Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Educational Psychology)
http://hdl.handle.net/11394/4927
2024-03-28T17:35:38ZPsychosocial factors that influence peer interaction among francophone
adolescent learners in the selected high schools in the Western Cape, South
Africa
http://hdl.handle.net/11394/6162
Psychosocial factors that influence peer interaction among francophone
adolescent learners in the selected high schools in the Western Cape, South
Africa
Robert, Mukuna Kananga
Immigrant adolescent learners are at risk for loneliness, isolation, rejection, and interpersonal
distress from being perceived as outsiders or not belonging to the groups. This may be explained
by host country or setting discriminating against them and also the immigrant adolescents' initial
tentative engagement of host setting others. This study aimed to determine the relationship
between psychosocial factors (psychological factors: emotional regulation, aggressiveness,
sympathy, empathy; social support; and cultural differences), and peer interactions through
demographic details (gender, age, and grade level) among francophone adolescent learners in the
selected high schools in the Western Cape. It further purposed to determine the positive and
negative factors that can affect their peer interactions at high schools. This study established the
feasibility of recruitment procedures and developed a new model instrument of psychometric
properties to measure the psychosocial factors scale and peer interaction scale for francophone
adolescent learners in the selected high schools in the Western Cape Province.
Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Educational Psychology)
2016-01-01T00:00:00ZExploring passion killing and its implications on the academic wellbeing of university students in Botswana and Namibia
http://hdl.handle.net/11394/5511
Exploring passion killing and its implications on the academic wellbeing of university students in Botswana and Namibia
Eze, Ifeoma Rose-Anna
This study explored the consequences of passion killing (PK) on the academic wellbeing of undergraduates in Botswana and Namibia. The study is motivated by the alarming rate of intimate partner femicide popularly referred to as passion killings in both countries; where dozens of young women are being killed by their jilted and angry boyfriends (who most times commit suicide after the murder). The victims and perpetrators are the future generation youths; and noticeably, this monstrous crime had permeated awfully into the universities in some African countries. However, to date, there is paucity of information on the influence of such occurrence on the academic wellbeing of undergraduates. The study employed qualitative research approach, with intrinsic case study design. It was grounded in interpretative paradigm. The participants were purposefully selected given the nature of the study as well as the site; the study used snowball purposive sampling. The samples were of six participants and the data was obtained through semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The data were coded and thematic analysis was used to analyse the content. Member checking procedures were also employed to assess the credibility and trustworthiness of the study as well as the suitability of the subjects in order to ensure that the results of the study were dependable and could be confirmed. The study adhered to the professional research ethical considerations like voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity and avoidance of harm. The study found that incidence of PK is still burgeoning in the locations of study and very rampant among the young people; the victims are largely women. It is established from the data collected during in depth interviews with the students that passion killing has negative influence on the academic wellbeing of students in tertiary institutions in Botswana and Namibia. It causes social shock which leaves students in disconnected and disenchanted relationships; causes psychological trauma leading to feelings of insecurity and instability which affects their learning and concentration.
Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
2016-01-01T00:00:00ZProfessional and personal development of school management teams in three rural primary schools
http://hdl.handle.net/11394/4933
Professional and personal development of school management teams in three rural primary schools
Genniker, Veronique
The essential role that school management teams (SMTs) play in managing change has been debated for many years both nationally and internationally. Central to these debates has been the need to understand how to best empower SMTs through a process of continuous professional development. This research aimed to explore SMT members’ experiences of professional and personal development in three rural primary schools in the broad context of educational change in South Africa and specifically in the context of policy implementation. This aim was explored by asking the following research questions: 1. How did educational change in South Africa influence leadership and management in schools? 2. What professional development was experienced by the SMTs as they tried to embrace new roles and responsibilities within a new policy context? 3. What personal development was experienced by the SMTs as they tried to embrace new roles and responsibilities within a new policy context? 4. What are SMT members’ suggestions for enhancement of personal and professional development and support of SMTs in schools in South Africa? The literature review which grounded this study focused on three areas, namely, educational change, leadership and management in schools, and professional and personal development. An integrated theoretical framework was employed and provided the lens through which the data was collected and analysed. Key concepts within the framework included mental maps, reflexivity and authoring which were synthesised within change theory. The change theory employed emphasised the value of engaging with first, second and third orders of change to effect the facilitation of meaningful change on both a personal and professional level. SMTs from three rural primary schools in three different provinces, comprising of six educators each, participated in the study. The researcher conducted three focus groups and 18 individual interviews. The social constructivist -interpretive paradigm that framed this research study is a worldview that understands reality as being constructed when people engage with each other. Congruent with the social constructivist -interpretive paradigm is a qualitative research design, which was employed in this study to collect rich, comprehensive, in-depth data that explored the professional and personal development experiences of SMTs to illuminate the complexity of the issue being studied. The study encompassed three phases of data collection. Firstly, a detailed document analysis was conducted where policy documents, research reports and job descriptions were studied and analysed. Secondly, 18 SMT members were interviewed in three focus groups. Thirdly, the 18 SMT members were individually interviewed. Phases two and three of the data collection process employed semi-structured interviews to generate data. The data analysis employed a qualitative, thematic approach to analyse and interpret the data that emerged. A thematic approach was used to illuminate the professional and personal development experiences and challenges facing the SMTs. The thematic approach generated distinct categories that were used as descriptors to report on the findings of the research. The findings highlight the need for integrated professional and personal development, role clarification, school-based support, policy mediation and outlines implications for the development of SMTs. This research makes a contribution towards educational change in South African schools by providing insights and proposing a model of professional and personal development for SMTs. It illuminates the vital importance of first acknowledging developmental needs and then facilitating personal and professional development to effect practical implementation of change at schools as required by policy. The researcher demonstrates how three orders of change theory with related personal development concepts can be integrated into a single theory to understand and facilitate change at the level of the individual, group and organisation.
Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
2015-01-01T00:00:00ZGroup polarization in decision making: a study of selected secondary school disciplinary panels in Rongo District of Kenya
http://hdl.handle.net/11394/3294
Group polarization in decision making: a study of selected secondary school disciplinary panels in Rongo District of Kenya
Aloka, Peter Jairo O.
Behaviour problems have been on the rise in Kenyan schools for some time now.
Various maladaptive behaviours found among school children include bullying,
vandalism, stealing, alcohol and drug abuse, truancy, not completing homework
assignments and other forms of problem behaviours. These problem behaviours
impact negatively on the teaching and learning enterprises of schools as well as on the
safety and security of the school environment. As consequence, schools have to
develop student behaviour management practices aimed at addressing student problem
behaviours. Corporal punishment was a major means by which schools dealt with
students’ problem behaviours. However, because of the human rights abuses
associated with corporal punishment, the Kenyan Ministry of Education had to abolish
corporal punishment in 2001 and instructed schools to evolve more effective student
behaviour management practices with strong emphasis on positive student behaviour
development. Schools’ student behaviour management practices including policies on
student behaviour expectations, school rules and regulations as well as counselling
services are all to be coordinated by each School Disciplinary Panel. A School
Disciplinary Panel is to be composed of small group of teachers as a way of emphasizing the latter’s roles in student behaviour development and not just student academic or educational development. The central concern of this study was to investigate the Kenyan schools’ behaviour management practices as being implemented by School Disciplinary Panels especially in the latter’s responses to students’ problem behaviours. The study investigated processes of decision making by Kenyan secondary school disciplinary panels for the management of student behaviours and the contribution of this to student behaviour development. Mixed methods research design was adopted for the study. The adoption of both quantitative and qualitative approaches was to ensure the collection of comprehensive information for better understanding of the behaviour management practices of Kenyan schools. The population for the study comprised all Kenyan schools with behaviour management practices and School Disciplinary Panels. Rongo District, one of the largest education districts in Kenya was chosen for the study. Ten of the schools in this district were actually involved in the study. The selection of the schools took into consideration the three different types of schools in Kenya (Girls’ Only, Boys’ Only and Co-educational schools) as well as other variables of particular interest to the study. Seventy-eight (78) disciplinary panel members from the ten selected schools were the participants of the study. Data collection was by use of questionnaire method (the Modified Choice Dilemma Questionnaire, MCDQ) and interview protocol. The findings of the study revealed the existence of the phenomenon of group polarization in decision making processes of disciplinary hearings conducted by the School Disciplinary Panels. Study findings also revealed that the nature of information shared during disciplinary hearings, group members’ motivation for approval of others and their concern for their status in the group as well as the personality characteristics of the members of the disciplinary panels (including gender, age, teaching experiences and school affiliation) were the major influences responsible for the existence of group polarization in the disciplinary processes of the Kenyan secondary school disciplinary panels. Since group polarization is about consensus decisions with characteristics of being collective decisions as well as greater support and acceptance for the decisions the conclusion of the study is that good quality decisions of Kenyan secondary school disciplinary panels have great potentials for effective management of student behaviours and for positive behavioural development of students as an important objective of education and or the schools.
Doctor Educationis
2012-01-01T00:00:00Z