Creative production and existential thought: a feminist existential analysis of South African visual artist Berni Searle’s artwork
- Authors: Mokwena, Palesa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Women artists -- South Africa , Women artists, Black -- South Africa , Existentialism and art , Feminism and art -- South Africa , Searle, Berni
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148005 , vital:38701
- Description: Through an analysis of the work of South African artist Berni Searle, my study will investigate feminist existential ideas and concepts that have been explored by various creative producers in and outside of Europe/South Africa through different forms of creative productions and under different epistemological categories. ‘Canons’ of European existentialist/feminist thought often exclude the existence of feminist existential knowledge productions and producers outside of Europe. In conducting this study, I am responding to the past and present separatist and identitarian categorisations of creative productions from black/African creative producers, particularly women creative producers in South Africa, creating an alternative canonisation around their selected works. Although canons have been and can be used to drive separatist and identitarian categorisations, it is my hope to elucidate a discourse around the preservations and acknowledgements of South African creative and knowledge productions through a feminist existential framework that canonises important black feminist existentialist works and thereby brings to light their intellectual contributions over and above their identities. My development of a South African feminist existentialism is an attempt to graft a more intersectional, holistic framework to introduce in the feminist and existential discourses, and to proffer a new intersectional holistic paradigm of discussing categories that do not limit creative productions. To frame this research, I will reflect on the politics of historical and contemporary South African society as it is reflected in the works of the chosen creative producers and theorists and to question how we respond as creative feminist existentialists to contemporary South African struggles and how such a lens can be activated as a creative-theoretical tool of investigation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Mokwena, Palesa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Women artists -- South Africa , Women artists, Black -- South Africa , Existentialism and art , Feminism and art -- South Africa , Searle, Berni
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148005 , vital:38701
- Description: Through an analysis of the work of South African artist Berni Searle, my study will investigate feminist existential ideas and concepts that have been explored by various creative producers in and outside of Europe/South Africa through different forms of creative productions and under different epistemological categories. ‘Canons’ of European existentialist/feminist thought often exclude the existence of feminist existential knowledge productions and producers outside of Europe. In conducting this study, I am responding to the past and present separatist and identitarian categorisations of creative productions from black/African creative producers, particularly women creative producers in South Africa, creating an alternative canonisation around their selected works. Although canons have been and can be used to drive separatist and identitarian categorisations, it is my hope to elucidate a discourse around the preservations and acknowledgements of South African creative and knowledge productions through a feminist existential framework that canonises important black feminist existentialist works and thereby brings to light their intellectual contributions over and above their identities. My development of a South African feminist existentialism is an attempt to graft a more intersectional, holistic framework to introduce in the feminist and existential discourses, and to proffer a new intersectional holistic paradigm of discussing categories that do not limit creative productions. To frame this research, I will reflect on the politics of historical and contemporary South African society as it is reflected in the works of the chosen creative producers and theorists and to question how we respond as creative feminist existentialists to contemporary South African struggles and how such a lens can be activated as a creative-theoretical tool of investigation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Investigating how teacher leadership can be developed among teachers in a rural school Namibia
- Authors: Shapange, Laban
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Technical education -- South Africa , Vocational education -- South Africa , Educational leadership -- South Africa , Postsecondary education -- South Africa -- Administration
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144728 , vital:38374
- Description: In established democracies, the notion of ‘singular’ school leadership practised by the principal has been challenged and a more expansive approach to leadership, which includes teacher leadership, is now widely accepted. However, in Namibia, as with many countries on the African continent, the idea of ‘singular’ school leadership embedded in the position of principal still prevails. Effective leadership is generally accepted as being core to effective school improvement. The evidence from the school improvement literature constantly highlights that productive leaders exercise an indirect influence on a school’s ability and potential to improve and enhance the achievement of learners. This influence does not necessarily come from senior managers only, but partly lies in the strength of middle level leaders and teachers. Research has shown that when teachers assume shared leadership in the redesign of the school, mentor their colleagues, engage in problem solving at the school level and provide professional growth opportunities for their colleagues, they can be effective in bringing about positive change. These findings triggered my interest to study the potential of this approach to teacher leadership development in Namibia. In this context, this study investigated how teacher leadership can be developed among the teachers in a combined school in rural Namibia. The study examined both the understanding of the concept and the practices of teacher leadership among the teachers and school management team and also aimed at bringing about transformation