocated in the SS curriculum/lecture pack used for training the PSSSTs. Additionally, findings revealed that the learning of EE is enhanced by the availability of resources to the SS lecturers, as well as the knowledge of the benefits derivable from EE on the part of the PSSSTs while the learning of EE is constrained by use of inappropriate teaching strategies by the SS lecturers, lack of adequate EE content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) on the part of the SS lecturers, insufficient EE content in the SS programme, insufficient financial resources as well as inadequate respect for the environment demonstrated by the PSSSTs. The study therefore recommends the use of appropriate teaching strategies (constructive approach) to train the PSSSTs, a review of the SS curriculum to include sufficient EE content, improvement in SS lecturers’ EE content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and the provision of sufficient financial resources.
Male university peer-educator students’ understandings of masculinities and their connection to gender-based violence.
(2021) Ngubane., Sibusiso Siphesihle.; Singh, Shakila.
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a serious concern in societies worldwide. In recent years there has been much focus on GBV at institutions of higher learning, with research showing female students being the main victims of violence perpetrated by men. Men being the main perpetrators of violence puts masculinities under the spotlight and calls for a deeper understanding of how men construct and conduct themselves. Against the backdrop of research investigating the link between masculinities and violence, this study focuses on male university peer-educator students’ (MUPES’) understandings of masculinities and their connection to GBV.1 Given the continued global efforts to involve men in the fight against GBV, and the realisation that peer education can improve students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviour in different fields (e.g. sexual health issues, sexual violence prevention and social issues), the study sought to explore how MUPES’ understandings of masculinities contributed towards reducing GBV or maintaining the status quo. This qualitative study draws on gender theories that view masculinities as socially and culturally constructed rather than being biologically determined. Biological determinism positions men and women as inherently different and opposite, hence facilitating justified male power and female subordination. Important in understanding male power and GBV is how men construct hegemonic masculinity, which is a form that highlights that some masculine expressions are powerful and regarded as more valid than others. Understanding hegemonic masculine norms is key, as they are important components to disrupt for the prevention of GBV. The data were generated by means of a mapping workshop, individual interviews and focus group discussions with drawings from a purposively selected group of male students who lived at the university residences and were members of the Campus HIV/AIDS Support Unit (CHASU). The findings suggest that MUPES are aware of gender inequalities and how these promote violence, and understand GBV as emanating from asymmetrical gender power within sociocultural processes. The findings also highlight the hegemonic campus masculinities that were constructed around materiality, contributing to the unequal gender relations through female students’ perceived consenting behaviours that suggested legitimation to their subordination. The MUPES constructed themselves in complex ways, as their articulations vacillated between complying with and challenging hegemonic masculine norms. They viewed themselves as having the capacity to deconstruct the harmful campus masculinities and rework their own limiting identities, as well as to encourage positive change in other male students. The findings also point to the importance of peer education as a vital platform that enables male students to take the lead in discussions about gender norms that produce and promote GBV. Most of the male peer-educator students who participated in the study embraced the expectations and responsibilities that accompanied their position, their articulations being characterised by varying degrees of reflexivity. This study argues for the importance of encouraging young men to engage in reflecting on their own beliefs and practices, and then to extend that process to working with other young men, and thus challenge and rework the harmful masculinities that lead to GBV at universities.
Teenage pregnancy and motherhood as barriers to girls’ access and success in education in a South African township: a qualitative study.
(2021) Mcambi, Sithembile Judith.; Moletsane, Relebohile.
This qualitative study aimed to examine the ways in which pregnancy and motherhood influenced a group of 16 purposely selected teenage girls living in a South African township to drop out from school. The study addressed the following research question: In what ways do pregnancy and motherhood function as barriers to teenage girls’ access and success in school? Located within the social constructivist paradigm, the study utilised a qualitative research design to address the research question. The data generation methods included in-depth individual interviews with the 16 participants, field notes and my reflective research journal. To understand the factors that influenced the girls’ or their parents’/guardians’ decision making regarding schooling, data analysis is informed by the gender socialisation theory (Elkin, 1968) and Bronfenbrenner’s (1977; 1979) ecological systems theory. Data was analysed using the thematic analysis method and the themes were used to inform the findings from the study. The key findings of this study suggest that most of the pregnancies were unplanned and/or unwanted. As such, they brought feelings of shame, regret and remorse to the participants as they felt that they had disappointed their parents and families. The findings suggest that a number of factors forced the girls to dropout of school. Some were suspended from school (despite the country’s policies prohibiting their exclusion), while others were pulled out of schools by their parents or guardians as punishment or to look after their children. Further, the girls reported feeling overwhelmed by the competing demands of motherhood and schooling, and were therefore, forced to withdraw from school to take care of their children. Stigma and rejection, withdrawal of support, including childcare and financial support, also forced some of the teenage mothers to leave school. At the personal and social level, discrimination and bullying from peers, inability to balance mothering responsibilities with school work also led to school dropout. However, for some, they saw their dropout from school as a temporary setback, and were determined to go back to school and complete. Their reasoning was that, with an education, they would be able to get out of poverty and to better take care of their children. The thesis draws implications for policy makers, curriculum developers, teachers and others stakeholders regarding interventions that would ensure adequate policy implementation in schools, and provision of support for pregnant girls and young women in the community and schools to enable them to stay and complete their schooling.
