Schools In Soweto Research Articles

Natural Science Teachers’ perceptions of their Teaching Competence in Senior Phase Township Schools in Soweto Area, Gauteng Province

Transformation and reconstruction have characterized the South African educational arena for more than a decade. This process of change was necessitated by a legacy of the apartheid regime that included inequalities in the educational budget, poor teacher training, especially within the Sciences, and poorly resourced Science classes. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of NS teachers' perceptions of their teaching competence in Senior Phase township schools in Soweto, a qualitative research method was used. This type of research approach was appropriate for this study as the researchers intended to explore NS teachers' perceptions of their teaching competence in senior Phase township schools in Soweto. From this paper, it was found that there is a lack of qualified NS teachers in Soweto township. This means that South Africa is thus still faced with major challenges regarding the teaching of NS subject.

English

English

Teachers' reflections on distributive leadership in public primary schools in Soweto

Schooling has become increasingly complex in purpose and structure and therefore requires appropriate forms of leadership to address this challenge. One current leadership approach that is receiving national and global attention is distributive leadership. A qualitative approach was employed to investigate teachers’ experiences and perceptions of the practice of distributive leadership in public primary schools in Soweto. Soweto is a township in Johannesburg, South Africa, which comprises predominantly black African residents. The findings revealed that leadership in Soweto primary schools is rooted in classical leadership practices and that any potential for the practice of distributive leadership is hindered by autocratic styles of leadership, hierarchical structures, and non-participative decision-making. Keywords: Activity Theory, collective leadership, decision-making, distributive leadership, hierarchy, leadership styles, power, principals, school climate, teacher leadership

(In)tolerance of Diversity and School Governance: Perceptions and Experiences of Parents in Soweto Secondary Schools

A qualitative multi case study on shared decision-making in School Governing Bodies (SGBs) was conducted in five secondary schools in Soweto, South Africa. This article is restricted to the research question: how do parent members of the SGB perceive and experience respect and tolerance of diversity within the SGB. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured individual and group interviews. Tesch’s steps for open coding were followed for data analysis. Findings indicate that parents perceive and experience SGBs as discriminative, divisive, and intolerant of their “otherness”. Dimensions of diversity, notably socio-economic background and opinions-held, are used as the basis for suppression and marginalisation. The article argues for the introduction of school-level policies and relevant capacity building initiatives on democracy and social justice issues, as a means of improving the situation. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n4p101

Transformative Leadership for Social Justice: Perceptions and Experiences of South African Township Secondary School Principals

This paper reports selected findings of a bigger qualitative case study of five township secondary schools in Soweto, South Africa. The discussion is restricted to the research question: What are t...

The correlation between educator-turnover and the promotion of efficient management in public schools in Soweto, South Africa

Over three decades, the conditions under which teachers work have always been short of lending themselves to high quality education. Most of the present teachers in the townships do not have high quality education because the government at that time allocated minimal funds for the education of Black people. When the democratically elected government came to power in 1994 it was determined to make education offered to its citizens, equal. A new curriculum was introduced that will teach learners to apply their minds in a way that will equip them with life-skills. More funds were allocated to the previously disadvantaged schools. Then there were reports that the minister is concerned about the number of teachers who are leaving the profession and the small number of young people who are attracted to the profession; and that is what triggered this research. The research analyse the correlation between educator-turnover and the promotion of efficient management in public schools in Soweto, South Africa. From the survey conducted in the schools that participated in the research, there was evidence that the majority of teachers chose the profession because they loved it and because they felt they were making a contribution to the society. The results of the research also revealed the average number of teachers who resign per year is very low but many teachers left the profession when the government gave teachers options to take `packages’ and leave the profession forever. The concluded that the reason so many teachers are unhappy, is poor management. The researcher recommends that the South Africa government organise training programmes for managers of schools. There should be continuous and effective development of school managers and that the present programmes should be investigated as to their relevance and effectiveness. Key words: Promotion of efficient management skills, job satisfaction, educator-turnover, public schools in Soweto, management, education.

Development of a performance-rating scale for a nutrition knowledge test developed for adolescents

The objectives of the present study were to (i) develop and validate a norm-referenced performance-rating scale to interpret a nutrition knowledge test developed for urban adolescents and (ii) develop a prototype for other researchers to follow when developing nutrition knowledge tests. For norm development the nutrition knowledge test (questionnaire) was administered to a sample representative of the questionnaire target group, referred to as the norm group. These included 512 adolescents in grades 8 (n 158), 10 (n 149) and 12 (n 205) at three randomly selected schools in Soweto and Johannesburg. The performance scores (in percentages) obtained by the norm group were transformed to Z-scores which were categorised into stanines using established Z-score cut-off points. For validation purposes the questionnaire was completed by 148 volunteers: sixty university dietetics students, nineteen non-nutrition university students and sixty-nine primary-school teachers. As required of an ideal norm group, the Z-scores formed a normal distribution (a bell-shaped curve). To facilitate interpretation of the results, the Z-score cut-off points for these categories were transformed back to performance scores (percentages) so that the performance of a testee could be interpreted directly from his/her performance in percentage. As is recommended, the nine stanine categories were reduced to five: very poor, fair/below average, good/average, very good/above average and excellent. The discriminatory validity of the norms was substantiated by showing that groups with known nutrition knowledge levels were rated appropriately and that the performance ratings of these groups differed significantly, with university dietetics students scoring 98.3%, primary-school teachers 20.3% and non-nutrition university students 31.6%. The norm-referenced performance-rating scale can be used with confidence to interpret the performance score achieved by a testee on the nutrition knowledge test developed for urban adolescents in South Africa. The methodology used in the study serves as a prototype for other researchers who are developing knowledge tests.

