ResearchSpace
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The contested role and effectiveness of non governmental organizations [NGOs] in assisting refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa: a case study of three local NGOs.
(2017) Okbandrias, Meron Andemichael.; Nadvi, Syeda Lubna Bano.
The role of South African NGOs in the protection of asylum seekers and refugees has changed and declined despite their having partnered in the design of liberal refugee legislation. This body of legislation responds to the needs of increasing numbers of asylum seekers and refugees arriving in South Africa – and to their falling victim to violent xenophobic attacks.
Their challenges around the efficient and dignified access to documentation, health, education and other services, have not been effectively addressed. This research therefore focuses on the role of NGOs in assisting these vulnerable groups to access documentation and social services. It investigates to what extent they are successful and highlights the problems that asylum seekers and refugees face. It explores the responses of NGOs to these problems and examines the perceptions of refugees and asylum seekers around the role of NGOs.
The research essentially explores whether refugees and asylum seekers have been able to claim the rights they are entitled to in a substantive manner. It examines the degree to which NGOs working in the area of human rights, and tasked with assisting refugees, have been able to contribute effectively in this regard.
The researcher:
Collected data from Ethiopian and Congolese refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa to examine their perceptions.
Interviewed personnel from the three NGOs in this case study because these NGOs are partners of the UNHCR and therefore tasked with implementing refugee/asylum seeker support.
Uses the interpretive approach - focusing on certain themes in the experiences of asylum seekers/refugees and NGOs, respectively. These themes are explored and interpreted.
Bases his research on the theoretical foundation of liberal human rights.
The work of Hanna Arendt and John Rawls has been incorporated, in conjunction with Agamben’s theories of the Nation State and ‘the other’ in the Nation State.
Agamben’s concept of “state of exception” is relevant, and has been discussed.
Looks at the 1951 United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Refugee Act of 1998 because they form the cornerstone and bedrock of the rights of asylum seekers and refugees.
This research has explored the efforts of NGOs as agents of advocacy for, and protection of, refugee and asylum seekers and their rights.
The research found that NGOs play an integral part, but their relationship with both Home Affairs and Government has weakened to such an extent that their tactics and strategies are increasingly failing to produce results. In addition, most refugees and asylum seekers were found to be unaware of these NGOs and the work they can do on their behalf.
Financial literacy, financial information, and financial well-being: evidence from Ghana rural households.
(2025) Kuutol, Peter Kwame.; Mbonigaba, Josue.; Garidzirai, Rufaro.
Background: Financial information is expected to enhance financial literacy, financial decision-making, and household well-being. However, in Ghana’s Upper West Region (UWR), several challenges—including low financial literacy, high poverty levels, sociocultural influences, and the marginalization of women in financial matters—may cause households to disregard financial information when addressing pressing sociocultural concerns. Additionally, the growing exposure of rural populations to digitalization and financial literacy programs raises questions about how different types of financial information influence the relationship between financial literacy and financial well-being. This thesis deeply explores this issue, considering this context's enabling and limiting factors.
Objectives: The thesis provides a detailed analysis of how various types of information influence the relationship between financial literacy and financial well-being in this context. It starts by 1) examining how financial literacy influences financial well-being as a preliminary inquiry and 2) investigating the role of crude financial information in shaping financial decisions. These analyses are followed by an assessment of how 3) the levels, 4) patterns, and 5) sources of financial information mediate this relationship. Finally, the thesis evaluates 6) whether the findings vary when male dominance is moderated, ensuring that both men and women have an equal voice in responding to the questions in this thesis.
Methods: A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating quantitative and qualitative analyses to address the research objectives. The quantitative component focused on Objectives 1 to 5, while the qualitative component provided more profound insights into Objective 6. For the quantitative analysis, cross-sectional data were collected through a survey of 663 randomly selected household heads in the UWR. A hierarchical reflective-reflective measurement model within Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) was used to examine the mediating role of financial information. For the qualitative analysis, 12 household heads—equally represented by gender (six maleheaded and six female-headed households)—were interviewed. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data, allowing for a richer understanding of financial decisionmaking behaviours and gender dynamics.
