Social Science Education

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Cyberbullying: teenage girls’ online experiences of, and challenges to sexual harassment.
(2021) Lakhan, Omeshree.; Bhana, Deevia
The emergence of the internet has allowed for new modes of self-expression, whilst also providing new platforms for abusive social dynamics. There is a dearth of support in the response of schools, parents, and advisors to the experience of sexual harassment of young girls online. Cyber security practices, specifically the monitoring and support of online behaviour in academic policy can address the problem of sexual harassment and cyberbullying. Due to the rapidly changing nature of online landscapes, research connecting sexual harassment and cyber spaces remains minimal. Given the everchanging development of online spaces and dynamics, both governments and academic researchers have lagged in providing either sufficient study or governmental policy in the interest of protecting young people from online abuse. This study examines teenage girls’ online experiences of cyberbullying and sexual harassment and aims to understand how girls confront and challenge these issues. The dissertation adopts a multi-theoretical approach focusing on gender relational theory, femininities, theory of performativity, and feminist new materialism. Data was collected and collated through qualitative research methods in the purposive sampling of South African girls aged 13-18 in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. This research was executed in Victoria High School through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, vignettes, and photo elicitations. While the results highlighted the pervasive experience of sexual harassment online, unexpectedly, the participants revealed their complicity in this harassment by actively engaging in harmful online practices. In response, this dissertation recommends that key stakeholders listen to the voices of young girls and work in synergy to offer support from abusive online behaviours. As attitudes about sex remain taboo in homes and schools, it is the role of these advisors to make comfortable spaces for discourse about sexual harassment. Furthermore, policy makers need to sanction greater penalties to prevent the recurrence of cybercrimes and protect young girls in these spaces.
From 12 to 15: girls, boys, gender and sexuality at a high school in the North West Province.
(2023) Rizvi, Rabia Khatoon; Bhana, Deevia
This study examines the construction of gender and sexuality amongst girls and boys between the ages of 12 and 15 at a private school in the North West province of South Africa. It seeks to understand how learners negotiate gender and sexuality at school, and how the school environment and beyond contributes to their construction of gender and sexuality. It also investigates the social processes that promote unequal power relations between boys and girls at school. An ethnographic research method was used to conduct this study and the research instruments were observations, individual interviews and focus group discussions. Participants were selected using a mix of convenience and purposive sampling methods. Many of the participants were boarding learners, which provides a distinct insight into the ways in which the boarding space is a highly generative site for the production of gender and sexuality. A total of 101 learners participated in this study and 69 semi-structured interviews and 16 focus group discussions were conducted with learners across grades 7, 8 and 9. The data were analysed with the theory of social constructionism. The findings show that boys and girls pursue pleasure and desire in a myriad of ways within the school context. They challenge sexual innocence by expressing the types of relationships they would like to enter into and show authority in navigating romantic relationships. They use social media for flirtation and engage in the consumption of pornography. Furthermore, the expansion of sexuality is demonstrated as learners choose to enter into queer relationships. However, this is mitigated by the performance of hegemonic masculinity which places girls in a subordinate position. Girls are slut-shamed for resisting traditional norms of femininity and also experience sexual harassment within the school space. Boys and girls both participate in risky behaviour and there is a culture of silence and complicity that is created around it. Bullying and substance abuse are wielded as opportunities to portray aggressive masculinities and femininities. Girls’ bodies are policed by authority figures and by the boys which restricts their expression of gender and sexuality. This study argues that gender and sexuality are perceived by learners through a binary lens, and that girls largely remain in a subordinate position whilst boys conform to the standards of hegemonic masculinity. It is recommended that platforms need to be created to question these prevailing attitudes and to provide opportunities for boys and girls to explore and alter their traditional beliefs around gender and sexuality.
Understanding teachers’ construction of transgender identity: perspectives from primary school teachers in Amanzimtoti within KwaZulu- Natal.
(2021) Al Sayed, Fatima; Bhana, Deevia
A dearth of research of primary school teachers’ knowledge of transgender people in South African education led to this research. The experiences of transgender people in South African society are not well documented although evidence of inequalities based on sexual orientation exist. The research design involved individual interviews (using a photo elicitation method) with teachers in a working-class suburban context. Two research questions underpinned the study. Firstly, the study sought to examine the meanings that primary school teachers make of transgender identities and secondly, the processes through which such perceptions and understandings were made. Data analysis was influenced by thematic analysis which structured the research findings. The findings from the data analysis displayed the intersection of primary school teachers’ construction of gender identities with that of the gender binary, compulsory heteronormativity, age, and power dynamics in relation to sex, sexuality, culture, and religion. The research findings indicated limited knowledge of the term transgender as well as the meaning that individuals who identify as such attach to it. Further, teachers viewed sex and gender as one and the same, attributing this notion to male-female differences, thus further perpetuating the outdated theory of essentialism and naturalism. Coupled with the failure of the national sex and sexuality curriculum (Life Orientation and Life Skills) and teachers’ reluctance to effectively teach learners about sex, gender, and sexuality education, tended to create a schooling culture that was intolerant and harmful to learners who were gender non-conforming. The dissertation concludes with recommendations aimed at addressing transgender in South African schools through processes and interventions that ensure that teachers and learners, obtain greater understanding and acceptance of transgender learners and individuals. This can promote an inclusive and more all-encompassing learning environment and school culture that is accepting, tolerant, and non-discriminatory towards learners based on their gender and sexuality.

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