School of Social Sciences

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An implementation analysis of the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 with specific focus on child justice courts in South Africa.
(2022) Chikukula, Hope Mhango.; Manicom, Desiree Pushpeganday.
Children committing crime is a major issue throughout the world, as a result, societies came to agreement that children in conflict with the law must be respected in line with the signed treaties through formulating a child justice system that handles cases of child offenders. In South Africa, the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 was introduced to protect the rights of child offenders as stated in the Constitution. After examining the official figures from annual reports on the implementation of the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008, it indicated that from the total number of children arrested, some children did not go through the child justice courts. The study aimed at investigating the implementation of the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 to see whether child justice courts are operating in accordance with the Act and attempts to find out the roles and experiences of street-level bureaucrats and children in conflict with the law to uncover any other issues related to the implementation of the Act in the courts. Regarding research design, the study employed a qualitative secondary analysis of primary and secondary data, making it desktop research. The researcher collected and analyzed existing documents, legislations, previous research studies and reports involving issues around implementation of the Act and the use of child justice courts in South Africa as its case study. After analyzing the data given and linking up with the theories of the study, the research established that despite the existence of the Act, barriers related to the implementation of the Act included lack of capacity building, lack of commitment and lack of an integrated management system due the lack of co-operation between stakeholders. The findings revealed challenges faced by the implementers were lack of resources and working in a stress loaded working environment where the demand for services is high. The findings also revealed that the child offenders have access to legal representation but find challenges in getting to know information about their court trials, lengthy period of trial and detention in prison, and in receiving restorative programs. Due to the inadequate resources and structures available, there still need for adjustments to be made in the provision of child justice and this can work if the government adjusts its policies and putting more efficiency in implementing the Child Justice Act whereby child rights will be recognized and promoted.
Policy coordination in intergovernmental relations in South Africa: a case study of higher education institutions.
(2022) Khanyile, Gabi Sylvia.; Rieker, Mark Ivan.
The study looks at the intergovernmental ties between South African Higher Education Institutions and the government before and after 1994, up to the year 2020. Before 1994, the Apartheid government neglected and isolated the theory and practice of interstate relations. The Republic of South Africa's Constitution was approved in 1996, and it provided for the development of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework. The transition to democracy has resulted in substantial changes in the restructuring of intergovernmental relations and the redistribution of responsibilities across the three levels of government. The Intergovernmental Relations Framework of 2005 provided for the development of national, provincial, and municipal intergovernmental relations structures that foster cooperation among the three spheres of government. The Republic of South Africa's 1996 Constitution established government systems that encouraged collaboration and intergovernmental partnerships. But notably, these systems contain challenges that limit the achievement of objectives that must be met. After 1994, the South African government designed and implemented higher education policies that promote transformational aspects such as access, development, accountability, and quality. However, the higher education sector is still changing, and its institutions' effectiveness is not at the level it should be. Some institutions have failed to completely eradicate and dismantle the debilitating apartheid structures which impact negatively higher education institutions. Notably, these institutions must be able to lead in addressing regional economic difficulties; hence it is recommended that adequate policies and programs must be actively adopted to address the problems of institutional change and to improve both access and success.
The implementation of tertiary education language policy: a case study of the language policy of the University of Kwazulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg Campus.
(2023) Madondo, Samukelisiwe Hlengiwe.; Manicom, Desiree Pushpeganday.
Indigenous African languages have been marginalized for many years, and as a way to redress language inequalities and imbalances, mother tongue language use has been introduced in institutions of higher learning in South Africa. The South African Constitution promotes the use of all twelve official South African languages and Chapter 1 Section 6 of the Constitution guides the language policy implementation. In this regard, South Africa is a multilingual country and all languages should have equal status. However, currently South African languages do not enjoy equal status with English. Universities have therefore introduced multilingual modes of instruction to improve teaching and learning, as well as throughput rates. This study aimed at understanding the attitudes and perceptions of the University of KwaZulu-Natal staff and students on the university’s language policy in relation to teaching and learning on the Pietermaritzburg campus and to analyze the implementation of the policy. The study used a qualitative research approach, which consisted of a case study. In-depth interviews were used to collect the primary data from the key informants who comprised of the director of the language board, the dean and head of the School of Arts, three lecturers teaching IsiZulu 101 non-mother tongue, five tutors of IsiZulu 101 non-mother tongue and fifteen students registered for IsiZulu 101 non-mother tongue. The students were divided into three focus groups, each consisting of five students. The study used thematic analysis to analyze the data. Initial findings from the study revealed that students felt that they do not need to study IsiZulu; instead, they mentioned that it should be a personal choice because most of them believe that they will not be using IsiZulu once they have completed their undergraduate degree as they are not all from the province of KwaZulu-Natal. It was also found that not all lecturers were receptive to the implementation of the policy within the university. However, the continuous work that is being done by the University Language and Planning Development Office shows that there are new developments and systems that are continuously being put into place to further improve the implementation of the language policy.
