EVALUATING THE APPLICATION OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AT THE MANGAUNG ONE-STOP CHILD JUSTICE CENTRE

The South African criminal justice system is largely punitive, retributive and adversarial innature; this was also true for the child justice systems, until the acknowledgement andadvancement of children’s rights. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child(CRC) deals specifically with children in conflict with the law. Article 40 of the CRC providesinter alia that the child in conflict with the law has a right to the promotion of his or her senseof dignity and worth, and the reinforcement of the child’s respect for human rights andfundamental freedoms of others. State parties also have an obligation to develop acomprehensive juvenile justice system through laws, procedures, authorities and institutions.Thus states are required to have specialised units within the police, judiciary, court system,prosecution and legal representation in order to deal with children in conflict with the law.Furthermore, state parties are required to have alternatives in place to deal with children inconflict with the law so as to ensure the limitation of resorting to judicial proceedings. Theimportance of diverting the child away from the criminal justice system is thus emphasised(Hodgkin & Newell, 2007:601-602, 616, 618). In line with international standards, the SouthAfrican Constitution also guarantees, in section 28(1)(g), that children should be detained onlyas a measure of last resort and then kept separate from adults

A note on intensive weaner calf production from dairy cows

No Abstrac

Guest Editor's note

Sec. 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa guarantees the right to education. Education Law is a fairly new and developing legal field that aims to give effect to this constituonal imperative. The South African Education Law Association hosts an international conference annually. Some of the contributions of these conferences as well as other Education Law-related contributions are published in this edition of the Journal for Juridical Science. This edition includes a wide variety of topics on Education Law and showcases the need to develop this exciting field of law

Deelnemende aksienavorsing as metode van gemeenskapsbemagtiging

This article discusses how participatory action research may be used as a method of empowering communities. Attention is paid to the value of such research within the welfare context as well as to the underlying values and assumptions of the approach. Examples are provided to illustrate the characteristics and the process. It is shown that participatory action research may be used as a developmental strategy in communities since its empowerment component is very strong

THE LEGAL AND ETHICAL OBLIGATIONS OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS

In recent years social workers have been appointed in some schools on the assumption that social work services can contribute towards improving education in schools by supporting the psychosocial development of learners. Social workers not only place a high priority on ethical conduct, but as custodians of the Children’s Act, they also have distinct legal obligations towards children. However, social work ethics and these legal obligations could create ethical dilemmas. This narrative review article provides the background to school social work and explains some of the legal and ethical obligations that social workers face in this environment. A few common ethical dilemmas are also discussed

Educator accountability in South Africa: Rethink section 10 of the South African Schools Act

Twenty years after the abolition of corporal punishment in South Africa, shocking videos of educators administering corporal punishment surfaced during 2017. A much harsher approach to prosecuting offending educators as well as those who do not report corporal punishment is, therefore, justified. Although this is a feasible solution to the issue, it immediately poses a problem, because the South African Schools Act, the Employment of Educators Act and the Code of Conduct for educators do not include a clear definition of what constitutes corporal punishment. Without a clear definition, neither the criminal courts nor the South African Council for Educators can effectively prosecute educators. To strengthen the role of the law in eradicating corporal punishment, several legal sources are investigated in order to guide the debate as to what should be included in a definition of corporal punishment. Furthermore, the need to explicitly abolish other harmful forms of punishment, which cannot be classified as corporal punishment, is investigated. It is concluded that sec. 10 of the South African Schools Act should be amended to define the broad ambit of corporal punishment properly and to prohibit other forms of non-physical punishment that cause psychological and emotional harm to learners

English language-in-education: A lesson planning model for subject teachers

South African learners perform poorly in national and international tests aimed at measuring literacy and numeracy skills. One of the reasons for their performance is a lack of critical academic language skills in English as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT). This is noted against the background of previously disadvantaged parents’ high expectations of their children being given the opportunity to learn through medium of English, preparing them for success in a world where English is the lingua franca, and challenges faced by subject teachers with regard to languagein- education. The model for lesson planning and presentation, put forwardin this article, guides the subject teacher through each step of the backwardprocess of lesson design and the ‘forward’ process of lesson presentation. Its key focus is the integration of language and content instruction aimed at ensuring the effective teaching of key competencies in the Additional Language content classroom and thereby raising the quality of teaching and learning in South Africa.Key words: academic language skills; language-in-education; subjectteachers; additional language learners; LAC (language across the curriculum

USING ADVENTURE TO INCREASE THE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE OF THE POOR

In many instances the clients that social workers encounter are trapped by poverty andexperience feelings of powerlessness (Reyneke, 2000:384). In order to help them the socialworker should use his or her skills and knowledge to assist clients to reclaim the power thatthey lost or possibly never possessed in the first place. Payne (2005:295) analysesempowerment and argues that clients can gain power of decision and action over their ownlives by reducing the effect of social or personal blocks to exercising existing power, byincreasing their personal capacity and self-confidence to use power, and by transferring powerfrom groups and individuals. Reyneke (2000:383-384) shows that in order to empower peoplein poor communities more effectively, their human potential needs to be developed. This maybe done through the development of their emotional intelligence (EQ). Techniques that reducethe effect of social or personal blocks should be used in order to help them improve, amongstother aspects, their personal capacity and self-confidence. This is especially important whenplanning and implementing sustainable development projects where many of the participantsare from communities that experience powerlessness and are poor

Increasing resilience, lowering risk: Teachers' use of the Circle of Courage in the classroom

This explanatory and descriptive quantitative study explored teachers classroom practices, using the Circle of Courage as a guideline with the aim of providing some guidelines that could further improve resilience and prevent challenging behaviour in the classroom. The Circle of Courage provides a framework for understanding behaviour and developing classroom and school-wide strategies to decrease challenging behaviour and increase resilience and self-worth in children. This quantitative research study used a purposive sample (n=211) that consisted of primary and secondary school teachers from 20 schools in the Mangaung and Setsoto municipal areas in the Free State. Results revealed that teachers could improve their teaching strategies linked to the principles of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity. It also emerged from the study that teachers have the most difficulty in developing mastery, one of the principles on which education should show excellence. It is recommended that teachers improve their teaching strategies by specifically targeting the four principles of the Circle of Courage since this could help improve learner resilience and academic achievement. This could also lead to the prevention of disciplinary problems in the classroom, especially when used in conjunction with the restorative school model

The role of school social workers in giving effect to children’s right to education: A legal perspective

Social workers are not commonly employed in South African schools. However, various role players, policy documents and court findings directly or indirectly refer to the need for social services for learners. Teachers cannot fully provide this service, since they are neither trained to do so, nor have the time to fully support the psychosocial development of learners – and this could be detrimental to the pursuit of quality education. This conceptual article argues that, although not many social workers are employed by the Department of Basic Education, social services as such should be a high priority in basic education. Policy frameworks, legislation and case law provide sufficient evidence that there is a need for more social workers in South African schools. These professionals are a necessity in order to ensure that learners’ right to quality education is fully realised. The article also explains how school social workers could contribute to this quest for quality education, specifically, within the context of the 4A framework. The article concludes with an outline of what could be expected from school social workers within the 4A framework