KovsieJournals - University of the Free State (UFS)
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The Contribution of Safe Parks to school safety: Lessons from the Thari-programme
Get PDFUnsafe and violent schools are a widespread problem in South Africa. This paper argues that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) contribute to this phenomenon. While various individual and community-level interventions to address ACEs have been reported on, the contribution of safe parks towards preventing school violence has not yet been explored. To support schools in dealing with violence, the Adopt-a-School Foundation introduced a pilot project at eight schools in Botshabelo in the Free State Province. The programme included psychosocial support services, establishing safe parks, and ensuring community involvement. The goal was to improve school communities by creating environments that are empowering, academically effective, gender sensitive and free from violence. Although there are safe parks in communities around South Africa, they are an uncommon sight at schools. This paper reports on the quantitative study conducted on safe parks’ contribution to making schools safer and less violent. Results show that safe park activities improve community well-being, including reduced gangsterism, enhanced learner safety, and decreased disciplinary problems. It is recommended that safe parks continue to provide psychosocial services to children at schools and that their programmes be expanded to include more services
When bullying victims are also perpetrators: A qualitative study in high schools in Tshwane District, Gauteng Province
Get PDFWhilst traditionally, participation in bullying was understood to refer to being a victim, a bully or a bystander, studies have shown that the prevalence of learners who are both a bully and a victim known as bully-victims is also prevalent both locally and internationally. The aim of the study was to explore and explain reasons why some learners assume the dual roles of victim and perpetrator. A cross-sectional explanatory mixed-method design was used for the study. In the first phase, the Illinois Bully Scale was used to screen for bullying behaviour on a sample of 460 learners, aged 11 to 20 years, with a mean age of 15 years, who attended high schools in a Tshwane District township, Gauteng Province. The learners were categorised as bullying perpetrators, victims, both, or not involved in bullying, based on the scores from the Illinois Bully Scale. A phenomenological hermeneutical method was then used to collect and analyse data from 25 of those with high scores in any of the three categories, namely perpetrators, victims or both as determined using the Illinois Bully Scale. NVivo 14 software was used to conduct a thematic analysis of the data. The focus of this paper is on the perpetrator-victim category, a category of learners that screened positively for being both the perpetrators and victims of bullying. The study found that bullying victims tend to bully those whom they perceive to be weaker than them. Being both a perpetrator and a victim of bullying was found to be as a result of a belief that being a victim of bullying makes one less respectable and bullying others brings back the lost respect. Victims also feel the need to make others suffer the pain of being bullied that they are going through so as not to suffer alone. Victims also bully others as a form of self-protection and defence against being bullied. Furthermore, victims bully those who are weaker than them to get some relief from ethe emotions of anger and frustration that build up as a result of being bullied by a stronger bully against whom they cannot defend themselves. Bullying creates a perpetual cycle of violence as victims view bullying others as justified as it is “paying forward the pain” that they themselves have been subjected to. Early identification and interventions to prevent and manage bullying in schools are required to break the victim-perpetrator cycles
Reviewers of articles received in 2024
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Violence in secondary schools: Educators experiences in Soweto, South Africa
Get PDFThe rise of violent incidents in South African schools has sparked widespread concern. Most studies on school violence focus on the experiences of learners; little attention has been paid to educators’ experiences. As a result, violence against educators is both underreported and understudied. The research question prompting this study was: What are educators’ experiences of educatordirected violence (EDV) at secondary schools in Soweto, Gauteng? Social learning theory and ecological systems theory serve as the theoretical underpinnings of the study. The study adopted a qualitative phenomenological approach, with data obtained from open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with 100 purposively selected educators from eight secondary schools in Soweto. All the participants (principals, deputies, department heads, novice and veteran educators) had personally experienced educator-directed violence. Attacks were committed against educators of both genders and all educational ranks. The violence took a variety of forms: verbal, physical, sexual, cyber-related, relational exclusion (stigmatisation and marginalisation), and theft and property destruction, both of which caused emotional distress. Male educators were more likely to be physically attacked than female educators, and female educators were more likely to be sexually and verbally attacked. The findings show that, despite the safeguards put in place by the Department of Education, educator-directed violence is on the rise in Soweto classrooms. We recommend that the Department of Education reconsider its approach to addressing EDV in schools; that educators receive regular training to improve their capacities and violence-mitigation strategies; and counselling be considered for educators who have experienced traumatic incidents. Finally, policies should be modified to assist with reducing violent incidents, and appropriate mechanisms should be devised for dealing with repeat offenders
The development of the word sum-wheel to enhance Grade 3 teachers’ mathematic word problem solving instruction.
