3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The bureaucratisation of gender mainstreaming and the role of political will: a case study of the department of public service and administration in South Africa(2019) Ramparsad, NitashaThis study is situated in the field of Gender Studies. The study investigates the South African State’s (in) ability to effectively mainstream gender as a strategy for gender equality. Despite having ratified several pieces of local, regional and international legislation, the gender agenda seems to be elusive when assessing the implementation of policy for gender equality. The major theoretical question being addressed is “What are the factors that enable and/or constrain the implementation of gender equality in countries that have formally committed to this goal?” The Department of Public Service and Administration has been selected as the case study for this research, as this Ministry is allocated the responsibility for the management of policy in State departments in South Africa. Despite the official support expressed by the State in ratifying major legislation for example, the Beijing Platform for Action and the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Dunker (2005) believes that the “gender wave has passed”. The study builds on the work of authors such as Hassim, Moser, Cornwall, Kabeer, Gouws and Rao et al. However, this larger body of research does not drill down into the barriers the State faces, but rather generalises findings in this area. This study offers unique insight into the barriers faced in the State’s implementation of gender equality legislation. This is done by assessing the role of political will, resourcing and constructing an enabling environment as major influences for the success of Gender Mainstreaming within the South African State. The study analyses the bureaucratisation of gender mainstreaming at the Department of Public Service and Administration and reveals how this allows for the disruption of initiatives and masks the failings of the driver for gender equality, namely political will. The study reflects on political will from outside as well as from within the Department. Through the case study, the powerful role of political will in the success of gender mainstreaming for gender equality is demonstratedItem Teacher attitudes on teaching about gender in the classroom and their interpretation and teaching of Things fall apart(2018) Zungu, Phiwe-inhlanhla NoziphoThis research report examines whether English teachers believe that gender-related issues should be dealt with in the classroom. It is also concerned with what the relationship is between their beliefs and their interpretation and espoused teaching methods for Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel Things Fall Apart. The study stemmed from an interest in teachers’ perceptions of gender-related issues and whether their teaching materials (such as the novel in question) and feminist theories and pedagogies could be used as a means to promote gender equality. Five teachers were interviewed in one-on-one semi-structured interviews and asked to provide the researcher with the classroom activities and formal assessments they use when teaching the novel. Data from the interview transcripts and formal assessments suggested that there was a relationship between the teacher’s beliefs about gender and their espoused teaching practices. Data from their classroom activities showed that in general, teachers aimed to help the learners to remember and understand key events in the novel as well as the main character, Okonkwo. It seemed that teachers chose to deal more closely with the themes of the novel in their essay questions rather than the classroom activities. It was difficult to determine the nature of the relationship between each teacher’s beliefs and their classroom activities because they did not create the activities themselves. Most of the teachers simply used existing questions found in the version of Things Fall Apart used in their schools. It is recommended that teacher training should include training pre-service teachers to use feminist pedagogies in addition to the other types of methodologies they are already being taught to use. Workshops are recommended for in-service teachers.Item Institutional needs of the transgender student community at the University of the Witwatersrand(2017) Mgolombane, Pura; Mgolombane, Pumelele.Transgender students in higher education in South Africa are increasingly coming out. Though this coming out at huge to cost for them in terms of personal safety, alienation. potential harassment, bullying and discrimination, this group of students are insisting that campuses should be inclusive and safe for everyone irrespective of their gender, sexuality and/or sexual orientation. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version]Item Lived experiences of gender identity and expression within the South African transgender community(2017) Ashwal, Jennie E.Experiences of transgender individuals in South Africa have largely remained marginalised and silenced by a discriminatory, gender binary and prescriptive society, in spite of progressive legislation within the constitution. The literature reviewed substantiated such experiences both within and outside of the South African transgender communities, further illuminating the need to deepen the understanding of transgender and gender identity dynamics. Through in depth face-to-face interviews with five self-identified adult transgender participants, the present study documented experiences identified as they navigated their gender identity and expression from dissonance towards gender congruency. The interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis. The results of the