Browsing by Author "Reddy, Sarasvathie."
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Item Experiences of academic and social transition from rural high school to first year university: a case study of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.(2018) Cele, Innocentia Nondumiso.; Reddy, Sarasvathie.Numerous studies show that the transition from high school to university is disconcerting and stressful especially for first generation students from rural communities, who experience additional challenges of disadvantaged schooling backgrounds. This study focused on the Bachelor of Commerce – Extended Curriculum (BCom4) Programme students’ experiences of academic and social transitioning from rural KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) schools to higher education – in this case the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). Phenomenology was used to understand, interpret and describe the qualitatively different experience of students. Data was collected through the interviews to get an in depth understanding of rural students’ experiences and purposive sampling to identify participants of which seven students were identified as participants. This study of rural students is located within the two clusters of student development theories: (a) psychosocial, which focuses on self-reflection and interpersonal dimensions of student lives and (b) the cognitive structural, which explains how students think, reason, organise and interpret their experiences and it was informed by the Chickering’s Seven Vectors of Student Development Theory. This qualitative study argues that universal access to technology minimises the psychosocial effects of distance. Consequently, with improved technology and the rising number of “Millennial” students, first year transition to higher education is not quite the archetypical image portrayed in the literature. This contradicts the belief that rural parents are disinterested in students’ studies, since it suggests that rural families who themselves have received a university education are more involved and invested in academic matters. Finally, emerging evidence signals that the BCom4 programme offers an abundance of academic support to ameliorate rural schooling deficits.Item Experiences of clinical practice in a problem-based learning medical curriculum and subsequent clinical environments.(2010) Reddy, Sarasvathie.; McKenna, Sioux.The study traced the experiences of learning the clinical aspects of a problem-based learning (PBL) medical curriculum and the participants’ construction of a relationship with the subsequent clinical environments. In light of international and local medical and technological changes, the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine (NRMSM) changed its traditional curriculum to a PBL curriculum in 2001. The participants were the first cohort to experience a PBL pedagogy and graduated in 2005, subsequently undertaking two years of compulsory internship and one year of community service within the South African health care system. It was in the context of these changes and the present state of health care that such a study sought to determine how a PBL pedagogy was experienced within the clinical environments of South Africa. Phenomenography was used as a methodology to describe and interpret the ‘qualitatively different ways’ in which the participants’ experienced the phenomenon. Purposive sampling reflecting the institution’s admission policy regarding race and gender demographics was applied. In-depth interviews were conducted at the end of the community service experience. Variation in the experiences was represented through logically related and hierarchical categories of description resulting in the formulation of an outcome space. The outcome space identified three categories of description: ‘The guinea pig identity’ which found that the participants felt at the mercy of a curriculum experiment and felt discriminated against by the hospital consultants who had negative views of PBL. The category of ‘knowledge construction’ saw the participants exploring issues of difference between the knowledge and practices expected by the two different kinds of curricula. The category of ‘professional identity’ indicated an emerging sense of competence across a range of clinical situations. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) was used to augment the phenomenographic analysis and to explore the ways in which the social structure of the clinical contexts related to the discourse patterns emerging in the phenomenographic categories in the form of power relations and ideological effects. CDA was used as an additional lens to develop theory and acquire deeper knowledge about why the participants constructed a relationship with the phenomenon and the subsequent clinical environments in the way that they did. The thesis concludes with a proposal for an empirical model that illuminates resolutions from the major findings in the study regarding medical knowledge construction in a PBL curriculum. The model consists of a Y axis depicting the vertical spine of basic sciences knowledge construction, a X axis depicting the horizontal nature of professional identity construction and a spiral that indicates the simultaneous movement of clinical knowledge construction along each axis. It is hoped that this model will serve as a future curriculum innovation that will result in the production of professional medical practitioners that are required for today’s South African communities. This study, however, revealed that despite the hegemonic practices and the theoretical inadequacies that were reported by the participants they finally felt like professional medical practitioners during their community service experience.Item Experiences of pedagogical and institutional support of students with disabilities in laboratory related courses at Walter Sisulu University: a case of Butterworth Campus.