South East Academic Libraries System (SEALS)
Not a member yet
69550 research outputs found
Sort by
Utilising the participatory action learning and action research approach in developing school improvement plans in community schools
Get PDFThis study sought to determine how Participatory Action Learning and Action Research (PALAR) can be used to develop school improvement plans in community schools. The study looks at the Centre for the Community Schools whose objective is to collaboratively develop alternative approaches to school improvement that are relevant and responsive to the realities of under-served community schools. CCS used a PALAR approach in their engagements with multiple stakeholders to develop school improvements, and this study sought to investigate the experience of those multiple stakeholders. Those multiple stakeholders are participants in this study and together we formed an Action Learning Set (ALS). The lessons we learned from their perceptions of the PALAR approach, and the contextual factors that must be considered when using PALAR, led us to draft guidelines that support the use of PALAR when developing school improvement plans in community schools. A literature review was conducted on the main concepts of this study starting on a historical perspective of schools in Europe, the United States of America, and South Africa. This historical perspective gave an international point of view on the thinking of schooling internationally. This international account on the history of schooling was followed by a South African explanation on our history of schooling, looking at education in the apartheid era and education post-apartheid era. This was important in understanding how the concept of school improvement plans came about in South Africa. The literature review also highlighted the importance of school improvement plans and shed light on what a community school is, and what it is not. The study made use of PALAR as a methodology and is located in the Critical paradigm. The research approach was a Critical Participatory Action Research approach, and the study was framed with a combination of the critical pedagogy and the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory. The study made use of Participatory Visual Methods as tools to generate data , in particular, drawings, collages and cellphilms. To analyse the data, we used a thematic analysis and the nominal group technique. The findings of the study reveal that the PALAR approach is an empowering approach that acknowledges diversity and fosters meaningful relationships. The findings also showed that this approach is time consuming, messy and lacks structure. Further to this, the findings of this study suggest that language, coherency, and culture are important factors to consider when making use of the PALAR approach. This study used an African calabash to present a framework on how the PALAR approach can be applied in the African context. Finally, the study proposes guidelines that can be used to develop school improvement plans in community schools and how those guidelines can be used in the African context using the acronym SERV (Situatedness, Empowerment, Roles, and Vulnerability).Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, School of Initial Teacher Education, 202
Supporting Education for Sustainable Development through an Online Global Forum for Teacher Educators
No full textThe Online Global Forum on Education for Sustainable De-velopment (ESD) for Teacher Educators was launched in 2019 by colleagues from three continents who formed a group called ESD Innovate (hereinafter also referred to as Forum founders). ESD Innovate is made up of three African representatives, two European, and two from North America and the Caribbean. The group was formed during the Inter-national Network of Teacher Education Institutions (INTEI) conference in 2016. In discussions at this conference, we (the authors of this chapter and those who formed ESD In-novate) heard the need for ongoing professional develop-ment in ESD for teacher educators. Professional develop-ment programs regarding ESD are available for in-service teachers in some regions of the world, but few are available for teacher educators, especially initiatives designed for sus-tained engagement. Thus, the Forum aims to meet the need for continuing professional development of teacher educa-tors with an ESD focus. Additionally, the Forum was de-signed to bring teacher educators together from all over the world to facilitate collaboration between and among teacher educators and their student teachers in an intellectual dia-logue on the response of teacher education to the Sustaina-ble Development Goals (United Nations, 2015). At the same time, we aimed to share local and global experiences on the realization of relevance and education quality through ESD
The development of South African secondary school teachers to adopt a STEAM approach: A mixed method study