The role of environmental education in climate change mitigation and adaptation: the case of Gwanda rural district, Zimbabwe.
(2021) Sibanda, Arorisoe.; Manik, Sadhana.
The purpose of this research was centred on the role of Environmental Education (EE) in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The study sought to explore the successes and challenges of EE efforts in climate change mitigation and adaptation among the communities of Gwanda rural district in Zimbabwe. An interpretive qualitative case study research approach was used to explore EE efforts in the rural drought-prone area in Zimbabwe. The participants comprised farmers whose livelihoods are dependent on natural resources and government support officials such as the Agriculture and Extension Services Department (AGTRITEX) and the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) officials). Data generation tools included semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. A sample of 38 research participants from two wards of Gwanda rural district were used, and there were 19 research participants per ward. The Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (SRL) Framework and the Nested model of sustainability guided the study. The findings indicate a myriad of EE efforts by the government and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that require local innovations in their implementation. The research indicated that there are numerous climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies being implemented in the Gwanda rural district. Some of these strategies are ineffective, whilst some are successful. There were inconsistencies and a lack of coordination in some climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies which are being implemented. The research indicated cultural resistance by some farmers who are not implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies that have proved to be successful in the district due to traditional beliefs and practices. Therefore, there is a need to embark on EE programmes to address issues that hinder the adoption of successful climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. All cultural beliefs and practices that hinder the implementation of successful climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies should be addressed through the engagement of traditional leaders. The study revealed that for EE programmes to be effective, they have to focus on harnessing local expertise that is collaborative efforts between extension agents and communities to craft EE programmes for local use. The research also indicated that a 'one size fits all’ approach will not lead to successful implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies because there are situated vulnerabilities. COVID-19 has also worsened situated vulnerabilities in Gwanda rural district mainly due to recurring national lockdowns which inhibit the local communities’ access to treated seeds from local towns. Also, the retrenchment of workers has worsened the vulnerabilities of communities because a loss of income negatively affects capital assets which compromises generative resilience. Thus, the study advocates for the use of indigenous seeds that avoid inconveniences during national lockdowns because communities will be using locally available seeds which are well adapted to the local conditions. Two models were developed in this study towards this end, to illustrate the roles of EE in enhancing generative resilience and reducing situated vulnerability in Gwanda. The models developed are EE for Rural Sustainable Livelihoods (EERSL) and the Box Model for Rural Sustainable Livelihoods (BMRSL). The models were developed focussing on different levels of intervention: the micro, meso, and macro levels whilst extrapolating concepts of SRLF and the Nested model of sustainability. They illustrate that the key determinants of sustainable livelihoods in the context of Gwanda, are EE and financial funding. As a result, the study found that EE and capital assets are critical in reducing the vulnerability of communities in drought-prone areas. They also enhance resilience, environmental stewardship and promote sustainable livelihoods. The study suggests exploring African solutions to African problems and the harnessing of indigenous knowledge systems in developing local solutions to local problems. The data from the study can be utilised in EE programmes to boost the resilience of rural communities, which are vulnerable to climate change in Gwanda rural district, Zimbabwe.
Poverty, school - aged pregnancy, parenthood and schooling in three township secondary schools in Kwazulu- Natal, South Africa.
(2021) Mkhathini, Audrey Sibongile.; Morojele, Pholoho Justice.; Motsa, Ncamsile Daphne.