(2018) Dlamini, Mbalenhle Precious.; Reddy, Sarasvathie.Globally, the number of students with disabilities entering higher education institutions continue to be on the rise. In South Africa, during the apartheid government, access into the education system for students with disabilities was limited. Although the South African education system after-1994 has the power and potential to improve engagement of students with disabilities in higher education institutions, challenges remain. Mostly, the greatest barriers faced by students with disabilities within higher education institutions is pedagogical and physical access in laboratory-related courses is of concern. This study is underpinned by the Social Model of disability, as postulated by Hodkinson & Devarakonda, who defined disability as an action of a dynamic interaction between humans and their surroundings. The study focused on the pedagogical experiences of students with disabilities and the extent to which they received institutional support whilst attending laboratory-related courses at the Butterworth Campus of Walter Sisulu University. The study was located within an interpretive research paradigm and employed qualitative data production methods. Purposive sampling was undertaken and ten students with disabilities, who were registered for laboratory-based courses, and four laboratory technicians, who worked in the laboratory facilities at the Butterworth Campus, were selected. Data analysis was produced from in-depth interviews. Data from audio-taped interviews were transcribed verbatim before analysis. The findings of the study highlights that the university needs to be more supportive and accommodative in order to provide a diverse learning environment. It is envisaged that this study will inform the future architectural design of laboratories to accommodate students with disabilities so that they too may experience positive teaching and learning on the campus.Item An exploration of how Zulu gay men negotiate their Christian and cultural beliefs in the process of coming out.(2017) Chamane, Thembani Bright.; Reddy, Sarasvathie.; Nadar, Sarojini.Struggles with sexuality vary from person to person depending on their unique circumstances and experiences, but those who are attracted to people of the same sex, arguably experience greater struggles. These struggles are most visible in the coming-out experiences of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI). Literature especially in the African religious and cultural contexts portrays gay men as victims of discrimination, homophobia and violent crimes. This study aimed to understand the experiences of Zulu gay men in this regard. What were their experiences of discrimination and marginalisation from religion and culture in the process of coming out was an underlying question. The participants of the study were purposefully selected initially and thereafter through a snowballing technique. Phenomenological interviews as well as a focus group discussion were held in private settings. The data was produced and analysed through the lenses of Gender Performativity, Queer theory and Queer Theology. While the experiences of the participants confirmed the literature in the field regarding the struggles and complexities of the coming-out process faced by gay men, the remarkable agency shown by this group of men also shone through, thereby demonstrating the importance of resilient and taking ownership in creating a conducive and supportive environment for each other. This study showed the power of such resilience and agency in the face of religious and cultural discrimination. Despite the challenges faced by Zulu gay men, participants from the research affirm that negotiating the boundaries of their Christian and cultural identity and their sexuality is possible by re-conceptualizing their sexuality within a religious and cultural context that emphasizes the concepts of love and compassion as characteristics associated with God. Spiritual fulfilment and a relationship with God and the ancestors become more important than adhering to congregational doctrine, conservative biblical interpretation and other rules which exclude homosexuals. Zulu gay men are reclaiming space and visibility by not divorcing their Christian faith and their cultural beliefs but rather they continue to find their own meaningful contribution by reconciling both their religious and cultural beliefs with their sexual identity.Item The flipped classroom approach in large class settings at Walter Sisulu University.