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Masters Degrees (Social Science Education)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/7162

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Social Science Education) by SDG "SDG4"

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    Improving grade 10 learners’ academic performance in accounting using principles of assessment for learning.
    (2023) Cele, Delani Power.; Mahlomaholo , Makeresemese Rosy.
    This study aimed to design a strategy to improve Grade 10 learners’ academic performance in accounting using the principles of assessment for learning. Assessment for learning is any assessment whose design and practice are designed and prioritized to promote learners’ learning (Flórez & Sammons, 2013). There are several strategies that AFL offers, and the study used the following strategies: selfregulation, self-assessment, peer assessment, descriptive feedback, learner-centred approach, dialogic approach, creative and critical thinking, and curriculum alignment. Furthermore, in this study, using the abovementioned strategies, AFL was used to improve Grade 10 learners' academic performance in accounting classrooms. The study explored the challenges that led to poor academic performance in Grade 10 accounting learners. These challenges were that teachers mainly focused on grading rather than the process of assessing itself, the use of a more teacher-centred approach, lack of compliance with CAPS/ assessment policy document, lack of dialogue, and the wide gap between pedagogical content knowledge and accounting practice. The study further generated a strategy to respond to these challenges using the AFL principles. Therefore, the study adopted Critical Emancipatory Research (CER) as a theoretical lens, mainly due to its critical commitment to confronting social oppression and challenging well-established ways of thinking that frequently limit learners’ potential. In this study, CER enabled co-researchers and me to work together consciously towards mastering critically challenging and changing systems that routinely oppress them. Through CER, the study embraced multiple perspectives and negotiated meaning in formulating a strategy to respond to the identified challenges. The study further employs Participatory Action Research (PAR) as a methodological approach involving all community stakeholders. It was applied because it is transformation-orientated and grounded in an emancipatory agenda. The research team and co-researchers identified the challenges faced by the teachers and learners in the classroom during teaching and learning of accounting, and through group discussions and reflections, solutions and strategies that could assist co-researchers in acknowledging their objectives were generated. Critical Discourse Analysis was used to analyse data generated on how discourse structures reproduce power and dominance relations in society. Thus, CDA is an analytical research approach that critically analyses speech, text, and language. A person or group of dominant tendencies review critical discourse analysis trying to explain a social reality and have a specific goal in mind, which was done to suggest potential strategies and solutions that could be created, accepted, and modified to address the issues the coresearchers encountered effectively.
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    Sexy selfies, girls and the performance of heterosexuality.
    (2024) Nhlangulela, Wendy Hope.; Bhana , Deevia.
    Research has shown that teenage girls' engagement with sexually suggestive selfies often places them in a position of passivity and subordination to the male gaze, reinforcing stereotypes about female sexuality. This study explores this phenomenon by utilising the ontological frameworks of Deleuze and Guattari, along with feminist interpretations of concepts such as "assemblage," "becoming," "territorialisation," "de-territorialisation," and "affect." The study examines how social media platforms can both expand and restrict teenage girls' sexual expression. It argues that while posting provocative selfies can serve as an opportunity for girls to explore their sexuality, it can also perpetuate dominant ideologies rooted in heteronormative norms, ultimately reinforcing male entitlement over girls' bodies and limiting their agency. In the South African context, these dominant ideologies are further complicated by racialised beauty standards and slim-thick ideals, which perpetuate hierarchies of femininity. Data was collected from 30 black teenage girls through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions that included photo elicitation. The results highlighted the conflicting experiences that girls face when navigating their online sexuality. While they actively perform heterosexual desirability through sexy selfies, they simultaneously encounter harmful gender norms that restrict their expressions of sexiness. The study concludes that new feminist materialism provides a valuable framework for understanding the complex dynamics at play when girls negotiate their sexuality online. This approach should be further developed and incorporated into future research. The study also recommends that stakeholders such as government officials, educators, and parents create safer spaces for teenage girls to express their concerns about social media. Teachers should be provided with resources that address the gendered risks young people face online, and teenage girls should be educated on safe ways to navigate online sexual expressions.