3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions

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    Subject positioning in the South African symbolic economy: student narratives of their languages and lives in a changing place
    (2016-07-28) Botsis, Hannah
    Language use is irreducibly social and historical, bearing the complexities of difference, location, and power. These dynamics are particularly visible in “post”-apartheid South Africa, where historical and contemporary asymmetries of race and class are refracted through language politics, practices and experiences. “Youth embody the sharpening contradictions of the contemporary world in especially acute form” (Comaroff & Comaroff, 2005, p. 21) because they are often at the coalface of societal change. At this particular historical moment the paradoxes and challenges of South African students are acutely visible when examining the role of language in reproducing a bifurcated education system, and indeed society. Methodologically, I examined 15 student narratives about their experiences of language in everyday life. The narratives were generated using a multi-modal approach to language biographies, where participants’ linguistic repertoires are visually represented in different colours on a pre-given body outline (Busch et al., 2006). The inclusion of the visual component provided participants with a nuanced vocabulary for constructing their narrative accounts. This narrative data was then thematically analysed with a focus on participants’ subject positioning. Firstly, it was found that the notion of an authentic identity functioned as an ideological claim. The participants referred to a desire for authentic cultural roots, through reference to what they considered “pure” African languages. They articulated a sense that an authentic cultural identity might be lost by virtue the ubiquitous nature of English in their lives. Participants positioned themselves and others as either belonging or not belonging, depending how “authentic” a member of an identity category one was assessed to be. The narratives demonstrated that the nuances of language and voice become the site for the nano-politics of identity and authenticity (Blommaert & Varis, 2015), especially when cultural and racial identity categories appear to be in crisis. Secondly, English was constructed as a variable symbolic asset across different fields. Representations of English and African languages were positioned in line with existing colonial and racial tropes where English was represented as the language of the mind and rationality, while African languages, even when positively described, were construed as languages of the body or emotion. For black participants, while it was appropriate and desirable to speak English at university, in other fields, such as the home, English could be negatively sanctioned. It is the relation of power between fields in the symbolic economy that influences the reception of a linguistic asset. I argue that English was negatively sanctioned (while still being desirable) as a way of containing the power of English qua whiteness. The link between desirability and derision that English represents makes claims to authenticity, as well as accusations of betrayal, pivotal in the subject positioning of participants in relation to their experiences of language across different fields. These student narratives about experiences of language capture a particular historical moment and demonstrate how the youth straddle the contradictions of the past and the future. However, while these narratives are historically specific they also point to the universal process of becoming a subject through language.
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    Writing pedagogies and practices in English and natural science classes at grade 8 level.
    (2009-02-11T09:46:27Z) Piccolo, Adele
    The development of learner’s writing skills is a central aim of education. Writing is the core modality through which school success is measured. To gain an insight into this essential skill and mode of communication, I chose to explore the current practices and pedagogies around writing at the school where I teach. Through this research, I hoped to raise awareness of writing pedagogy and improve the learners’ the writing experiences. This research investigates, at the macro and micro level, the pedagogical practices around writing in two learning areas: English and Natural Science, at grade 8 level. It explores the various genres of written text learners are expected to produce, the processes involved in producing written texts and how these processes engage with the National Curriculum and policy documents. At a more micro level, it examines the institutional culture of the school, the school subject departments, and the actual classroom practices in which writing plays a central role. The research adopts a qualitative approach, drawing on ethnographic style methods including classroom observation, the collection of artefacts and field notes, and interviews with the teachers concerned. The findings of this study reveal that writing cannot be analysed as separate or discrete from the many influences, both macro and micro, which shape it. Writing needs to be understood as part of a complex interwoven system an ‘eco-system’ which is dependent on the broader policy framework, the individual school’s and subject department’s teaching and learning policies and practices, and individual teacher’s role in mediating writing. The findings show that the purposes and practices around writing differ in English and Natural Science, as the discourses, modes and genres required are different. The English classes focus on teaching writing as a skill, through a synthesis of Process and Genre approaches. The focus in the Natural Science classes is on ‘content’ – experiments and activities which teach ‘scientific content’ – and not primarily on teaching writing skills. In both classes, teacher and peer mediation is central to the success of writing pedagogy. However, these forms of mediation could be improved in my school to enable better writing production from learners.
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    The role of teacher support in the implementation of the Revised Curriculum statement, in grade 7 learning English in Gauteng
    (2008-05-29T08:31:53Z) Stewart, Sandra Lilian
    Abstract When Curriculum 2005 was introduced into South African schools in 1998, it was considered too cumbersome in design and its language too complex. In accordance with the recommendations of the Ministerial Review Committee (2000) it was revised into the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). The language was simplified; it was streamlined to critical, developmental and learning outcomes and assessment standards. Teachers were expected to produce these outcomes and provision was to be made for improved teacher orientation and training, learning support materials and provincial support to teachers in schools. The study looks at how the RNCS is being provided for in terms of the support structures and programmes available to teachers working in the Learning Area of English in Grade Seven within the Senior Phase (Grades 7-9). Firstly, by identifying the competences expected from teachers and secondly, by trying to establish the extent to which these structures and programmes are effectively assisting teachers to achieve the required competences and learning outcomes.
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