Indigenous Zulu games as an educational tool for the multicultural schools in South Africa

Active participation, and formal and informal contact on sports fields and in physical education classes can contribute to the bridging of diversity in a play setting. This ties in with the Revised National Curriculum Statement for Life Orientation which emphasizes the holistic development of all learners. There are widespread concerns about the inactivity and related disease profiles of the South African Youth, as well as the divisions of the past that still prevail. A national need for indigenous knowledge was identified and the opportunity arose for documenting and selecting indigenous Zulu games as part of a national survey. This study developed from this background. It aims to provide material for socio-cultural development as well as to address the void in the current educational dispensation regarding physical education as part of the Life Orientation Learning Area. Quantitative data on the trends, content and nature of these games was collected through the completion of a questionnaire (De Jongh, 1984 and adapted by Burnett, 2001), triangulated with information collected through structured interviews, focus groups and observations of learners at play. Visual and tape recordings assisted in the capturing of songs, physical skills and various other play patterns. Forty indigenous Zulu games and other play related activities were collected from grade seven learners (age 10 to 17) (n=217), and adults (age 40 to 70) (n=57) from rural and urban schools and communities in and around Empangeni, Eshowe, Vryheid, Nongoma and Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. The sample (N=274) comprised of Zulu-speaking boys (n=87), girls (n=130), men (n=26) and women (n=31). A theoretical framework for inventorising Zulu play and games, was developed and applied for classification, analysis and documentation of these Zulu games. These games were presented in an educational outcomes-based framework and guidelines offered for the inclusion of indigenous games in a multicultural classroom. Thirteen of these games were, however, selected for curriculum development purposes according to the criteria of the nature (indigenous content and structure), popularity and potential for cross-field educational outcomes. Appropriate strategies were offered for teaching, learning and pedagogy. These thirteen selected indigenous Zulu games may meaningfully contribute to the physical education curriculum for promoting ethnic understanding, reinforcing social skills and to provide an opportunity to use fundamental motor skills and movement concepts in dynamic settings in the multicultural classroom in the South African context. It is recommended that these indigenous Zulu games should hence be introduced to all learners in the multicultural classrooms of all South African schools, providing that sufficient time will be allocated and subject specialists will be appointed for teaching physical education. Furthermore it is recommended that research should be conducted on the indigenous games of all other ethnic groups, not only the Zulu in KwaZulu-Natal, but throughout South Africa to be included in a comprehensive physical education curriculum.Prof. C. Burnett-Louw Prof. W.J. Hollande

Judo in schools in South Africa:A judoka’s perspective

Elite sport systems comprise the phases of an athlete’s progression from school to international level, as incorporated in the Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model. The model includes elements such as talent identification and development, scientific support, training facilities and coach development. However, varying degrees of implementation are accounted for by contextual differences. Judo is a popular Olympic sport that is practised in schools in South Africa, mostly as an extracurricular activity. The aim of this paper is to describe the perceptions of judoka in South Africa, of their school judo programmes, in the context of an elite judo system. The study utilised a self structured questionnaire and a purposive random sample of 26 judoka participated in this study. Results indicate that constrained school judo programmes exist in South Africa. The programmes would benefit from a national competition league for schools that establishes partnerships with external service and facility providers, to enhance access to scientific support such as psychology, bio-kinetics, physiotherapy, and training facilities. This would contribute to a comprehensive database, informed by monitoring and evaluation of talented athletes and would embed the programme within the framework of LTAD to establish age and developmentally appropriate participation opportunities. Unique talent identification and development approaches could also create opportunities for strategic competitive advantage. Results reinforce existing literature on long-term scientific approaches to the development of athletes and Judo South Africa’s existing LTAD manual, combined with the presence of judo in numerous schools across the country, provide a platform for practical implementation of recommendations in this study

Approximate Euclidean Steiner trees

An approximate Steiner tree is a Steiner tree on a given set of terminals in Euclidean space such that the angles at the Steiner points are within a specified error e from 120 degrees. This notion arises in numerical approximations of minimum Steiner trees (W. D. Smith, Algorithmica, 7 (1992), 137–177). We investigate the worst-case relative error of the length of an approximate Steiner tree compared to the shortest tree with the same topology. Rubinstein, Weng and Wormald (J. Global Optim. 35 (2006), 573–592) conjectured that this relative error is at most linear in e, independent of the number of terminals. We verify their conjecture for the two-dimensional case as long as the error e is sufficiently small in terms of the number of terminals. We derive a lower bound linear in e for the relative error in the two-dimensional case when e is sufficiently small in terms of the number of terminals. We find improved estimates of the relative error for larger values of e, and calculate exact values in the plane for three and four terminals

International Perspectives on Student Behavior: What We Can Learn

The second volume of companion books on comparative student discipline identifies the best practices in dealing with student misconduct, on six continents, in a legally sound manner. It is essential for educators to examine national as well as international practices addressing student misconduct in schools because learner misbehavior often has a detrimental effect on the quality of teaching and learning in elementary and secondary schools. The countries covered are Brazil, China, Malaysia, Turkey and South Africa

Human resource planning challenges - a case study of the Department of Library and Information Services in the City of Cape Town

Magister Administrationis - MAdminThis study focuses on the human resource planning challenges of the Department of Library and Information Services in the City of Cape Town. In line with this focus the study seeks to determine the way in which the human resource planning strategies of the City of Cape Town impacts on departmental effectiveness and service delivery output of the Department of Library and Information Services. The study further endeavours to determine what the human resource planning processes in the Department of Library and Information Services entails as well as whether human resource planning in the Department of library and Information Services takes the external environment into account. The study is qualitative and employs a case study approach in order to reveal the reality of the situation. Structured questionnaires and the researcher’s observations were utilised to gather the research data whilst books, journal articles and government policies and documents were extensively consulted during the course of the study. The research findings indicated that the Department of Library and Information Services lacks a comprehensive human resource plan. Talent management and succession planning is not formally practised in the department and the work place skills plan of the department is not run optimally. The fact that the department is classified as an unfunded mandate also contributes to the current human resource environment in the department. It is recommended that the COCT involves the DLIS in its human resources policy formulation processes

Global Interest in Student Behavior: An Examination of International Best Practices

A cornerstone for effective teaching and learning is vested in the quality of the way in which students focus on the content of their lessons. The chapters in this book, then, offer cross-national perspectives on best practices when dealing with the challenge of student misconduct. The chapter authors, all distinguished academics and/ or jurists, have contributed their reviews of the state of the law and practice in their nations. As readers peruse the chapters, they will recognize that the way in which educators address student discipline varies around the world. The first book of its kind, this volume consists of a collection of essays designed to enhance a common understanding of the rights of students when they are subjected to discipline. These informative, thought provoking, well-written, and researched chapters, authored by leading academics and/ or jurists in the field, serve as up-to-date and ready sources of information to help keep educational leaders, academics, and students abreast of the many changes in the ever-growing area of comparative student discipline