The role of school libraries and teacher-librarians in the promotion of reading culture at uThukela district, Bergville Circuit.
(2023) Mtshali, Noluthando Cynthia.; Kheswa, Siyanda Edison.
The study aimed to explore the role of school libraries and teacher-librarians in promoting reading culture at uThukela District, Bergville Circuit. The circuit currently has 110 schools, and only seven have functional libraries. The Circuit has one public library, which is in town. Studies on the reading culture have been done before, but studies have yet to be conducted within the Bergville Circuit. Most of the studies on this topic were conducted internationally, with a few in the African and South African contexts. The study was guided by an interpretivism paradigm and adopted a qualitative research method using a multiple case study design to collect data through in-depth interviews. The study adopted a purposive sampling technique to select teacher-librarians and principals from seven schools with functional school libraries. The researcher found that factors contributing to the poor reading culture of learners from uThukela District, Bergville Circuit, were: Access to the reading material, poor economic background, illiterate parents, educators’ workload, learners with special needs, and child-headed households. The role of school libraries and teacher-librarians in the promotion of reading culture at uThukela District, Bergville Circuit were: opening the library, organising the books on the shelves, assisting learners in choosing the reading material, providing learners access to books and information, identifying and help learners who are struggling with reading, encourage learners to read, managing and keeping library books safe, monitoring library monitors and creating reading corners and reading competitions. Based on the findings, the study recommends that school libraries should effectively create and sustain a strong reading culture in schools at uThukela District, Bergville Circuit, by ensuring the following: Proper library setup and infrastructure, ensuring learner’s favourite genres are stoked up, Curriculum Integration Plan by educators and school-librarians, attracting new readers and marketing the library, developing programs encouraging learners to read library material and read continuously, storytelling, book recommendation, book clubs, readers cup competitions, read aloud and speeches, getting all educators involved and having the SMT’s involvement in the promotion of the school library usage.
The use of electronic databases (EDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic by Information Studies postgraduate students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Pietermaritzburg Campus.
(2022) Letsoalo, Lethabo Mohlago Rogator.; Kheswa, Siyanda Edison.
This ethnographic study investigates the use of electronic databases (EDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic by Information Studies postgraduate students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Pietermaritzburg Campus. The motivation for this study stemmed from the researcher’s experience of the majority of students did not know how to use library’s electronic resources to retrieve information for their work. A few years later, with the COVID-19 pandemic involved, the researcher wanted to understand how the pandemic has affected postgraduate students. Cognitive Learning Theory (CLT) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) theory underpinned the study. The main objectives of the study are to determine whether students are aware of the EDs offered by UKZN, if they received user education during the COVID-19 as well as the challenges experienced with regards to using and accessing EDs during the pandemic. The study used the post-positivism paradigm. The study population consisted of 51 registered postgraduate students. The data collection instrument used was a questionnaire, and it was distributed to students via email with the assistance of the supervisor and school administrator. The questionnaire sought to establish if postgraduate students used and accessed EDs during COVID-19, which EDs they used most, to identify challenges they encountered, the training they received and if they were aware of the available EDs. Of 52 registered students, 32 responded, yielding a response rate of 63%. The results were analysed and graphically presented in tables and graphs. The study found that postgraduate students were aware of the available EDs, but few students did not use them because of a lack of training. The UKZN e-journals A-Z list was the most used EDs. The study also found that students want to receive more training because EDs are based on the use of technology, and technology evolves over time. Several problems were experienced when using the databases remotely, such as a need for training on using the databases and improving access for off-campus users. Based on the study’s conclusions, liaising with lecturers for a class visit to increase awareness of EDs and training that includes different techniques to accommodate all students were presented as recommendations.

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