Get PDFThis empirical paper reports on the development of a professional development initiative, namely the word sum-wheel, which teachers developed collaboratively. The study’s objective was to determine how teachers’ mathematics word problem-solving instruction could be enhanced through the development of the word-sum wheel using participatory action research as the research design. While using a qualitative research approach within the constructivist paradigm, the Continuous Process of Professional Development served as the study’s theoretical framework. In this study, a continuous link to the reciprocal relationship between teaching and learning is maintained. Thirteen Grade 3 teachers were purposefully selected from government and private schools in the Gauteng Province. While the greater study comprised three stages – namely preparation, action, and reflection – the data generated for the purpose of this paper was collected as part of the action stage. Data generation included interactive discussions held during the six workshops, as well as teachers’ reflective diaries and the researchers’ journal. Data analysis was done through a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive analysis. Findings reveal that teachers’ mathematics word problem-solving instruction was enhanced when they experienced a boost in their confidence levels. This was brought about through the playful and interactive implementation of the word sum-wheel. Similarly, the teachers’ enhanced understanding of the role of reading comprehension and the mathematics register in teaching mathematics word problemsolving was highlighted. Instead of teaching mathematics word problem-solving in isolation, teachers have begun integrating it into their daily teaching programme
A reflection on the significance of researchers\u27 narratives in commissioned qualitative studies: A case study of four South African universities
Get PDFThe problem with most commissioned studies is that they are generally anchored on research protocols, guidelines and theoretical underpinnings imposed by research grant makers or the external Principal Investigator’s (PI) own research design preferences. Furthermore, the problem is that researchers who are recruited during various phases of commissioned studies have little contribution to the overall research design, methodological or theoretical framework of such studies. On 22-23 November 2022, the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies (AMCHES) facilitated a fieldwork training and orientation workshop hosted by the Nelson Mandela University’s (NMU) Faculty of Education. The purpose of the workshop was to orient institutional research teams for a commissioned study titled: Steering Epistemic Access and Success of Historically Disadvantaged Students in South African Universities. This commissioned study was funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and AMCHES was the principal investigator, and it had its own prescribed research design to explore the institutional student access and success narratives and experiences of students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. However, during this orientation workshop, it became apparent to the author that researchers recruited from the four participating universities were raising key research design-oriented narratives that were significant to the respective social contexts of the institutional case studies. The research design and theoretical framework of the entire study benefited from the inclusion of narratives describing the institutional researchers’ own experiences and their familiarity with the SEAS research sites. The four case study institutions were the universities of Cape Town (UCT), Fort Hare (UFH), Kwa Zulu-Natal (UKZN) and NMU. AMCHES held the overall ethics clearance for the study, which had been granted by UJ’s Faculty of Humanities. The author explored the pre-study narratives of the institutional research teams that emerged during the orientation workshop using a qualitative narrative analysis approach. This demonstrates the benefit of the incorporation of researchers’ narratives and perspectives of their lived experiences of the research site in commissioned studies. The author argues that the incorporation f narratives of researchers’ lived experiences of the research site adds a social context and enriches methodological approaches and theoretical framing in commissioned studies to create social relevance beyond the grant maker or the PI’s imposed approaches
Exploring current student-centred assessment practices in higher education towards adaptive graduates