The thesis consists of six manuscripts, that are collectively intended to explore how poverty affects the navigation of pregnancy, parenting and schooling of school-aged girls in three underprivileged township secondary schools in Durban in the Province of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, and the way in which the girls interpret their situations. The intention was to gain a deeper insight into the effect of poor socio- economic conditions on the pregnant girls and mothers‟ experiences, the navigation process and what they think could be done to improve their situation. The study was framed by the social constructionism theory to comprehend the daily life experiences of pregnant girls and mothers and the meaning they create from the situations that they face. Children‟s Geographies and intersectional models were further adopted to provide clear understanding of the intersection of poverty and the way in which girls challenge their situations. The study used qualitative narrative inquiry that illuminated pregnant girls‟ and mothers‟ situations and also the teachers‟ narratives. The research process took place in three secondary schools located in two poverty-stricken townships in Durban. Purposive sampling was used to select nine school-aged pregnant girls and mothers, two girls were from two schools and the other five girls were all from the same school. Participants‟ ages were between 15 to 19 years and they were in grades 10 to 12. To gather data from nine (9) participants, semi-structured individual and focus group interviews were employed. A participatory research method in the form of a mapping exercise and photo voice exercises were used for six participants to express their experiences, meanings and thoughts about their situation of negotiating parenting, pregnancy and of acquiring education in conditions of socio-economic scarcity. Teachers were also purposefully selected and were between 30 and 52 years old and had worked with pregnant girls and mothers from poverty- affected areas. Questionnaires and individual interviews were used to collect data from five teachers. The research process took place in pregnant girls‟ and mothers‟ natural settings where incidents that formed the girls‟ experiences when negotiating pregnancy, parenting, acquiring education and meaning as well as coping tactics, were formulated. The socially constructed beliefs based on culture and morality reduced the girls‟ space for social acceptance and optimism that could bring change to the life they are living. Social values became the source of negative interactions and reactions that pregnant girls and mothers experienced in their social circles, in their families, community and at school. That ranges from judgements to name calling - unfair treatment, rejection and loss of friendship that made girls live lives of guilt and regret. The study found that on top of well- known common disruptions that are brought about by pregnancy and parenting to all the school-aged girls, scarcity of means and poor familial relationships worsen the situation. This is because pregnant girls and mothers faced extra responsibilities and challenges that other school-aged pregnant girls and mothers with privileged economic background and favourable family relationships did not face. Namely, providing for themselves, the lack of basic needs and money, inability to access social assistance due to lack of adult guidance and knowledge that brought hardships and challenges to their schooling careers. The study maintains that the poverty that most girls experience is exacerbated by various factors that resulted from social or familial injustices and unreliable social systems. All of these impact negatively on the girls‟ navigation process. Hence, poor socio-economic conditions did not only become the sole determinant of the different experiences that pregnant girls and mothers faced in their journey, but it also brought numerous challenges that complicated the girls schooling journey. In addition, penurious conditions also exposed girls to powerlessness, dependency and lowered their selfesteem. This taught them to deny themselves and their personal needs and to prioritise their children and other people‟s interests and this interfered with their emotional and psychosocial development. The study further found that pregnant girls and mothers were subjected to various social injustices. In addition; pregnancy and parenting resulted in various surprising reactions and interactions for school-aged girls as it disclosed realities that hurt their feelings such as, witnessing the diminution of their effectiveness in their families and being replaced by their babies. All pregnant girls and mothers demonstrated great zeal to finish school to improve their babies and family‟s lives so they had to show resilience towards the odd situations that they faced to get education. This included, coming up with various strategies as their coping mechanisms which included, listening to their parents and teachers, ignoring negative reactions, making use of available assistance even if others laugh at them, and starting their days earlier and finishing them later than others. The study found out that the agency that girls demonstrated is not sufficient to take them to where they want to be but that they need support. Although they are pregnant and are mothers, they are still young, so community and family support is considered crucial for them to negotiate the situation in a stigma-free environment. The study concluded that the community, schools and homes are the best places that could constitute this kind of environment if it were to be encouraging and less judgemental. At the school level, School Management Team (SMT) and teachers should familiarise themselves with guidelines on learner pregnancy prevention and management and they should be more willing to be proactive and sensitive to the issue of poverty among pregnant girls and mothers. Also, they should ensure that there is a policy that will be followed by the school that should be known by all the teachers. The Department of Education should enrich the curriculum in such way that it equips learners with moneymaking and management skills. Different Government Departments need to work collaboratively with the Department of education in order to assist pregnant girls and mothers to achieve their goals by providing relevant guidance such as the procedure to access social security.

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