An impact assessment of the youth "development through football" project in Nelson Mandela Bay

Football as the most popular sport, serves as a medium through which development issues can be addressed in a variety of ways. The potential and limitations of sport as a vehicle for change are widely recognized for informing YDF and partner organisations for change and capacity building at all levels of engagement. The YDF on HIV prevention project brought about a close working relationship between GIZ/YDF, Volkswagen groups South Africa, NGO’s, federations and government institutions. Volkswagen formed a PPP (Public Private Partnership) to promote HIV prevention among the youth in the Eastern Cape Province. The aim of the cooperation was to raise awareness and improve the knowledge of the youth on HIV prevention. The project combined peer education through football with life-skills education on HIV Prevention in schools. The present study aimed at evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the YDF project in addressing HIV prevention awareness in the selected schools of Nelson Mandela Bay. The sample consisted of fifty grades six and seven learners of the ages of twelve and over. In this mixed methods research, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used and data was collected by means of questionnaires and interviews where pre and post-test studies were conducted. The results suggest that there has been an improvement in the learners’ awareness and therefore the YDF on HIV prevention programme has been effective in improving the participants’ level of HIV prevention awareness in Nelson Mandela Bay. These findings should make a meaningful contribution to the debate on sports based participation programmes on HIV/AIDS education, with regard to the stakeholders and implementing parties, as well as to the public

Collaborative Learning: A Veritable Tool for Promoting Classroom Participation Among Pre-Service Teachers in Rural Universities in South Africa

The benefits of collaborative learning (CL) in teaching-learning have been well-documented. According to existing literature, it will help students and teachers learn from one another, develop good communication skills, foster a sense of community, trust and respect, and retain and apply the information in their future studies. Unfortunately, observation coupled with research shows that pre-service teachers’ participation in South Africa's rural universities is at its lowest ebb – a potential source of concern to education stakeholders given its futuristic implications in the light of CL benefits. Less pre-service teachers’ participation has been linked to cultural influence, environmental factors and students’ backgrounds and have negatively impacted students’ academic achievement. This paper seeks to typify CL as a panacea to pre-service teachers' apathy toward learning. In doing this, social constructivism theory (SCT) was adopted to underpin the study. Drawing from the principles of participatory action research, fifteen undergraduate students were randomly selected, and data was gathered with the instrumentation of semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The study revealed the think-peer-share strategy, group work strategy, micro-teaching strategy, positive feedback and encouragement, learner-centred method, and inquiry method as strategies for improving participation among pre-service teachers in rural universities. Recommendations were made in line with the findings of the study

The ambivalence of comradeship in the appointment of principals: A threat to the provision of quality education

In this article, we problematise the practice of appointing principals on the basis of comradeship instead of excellence, qualifications and competency. The appointment of principals in South Africa has, over the years, become politicised and unionised to the extent that it is contextualised within comradeship narratives, thereby negating the competency and qualifications that are required to champion quality education – education that is essential to empower people. To cement its arguments, the article is couched in decoloniality, a framework that evokes the need to challenge coloniality, which has displaced professionalism and competency as criteria for appointing principals. The data for the study were generated through questionnaires completed by, and interviews with, 19 participants in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province. The article reports that most schools with comrade principals face challenges related to competency, learner performance and indiscipline. The article recommends that the Department of Basic Education revisit its   appointment policy for principals to ensure that competent principals are appointed, regardless of whether they are comrades or not. Keywords: comradeship; politics of belonging and othering; principalship; unionis

Promoting student teachers’ adaptive capabilities through community engagement

The gap between student teachers and their ability to adapt to the school situation remains a challenge. The literature further indicates that there is an under-utilisation of students’ abilities in an ever-changing curriculum that should be responsive to the challenges with which communities are faced. This paper aims to report on the students’ adaptive capabilities through a school-initiated community engagement project. Approximately nine students were placed at schools on Saturdays while offering lessons to grade nine learners. A focus group interview was held with the students who offered natural sciences, mathematics and social sciences after the initiative. Findings of this study included raising the students’ awareness for the need and ability to improvise in order to attend to the needs of the school and their ability to go out and seek information from other schools, the university and experienced teachers. The students were also able to leave the handouts they had designed for the school. The study provides insights into the adaptability of students in schools and recommends further empowerment spaces for student teachers and the school community

Mentor-Mentee Experiences Amidst COVID-19: A Teaching Practice Case Study

Preparing student teachers for the world of work is seen globally as a challenge. This research aims to explore mentors and mentees experiences in teaching practice during the COVID-19 period. In order to explore the challenge in this study, the following research question guided the paper: What are the teaching practice experiences of mentors and mentees at a school during COVID-19? The research question is a result of limited research done on the experiences of two groups during COVID-19. Informed by the realist social theory, we generated data via telephonic interviews with mentors and mentees in one school. The data was generated through semi-structured Interviews and thematic analysis was a method employed in the analysis of the data. The results present challenges experienced by mentees which, amongst others, include a feeling of inadequacy or a lack of confidence in their abilities to bring about order to the classroom and a feeling of being excluded in meetings and extra-curricular activities. On the other hand, mentors receive mentees without any prior warning or without arrangements made to accommodate them and the absence of the university officials except for assessment. Based on the results, a collaborative approach should be employed to deal with some of the challenges experienced by mentors and mentees

The experience of and need for training of school governors in rural schools in South Africa