Findings: From the quantitative analysis, the study revealed that financial literacy 1) positively influences financial well-being, with a more significant effect on men than women, but with a similar impact regardless of formal education status, 2) has a significant positive impact on various dimensions of financial information, including consumption, level, pattern, and source. Additionally, the study found that the extent of financial information consumption, the advanced status of financial information received, and recent patterns of financial information-seeking mediate(enhance) the effect of financial literacy on financial well-being in rural households in the UWR. These results are robust across genders, financial products, and formal education status. However, financial information sources did not strengthen the impact of financial literacy on financial well-being in the region. From the qualitative analyses, the study reveals that financial literacy influences financial well-being, regardless of gender. Women tend to make non-financially sound decisions in specific sociocultural contexts involving burials and weddings. Both men and women with similar financial literacy levels tend to make similar decisions on resource management efficiency, risk-taking, and investment.
Policy implications: The findings highlight financial information's crucial role in enhancing financial literacy programs' effectiveness regardless of sociocultural context barriers. Reliable access to such information empowers women and promotes inclusive development. Policymakers should prioritize ensuring accessible, credible financial information for rural populations to support financial well-being.
Contribution to knowledge: This study contributes to financial literacy research by examining how financial information influences the link between financial literacy and financial well-being in rural Ghana, where sociocultural norms hinder rational financial decisions. It is the first to provide a detailed mixed-methods approach to distinguish the mediating role of financial information in studied relationships across gender, financial products, and educational status in a context where sociocultural context entails financial commitments likely to obstruct personally beneficial financial decision-making. Other conttibution to knowledge are detailed in the thesis.
An exploration of the learners’ commognition when engaging with geometry in the grade eleven classroom.
(2024) Mulenga, Alexander.; Mudaly, Vimolan.
This study investigates the learner’s commognition when engaging with geometry in a grade 11 class. The theory of commognition, propounded by Anna Sfard, underpinned this study with particular focus on the four characteristics of mathematical discourse; namely, specific purpose word use, visual mediators, substantiated narratives, and routines. The phenomenological qualitative research design approach was utilized to investigate 3 grade 11 learners’ commognition. The study was conducted at a high school in the province of KwaZulu-Natal of the republic of South Africa. Data was collected by means of a written mathematics activity that required participants to use straightedge and compass to construct a circle, followed by proving one Euclidean proof. The participants then participated in a semi-structured group interview based on the written task activity. Data was analysed by means of two analytical tools; the Discourse Profile of the Tangent adapted from Mpofu, and Pournara and others, was used to examine the interview transcripts. The Realization Tree Assessment, initiated by Weingarden with others, and adapted by Haghjoo and his colleagues was used to investigate the written task activity. The examination of the results revealed that the participants word use was problematic and affected their level of objectification. Therefore, it was concluded that the participants discourse was ritualistic. These results suggest that attending to the degree of objectification in the initial stages of transforming ritual to explorations is cardinal before embarking on the process of deritualisation.
A visualisation intervention in a grade 11 trigonometry class.
(2024) Khan, Ashraf.; Mudaly, Vimolan.
The study investigated the impact of a visualisation intervention programme in a grade 11 trigonometry classroom. The literature confirms that visual strategies bring about much-needed improvement in trigonometry at secondary schools. Working within the interpretivism research philosophy, the study involved participants from a secondary school in the Umlazi District. To determine the impact of the visualisation intervention, distributed cognition was employed as the theoretical framework to understand its effectiveness. This research used a qualitative approach to gain deep insight into how visualisation impacts the effective teaching and learning of trigonometry. Purposive sampling was used to select participants and the data was generated through research instruments that included a questionnaire, pre-and post-tasks, structured and semi-structured interviews, and observation. The data were analysed following a thematic approach and findings were established using a thematic analysis of the data. The emerging themes included the strong need for collaboration and visual dynamism with beliefs and attitudes that are centred on learner development in trigonometry. This study showed a strong positive association between the use of visual representations and trigonometry achievement. The existing corpus of literature regarding this topic is in its nascent stages hence the need for this study was critical. Based on these findings, the study recommends the need for employing visual techniques to mitigate the abstraction of concepts in a sustained manner and to create and promote a culture for learning trigonometry, in addition to prioritising professional development of educators regarding visual strategies in pedagogical instructional design. Educators must encourage the use of visual strategies, not to supplant algebraic manipulation but to supplement it. For the general trend to change in the South African educational landscape, dynamic visual strategies must be implemented to transcend the microcosm of mathematics teaching and learning.
