Writing Centers and Disability: Enabling Writers Through an Inclusive Philosophy

In its Position Statement on Disability and Writing Centers, the International Writing Centers Association (IWCA) recognizes and emphasizes the relationship between writing centers and disability and “encourages scholarship that explores the ways disability intersects with writing center work.” The IWCA further encourages writing centers to be inclusive to all writers by adopting “communication that takes into account various learning styles or ways of processing language.” We too, argue that writing centers should be welcoming environments for all writers and that they should engage with their writers as unique beings, making accessible to them the individuation of instruction and support. Writing centers should be spaces where the multiple barriers that students experience in their writing are addressed and a variety of options are provided.University Writing Cente

Their capital has value, too: Exploring parental educational support in low-socioeconomic single-mother families

Parental educational support is a key contributing factor to the educational success of children (Epstein, 2018; Seginer, 2006). However educational research has shown that schools tend to engage with single-mother families from a deficit approach, labelling such parents as uninvolved and uncaring (Hoover-Dempsey, Battiato, Walker, Reed, DeJong, Jones, 2001). What is often not considered, is the embedded forms of capital present in single parent families and the ways in which single parents invest in their children’s education. In this article, we report on the findings of a qualitative multiple case study of single mother families from a South African community. Through narrative inquiry, six single-parent family units were researched for the contributions they make to their children’s educational success.  Our theoretical framework was informed by Yosso’s (2005) model of community cultural wealth. Our findings show that, despite severe societal adversity, these participating mothers invest in their children’s educational and emotional wellbeing by accumulating alternative forms of embedded community cultural wealth. Our findings have implications for how schools engage with and collaborate with such parent communities to advance positive school-family relationships. Keywords: parental educational support, parental engagement, single-mother families, community culturalwealt

Exploring the Educational Engagement Practices of Disadvantaged Students at a South African University

This article discusses the educational engagement practices of disadvantaged first-generation students at a South African university. Based on qualitative research conducted in the interpretive tradition and using interviews and focus groups with selected students, this article explores how disadvantaged students engage with the education and support structures at the university. Drawing on Bourdieu’s (1990; 2000) analytical tools of field, capital and habitus, it explores how students are able to produce practices and dispositions to develop their educational engagement within the university. The article highlights the varied and uneven field conditions of the university in terms of which the students had to navigate their university studies. Their responses to these conditions were strategically directed towards narrowly focusing on, and maximizing, their academic commitments to their studies. This resulted in minimal and halting engagement with the university’s social support services. The article demonstrates the significance of the students’ complex engagements with their lecturers, active and productive interaction with their student peers and the academic support offered by the university’s Teaching and Learning unit. These were central to their engagement practices at the university. The article illustrates the students’ acquisition of strategic emergent academic dispositions in an uneven university field. These dispositions, we argue, are crucial to them establishing productive educational paths at the university

Genetic Signatures in the Envelope Glycoproteins of HIV-1 that Associate with Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies

A steady increase in knowledge of the molecular and antigenic structure of the gp120 and gp41 HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins (Env) is yielding important new insights for vaccine design, but it has been difficult to translate this information to an immunogen that elicits broadly neutralizing antibodies. To help bridge this gap, we used phylogenetically corrected statistical methods to identify amino acid signature patterns in Envs derived from people who have made potently neutralizing antibodies, with the hypothesis that these Envs may share common features that would be useful for incorporation in a vaccine immunogen. Before attempting this, essentially as a control, we explored the utility of our computational methods for defining signatures of complex neutralization phenotypes by analyzing Env sequences from 251 clonal viruses that were differentially sensitive to neutralization by the well-characterized gp120-specific monoclonal antibody, b12. We identified ten b12-neutralization signatures, including seven either in the b12-binding surface of gp120 or in the V2 region of gp120 that have been previously shown to impact b12 sensitivity. A simple algorithm based on the b12 signature pattern was predictive of b12 sensitivity/resistance in an additional blinded panel of 57 viruses. Upon obtaining these reassuring outcomes, we went on to apply these same computational methods to define signature patterns in Env from HIV-1 infected individuals who had potent, broadly neutralizing responses. We analyzed a checkerboard-style neutralization dataset with sera from 69 HIV-1-infected individuals tested against a panel of 25 different Envs. Distinct clusters of sera with high and low neutralization potencies were identified. Six signature positions in Env sequences obtained from the 69 samples were found to be strongly associated with either the high or low potency responses. Five sites were in the CD4-induced coreceptor binding site of gp120, suggesting an important role for this region in the elicitation of broadly neutralizing antibody responses against HIV-1

