Zulu Empire Decolonised: The Epic Story of the Zulu from Pre-Colonial Times to the 21st Century by Shalo Mbatha Johannesburg, South Africa: iZigi Publishing, 2021, p. 392. ISBN: 978-0-620-89782-2

The Zulu Empire is one of the well-known empires in Africa and the world. It is well-known for having resisted and militarily defeated the English army in the battle of Isandlwana. However, history writers who predominantly wrote from the outsider perspective distorted a lot of historical events. This article reviews a book written by Shalo Mbatha entitled “Zulu Empire Decolonised: The Epic Story of the Zulu from Pre-colonial Times to the 21st Century”. The article argues how the title remains true to the project of decolonisation. It further demonstrates how Shalo reverses the popular history created by colonisers by presenting events as known by those who lived through them. Her greatest success is in writing the history in the language of the colonised, thus restoring their dignity and having them rewrite their own history.

The status quo of research on South Africa’s water resource management institutions

The South African water resource management institutional landscape has seen some dramatic changes since the new dispensation came into power in 1994. Not only have legislation and policies changed, but there has also been a significant increase in the number of non-state actors in the policy development process. Water resource governance has therefore become more complex and its regulatory component is being implemented by a number of legislative institutions: catchment management agencies, water user associations, irrigation boards, and international water management bodies. Policy development is influenced by a myriad of non-state actors, scientists included. A comprehensive literature review of research on water resource management institutions published between 1997 and 2011 shows that scientists are focusing predominantly on catchment management agencies and aspects regarding their institutionalisation and organisational functionality. There is much less of a focus on other entities, such as advisory committees, international water management bodies, irrigation boards, the water tribunal and water user associations. What the review has also revealed is that research on water resource management institutions has been conducted predominantly by scientists from the natural sciences. There is therefore an evident need for a research focus on water resource management institutions other than catchment management agencies. In addition, there should be a focus on informal aspects of water resource governance and new theoretical developments, also from disciplines other than the natural sciences, in the fields of water resource governance and politics.Keywords: Water resource management institutions, literature review, catchment management agencies,water user associations, legislation, irrigation boards, catchment forums, international water management bodie

Crossing disciplinary boundaries: Students’ experiences of facilitating a learning support programme at a South African university

Increased access to higher education has brought into focus the under-preparedness of students for higher education and vice versa. As such, various programmes have been developed to enhance students’ success in universities. In one institution, an administrator and a lecturer collaborated with senior university students to facilitate a learning support programme where the students acted as peer mentors. The study sought to document students’ experiences of facilitating a peer-mentorship programme that targets first year students as well as senior students who were regarded as at risk of academic exclusion. Using a qualitative case study and Bandura’s social learning theory, 30 peer mentors were purposively selected to generate data through a peer mentors’ reflection workshop. Findings of the study suggest that the mentors were more successful in working with first year students than with senior students. The article concludes that, because of the training provided, mentors were knowledgeable about the programme and the resources available to support mentees. Further studies should solicit mentees’ views and experiences of such a programme, especially those reluctant to take part, as that will highlight areas that require attention to raise the participation and academic success of all participants

Project Masihambisane: a cluster randomised controlled trial with peer mentors to improve outcomes for pregnant mothers living with HIV

Abstract Background Pregnant women living with HIV (WLH) face daily challenges maintaining their own and their babies' health and mental health. Standard Prevention of Maternal to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programs are not designed to address these challenges. Methods/Design As part of a cluster randomized controlled trial, WLH are invited to attend four antenatal and four postnatal small group sessions led by a peer WLH (a Peer Mentor). The WLH and their babies are assessed during pregnancy and at one week, six months, and twelve months post-birth. Mobile phones are used to collect routine information, complete questionnaires and remain in contact with participants over time. Pregnant WLH (N = 1200) are randomly assigned by clinic (N = 8 clinics) to an intervention program, called Masihambisane (n = 4 clinics, n = 600 WLH) or a standard care PMTCT control condition (n = 4 clinics; n = 600 WLH). Discussion Data collection with cellular phones are innovative and effective in low-resource settings. Standard PMTCT programs are not designed to address the daily challenges faced by WLH; Peer Mentors may be useful in supporting WLH to cope with these challenges. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov registration # NCT0097269

The preventive misconception: experiences from CAPRISA 004.

CAPRISA, 2014.Abstract available in pdf

Review: progress of the world's women 2008/2009 who answers to women? gender and accountability

This review seeks to highlight the important issues in UNIFEM's latest report Progress of the World's Women 2008/2009 Who answers to women? Gender and accountability. The report places a large part of responsibility for women's progress, and the lack thereof, on those who hold responsibility, the bearers of power.

Towards inclusive education and training: developing the South African system for the challenges of change

Schools are by nature generally rigidly structured hierarchies and tend to operate counter to innovation in general. Some scholars have also argued that schools and those who inhabit them find it difficult to change their thinking and practice. In the light of these assertions, the critical question then is: how can stakeholders be assisted to reach a similar understanding of an innovation and to implement and manage the change process effectively? This theoretical essay explores the South African education scenery in the context of the Education White Paper 6 and proposes three critical and interrelated conditions necessary to facilitate and promote system wide changes.

'Do you understand?': 'Yes, Ma'am'

If a child's ability to think abstractly is dependent on the development and use of language, then children who are not proficient in the language in which they learn and are taught will struggle to master conceptual knowledge. Sithabile Ntombela relates a case study of how Zungu Primary School in greater Durban addresses this difficulty.

Are we there yet?: towards the development of inclusive education in one district in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Available literature suggests that successful and effective implementation of an educational innovation depends, among other things, on an adequate understanding of the reform among stakeholders in the implementing organizations (e.g., schools). For schools, such understanding can only be achieved by providing professional development for those tasked with implementing the innovation (i.e., teachers) and providing the necessary material and human resources for the innovation. This article reports on a qualitative case study which examined the extent to, and ways in which teachers in the Philani district, KwaZulu-Natal, were trained for the implementation of Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education - Building an inclusive education and training system (Department of Education, 2001). Findings from the study suggest that the cascade model of professional development used to train teachers in the schools was ineffective as a means of innovation dissemination and as a training strategy for preparing teachers for the implementation of this innovation. As such, adequate understanding of inclusive education failed to take root among teachers and consequently, the desired re-culturing on the schools and classrooms did not occur. This has significant implications for the development of implementation of inclusive school and classroom policies and practices and for building an inclusive education and training system in all districts.