Browsing by Author "D'amant, Antoinette."

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

Bullying in and out of school : personal narratives of primary school learners.
(2014) Duma, Alex Thamsanqa.; D'amant, Antoinette.
The study emerges against a global and local backdrop of the prevalence of bullying in and out of schools. Growing incidents of bullying are a direct threat to the expectation that schools should be safe places for learners to learn, develop, participate fully and be able to reach their full potential. The study investigates the experiences and narratives of a sample of primary school learners who go to school and live in the informal settlement of Inanda, north of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, with the view to developing a greater insight into the phenomenon of bullying. The research is conceptually underpinned by perspectives offered by the Sociology of Children and New Childhood Studies, which accept children as social actors and experts on their own lives, and should be granted the status of participation in the social processes that surround them and impact on them in their everyday lives. Such a perspective offers a useful lens through which to conduct research that aims to make aspects of children’s lives visible. The children in the study were listened to and viewed as competent participants in the overall research endeavour. The focus on understanding human experiences locates the study firmly within a qualitative research design, and is the rationale for the selection of personal narratives as the strategy of inquiry. Participatory methods of data generation were used, in the form of a mapping exercise and semi-structured interviews (both individual and a focus group interview). Purposive sampling was used to identify eight participants, comprising four male and four female, grade 7 learners from a primary school in Inanda. The selection of learners had been victims and/or perpetrators of bullying, and therefore knowledgeable and informative about the phenomena of interest. What emerged from the study is that bullying is experienced on an ongoing basis by learners within the primary school, as well as in their homes and in places in their immediate surroundings. The ability to identify the places and spaces which render them vulnerable to bullying, and avoid these places and spaces, is the key way learners have learned to navigate such places and spaces.
Does limited English proficiency impact on schooling success for African learners? : a case study of a secondary school in Durban.
(1998) D'amant, Antoinette.; Muthukrishna, Anbanithi.
With the move towards multicultural education in South Africa, previously "whites only" schools now face the challenge of educating learners from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. This study examined the extent to which limited English language proficiency impacts on schooling success for learners with Limited English Proficiency (L.E.P.). The study explored how these L.E.P. learners experienced the curriculum at a particular secondary school in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and the extent to which this school responded to the challenges of diversity in its learner population. The study used a qualitative research methodology. The sample comprised 24 learners from Grade 10. The data collection techniques used were the focussed group interview, and document analysis of school documents. The findings indicate that the language issue is complex and cannot be explored as an isolated variable. Various other mediating factors interact to impact on schooling success for learners with limited English language proficiency. (Some of these factors are race; class; culture; school ethos; norms and value; the school curriculum; and the socio-economic background of learners). The results also reveal that, although the school policy and ethos at the school reflects a commitment to racial integration and a positive response to cultural diversity among its learners, assimilationist practices still prevail. Attempts to integrate elements of 'other' cultural wordviews have been largely token representation of the diverse cultures. The curriculum continues to reflect the dominant culture with little meaningful affirmation of learners' diverse cultural and linguistic roots. Limited English Proficiency (L.E.P.) learners often experience alienation and marginalisation from the curriculum and the culture of the school. Simply assimilating Limited English Proficiency learners into the curriculum as it is does not guarantee the equalisation of educational opportunities for all learners. Much restructuring of the curriculum is necessary to fulfil the goals of multicultural education.
An exploration of the experiences of gays and lesbians living in the Inanada area.
(2014) Mthembu, Nombuso Thembi.; D'amant, Antoinette.
The study emerges against a global and local backdrop of longstanding oppression and stigmatization of gays and lesbians, due to their sexual orientation. Regardless of transformative policies in South Africa which declare equal acceptance, treatment and inclusion of gay and lesbian citizens, prejudice and unfair discrimination still exists. The study investigates the experiences of gays and lesbians living in the Inanda area of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa with the view to developing a greater understanding of their experiences and realities of ‘otherness’ and oppression. The conceptual model which frames the study is based on the generic model of social identity development and general model of oppression put forward by Hardiman and Jackson (1997), offering a useful lens through which to better identify oppression in the experiences and realities of gays and lesbians. The focus on understanding human experiences locates the study firmly within a qualitative research design. This focus also led to the selection of personal narratives as the strategy of inquiry, thereby allowing the researcher to enter worlds of experiences different from her own. Face- to- face, semi-structured interviews with eight participants (four gays and four lesbians, between the ages of twenty one and twenty five) comprised the method of data generation. The participants were selected as a result of a snowballing sample method. All live near each other in the Inanda area and are in regular social contact with each other. While research using a small sample of eight participants from the Inanda area cannot claim to be a comprehensive study into the experiences of gays and lesbians in all South African communities, these narratives reflect to a large degree, experiences of ‘otherness’ and oppression common to all gay and lesbian people.
Merging identities : a narrative inquiry into educators' experiences of the merging process of further education and training (FET) colleges in South Africa and the extent to which the merger has impacted on their identity development.
(2009) Pillay, Thavanayagee.; D'amant, Antoinette.
The Further Education and Training (FET) sector in general and the public Further Education colleges specifically are in a state of perpetual transition. The merger as an attempt at restructuring and transforming public Further Education and Training colleges presents many challenges to its educators. This narrative inquiry explores four educators' subjective experiences of the merging process with a view to attempting to understand the effect this process may have had on their identity development and/ or the renegotiation of their social identities. The researcher who is also the quality manager at a FET college, is presented with the opportunity to reflect critically on her own experiences and identity development while actively engaging with other participants' narratives about their experiences of the merging process. A strong perception of the college as an oppressive environment emerged from the findings. The merger was evidently a catalyst for the different levels of awareness, introspection and renegotiation of participants' identities.
Navigating the complexities of gay and lesbian sexual identities among rural African university students: a narrative inquiry.
(2021) Makhowane, Nonjabulo Nonkuleko.; D'amant, Antoinette.
The study focuses on the narratives of African gay and lesbian university students from the rural areas in relation to how they navigate their sexual identities in an effort to understand their experiences and realities of ‘otherness’ and oppression. The study uses a combination of two theoretical frameworks: Cass’s Model of Homosexual Identity Formation (1976) and Hardiman and Jacksons’ Social Identity Development Model (1997). This combination of theories offers a comprehensive and useful lens to better identify the oppressive experiences and realities of gays and lesbians. To understand human lived experiences, the study utilises a qualitative research design. The selection of participants was done through snowballing and purposive sampling to generate rich personal narratives as the elected strategy of inquiry. Through these sampling methods, five participants were found. Narratives were gathered through digital platforms, such as phone calls and WhatApp. While research using a small sample of five participants from a one university and different rural areas cannot claim to be indicative of the realities of all South African communities, to a large extent these narratives do reflect experiences of ‘otherness’ and oppression common to the majority of African university gay and lesbian people. The study found that students navigate their sexual identity to suit the environment they are in. These students have expressed that their homes are hostile and not accommodative towards a gay or lesbian identity therefore they hide or mask their identity. Furthermore, it has been found that universities are allowing and welcoming towards their sexual diversity.