3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Product development training as a tool for empowemennt in crafts: a focus on training in pottery factories in the North West province(2015-08-25) Mahlangu, Isaac BonganiThis dissertation aims to examine how pottery factories in the North West province were conceived and how relevant their functions are, within the confines of craft product development training initiatives, as potential contributors to social empowerment, job creation and economic sustainability today. The dissertation will trace and analyse the impact of specific training initiatives undertaken to empower potters from one of these factories. The focus will be on the methods used to transfer product design and craft manufacturing skills (craftsmanship) as well as evaluating the challenges and success of these methods in promoting self-reliance and sustaining livelihood economically. The impact of these methods will be assessed by the beneficiaries’ ability to integrate concepts, ideas and action as well as their understanding of the markets and ability to follow through orders. The research draws inspiration from the South African National Development Plan: Vision 2030 (NDP, 2011: 10). The plan envisages that by 2030; “the economy should be close to full employment; equip people with the skills they need; ensure that ownership of production is less concentrated and more diverse (where black people and women own a significant share of productive assets); and be able to grow rapidly, providing the resources to pay for investment in human and physical capital”. One of the key sectors anticipated to contribute in achieving the vision of the NDP is the craft sector as suggested by the Department of Trade and Industries (DTI’s) Customised Sector Programme (DTI, 2005). This vision is possible in the craft community if community development efforts are not rushed towards achieving immediate results, but rather focus on the long term of investing in and empowering people with the relevant skills. Writing about applying design to alleviate poverty, Thomas (2006) suggests that sustainable results can only be achieved in the long term because short term initiatives are dependent on single individuals from ‘outside’ organisations for designs and markets. And therefore this research focuses on pottery factories established in the year 2010 by Mintek’s Small Scale Mining Beneficiation Programme, particularly the Timbita Ceramic Incubator. According to the Minister of Arts and Culture the honourable Mr Paul Mashatile, the cultural and creative industries have the potential to be an important driver of economic growth and job creation (Business report, 5 April 2011, 17). Perceiving the creative sector beyond aesthetic and human development dimensions, and more as a sector with the potential to contribute to economic growth and job creation stimulated the assumption of more responsibility for stakeholders and government to invest in both financial and skills development. It is important then, to analyse whether the training methods implemented are efficient and effective in empowering these communities and whether or not they yield sustainable results. It is, therefore, anticipated that this study will contribute toward, at least within the South African context, the limited literature in craft development as an economic industry from the context of crafts product development and craftsmanship skills transfer. Applied research looking at practical cases will be combined with various literature engagements, and supported by semi-structured in-depth interviews used as tools to obtain information for this research.Item Empowering children with intellectual disabilities : strategies perceived by primary care-givers and teachers.(2013-02-21) Maluleke, ThomasEducation is a key component of empowerment and has a significant impact on the economic and social development in any country. People who have intellectual disabilities are usually marginalized because they are considered limited in their abilities to contribute to the enhancement of the social and economic development in a country. The purpose of the research study was explore the perceptions of teachers and primary care-givers regarding strategies for empowering children with intellectual disabilities. The research design was qualitative in nature and a phenomenological methodology was adopted. Purposive sampling was used to recruit research participants from two primary schools for children with special needs in Katlehong on the East Rand. The sample size was twenty research participants; ten teachers and ten primary care-givers. The data gathered was analysed using Thematic Content Analysis. Results indicated that both teachers and primary care-givers are experiencing challenges empowering these children. Teachers require support, equipment and training to develop skills needed to address the educational needs. Primary care-givers need to be educated regarding how to support the educational programmes presented to their children, and encouraged to become personally involved in the educational lives of their children. The conclusion reached is that teachers’ efforts to empower children with intellectual disabilities are being obstructed due to many factors. Their voices need to be heard by the Department of Education on what strategies they perceive as being effective to empower children with intellectual disabilities. The primary care-givers need to gain a better understanding of concept ‘intellectual disability’ so that they can stimulate and support efforts made by the school to empower them.Item Does foreign aid make a difference? a case study of the Boseele Association in Northern Lesotho.