An investigation into the social experiences of dropouts following their reenrollment in secondary schools in Stutterheim district: implications for school leadership
- Authors: Smith, Elizabeth Marrie
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: High school dropouts -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
- Identifier: vital:16165 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/222 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1000031 , High school dropouts -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Many secondary schools in the Eastern Cape and else where in South African are facing a drop out crisis but a proportion of these dropouts return to school to complete their education. The kind of social experiences that dropouts have as they reenrol and reintegrate in school remains an under-research aspect in the discourse on education access. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that prompted dropouts to reenrol in school and the social life experiences of these learners in school. It was also to explore school leaders‟ reactions towards these experiences, and the implications for school leadership of the dropouts‟ experiences. Using qualitative methodologies, involving a sample of 15 dropouts and two school leaders, the study found multiple motives, associated with individual characteristics of dropouts and the institutional characteristics of their family and the labour market, prompting reenrolment. Institutional characteristics at the school level were not featured. Regarding social life at school, it found that while some participants had positive social experiences, which reinforced their motivation to pursue their education, others experienced the school context as socially hostile. The nature of the social hostility is described, but school leaders seem insensitive to many of the social integration challenges that confront dropouts. Several implications for school leadership have been drawn out, including the view that while there are a variety of leverage points for addressing the social hostility problems, the social development of dropouts who experienced hostility stand to wither if supportive measures are not implemented to help them reintegrate. While the research provides new insights into the experiences of dropouts in school, it had the limitation of being a case study whose findings cannot be generalised.
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- Date Issued: 2009
The role of school discipline in combating violence in schools in the East London region
- Authors: Smit, Marie Elizabeth
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: School violence -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
- Identifier: vital:16164 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/224 , School violence -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: This study focuses on the role of discipline in the establishment and maintenance of a safe school environment for learners and educators. In a mainly qualitative investigation, empirical data from four primary schools and five high schools in the East London Region of the Eastern Cape Province were collected by means of individual interviews and questionnaires. Historico-legal research also formed part of the literature review, thus law reports and articles from South Africa and other countries were included as part of the research process. This was done to shed light on the legal consequences of school violence and discipline, affecting the safe learning environment of learners. Perceptions of educators and learners in the selected schools regarding discipline and violence at their schools were collected by means of a survey. Three hundred and thirty questionnaires were completed by learners from the selected schools, and nine interviews were conducted with either the principal or a member of the senior management team of each school. The researcher also conducted further in-depth interviews with twenty learners from four schools (two primary and two high schools). These data were analysed in accordance with accepted procedures for qualitative data processing. The data revealed that a culture of violence exists in these schools, and that corporal punishment is still practised. Learners’ perceptions on safety and discipline at their schools revealed that bullying persists, especially when there is no teacher supervision. Participating educators’ experiences suggested the need for promoting positive discipline, and creating a safe learning environment for all, by involving parents in the education process and involving them in drawing up a code of conduct for the school.
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- Date Issued: 2010