(2017) Pika, Siyabonga Theophillus.; Reddy, Sarasvathie.Massification of higher education has resulted in large classes that compel universities to design and implement curricula that address the diverse needs of students. The literature on pedagogies in higher education proclaims that the traditional lecture method is inadequate to deeply engage active student learning in large class settings. This study, motivated by my own experience of teaching Business Information Systems (BIS) to undergraduate students in large classes at the Walter Sisulu University (WSU) sought to investigate the extent to which a flipped classroom approach influenced their learning experiences. Wang et al.’s (2015) Complex Adaptive Blended Learning Systems (CABLS) framework and Biggs’ (2003) theory of Constructive Alignment provided the lenses to identify and discuss the factors that influenced the students’ experiences of learning BIS through the flipped classroom approach as well as to understand its pedagogical underpinnings. Located in an interpretive research paradigm the study employed a mixed methodology approach to produce data. Document analysis of the BIS module templates as well as supporting course documents were analysed with the aim of understanding the pedagogical underpinnings of the flipped classroom approach. A census survey of students who were introduced to the flipped classroom approach was conducted to collect quantitative data through a closed-questions questionnaire. Qualitative data was produced through a focus group discussion with eleven participants who were selected through the snowball sampling approach. Students participated voluntarily. The quantitative data was analysed through descriptive statistics. The qualitative data was analysed through thematic and document analysis. Findings of the quantitative and qualitative analysis for the most part revealed that the flipped classroom approach influenced the majority of students to improve personal and academic skills in ways that were not easily developed during the traditional lecture approach in large class settings. The flipped classroom approach was rated at a lower scale in students’ motivation to attend classes and meeting their expectations of the module. The study concluded based on its findings that the flipped classroom approach enables students to operate at all cognitive levels and in-line with the critical cross-field outcomes that are required in the world of work.Item Integrating emergency care into the MBChB, problem-based learning curriculum at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal : student and staff perceptions : a research project.(2004) Reddy, Sarasvathie.; Mbali, Valerie Charlotte.; Searle, Ruth Lesley.CONTEXT: The aim of the Emergency Care Practitioner (Basic), ECP (B), Course enables students to acquire knowledge and skills in basic life support, obtain a certificate and register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa as an Emergency Care Practitioner. The ECP (B) Course became a compulsory component of the Curriculum in 1996. During 1996 to 1999, the Course was conducted by Ambulance and Emergency Services - College of Emergency Care. In January 1999, the researcher was appointed to the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine and integrated the Course into the Traditional Curriculum. The Course was run as a three-week stand-alone module in the traditional didactic format In 2001, a Problem-based learning Curriculum was introduced into which the ECP (B) Course was integrated. The Course was thus integrated into the entire first year of the Curriculum in the PBL format. OBJECTIVES: Since the Course was taught in both the Traditional and PBL Curricula, the study was aimed at exploring the impact of the ECP (B) Course on both categories of students' ability. In the Traditional Curriculum, the Course was taught in the first year of study, although the students were only exposed to clinical practice in their fourth year. With the PBL students, the ECP (B) Course runs through their first year, they are also taught clinical skills during their first and second year in the Skills Lab by the Labbased Clinical Tutors. During their third year, they undertake a Clinical Methods Course that exposed them to patient care in the Wards. This is supervised by Registrars and Consultants - Ward Tutors. The study also explored the perceptions of both the Skills Lab Tutors and the Ward Tutors regarding the impact of the ECP (B) Course on the students' clinical ability. DESIGN: The study involved students and staff presently working with the MBChB Curriculum at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine. The subjects were selected from a convenience sample as follows: • 30 3rd year students in the PBL Curriculum • 30 5th year students in the Traditional Curriculum • 5 Clinical Skills Tutors in the Skills Lab • 5 Clinical Tutors at King Edward Hospital. A questionnaire containing both a rating scale and open-ended questions was designed. The purpose of the questionnaire was to ascertain whether the students were able to perform the various emergency skills in the Lab (pre-clinical) setting and then to ascertain whether they were able to perform these emergency skills on real patients in the clinical situation. It was also used to determine the answer to the first key question of the study: What are the Traditional versus PBL students' perceptions on the role of the ECP (B) Course in the MBChB Curriculum and its effects on their clinical ability? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the Clinical Tutors. These interviews were conducted individually lasting 30 minutes. All the interviewees were posed the same questions according to an interview schedule. The purpose of the interviews was to answer the second key question of the study: What are the staffs' perceptions on the role of the ECP (B) Course in the MBChB Curriculum and its effects on the clinical abilities of the Traditional students versus that of the PBL students? MAIN OUTCOMES: Both groups of students felt that the ECP (B) Course was a rewarding learning experience. In general, most of the skills were learnt during the Course on models and/ or simulated patients by both the 3rd and 5th year students, except for the simulated foetal and placental delivery. The 3rd years have not been exposed sufficiently to real patients and were thus not given the opportunity of performing all the skills learnt during the ECP (B) Course on real patients in the clinical setting whereas all the skills except for CPR on an adult and infant patient have been performed by the 5th years on real patients. Both groups of students were satisfied with the Tutor's ability to teach the ECP (B) Course in both the PBL and Traditional formats. Both the Lab and Ward Tutors were familiar with the ECP (B) Course. They were of the opinion that the skills were relevant and extremely beneficial to all medical students. They said that the skills training had a positive impact on the students' clinical ability. It gave them confidence to deal with real patients and competence with the procedures and the relevant equipment. The Tutors were able to differentiate between the PBL students and the Traditional students' clinical ability to perform skills both in the simulated and real environments. The 5th years lacked the confidence and approach that the 3rd years had achieved with the models and patients. They expressed a concern that some basic sciences should be taught before clinical skills training and there should not be too long a delay between when the skills are taught in the Lab, to when the students are placed in the real situation. Finally, all interviewees felt that the ECP (B) Course should be a compulsory first year module. CONCLUSION: The evidence collected from the research tools was insufficient to conclusively find a marked difference in the learning of the Traditional versus PBL students. The Lab Tutors and the Ward Tutors were, however, able to differentiate between the two groups of students based on their clinical skills ability. The students in the Traditional Curriculum, although being able to perform the clinical skills on real patients, seemed less confident and did not have a structured approach to patient care, whereas the PBL students seemed very confident and had a systematic approach to patient care. These differences may be attributed to the teaching and learning styles of the students and Tutors involved.Item Shaping black women’s bodies: religio-cultural conceptions of black women’s engagement in bodybuilding.(2017) Khubisa., Thobeka O.; Reddy, Sarasvathie.Master Art in Religion. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2017.Item "Sowungumuntfukenyalo' - "You are now a real person" : a feminist analysis of how women's identities and personhood are constructed by societal perceptions on fertility in the Swazi patriarchal family.(2014) Nyawo, Sonene.; Nadar, Sarojini.; Reddy, Sarasvathie.This study postulates that in Swaziland, socio-cultural religious constructions are embedded in patriarchal structures and systems that uphold and reinforce inequalities between women and men. Conventional values, attitudes and practices are held firmly in intrafamilial relations to ensure continuity of unequal gender constructs. Shaped by this patriarchal worldview, Swazi society places a high value on childbearing as a means to perpetuate the bloodline of the father, and for social cohesion. Hence, a woman is only “umuntfu”, a “real” person through her reproductive abilities. Framed within an exploratory and critical feminist research paradigm, the purpose of this qualitative study was therefore to ascertain the relationship between fertility and socio-cultural religious constructions of Swazi women‟s personhood. Data were produced from primary sources employing qualitative methodology of interviews and focus group discussions. Through in-depth interviews with a purposively selected sample of participants from three locations in Manzini, Swaziland, the study empirically linked women‟s personhood and identity to socio-cultural religious constructions on fertility. The research findings indicate the significance attached to women‟s fertility as being defined by socio-cultural religious beliefs and values that are reinforced through socialising agents. Thus, a woman‟s ability to bear children (preferably at least one son), grants her status to become a “real” woman, on which her identity and personhood is built. Her “achieved” identity or personhood therefore becomes an interpretation of being human amongst others. Findings further reveal that this conventional patriarchal discourse is embedded into the psyche of most Swazi women, such that they readily internalise it in defining themselves as worthless without fulfilling the “motherhood mandate”. However, there are women who feel robbed of their self-identity by being defined as exclusively suited for procreation, resulting in a tension between a self-identity ethic and the communitarian and familial ethic. Since identity and personhood always hold the possibility of refinement and reformulation, it is contended in this study that socialisation agents in the Swazi society which breed, reinforce and monitor socio-cultural religious constructions on women‟s fertility be re-examined using feminist lenses. This study argues that a recognition of the manifestations of the injustices of patriarchy in these social structures would consequently provoke advocacy and the implementation of a new feminist cultural orientation that would attach worth to Swazi women for who they are, and not only for their reproductive capabilities. As the Swazi adage notes, “Maswati, lenaakubeyindzabayetfusonkhe!” – (“Swazis, let this be of concern to all of us!”)Item Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college students’ experiences of the relationship between private off-campus residences and academic performance: a case of Majuba TVET College.