(2012-03-12) Johnson, Lineo RoseLesotho is a country plagued by underdevelopment and poverty. This research is a case study of an indigenous community organisation in the northern district of Botha-Bothe in Lesotho. Boseele is a rural development organisation which attracted international donor investment in the aftermath of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The study aims at investigating the impact of capacity development processes on Boseele and its members. The study identified capacity building landmarks over a period of ten years. A case study approach was used within a qualitative research design. Data was collected through individual and group interviews, observations, story-telling and transect walks. The results were analysed through thematic, chronological, narrative and document analysis. Boseele’s successes with CIDA funding reflect positive foreign aid contributions towards the work of civil society organisations in Lesotho. However, setbacks and lack of continuity by a nursery project funded by MS-Lesotho show that the empowerment process is vulnerable where social and economic problems of individual members and communities are not fully addressed.Item Urban food gardens and community development : a case study of the Siyakhana initiative, Johannesburg.(2012-01-18) Nicolle, Trixie-BelleThe aim of this study is to explore the links which exist between community development and urban food gardens. South Africa has experienced a twenty five percent growth in the urban population from 2005-2010. It is further predicted that this will increase by a further thirty six percent to thirteen million inhabitants by 2015. The practice of urban agriculture is one of the strategies that can assist in addressing development challenges in an urban setting in South Africa and around the world. Urban agriculture has the potential to provide a survival strategy for the poor and thus contribute to poverty alleviation, employment, food security, social integration and skills transfer. This research explores the economic, social and ecological benefits of the activity, questioning the ways in which the Siyakhana food garden (and larger initiative) contributes to the Siyakhana community. For the purpose of the research the Siyakhana community refers to the Siyakhana group (eight women in the inner city of Johannesburg who run Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDCs)) and the gardeners who work in the food garden. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews, in-depth questionnaires, participant observation and informal conversation, as well as primary and secondary sources. The data was collected for a twelve month period from June 2010 to June 2011. In total the food garden was visited thirty times during the field work and the ECDCs twelve to fifteen times each. Because of the initiatives potential in community development, the focus of the research gives in-depth insights into the Siyakhana group, their history with the initiative, details about their ECDCs and their expectations and their perceived benefits of being involved with the Siyakhana initiative. The key findings of the study are that there are two primary ways in which the Siyakhana group benefit from being involved in the Siyakhana initiative. The benefits relate to the supplementary food which the Siyakhana group receive on a weekly basis and the practical learning environment of the Siyakhana food garden. This research shows that through their connection with the Siyakhana initiative the Siyakhana group act as a conduit for inner city community development. The healthy and nutritious food from the food garden and the knowledge obtained from being involved with the initiative is shared with a range of stakeholders within the inner city. The Siyakhana food garden is a unique example of a community project which embraces the concepts of ecological health promotion in a multiplicity of ways – through the distribution of food, training, conscientisation and mobilisation. Finally the study shows that when exploring the links between urban food gardens and community development it is not a pre-requisite for the community to physically engage in the production activities of the garden for empowerment and skills transfer to take place.Item Nurturing light and empowering minds : experiences of mentoring institutionalised children.(2010-08-20) Fraser, RobynThis research explored the experiences of mentors mentoring institutionalised children under the auspices of Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Africa (BBBSSA). Children who become wards of the state and are placed in Children’s Homes may have had a number of their emotional needs unmet during developmental stages, manifesting in a variety of ways not least of which might be the development of an institutionalised mentality. These children are disadvantaged at age 18 when they enter the world with limited resources, infrastructure or the ability to be self-reliant. Mentoring may represent a means of ameliorating these repercussions and this qualitative research included exploring whether mentors engaged in any strategies to empower their protégé to reduce the effects of an institutionalised mentality, the successes achieved through the mentoring process as well as encountered challenges. The sample was purposively chosen and the seven participants had mentored for longer than a year at a Children’s Home. The data was gathered from them via semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed in light of the research questions, research tool and any subsequent themes that emerged. Mentoring through a programme appeared to enhance relationship longevity because of the structure it created. While growing themselves through the process, mentors reflected that preparing their protégé for adulthood was a concern. The mentors discussed that while not familiar with the concept of an institutionalised mentality per se, they recognised this as a challenge their protégés faced and described their attempts to empower them on mental, emotional and physical levels reporting small successes in often challenging circumstances. The study concludes that mentoring programmes offer a valuable tool in the preparation of institutionalised children for their emancipation from State care and should be capitalised on. Recommendations are made for policy makers, BBBSSA and the Children’s Home in light of these experiences.Item An analysis of community participation, in income generating projects at the Tembisa/Kempton Park Development Center.