3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Context, culture and disability : a narrative inquiry into the lived experiences of adults with disabilities living in a rural area.(2013-11-05) Neille, Joanne FrancesThis thesis documents the everyday experiences of adults with disabilities living in a rural area of South Africa. Given South Africa’s tumultuous history, characterised by human rights violations incurred through cultural, political and racial disputes, and the country’s current state of socio-economic and political turmoil, violence has come to represent a core feature in the lives of many South Africans. This, together with the impact of unemployment, food insecurity and unequal power distribution, has significantly affected the ways in which many people make sense of their life experiences. Despite the fact that exposure to unequal power dynamics, violence, marginalisation and exclusion are documented to dominate the life experiences of people with disabilities, little is understood about the ways in which these aspects manifest in the interpretation and reconstruction of experiences. Previous research into the field of disability studies has depended primarily on quantitative measures, or on the reports of family members and caregivers as proxies, perpetuating the cycle of voicelessness and marginalization amongst adults with disabilities. Those studies which have adopted qualitative measures in order to explore the psychosocial experiences of disability have focussed largely on the limitations imposed by physical access, and have relied predominantly on the medical and social models of disability, or on the World Health Organisation’s International Classification on Functioning, Disability and Health (WHO ICF, 2001). These models consider the psychosocial experience of disability to be universal, and do not adequately take into account the impact of cultural and contextual variables. This has negatively impacted on the establishment of a research repository upon which evidence-based practice has been developed. This thesis aimed to explore and document the lived experiences of 30 adults with a variety of disabilities, living in 12 rural villages in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. A combination of narrative inquiry and participant observation was employed in order to examine the relationship between personal and social interpretations of experience. Data analysis was conducted using a combination of Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) Three Dimensional Narrative Inquiry Space, Harré’s Positioning Theory (1990, 1993, & 2009), and Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Results revealed that narratives were plurivocal in nature, giving rise to a complex relationship between personal and social interpretations of experience. The findings highlighted the impact of cultural norms, values and roles on making sense of experiences associated with disability. Four new types of narrative emerged, none of which conformed to the current interpretations of lived experience as reported in the literature. All of the narratives were pervaded by the embodied experience of violence, including evidence of structural, physical, psychological and sexual violence, as well as violence by means of deprivation. This gave rise to a sense of moral decay and highlighted the ways in which abuse of power has become woven into lived experience. In this way insight was gained into the complex interplay between impairment, exclusion, high mortality rates, violence, and poverty in rural areas. Narrative inquiry proved to be a particularly useful tool for providing insight into disability as a socio-cultural construct, drawing attention to a variety of clinical, policy and theoretical implications. These gave rise to a number of broader philosophical questions pertaining to the role of memory, vulnerability and responsibility, and the ways in which all citizens have the potential to be complicit in denying the reality of lived experience amongst vulnerable members of society. These findings demand attention to the ways in which governments, communities and individuals conceive of what it means to be human, and consequently how the ethics of care is embraced within society.Item Exploring connections between mathematics and arts and culture : a case study involving two grade 9 Arts and Culture teachers(2009-07-30T10:21:45Z) Dhlamini, JabulaneThis report presents results of an empirical study which investigated how two grade 9 Arts and Culture teachers incorporated mathematics in their Arts and Culture lessons in their classrooms in South Africa. The study was implemented through concept mapping activities undertaken by these Arts and Culture teachers. Data was collected from these concept mapping activities and follow-up interviews with teachers. The analysis of the collected data revealed that teachers grapple with the notion of integration, particularly, when it comes to the transfer knowledge and skills across different learning contexts. Lack of proper training, insufficient teacher knowledge and inadequate support from curriculum designers seem to be the most inhibiting factors for teachers to navigate successfully through the notion of integrated teaching and learning. However, in a bid to deal with these new pedagogical challenges, it was observed that teachers resort to other forms of integration, such as relying on students in order to forge links between subjects of learning. The analysis of data from this study raised important pedagogical issues about the link between integrated teaching and teacher content knowledge, and the apparent need for teachers to transform their identities. Drawing from the theory of situated learning, this study has argued that, although integration between fields of learning is desirable in teaching and learning, it is highly problematic in actual practice. For instance, through this study, it was observed that Arts and Culture teachers struggle to use their knowledge of Arts and Culture and mathematics in order to forge connections between the two fields of learning. The study has also drawn from Bernstein‟s theoretical constructs in order to argue that teachers, particularly those in different learning fields like Arts and Culture and mathematics, intuitively posses different „pedagogical codes‟ which account for their inability to negotiate meaning across different learning contexts. Finally, the study has explored and exploited the argument presented through the van Hiele‟s theoretical framework that students turn to progress quicker in geometry (mathematics) when learning takes place in different styles. I have subsequently used this theoretical framework to argue that connections between Arts and Culture and mathematics should be encouraged at school level, as Arts and Culture could provide an exciting pedagogical environment for the teaching and learning of mathematics, which is often construed to be abstract.Item Teachers' views on the role of context in mathematical literacy(2008-08-29T11:19:18Z) Mthethwa, Themba M.This study focused on teachers’ views on the role of context in Mathematical Literacy. The study falls within a constructivist framework. The research method used was a case study involving two teachers. The data for the study was collected from teachers through semi-structured interviews and was collected from learners through mathematical literacy tasks. In the analysis of the research data, five issues are identified and discussed: They are concerned with (a) the balance between content and context, (b) the relation between context and access to mathematics, (c) links between context and interest, (d) context and language and (e) context as a barrier in mathematics. The study concludes that real life context is very important and useful in teaching and learning mathematics. However, teachers need be careful in selecting context because inappropriate context can become a barrier to learning. The report concludes with recommendations for classroom practice, teacher education and further research.Item Using phenomenography to explore the relationship between students perceptions of the learning context of their first-year engineering course and their approaches to learning.(2006-10-26T10:30:15Z) Henning, Lesley Ann.;Phenomenography is an area of research which focuses on identifying and describing the qualitatively different ways in which people understand phenomena in the world around them. In this research, a group of first-year chemical engineering students at the University of the Witwatersrand were interviewed in order to explore their perceptions of certain aspects of the learning context of their compulsory engineering course, Introduction to Process and Materials Engineering. The findings comprise descriptions of their different perceptions concerning the organization, content, teaching and assessment practices in the course as well as their perceptions of certain aspects of constructivism on which the course is based. Students’ perceptions which influence their approach to learning are categorized according to whether or not they encourage a deep approach to learning. Finally, the implications of these findings for future course development are discussed.