(2020) Mtshali, Josephine Makhosazane.; Reddy, Sarasvathie.Capacitating and developing public Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges has been a major focus of the South African Department of Higher Education and Training in recent years. The key purpose of these colleges is to prepare graduates for the field of work by capacitating them to be highly productive in strategic areas of the economy. Despite the DHET’s efforts, academic performance at TVET colleges remains a challenge for students, lecturers, college management, and policy makers as well as national leadership. The international and local literature confirms that the factors that negatively influence academic performance include financial challenges, socio-geographical factors and a lack of decent student housing. Due to the high numbers of students attending TVET Colleges and the deterioration of on-campus residences, private off-campus residences have dominated student housing since 2012. Recent statistics reveal that 74% of TVET students live in private off-campus residences located in poor communities surrounding the campuses. This study examined the relationship between TVET students’ experiences of living in such private off-campus residences and their academic performance. Drawing on the theory of Cultural Capital, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Effective Teaching and Learning and Housing Productivity theory, it aimed to establish the participants’ ontological, epistemological and axiological understanding of the factors affecting their participation and academic performance against the background of their experiences of living in private off-campus residences. A qualitative, interpretive research design informed the case study’s approach that focused on participants who attended the Centre for People Development at Majuba TVET College in Madadeni, KwaZulu-Natal. Purposive sampling was employed to select 20 participants and data was produced by means of in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. The data was analyzed according to themes derived from the theoretical framework. The study found that the participants who lived in private offcampus residences experience serious challenges that negatively affect their academic performance and cause some to drop out of college. These include financial problems that they entered college with owing to their poor socio-economic backgrounds. This was further exacerbated by delayed payment of National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) grants. Social challenges, learning challenges, a lack of facilities at private off-campus residences, lack of college support and inadequate parental involvement as a result of living far from home also contributed to the participants’ poor academic performance. The study concludes that TVET Colleges, the DHET and other stakeholders need to review current policies and practices relating to student residences with the aim of improving the quality of the lives of students who live in private off-campus residences. In turn, this will improve their academic performance, to the benefit of themselves, their communities and society at large.Item Women's health-seeking behaviour in the context of sexual violence, sexual health rights, and the Muslim community. A case study of Hope Careline Counselling.(2016) Bodhanya, Maryam.; Reddy, Sarasvathie.Through interdisciplinary research in gender, religion and health, located within a feminist paradigm approach, this research project aimed to critically explore how women’s religious beliefs influenced their health-seeking behaviour through the use of a counselling careline in the context of sexual violence, sexual health rights and the Muslim community. Using a qualitative research design, 3 women were interviewed as part of the data production process. This study focused on the health-seeking behaviour of women who experienced Gender Based Sexual Violence (GBSV) and who accessed a counselling careline. In-depth interviews were conducted comprising of a balance of open-ended and close-ended questions. The data was analysed using a multi-pronged approach called thematic network analysis. The findings indicated that religion influenced the health-seeking behaviour of the women participants who were influenced at two points, the reaching out stage as well as their prior health-seeking attempts. The following factors were found to have influenced their health-seeking behaviour: Defining sexual violence in their context, perceptions about the women’s connection to God, being silent about sexual matters, and the perceptions of sexual matters in Islam. Many misconceptions regarding the Muslim community and the GBSV exist and is nuanced and subtle. This research further aimed to contribute to a multi-level understanding of Gender Based Sexual Violence (GBSV) and sexual health rights within the context of the Muslim community. It is recommended that themes in this study be investigated further and that knowledge production and awareness be aspects that are focused on in Muslim communities thus leading to prevention rather than cure.