Critical analysis of knowledge produced through postgraduate mathematics education research in post-apartheid South Africa: the first decade.
(2024) Goba, Barbara Busisiwe.; Bansilal, Sarah.
The concept of 'knowledge systems' has led to a need for 'research on research'. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the knowledge generated by various knowledge societies, particularly within universities. This rationale drove the Project on Postgraduate Education Research (PPER) to investigate the research output in postgraduate education during the initial decade (1995-2004) following the end of apartheid in South Africa. Within the framework of PPER, this study scrutinized the body of masters and doctoral research conducted at 19 South African universities within the aforementioned period. The study aimed to address the following main research question: What forms of knowledge emerged from postgraduate studies in mathematics education research within South Africa during the years 1995 to 2004? Sub-research questions: 1.1 How were the titles of postgraduate studies in mathematics education (1995-2004) formulated and structured? 1.2 Which phenomena were more frequently explored, and which were less likely to be investigated within these postgraduate studies (1995-2004)? 1.3 What were the predominant research questions, and what assertions were made concerning these phenomena? 1.4 What were the prevalent research paradigms, designs, approaches, and methodologies employed in postgraduate studies on mathematics education (1995-2004)? 1.5 Which theories were commonly utilized and which were less frequently applied in postgraduate studies on mathematics education (1995-2004)? For each of the sub-questions mentioned above, the study delved into the identities of the students responsible for generating this knowledge, along with details about their degrees and affiliations with respective institutions. This study employed Giddens' structuration theory as its theoretical framework. It conducted an analysis of knowledge produced in a corpus of 190 postgraduate studies in mathematics education. This analysis encompassed various elements, starting from titles, research phenomena, questions, claims, methodologies, and extending to theories. The data from these theses was extracted using Suri's Methodologically Inclusive Research iii Syntheses (MIRS). Additionally, interviews were conducted with a sample of supervisors overseeing these theses. The main findings reveal that knowledge in mathematics education predominantly comes from white female postgraduates affiliated with historically white universities (HWUs). This challenges the prevailing notion that white males dominate research in this field. Notably, Wits University emerged as the primary contributor of mathematics education theses in the corpus, with a majority of these studies composed in English. When comparing this result with Khuzwayo's (2005) findings, which emphasized a focus on white education and teacher training in South African mathematics education research from 1948 to 1994, a similarity arises in terms of the demographic producing the majority of research by white postgraduates. However, this does not necessarily imply that white learners were the primary subjects of study. Instead, it suggests another way of 'objectifying' black learners and teachers, as Black Africans are frequently researched by predominantly white researchers. Additionally, the prevalence of white postgraduate students producing more mathematics education theses may result from the apartheid policy on mathematics education, where Verwoerd argued that Black African people did not need to study mathematics as it had no relevance in their communities. Verwoerd's stance remained largely unchanged in the first ten years of post-apartheid South Africa. In the domain of postgraduate studies, the construction of titles employs various linguistic devices, methodological approaches, indication of the results and epistemological stances. Among these linguistic devices, the colon is the most frequently employed. Mathematics education postgraduate studies predominantly centre around five key research phenomena: the affective domain, assessment, knowledge, cognition, and epistemologies, as well as pedagogy and technology/resources. These studies from 1995 to 2004 were primarily small-scale. Each of these phenomena is examined in terms of the research claims posited. Notably absent are studies with a focus on primary mathematics education and rural education. This finding aligns with the results of reviews conducted by Venkat, Adler Rollnick, et. al., 2009; Adler, Alshwaikh, Essack, & Gcsamba, 2017. However, the most recent review of mathematics education journal articles by Morrison, Graven, Venkat, and Vale (2023) indicates an increase in research on primary mathematics education. A prominent theoretical orientation in postgraduate studies is constructivism, particularly within HWUs. Additionally, the preferred approach in mathematics education studies conducted in South Africa between 1995 and 2004 was the case study research design.