(2009-09-10T09:17:23Z) Chikadzi, VictorIn South Africa, citizen participation is regarded as an integral part of all social, economic and political activity. There is always an attempt to either involve citizens/communities in different programmes or at least to pretend to have involved people. Community participation is a constitutional prerogative that the broader masses should meaningfully participate in issues affecting their lives. Thus overgrowing concern by development practitioners to utilize participatory methods has become notable in recent years and participation has become an established orthodoxy within the development discourse in South Africa. The practice of participation has become embodied in what is popularly known to be people-centered development in which it is favored that community needs take precedence over those of other stakeholders when designing and implementing development projects. This study explores community participation in income generating projects at the Tembisa / Kempton Park Development Center. Using a case study as a qualitative inquiry method, the researcher sought to establish the evidence of community participation and the extent to which participants in income generating projects were involved as the main role players. The research sample constituted of 15 participants; ten were beneficiaries of income generating projects, three were staff members at the Tembisa / Kempton Park Development Center and two participants where drawn from the main funders of the Tembisa / Kempton Park Development Center. The different categories of the participants drawn into the sample enabled the researcher to holistically capture how the development process unfolded. The findings of the research indicated that the development model used at Tembisa / Kempton Park Development Center is largely participatory. The model allowed community members to have more say and control in the initiation, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the projects. However this model has challenges that are institutional, social and structural of nature and barriers which hinder effective and meaningful community participation. Government intervention was recommended to address some of the challenges to community participation on a macro level.Item An exploration of women's groups as a tool of empowerment for Muslim women in South Africa.(2009-02-13T07:34:02Z) Hassem, ZarinaThis study examines the role women’s groups play in the lives of 10 Muslim women in South Africa. A qualitative methodology was employed to gain information from two women’s groups in Johannesburg. An open-ended questionnaire, focus groups, and individual interviews were used to elicit information. The data were initially analysed using a computer-based content analysis programme (Atlas-ti), to identify a priori and emergent themes and categories in the data. These themes and categories were then used as the basis for a qualitative interpretive analysis, focused in particular on issues of empowerment with respect to psychological, community, economic, intellectual and political empowerment, and more specifically on gender equality. The study would thus suggest that while these groups do have many positive outcomes, the issues dealt with in women’s groups cannot be isolated from the broader social context in which Muslim women live. While the processes of empowerment appear to have begun in areas of psychological, community, intellectual, economic and political empowerment in this sample of women, empowerment with respect to gender equality still seems far off.Item Open learning, educational development and empowerment : the case of the Open learning Systems Education Trust (OLSET).(2009-02-12T09:14:09Z) Silva, Adilia Suzette FeioAt the time this research was conducted, OLSET’s “English in Action” (EIA) programme worked with large numbers of foundation phase learners and teachers in seven of the nine provinces of South Africa, using interactive radio instruction. In addition, the programme provided in-service training for the teachers, and classroom support based on open learning principles. This study focuses on the self-reports of teachers and principals in the programme, which have been examined in relation to educational development and empowerment theory. The researcher has attempted to establish whether the programme was meeting its objectives in terms of provision of radio lessons, classroom materials, in-service training and classroombased support, and whether empowerment was taking place among teachers involved in the programme. The first stage of the study involved the development of a database of schools involved in the programme, from which a convenience sample was drawn. The analyses then involved thematic content analysis of 541 teacher and principal questionnaires and 202 teacher and principal personal accounts obtained in 2001 and 2003. Prior to 2001, the programme had operated under severe financial constraints. A longitudinal design was used to establish whether there were differences in teacher perceptions under conditions of financial