No full textThe last three decades have seen significant educational reform, which have influenced the transformation of assessment practices in higher education institutions (HEIs). In addition, various societal and global changes have required that higher education create adaptive graduates who acquire and develop higherorder skills which include problem-solving skills, critical thinking, creativity and autonomy. Thus, HEIs are expected to produce adaptive graduates to meet the demands of the current national and international society and workforce. Literature suggests that student-centred assessments (SCA) can promote such higherorder skills, which have also become known as 21st century skills. Since, assessment is an integral part to learning and instruction, the design of assessments have become an important aspect in HEIs. This entails HEIs adapting to the paradigm shift from traditional assessment methods to student-centred assessment methods. This study adopted a case study approach to explore staff and student’s experiences of student-centred assessments. The respondents for this study were the staff and students from a Faculty of Accounting and Informatics at a HEI in South Africa. The findings reveal that while staff and students support various SCA and activities , the implementation of these assessments are hindered by challenges faced by staff . The contribution of this paper is to emphasize how student-centred assessment (SCA) practices foster the development of adaptive graduates while addressing the challenges to their effective implementation. Furthermore, this paper is significant to policymakers, educators, and institutional leaders seeking to enhance assessment practices and prepare adaptive, future-ready graduates
Tweeslagtige kerksangpraktyk in die Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk: historiese perspektief op \u27n eietydse vraagstuk
Get PDFDie affiniteit vie \u27n meer sentimentele, ervaringsgerigte geestelike lied is binne dieNG Kerk as histories-religieuse verskynsel gevestig. \u27n Analise van polemiek in DieKerkbode toon dat die meerderheid lidmate ook tans liedere vanuit diejeugsangbundels b6 die tradisionele reformatoriese kerklied verkies. Nuucgekomponeerde liedere in hierdie bundels gryp beide in eeks en musikale styl hoofsaaklik rerug op negenriende-eeuse revival cradisies. In teensrelling met die algemene opvacting dat daar binne die NG Kerk onlangs noemenswaardige vernuwings met betrekking tot die kerklied-idioom plaasgevind bet, coon laasgenoemde binne die breer raamwerk van die kontempor~re himnodie nie alleen \u27n opvallende gebrek aan relevansie nie, maar ook as konrekstuele blik op die kerk se onlangse geskiedenis \u27n skreiende onbetrokkenheid
The interdisciplinary nature of technology education: a means of promoting \u27hands-on\u27 and \u27minds-on\u27 activities
Get PDFBecause the interdisciplinary nature of technology education facilitates its integration with other school subjects, che first aim of this study was to explore andillustrate the possible link between information technology (typewriting) and technology education. Secondly, the study attempted to determine learners\u27experiences in respect of the development of thinking skills by means of an interdisciplinary approach. This project was developed within a qualitativeparadigm and with fourteen grade 10 pupils. It was evident chat a link between the two abovementioned fields can be successfully established and that education can promote the type of meaningful learning which empowers learners to be independent, courageous and responsible in talcing decisions. Purposeful learning opportunities must therefore be created in order to enable learners to participate in \u27minds-on\u27 activiries
Hoer onderwys en diversiteit: \u27n oop gesprek
Get PDFSuid-Afrika staan nie alleen ten opsigce van die uitdagings wat die diversiteicsverskynsel in \u27n tyd van transformasie aan die hoer onderwys stel nie. Die groeiende omvang en verskeidenheid van vakliteratuur in hierdie studieveld dui op die wereldwye verdwyning van die homogene studentebevolking wat opvoedkundiges voor nuwe eise en geleenthede te staan bring. Hierdie arrikel betoog dac SuidAfrikaanse onderwyskundiges en leerfasiliceerders met groat vrug kan gebruik maak van navorsingsresulcace en vaardighede wac plaaslik en in die buiteland beskikbaar gescel word. Sekere intervensies is noodsaaklik om re verseker dat die onderwyskundige implikasies van diversiceit onverwyld aangespreek word, veral ten opsigte van die verwerwing van multikulturele vaardighede