Get PDFCreativity is seen as one of the most important skills required for success in the 21st century and therefore teachers should set the example and become creative and innovative when skilfully applying their knowledge to teach. In STEAM, art is included in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) mix as a new innovative educational approach which is believed to increase creativity. The advantages of STEAM are widely accepted for a number of reasons and it has become very popular in countries that are known for their excellent mathematics performance, but it is unknown in most South African schools. Although a few studies have been done on STEAM in South Africa there is a lack of research on the professional development of mathematics teachers and the adoption of the STEAM approach in the mathematics classroom. This mixed methods study aims to determine the diffusion of the STEAM approach, and the influence of professional development on that diffusion and adoption in the South African Mathematics classroom. A convergent triangulation design was used in conjunction with a simultaneous quantitative and qualitative approach involving three different groups of participants. The quantitative approach concentrated on the hypothesis that secondary school mathematics teachers still embrace traditional teaching methods. The qualitative approach was directed towards answering the question on the knowledge and awareness of STEAM and the adoption of the innovation. The combination of two theories, namely Roger’s Diffusion of Innovations and Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory were found to provide the most suitable framework to describe the process in the findings. The instrument used in the quantitative approach was an online questionnaire and in qualitative approach the data was collected using interviews, assignments and questionnaires. It was found that although Mathematics teachers are open to learning about innovations, they still rely on traditional teaching methods. Teachers recognise the advantages of STEAM and want to use it but feel constrained by the curriculum, the pressure to perform and a lack of resources. Short activities that are curriculum based are welcomed and used by the teachers. However, they struggle to set up their own iii activities and then abandon the idea. In addition, they are not comfortable with projects involving teachers from other disciplines or including art activities in a mathematics lesson. The adoption of STEAM becomes much easier if there is a strong professional learning community and support from school management. The positive reactions of the learners on the STEAM activities motivate the teachers to adopt the approach. The diffusion of STEAM into the mathematics classroom is not instant but takes an average of two to three years. This time factor should be taken into consideration when planning a professional development programme. The programme should include scaffolding to assist teachers to become confident in using STEAM activities but also in using technology which is the key to finding and using new activities.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, 202
The Role of the University as Mediator in a Skills Ecosystem Approach to VET
No full textIn this chapter, we focus particularly on the mediating role of the university, in close connection with vocational institutions and informal community actors, in developing an inclusive approach to vocational education and training (VET) through an expanded social ecosystem for skills model. Here we draw upon lessons learnt from the Alice and Gulu cases on communitybased approaches to establishing an expanded skills ecosystem approach to VET in Africa. The main ques-tion guiding this chapter relates to the possible mediating role of the university to enhance a regional expanded ecosystem for supporting quality vocational education that is also rele-vant to its context, including emergent possibilities to build skills and livelihoods linked to just transitions. Universities are not VET centres as conventionally understood, but they can contribute to VET in various ways. Most often, universities are identified as contributing to the qualifications and training of VET educators. In this chapter, we take a different angle and consider the role of engaged research and community engagement as two approaches that can contribute to the advancement of an expanded social ecosystem model with positive benefits for VET institutions. Drawing on insights gained in the earlier chapters of this book requires us to take into account several important realities as previously dis-cussed, as well as key ingredients for the development of a regional skills ecosystem of vocational education, as demon-strated by the two cases considered in this chapter
Effects of selected natural flavonoids on an optimized insulin resistance induction model on myotubes and hepatocytes in vitro
No full textIntroduction: As the third largest life-threatening non-communicable disease, further research to improve T2DM treatment remains pivotal. The approved insulin sensitizing agents, metformin and thiazolidinediones, although effective, have an array of adverse effects. This leads to the growing need for safer insulin sensitizing agents. Aims: To induce insulin resistance, an insulin resistance induction (IRI) model consisting of palmitic acid (PA), fructose, and dexamethasone (DEX), was optimized. The model was utilized to compare the insulin sensitizing efficacy of chrysin, apigenin, luteolin, and quercetin. The most effective flavonoid was extrapolated based on the hydroxylation hypothesis and relevant SAR. The flavonoid was combined with metformin to evaluate potential insulin sensitizing synergism. Methods: C3A hepatocytes and L6 myotubes were exposed to the IRI models: IR1, IR2, and OIR, for 24 and 48h. Morphological features indicative of insulin resistance were monitored through high-content analysis (HCA). Thereafter, cells were exposed to OIR and concurrently treated with the selected flavonoids. Cytotoxicity, oxidative stress (OS), mitochondrial content, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and lipid accumulation, were once again evaluated through HCA. Subsequently, quercetin was combined with metformin (QM); insulin resistant conditions established through OIR exposure, and QM administered as prophylaxis. The efficacy of QM was determined through changes in phosphorylated-Akt, glucose uptake, and gluconeogenesis. Results: IR1 and IR2 demonstrated excessive potency, whereas OIR consistently generated insulin resistant C3A/L6 cells by increasing OS (↑14%/20%), lipid accumulation (0.7-fold/1.5-fold), and decreasing MMP (↓4%/6%). Of the selected flavonoids, quercetin was most effective at ameliorating each of these parameters. Furthermore, QM demonstrated potential insulin sensitizing synergism, as it improved Akt phosphorylation (Thr308: ↑31%/↑17%; Ser473: ↑29%), glucose uptake (↑10%/ 5%), and suppressed hepatic gluconeogenesis (15↓%) more effectively compared to monotherapy. Conclusions: OIR is an effective model for the induction of complete early-stage insulin resistance in myotubes and hepatocytes. Quercetin demonstrates exceptional antidiabetic activity due its unique expression of hydroxyl groups. Lastly, QM, comparative to monotherapy, improves insulin sensitivity with enhanced efficacy.Thesis (Ma) -- Faculty of Health Science, 202
Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, practices and the prevalence of intestinal parasites in Sarah Baartman District, Eastern Cape
Get PDFntestinal parasites also known as parasitic worms are one of the common water, soil and feacal transmitted infections of public importance in the world. This study evaluated the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) of public workers comprising EPWP and CWP general workers on intestinal parasites in a selected municipality in the study area . Additionally, using secondary data, the researcher established the prevalence of intestinal parasites in Sarah Baartman District Municipality (SBDM) from 2012 to 2020. Method: The study made use of a quantitative, cross-sectional research design resembling a study by S.D. Hambury .A structured questionnaire, closed-ended, telephonically-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 160 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and Community Work Programme (CWP) general workers. Data on the prevalence was obtained from the SBDM National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). Data was analysed using both inferential and descriptive statistics using SPSS software version 16.1, inferential statistics tests used were Chi2 square tests and p-value tests. Descriptive statistic tests used included frequency distributions, percentage, cumulative percent, and valid percent. Results: The participants’ overall awareness, attitudes and practices of the study were poor, 64.4% of the study participants had the correct knowledge about intestinal parasite infections. The age of study participants and who the participants thought was at risk of being infected by intestinal parasites had a non significant relationship (p>0.05). Gender and the responses to who is at risk of getting infected with intestinal parasites had a statistically significant (p<0.05) relationship. Intestinal parasite prevalence from 2012 to 2020 in SBDM was 46.37% which means it was close to half of the sampled population. Males had the highest prevalence as compared to females, with a prevalence of 53.1% xvi in males and 46.9% in females. The highest disease infection was found between ages one and six years. Conclusion: The researcher concluded that the overall awareness, attitudes and practices on intestinal parasites in SBDM were poor. The intestinal parasites present in SBDM were Cytoisospora belli (35.4%) and Giardia lamblia (35.4%), Ascaris lumbricoides (17.7%), Trichuris trichiura (3%), and Taenia species (2%). The study also revealed that the prevalence of intestinal parasites was low from 2012 to 2020. Recommendations were made with an emphasis on education to increase disease prevention and control awareness.Thesis (Ma) -- Faculty of Health Science, 202
A second skin: investigating the role of dress in identity formation
Get PDFThis thesis is a secondary component to an artistic practice-led process and as such, is guided by my own artistic practice in that way. In this body of work, I use myself as the main character or protagonist for the artworks that I have created. However, both the thesis and the exhibition also respond to social issues of identity beyond the personal and examines the construction of identity in a South African, and more specifically Makhanda context, as that is the larger context in which I am situated. The work itself is inspired by memories and experiences of feeling uncomfortable in my own (first) skin, and how I found that comfort in my second skin (dress). My professional art practice and my thesis are based on the concept of clothes as a second skin for human beings, specifically observing the ways in which we utilise dress to construct and express our identities. As such, this thesis is an attempt at understanding the relationship between clothes and the body through the lens of identity politics. Through the topics and artworks discussed in visual and textual analysis, this thesis intends to unpack the properties of dress as a complex medium individuals can utilise as a tool to construct their identity. This is partially achieved through the exploration of my own personal experiences of dress and of the spaces that shaped and mediated the construction of identity. Lastly, it is an attempt to understand the experiences of dress in parallel to the experience of the body/self, which consists of the world within and the one outside.Thesis (MFA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Fine Art, 202
Uviwe Umthandazo