constraint in 2001 and adequate programme funding in 2003. In vivo coding was used throughout the analyses to enable the content categories developed to reflect the words used by teachers in reporting their perceptions of the programme’s work, the benefits they derived with respect to their teaching, and the difficulties experienced at school level with respect to both resourcing as well as consistent quality of programme delivery. Observation was then conducted in 36 classrooms in 2003, to assist in substantiation of the themes found in the 2001 and 2003 questionnaire and personal account data. Recurring themes in the questionnaire and narrative data indicated that the EIA programme was meeting its objectives. Teachers were using the OLSET materials, and reported benefits in terms of improved classroom management and teaching practices. In the observations conducted in classrooms in which the programme was implemented there was indication that the programme’s methodology was being applied, and that teachers and learners were using English more than mother-tongue. Teachers also reported that they were empowered through the materials, workshops and classroom support provided by the programme. Quality of service delivery, however, varied across schools, dependent on donor finances, the radio broadcast delivery, quality of radios, the capacity of the programme to deliver sufficient materials to the schools, as well as the capacity of programme staff to reach all teachers and schools, particularly in the rural areas.Item Individual, organisational and community empowerment : applying a community psychology framework to a school development programme.(2008-06-12T06:31:43Z) Hassett, Alexander RichardThis study focused on whether empowerment at individual, organisational and community levels was evident in the context of a school development planning programme. A contextualist, multi-method approach to the study was used, combining quantitative and qualitative data. A School Development Planning Evaluation Scale was developed to assess organisational empowerment in a school context. Quantitative data measuring variables associated with empowerment were also examined to establish whether involvement in the programme was associated with empowerment at the individual (locus of control and general and specific efficacy) and organisational (participation and leadership) levels. An ex post facto analysis based on a post-test only comparison group evaluation design was conducted to explore the impact of the programme. Focus groups and interviews were conducted to establish whether school staff reported that involvement in the programme had led to their personal empowerment and the empowerment of their schools. Archival data relating to the schools were also examined. Relationships between the variables were explored using multiple regression and structural equation modelling. A model of school development was developed and tested. The results indicated that extent of involvement in the programme was not a significant influence on level of empowerment. More important was the influence of school leadership, and in particular the leadership style exercised by the principal. Impact and relationship matrices, integrating the quantitative and qualitative analyses, indicated that the programme had effects on both individuals and schools, and that the process of school development planning was related to aspects of organisational empowerment. Issues of organisational internal capacity and contextual support, however, influenced implementation of school development planning. The study suggests that school development planning is a process which is contextually related, and confirms and refines the nomological network of II organisational empowerment. The results indicate that a variety of individual, organisational and contextual factors impact on individual and organisational empowerment and that a multi-level perspective is necessary for understanding the school development process. The study also suggests that community psychology, and empowerment theory in particular, offer useful frameworks for theorising and researching school development issues at individual, organisational and community levels.Item On the road to Durban:using empowerment evaluation to grow teachers' arts and culture curriculum knowledge(2008-05-13T06:57:22Z) Glass, Donald L.South Africa has engaged in an outcomes-based curriculum innovation that includes Arts and Culture as a new learning area. Few empirical studies have examined what the curriculum innovation looks like in practice in this high inequity and low capacity school system. This study examines what teachers' curriculum looked like, what influenced their design decisions, and what the growth of their curriculum knowledge looked like. A small sample of new grade 7 Arts and Culture teachers from a disadvantaged township setting participated in an adaptation of empowerment evaluation to gather curriculum data over a 1.5 year period. The findings of this evaluation-research study showed teachers using a more dialogic process to design curriculum with varied influences from policy, learning support materials, and handson arts practice, rather than a linear design process starting with learning outcomes. Gaps in curriculum knowledge about outcomes and assessment were also identified. As part of the empowerment curriculum evaluation (ECE), learning outcomes seemed to play a more powerful role as heuristics in growing their meaning(s) in practice, and generating valid assessment critiera. Evidence was found to argue that the ECE was associated with curriculum knowledge growth and increased self-determination for the teachers who had some initial experience in the learning area before participating in the study. iv