Its a time bomb ... the ship will sink : emotional well-being of high school educators in the Helderberg area of the Western Cape

CITATION: Strauss, E. & Daniels, D. 2013. “Dis ’n tydbom ... die skip gaan sink”: Emosionele welsyn van Hoërskool-opvoeders in die Helderbergarea van die Wes-Kaap. Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, 53(3):391-403.The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_issuetoc&pid=0041-475120130003&lng=en&nrm=isoAFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Navorsing oor die onderwys toon wêreldwyd dat opvoeders se werksomgewing sowel as eksterne eise, byvoorbeeld ouers se verwagtinge en sosio-ekonomiese uitdagings, opvoeders voortdurend onder druk plaas. Ekstensiewe blootstelling aan hierdie eise kan lei tot ’n negatiewe effek op hul eie persoonlike welstand sowel as die welstand van die skool as organisasie. Herhaalde blootstelling aan stres kan uiteindelik tot emosionele siektes soos uitbranding en depressie onder opvoeders lei. Alhoewel heelwat studies reeds onderneem is om meer lig te werp op wat aanleiding gee tot die belewing van stres en emosionele siektes in die onderwysomgewing, poog min van hulle om die opvoeders se begrip en belewing van stressors in hulle werkskonteks na te vors. Hierdie artikel doen verslag oor ses opvoeders se persoonlike konstruksies van hul emosionele welsyn. Die konteks was die Helderberg-area in die Wes-Kaap wat deur agt hoërskole bedien word. Die opvoeders was werksaam in twee voormalige model-C-hoërskole, en twee voormalige model-Dhoërskole (histories bruin skole). Die bevindinge toon dat die opvoeders emosioneel broos is en spesifieke gedragspatrone toon. Hulle rapporteer ’n afname in produktiwiteit en werksetiek, reaksionêre of gewelddadige gedrag, die blamering van ander en paranoïede-tipe gedrag wat met hul oorwegend negatiewe emosies geassosieer word.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: International research on education shows that educators are continuously undergoing extreme pressure in their work environments. The experience of this pressure combined with external demands (stressors), such as parental expectations and socio-economic challenges, pose a direct threat to their holistic wellness as well as that of the school as organisation. Continuous exposure to extensive demands can eventually lead to emotional illnesses such as burnout and depression. Emotional wellbeing encompasses mental health, emotional intelligence, development of relationships as well as the social development of people, and is an important dimension of an individual’s wellness. Concern about educators’ wellness, and more specifically their emotional wellbeing, stems from the fact that teachers are the providers and facilitators of wellness to school children. Thus, when educators’ wellness is at risk it also threatens the wellness of the learners and the school as an organisation. A variety of national and international studies have shed light on the causes of stress and emotional illness amongst educators. Pertinent stressors identified for South African education include curriculum changes, the implementation of new education policies, multicultural and multilingual classes, overcrowded classes and poor collaboration between educators and management. Few studies have reported on educators’ understanding and experience of these stressors. This article outlines six educators’ personal constructions of their emotional wellbeing. The context for the study is the Helderberg area of the Western Cape, and the participants were drawn from four of the eight high schools in the area, two of which historically were former model C-schools and two were model D-schools. The research process was directed by the qualitative, interpretative paradigm, and data were generated through individual semi-structured interviews, reflective diaries and observations. The findings confirm that the teachers are emotionally vulnerable and that their emotional wellbeing is at risk. Though clinical diagnoses did not fall within the scope of the study, specific emotions described by the participants can nevertheless be tied to emotional illnesses such as major depression and burnout. The participants exhibited certain behavioural patterns such as a decrease in productivity and work ethics, reactionary or violent behaviour, blaming of others, and paranoid-type behaviour which are associated with overwhelmingly negative emotions. The participants are of the opinion that educators’ levels of emotional wellbeing may be directly related to their specific work contexts. The two dimensions of wellness influenced by the participants’ low levels of emotional wellbeing are the physical and social dimensions. They attributed the neglect of their physical wellbeing to the limited time that educators have to live healthy lives and to plan and follow healthy diets. Their lack of physical exercise and unbalanced diets were contributing to chronic illnesses such as diarrhoea, that some of them periodically suffer from. These educators furthermore reported the negative impact that their low emotional state has on their family life. From the data it would seem that the frustration that educators are experiencing in the work place finds its way into the private family space. Even those who did not offload their frustrations at home, reported that their relationships with their spouses, families and friends had become strained. The participants all attributed their low levels of social wellbeing and relationship problems with family and friends to their unhappiness in the work place. The findings underline the importance of healthy work conditions that could promote educators’ emotional wellbeing and benefit educational outcomes.Publishers' Versio