Are There Short Cuts to Pubertal Assessments? Self-Reported and Assessed Group Differences in Pubertal Development in African Adolescents

Purpose Self-rating of pubertal development using the Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) is recommended as a noninvasive assessment of puberty in large community-based surveys of adolescent development and behavior. The objective of this study was to assess the reliability of the PDS for the first time among urban, Black South African youth. Methods The concordance between adolescents’ self-assessment of sexual maturation using the PDS and those of an expert rating by a trained health professional using the Sexual Maturation Scale (SMS) were determined in a group (n = 182; 49% female) of Black South African youth aged between 10 and 18 years recruited from schools in Soweto, South Africa. Furthermore, the concordance between adolescents’ self-assessment of puberty using the PDS and a previously validated self-assessment technique using SMS was also determined in a large group (n = 1388; 53% female) of young adolescents aged 13 years old participating in a birth cohort from Soweto-Johannesburg. Results The convergent validity of PDS proved to be poor with several PDS items (facial hair, skin change, and growth) proving unreliable both within the school survey across the different age groups when compared to SMS (kappa coefficient of 0.34 for females and undetermined for males), as well as, within the cohort of 13-year-olds (kappa coefficient of 0.16 for females and 0.19 for males). Conclusions The results suggest that there may be as yet undocumented differences in pubertal manifestations and awareness of these manifestations, especially facial hair and skin change (acne), among urban, Black South African youth that make the PDS self-assessment less reliable as a pubertal assessment tool in multiethnic community-based research.

Usefulness and Reliability of Tanner Pubertal Self‐Rating to Urban Black Adolescents in South Africa

Self‐rating of pubertal development is the recommended method to assess puberty in large community‐based surveys of adolescent development and behavior. The aim of this study was to validate for the first time pubertal self‐assessment using the sexual maturation scale developed by Tanner among Black South African adolescents (n=182) aged between 10 and 18 years who were recruited and assessed at public schools in Soweto—Johannesburg. There was significant concordance between adolescents' and same sex health professional's assessment of pubic hair growth and breast development in females (κ coefficients .71 and .76, respectively; p<.0005), and pubic hair growth and genital development in males (κ coefficients .63 and .60, respectively; p<.0005). We conclude that the Tanner pubertal self‐rating appears to be a reasonably valid instrument to use among black South African youth. The tool can be administered in school or other community‐based settings with moderate confidence provided the procedure is thoroughly explained to the participant through the developed tutorial in the language of choice, and privacy and confidentiality are assured.

Black education

Protest by black school students at their inferior education system first erupted in Soweto in 1976. T. W. Kambule, for over 15 years Principal of Orlando High School, Soweto — a community-built school and for 25 years the only secondary school in Soweto — here explains why young Blacks have continued and increased their protests. A year ago he predicted further outbreaks, worse than 1976, if the signs of discontent continued to be brushed aside. In September 1984, Kambule told us: ‘Just now at the time of writing, schools have been closed in and around Soweto for a radius of 50 miles. Things are bad, and the government as usual is using strong-arm tactics, and the situation is deteriorating by the day. And there is no visible attempt to address the problems. The authorities are fanning the flames which border on a revolution. Even now there is a massive stay away from work by all and sundry. We are worried and the rulers indifferent.’ In 1977 Kambule resigned with 400 other Soweto teachers and is now Senior Lecturer at the Department of Mathematics at the University of Witwatersrand. The article first appeared in Indicator, Volume 1, No 3, published by the University of Natal.

English in Soweto: a slender life‐line to a wider world

A large‐scale, school‐based in‐service project has attempted to improve the skills of teachers who use English as the medium of instruction in African primary schools in Soweto. The project has been financed by the private sector, but substantial assistance has also been received from the British Council. Responsibility for co‐ordination and administration of the programme has been accepted by the University of the Witwatersrand. A preliminary survey indicated that during the first year of its implementation with the Standard 3 teachers, attitudes have become favourably inclined towards the project. In addition, the resources made available to children have enhanced the possibility of effective learning. The financial outlay has been parsimonious if reckoned on the basis of the cost per individual child.

The Education for Africans in South Africa

The history of the African people of modern South Africa is the history of struggle against racial oppression. This struggle has manifested itself in various forms in different eras. But it remains a struggle for fundamental human rights, for justice and freedom; and, it will not cease until the achievement of these aims. The current, highly volatile situation inside the country is testimony to this fact. What is the current situation? How did it come about? Where will it lead? Perhaps many people will feel that these are not the questions to raise when one deals with the educational system. But in the South African case they are very pertinent questions. Let me then refer briefly to what I mean, then go on to a consideration of the education of Africans. On June 16, 1976, demonstrations erupted in South Africa. These demonstrations were initially against the use of Afrikaans (the Boer language) in African schools in Soweto. Thus, the manpower, in terms both of leadership and followers, was drawn essentially from the student population. But the population, generally, and other non-student youth in particular (code-named hooligans or 'tsotsis' by the government and its police), quickly joined the demonstrations, in Soweto and elsewhere. After three days of the demonstrations, the Vorster regime had cold-bloodedly massacred hundreds of unarmed people, chiefly students, and arrested thousands. The armed forces of the country had been alerted-(another code-name for deployed). Why would a demonstration, initiated by students over an educational issue explode with such ferocity in so short a time? The answer to this question must be found in its general form in the fact that in every society the major institutional structures reflect the needs and are