4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions

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    A Queer Economic Study: Exploring the Economic and Social Burden of Discrimination Against Black Lesbians in Johannesburg
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Futshane, Vuyokazi; Dawson, Hannah; Francis, David
    This qualitative study explores the experiences of Black lesbians in Johannesburg, focusing on the intersections of their identity to understand the links between sexual orientation, discrimination, and the South African social and economic context. It examines the dynamics in the workplace and connects it to social relations outside of the workplace. Drawing upon intersectionality, this study reveals how race, class, gender, and sexual orientation do not operate independently but overlap simultaneously to shape Black lesbian’s experiences of discrimination. The findings highlight the varied nature of discrimination, ranging from subtle biases and microaggressions to overt forms of prejudice, and the strategic concealment of sexual orientation by some, a coping mechanism against potential biases. The study stresses the impacts of non-conformity of heteronormative expectations and underscores the importance of exploring queer economics to understand how identities intersect with socio-economic realities more comprehensively.
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    Teacher pedagogies for literacy acquisition amongst EFAL learners in Grade 3 in two schools in the Western Cape
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Dooms, Anastasia Chloe; Martin, Cameron
    The issue of literacy and language development is still a pressing concern within South African education. Many South African learners that are required to attend school and learn in their first/second additional language (FAL) as opposed to their home language (HL) are disadvantaged and comparatively excluded compared to their peers that learn in their HL. In the foundation phase, literacy acquisition is seen as a building block to education and therefore teachers need to ensure that learners have acquired adequate oral vocabulary and phonological awareness in English to enable a strong literacy foundation for their transition from their HL to English (EFAL). This study analysed the pedagogical practices used by four Grade 3 educators from two non-English schools in the Western Cape during their EFAL lessons. The research intended to identify the pedagogical approaches used by these educators to assist learners in learning and adequately acquiring their FAL to the level of proficiency needed for English as the language of instruction from Grade 4 onwards. A qualitative approach was used and incorporated the use of two EFAL lesson observations (per educator), lesson plan analyses, and semi-structured interviews. The main findings were analysed through the lens of Pedagogical Link-Making (PLM) (Scott et al., 2011). PLM as an evaluation tool was used to guide and thereafter analyse the observations and the post-observation interviews. This was used to establish the effective pedagogies used by Grade 3 educators to establish meaning amongst their learners. The findings gave insight into promising pedagogical actions that should be incorporated into teaching and learning EFAL to facilitate meaning making amongst learners and ensure adequate language and literacy acquisition. The inclusive education field will benefit from further research being conducted into PLM, with particular interest in language and literacy development. This may aid the field of education to find new ways for educators to adapt their pedagogical practices to foster inclusion within their classroom and hinder the exclusionary practices faced by EFAL learners due to learning barriers imposed by language.
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    Evaluating the impact of a diversity and inclusion committee on promoting a diverse workforce and building an inclusive environment at Beckman Coulter SA (PTY) Ltd
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Noge, Tebogo; Munkuli, Bongani
    Diversity and inclusion have long been a challenge in many South African corporate workplaces. This is a reality that stems as far back as the pre-1994 apartheid government, which implemented policies of racial and gender segregation. The purpose of this study was to determine how effective Beckman Coulter SA (PTY) Ltd's diversity and inclusion committee was at fostering a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive environment. To address this purpose, this study interrogated research questions centering around the understanding of diversity and inclusion within the company. The questions unearthed perceptions on the state of diversity, the inclusive nature of both the company’s leadership and the human resources practices, and lastly, the questions evaluated the impact that the diversity and inclusion committee had on employee engagement at Beckman Coulter South Africa (PTY) Ltd. The wide field of sociology guided and supported this research study. Furthermore, the study pursued a qualitative case study design with purposive sampling. The data for the analysis was gathered from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data was analysed using the grounded theory method. Overall, this study found that there has been a noticeable improvement since the appointment of the diversity committee. Moreover, it was concluded that the company is working hard to improve its internal diversity and inclusion position. The majority of employees were found to believe that the committee was effective in raising awareness on diversity and inclusion. However, this study also determined three main opportunities for improvement. Firstly, the black respondents felt racially excluded from the company’s promotion opportunities, top management hiring, career development, and also felt there were significant integration gaps. Secondly, it was noted that there was little modelling of desired behaviours and not enough quick wins to get the necessary buy-in of half of the research respondents. Lastly, the respondents reported a prominent culture of retaliation or no action when discriminatory incidents are raised
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    Community participation in rural development at Ga-Maja in the Limpopo Province
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Tema, Mokgatla Bernice; Khumalo, John
    Public participation in development, in South Africa, is embraced in the country’s Constitution and various legislative and policy frameworks. Despite this, participation is not adequately institutionalised in government, including in local government. The purpose of this study is to explore how community members perceive community participation in decision-making about and implementation of rural development programmes. The research is a qualitative case study with focus on the village of Ga-Maja in the Limpopo province. The research has, among others, found that the community is not fully engaged in its development. It has also established that conflict between the ward councillors and the traditional leadership is a hindrance to community participation in development. This conflict is largely caused by the vague description of the role of traditional leadership in government’s policy documents. Accordingly, government should empower the traditional leadership to play a definitive role in the development of rural communities
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    The influence of systemic team coaching on diversity and inclusion management in corporate South Africa
    (2022) Segalo, Thuli Nokuphiwa
    In the multicultural South African (SA) organisational context, effective diversity and inclusion (D&I) management is an organisational imperative. Organisations are challenged with finding effective and sustainable ways to manage D&I. Multicultural teams are at the centre of providing innovation and creativity value for organisations. The ineffective management of D&I has consequences for organisations, such as, increased grievance complaints, declining employee engagement, negative impacts on talent management, and ultimately, impacts the organisation’s competitive advantage and performance. This study explores the influence of systemic team coaching (STC) on D&I management in SA organisations. This was a mixed-methods study that used a sequential explanatory design and had two distinct phases: quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative data acquired via a survey questionnaire was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Semi-structured interviews were conducted to acquire qualitative data, which were subsequently subjected to thematic analysis. The results and findings were integrated utilising joint display analysis. The study found that key diversity and inclusion enabling elements are inherent in the experience accounts of team coaching by managers and teams. Team coaching enabled the facilitation of increasing team awareness, building trust and psychological safety, creating space for team members to feel heard, and valued. The study contributes valuable insights for HR professionals and leaders in how STC contributes to the effective management of D&I. The study adds knowledge on team coaching, team effectiveness, D&I management. The study concludes that STC is a practical intervention which enables the support of organisational teams to effectively manage D&I complexities.