Decolonising the researcher’s mind about southern research: reflections from the field

Inaugural address delivered on November 2011.Doria Daniels was born and grew up in the Strand, in the Boland. She attended Strand Moslem Primary School and matriculated from Gordon High School in Somerset West. From 1977 to 1980 she studied full time at the University of the Western Cape, where she obtained her BA degree and HDE. Whilst being a high school teacher she studied part time towards her B Ed degree, which she was awarded in 1984. In 1988 she decided to pursue an MA degree in Instructional Design and Technology at the University of Iowa in the USA. In 1996 she completed a PhD in International and Intercultural Education at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, USA. From 1997 to 2000 she was a member of the Department of Curriculum Studies in the Faculty of Education at Rand Afrikaans University, now the University of Johannesburg. In 2001 she accepted an appointment at Stellenbosch University as Director of Community Services, a position that she held for two years. She returned to academia in 2003 when she joined the Department of Educational Psychology at Stellenbosch University as an associate professor. In 2011 she was promoted to a full professor. She has a C-3 rating as researcher from the National Research Foundation. Her research and scholarship are in the areas of visual-based inquiry, women’s access to education, non-formal education, gender, and community education. Her scholarly accomplishments include a scholarship from the University of Iowa for her MA degree, a scholarship for PhD studies from the Institute of International Education, and a Cyril O Houle Fellowship in Adult and Continued Education from the Kellogg Foundation. She is currently the regional editor for Africa for QSE, The International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education

Initiating a different story about immigrant Somali parents’ support of their primary school children’s education

CITATION: Daniels, D. 2017. Initiating a different story about immigrant Somali parents’ support of their primary school children’s education. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 7(1):a461, doi:10.4102/sajce.v7i1.461.The original publication is available at http://www.sajce.co.za/ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The ability of parents to nurture and support their children during their primary school years is considered to be fundamental for the child’s development and learning. Teachers and educational psychologists assign great prominence to parental involvement as a tool to advance educational success for children, especially for those who are faced with disadvantages. In the past two decades, we have seen South African schools radically shifting from being racially and ethnically homogenous to becoming culturally, ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous. It is especially the schools in the lower socioeconomic areas that find themselves under tremendous pressure to serve their growing immigrant school population. Not enough is known about the cultural capital that lies embedded in these learners’ home contexts and the roles that their parents play in their education. In this manuscript, I investigate the potential intersectionality of school and home and critique the affiliation between teachers and immigrant parents as an important dimension of learning success in the primary school. I situate the discussion in a community school with a strong Somali immigrant population.https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/461Publishers versio

TIENERMOEDERSKAP IN ’N ARM WES-KAAPSE GEMEENSKAP: NARRATIEWE OOR ONDERSTEUNING

Tienermoederskap word in die meeste gemeenskappe gesien as sosiale probleem wat verskeidenheid negatiewe gevolge vir die tienerma, haar kind, haar gesin van oorsprong en diegemeenskap in die breë inhou (Cunningham, 2001; Macleod, 2004; Ribar, 1999; Strobino,1992). Die negatiewe gevolge sluit in maatskaplike agterstande betreffende opvoeding,behuising, en werksgeleenthede. Deur tienermoederskap egter slegs as misstap met baienegatiewe gevolge te beskou, word die kompleksiteit en uniekheid van elke jong vrou seervaring ten opsigte van swangerskap en ouerskap ontken (Flanagan, 1998)