in their practice. The study was a qualitative case study, which took an interventionist approach, framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory as the theoretical and analytical framework. In addition, the study also used Grant’s Model of Teacher Leadership as an analytical tool. Eleven teachers and three members of the management team took part in the study as research participants and were selected by means of the purposive sampling method. Data were generated from two different phases. The first phase of the study examined perceptions and practices of leadership, while in the second phase of the study, a series of intervention Change Laboratory Workshops were conducted. Document analysis, observations, focus group interviews and closed-ended questionnaires were used as data gathering tools. The study lasted for a period of six weeks. Data were analysed using inductive and abductive approaches. The main findings of the study revealed that teacher leadership is understood as an ability to influence and inspire both learners and other teachers. Furthermore, although the participants demonstrated an understanding of teacher leadership as a concept, their understanding of teacher leaders’ roles was more on classroom management and control of learners. Teacher leadership development was understood as the process of empowering teachers to take-up various roles and delegated functions through school structures such as committees and within the community. The study further revealed a number of cultural-historic contextual tensions that led to constraints of teacher leadership practice in the case study school. For example, school management team members were seen as a barrier to teacher leadership practice and development. Factors such as limited involvement of teachers in decision-making in the school and lack of school-based continuous professional development programmes for teachers emerged as causes that constrained teacher leadership practice and development in the case study school. The Change Laboratory Workshop findings suggested that in the participants’ view, the revival of the different school committees would especially make a positive contribution to teacher leadership practice and development at the case study school.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Shapange, Laban
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Technical education -- South Africa , Vocational education -- South Africa , Educational leadership -- South Africa , Postsecondary education -- South Africa -- Administration
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144728 , vital:38374
- Description: In established democracies, the notion of ‘singular’ school leadership practised by the principal has been challenged and a more expansive approach to leadership, which includes teacher leadership, is now widely accepted. However, in Namibia, as with many countries on the African continent, the idea of ‘singular’ school leadership embedded in the position of principal still prevails. Effective leadership is generally accepted as being core to effective school improvement. The evidence from the school improvement literature constantly highlights that productive leaders exercise an indirect influence on a school’s ability and potential to improve and enhance the achievement of learners. This influence does not necessarily come from senior managers only, but partly lies in the strength of middle level leaders and teachers. Research has shown that when teachers assume shared leadership in the redesign of the school, mentor their colleagues, engage in problem solving at the school level and provide professional growth opportunities for their colleagues, they can be effective in bringing about positive change. These findings triggered my interest to study the potential of this approach to teacher leadership development in Namibia. In this context, this study investigated how teacher leadership can be developed among the teachers in a combined school in rural Namibia. The study examined both the understanding of the concept and the practices of teacher leadership among the teachers and school management team and also aimed at bringing about transformation in their practice. The study was a qualitative case study, which took an interventionist approach, framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory as the theoretical and analytical framework. In addition, the study also used Grant’s Model of Teacher Leadership as an analytical tool. Eleven teachers and three members of the management team took part in the study as research participants and were selected by means of the purposive sampling method. Data were generated from two different phases. The first phase of the study examined perceptions and practices of leadership, while in the second phase of the study, a series of intervention Change Laboratory Workshops were conducted. Document analysis, observations, focus group interviews and closed-ended questionnaires were used as data gathering tools. The study lasted for a period of six weeks. Data were analysed using inductive and abductive approaches. The main findings of the study revealed that teacher leadership is understood as an ability to influence and inspire both learners and other teachers. Furthermore, although the participants demonstrated an understanding of teacher leadership as a concept, their understanding of teacher leaders’ roles was more on classroom management and control of learners. Teacher leadership development was understood as the process of empowering teachers to take-up various roles and delegated functions through school structures such as committees and within the community. The study further revealed a number of cultural-historic contextual tensions that led to constraints of teacher leadership practice in the case study school. For example, school management team members were seen as a barrier to teacher leadership practice and development. Factors such as limited involvement of teachers in decision-making in the school and lack of school-based continuous professional development programmes for teachers emerged as causes that constrained teacher leadership practice and development in the case study school. The Change Laboratory Workshop findings suggested that in the participants’ view, the revival of the different school committees would especially make a positive contribution to teacher leadership practice and development at the case study school.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
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