The concept of decentralisation originates from the belief that the state cannot alone control schools, but should share its power with other stakeholders, particularly those closer to the school, on a partnership basis. The South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) mandates the establishment of school governing bodies that allow stakeholders — such as the state, parents, educators and learners (in secondary schools) — to play an active role in taking decisions on behalf of the school. However, this can only happen if participants in school governance are trained to decide on matters affecting their schools. With this in mind, qualitative research was undertaken to determine what training school governing bodies had received in selected rural schools in the Free State and to what extent this had assisted them in fulfilling their tasks. Findings indicated perceptions of training and its effectiveness. Based on the findings, detailed recommendations for the improvement of practice are made. South African Journal of Education Vol. 28 (3) 2008: pp. 385-40

A policy analysis of the consequences of the Lesotho highlands water project for rural communities in Lesotho : a case-study of communities affected by the construction of the Katse and Mohale dams.

Ph. D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2014.This thesis analyses the policy and implementation of the Treaty reached between the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa to construct two dams, the Katse and Mohale dams, to supply water to the Province of Gauteng in South Africa, in 1986. The nature and intention of this study is to contribute to knowledge since these dams were constructed for socio-economic development in Lesotho and in the Republic of South Africa. The main purpose of the thesis is to investigate the extent to which the construction of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project has benefitted resettled and relocated households in the areas where they now live. The study focuses on how seven of the socio-economic development programmes of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, namely Infrastructure, Compensation, Resettlement, Relocation, Capacity Building, Rural Development and Tourism, have been understood and implemented during the construction of the Katse and Mohale dams. In this study a more detailed empirical approach of how the Treaty and Compensation Policy for resettlement and relocation of affected communities in two regions of Katse and Mohale is understood and applied in the Katse area and Maseru District (one urban, in the Maseru suburbs, and the other rural foothills of the Machache mountain range of Ha Theko in Nazareth). The thesis identifies contributions made to social and economic development brought about by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Political structures that governed this project are interrogated, as well as the management structures that were given the responsibility to supervise the administration and operations of this project. This resulted in more than 50 households resettled in the Katse dam region and more than 80 households resettled in urban areas, the outskirts of Maseru City, and more than 100 households relocated to Ha Theko area. The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority was satisfied with the policy implementation in this regard, but little benefit is seen amongst people affected by the LHWP in their resettled and relocated places. The attempt here is to show how the implementation of seven socio-economic programmes of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority has really contributed to the betterment of affected communities who were involuntarily displaced by LHDA. The thesis also reveals the importance of women in taking household leadership positions, in which issues of resettlement, employment, health, building of healthy relationships with host communities and capacity building, have been their major responsibilities and functions. In the Treaty, the intention of the project was that the resettlement programme should be organized in such a way that the standard of affected communities by the construction of Lesotho Highlands Water Project, in particular those resettled and relocated, should not be below the level they were before their resettlement and relocation. Four main areas of focus, namely the nature of the project, the governance of the project, management and policy implementation, and the situation and current consequent conditions of affected communities, are critically analyzed in this study

Experiences and support of the newly-qualified four-year trained professional nurses placed for remunerated community service in Gauteng province

A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual study was conducted to explore and describe the experience and support received by newly-qualified four-year trained professional nurses while placed for remunerated community service in Gauteng province. Purposive sampling was used and five focus group interviews were conducted. Each focus group consisted of six to ten participants who had completed the four-year training programme and were qualified as nurses (general, psychiatric and community) and midwife placed for remunerated community service in Gauteng province (South African Nursing Council R425 of 22 February 1985). Data was analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Two main themes emerged from the study and formed the basis of the discussion. The themes are “various experiences of the newly-qualified four-year trained professional nurses” and “support received by the newly-qualified four-year trained professional nurses”. Community service nurses reported mixed experiences such as feeling good and bad during community service placement. The majority of participants reported that remunerated community service placement is risky and it requires one to take chances. Furthermore, participants referred to remunerated community service placement as a scary venture at first but eventually they mastered practical activities. Support received by community service nurses varied from adequate, inadequate, incidental and lack of support. Community service nurses reported bad staff attitudes, severe staff shortage and that they were subjected to adverse events and low salaries. Recommendations to enhance community service placement were outlined for the following stakeholders: South African Nursing Council, Department of Health, nursing colleges, universities and managers of the health facilities. CopyrightDissertation (MCur)--University of Pretoria, 2013.Nursing Scienceunrestricte

The contribution of tourism planning to local development at Harrismith, Phuthaditjhaba and Clarens

This article emphasises the major principles underlying tourism development. The case study highlights the most important factors that impact on tourism development and the critical role of town and regional planners in the process of enhancing social and economic development in rural districts. Current theoretical perspectives in the field are applied to three towns, Harrismith, Phuthaditjhaba and Clarens in the Eastern Free State, and recommendations to strengthen their position as tourism destinations are also included

Anthelmintic Resistance in Livestock

For decades anthelmintics have been used as the primary control measure for worm infections in livestock. However, there has been continuous development of anthelmintic resistance (AR) by the parasitic worms infecting livestock. This chapter reviews AR in livestock with a special focus on treatment and control, modes of action of different anthelmintic classes, risk factors leading to development of AR, conventional and molecular tools used to detect AR, FAMACHA© and holistic control strategy to control anthelmintic resistance