Get PDFThe discourse of identity and community are topics of interest to me. As a citizen living in post-apartheid South Africa, I am captivated by the re-emerging wisdom and knowledge of Nguni cultural philosophies and practices. My practice-based research is interested in a creative interpretation of these ancient philosophies and practices in the context of postcolonial life. The project in many ways re-members through observation of socio-political issues such as inequality, violence, and vandalism as reflections of internal challenges of the individual self in current reality. In essence, my discussion in this paper highlights the need for healing grief and loss for the well-being – physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual – of society. Self-definition is the core of any community and we see this in the philosophy of the African proverb umntu ngumntu ngabantu, ‘I am because you are’. ‘I am’ is a set of beliefs that construct the individual self; our life’s course then becomes a constant molding of the body and the world around us. The wisdom of ubuntu was, and is, a catalyst for many African cultures, as this law recognizes each individual as important and equal in the community. As a descendant of various indigenous clans originating in Africa the well-being and balance of my being is determined by how much I know about who I am. Consequently, being a part of the generation that is experiencing the transitioning phases from apartheid I question the ways we are dealing with the residue of coloniality concerning all aspects of self; the physical, emotional, and mental bodies of self. My creative work is a reflection of the exercises I implemented to cultivate selfhood as a way to participate in and control my reality as a marginalized member of society. The different chapters touch on many intersecting theories about tools for healing/soothing the self. The creative process experimented with the various concepts embedded in the expression ‘I am because you are’. In the process of this research, I learned that knowing yourself is one of the principles of ubuntu, which teaches me that I cannot be or give what I do not have. The themes I explore through the above expression are self-love, self-acceptance, and self-respect using a creative lens. This practice-based research proposes a concept; the act of love as a decolonial gesture. My exhibition Vuleka Mhlaba Ndinegene1 utilizes visual language to convey the need for more conversations on healing using natural elements, as a way to make a connection between self, the natural environment, and community. In the first and second chapters, the paper focuses on practices employed by artists such as Lhola Amira, Guadalupe Maravilla, Buhlebezwe Siwani, Tony Gum, Lina Iris Viktor, and Aida Muleneh, to relate the various approaches to re-member the severed connection between self, nature, and community. This study looks at theories on; holding space, sound healing, earthing, shadow work, astrology, and human consciousness.Thesis (MFA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Fine Art, 202
Effects of annealing on the structural and optical properties of nanostructured TiO2
Get PDFIn this thesis, the structural, morphological and optical properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2) are investigated. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes are prepared by anodic oxidation of titanium foil. The as-anodised samples are thermally annealed at various temperatures in nitrogen, air, oxygen and vacuum. The purpose is to study how the annealing conditions affect the properties of the nanostructures, including the anatase to rutile phase transformation. In all annealing atmospheres, except in vacuum, the dominant phase is found to be anatase when annealing is performed up to 600 oC. Above 700 oC the rutile phase becomes dominant. The anatase phase is stable above 600 oC in vacuum and does not evolve significantly up to 900 oC. The morphologies of the tubes tend to deteriorate with increased annealing temperature, in nitrogen, air and oxygen atmospheres, due to sintering effects. However, the integrity of the nanotubes is maintained up to 900 oC in vacuum. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra suggest mainly the presence of oxygen vacancies and self-trapped excitons, with respective emission bands around 2.5 eV and 2.3 eV. The results show that both the annealing temperature and atmosphere strongly influence the crystalline and optical properties of the TiO2 nanotubes. In addition, the phase transformation from anatase to rutile for samples annealed in an oxygen-rich environment is investigated in detail. Complementary structural information obtained from transmission electron microscopy and Raman analysis for oxygen-annealed samples reveals that the nucleation of the rutile phase starts from the titanium substrate and then propagates along the tubes. The results provide suitable annealing conditions to control the phase content and morphology of anodic TiO2 nanotubes. The PL characteristics of bulk crystalline anatase TiO2, namely virgin and hydrogen-annealed at 600 oC for 1 h, are studied. The low temperature PL spectra at 5.5 K shows near band edge (NBE) emissions with two dominant lines ascribed to shallow donor bound exciton and possibly free to bound recombination. The two main transitions are assisted by optical phononmodes. Temperature-dependent PL measurements performed on these anatase crystals reveal that the donor bound exciton is stable below 90 K. Hydrogen trapped in oxygen vacancies is proposed to be the shallow donor. In addition, two activation processes are involved for the thermal quenching of donor bound excitons. The total activation energy is found to correlate well with the localisation energy of the bound exciton. Site-selective PL spectra obtained from anodic TiO2 tubes reveals that the luminescence of the nanostructures depends on the morphology. The result shows unusual near-band edge emission (NBE) for these structures, which is rarely observed in indirect band gap TiO2.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, School of Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences, 202
Spatiotemporal ecology and potential displacement of white sharks in southern Africa
No full textRestricted access. Expected release date in 2025.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, 202