qualitative interviews revealed multiple beneficial factors as well as challenges whilst navigating gender congruent identity and expression. As a result, seven overarching themes were identified broadly defined as: (1) gender identity and dissonance; (2) gender expression; (3) challenges to gender congruency; (4) protective factors and coping strategies; (5) ‘coming out’; (6) toward gender congruent expression and (7) activism.Item "Indoda" in the dawn of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: a study of masculine ideals, behaviors and practices among black heterosexual men living with HIV(2017) Mthombeni, Nomaswazi MandisaFollowing a qualitative approach and using diaries and the anthropological tool of ethnography, the study engaged black heterosexual men living with HIV to explore and describe their masculine ideals, values and behaviors in the dawn of the HIV epidemic. The findings revealed that the fabric that made “Indoda” varied and changed over time but to be Indoda , a man had to have one’s own family and consequently be the head of the family “Intloko yo Muzi”.Indoda was also detailed as someone who was “iQhawe”,a warrior who fought many battles of invulnerability and endured hardships. The findings suggested that although participants strove to attain these specifications, they were also restricted and burdened by them; especially those who were under varying degrees of pressure as a result of the different social, economic and political transitions that were taking place. HIV was seen as a threat to the constructions of hegemonic masculine ideals and thus exposed a budding crisis of masculinity that men in this context were confronted with. While HIV seemed to alter ones identity for some of the participants, other participants revealed that HIV did not change their lives in anyway. Among these participants, multiple relationships with ‘roll ons’; secrets and low condom use were rife. The other group of men who differentiated themselves from those who were HIV negative challenged the dominant notions of masculinities and reconstructed their masculinities in more positive ways. In this way, these men inhabited a subjective position of agency by taking control of their lives and accepting and driving their Z3. The study concluded that masculine norms behaviors and values are fluid and it is through continuously engaging in critical examination of the discourses that construct masculinity that new constructions of what it means to be a man can emerge.Item Gender disparities: comparing reading practices of grade 10 isiZulu readers(2017) Mabaso, Bonisile CynthiaRecent studies maintain that the concept of a gender gap in literacy remains a large concern, as the gap between boys’ and girls’ reading literacy is reflected in studies conducted globally in which females consistently outperformed males. Therefore, this study discusses how perceptions about gender and reading practice are fabricated from a societal point of view. It presents the social cognitive theory of gender disparities in reading practices of grade 10 isiZulu First Additional language readers. Additionally, my study discusses how the readers with different language background and proficiency in isiZulu operate and respond when reading texts that are influenced by their own reading preferences. As a result, it identifies a variety of influences to be considered in gendered reading practices such as; the readers, the type of text, the activity, the language context, and the social and the cognitive aspects of reading practices. This qualitative research project investigated how six leaners of isiZulu First Additional grade 10 level, from various language backgrounds made meaning of informal texts over the course of four weeks. . Hence, I used a range of text types as a research tool in order to attend to this issue. To collect data, I therefore designed a series of questions through questionnaires, and observation schedule as means of authenticating the learners’ responses to institute the findings. Subsequently, by examining Barrett’s Taxonomy of reading comprehension, which focusses on cognitive and affective domains of reading, I conclude that reading is not only important for academic success, but also for negotiating our way through all aspects of life in an increasing bureaucratic society. Additionally, having background of reading literacy practices may grant chances of participation in the that society, as a result, those societal perceptions are likely to change if and when reading practices also grant chances to accommodate interests of the readers. Findings endorse that learners should be granted a chance of choosing texts that interest them so they can respond positively and accordingly, as, boys’ scores disagreed with previous research in a particular, comprehension component where they outscored the girls.Item 'Gendered histories and the politics of subjectivity, memory and historical consciousness - a study of two black women's experiences of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process and the aftermath.'(2016-03-01) Letlaka, Palesa NthabisengThis study examines the gendered histories of two black women who both narrated their personal testimonies in self-authored narrations for public consumption, and who both testified at the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It situates the politics of subjectivity, memory and historical consciousness within the social constructivist and hermeneutical theoretical frameworks of Butler and Ricoeur respectively; and through a generative process, working with their TRC testimonies and subsequent oral interviews, it examines self-narrativity, subject formation and the formation of female selfhood in the formation of gendered historical consciousness