AA 2007 Volume 39 Issue 2

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http://hdl.handle.net/11660/6638

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    The right to academic freedom in South African schools
    (University of the Free State, 2007) Alston, Ken
    English: The right to academic freedom is a contested one, often held to exist only in the context of tertiary education. However, the South African Constitution imposes no such restriction: Section 16(1)(d) declares that everyone has the right to academic freedom. This article presents and seeks to substantiate the case for the application of academic freedom in the school context, and specifically within secondary education. Freedom of expression, which includes academic freedom, may be said to be a freedom without which other freedoms could not survive. The specific element of expression, the right of the individual learner and educator to academic freedom within the school context, and the question of whether such academic freedom of learners and educators can be limited, comprise the focus of this article.
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    The impact of cross-border movement on South African towns on the Lesotho border
    (University of the Free State, 2007) Viljoen, Johan; Wentzel, Marie
    English: This article investigates the impact of cross-border movement from Lesotho to the eastern Free State towns of Ficksburg, Ladybrand and Wepener. The many Basotho who visit these towns have a tangible impact on economic activity and service provision. The findings include, among other things, the major economic benefits for the border towns and the impact on South Africa’s health and education services. Stakeholders attributed both the fast growth of informal settlements and the high rate of unemployment to the movement of Lesotho citizens, but this could not be verified. Policy recommendations include the need to facilitate the flow of people and to garner reliable information on which to base planning and decision-making.
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    Die aard en omvang van bullebakkery in skole: strategieë vir die voorkoming van die probleem
    (University of the Free State, 2007) De Wet, Corene
    English: It is a common misconception that bullying is part of the process of growing up. Bullying, however, leads to violation of the victim’s human rights and has serious negative consequences for his or her physical, emotional, social and educational wellbeing. It is therefore imperative that ways and means be found to prevent bullying. The aim and purpose of this article is to report on the experiences of a group of Free State learners as victims, spectators and auditors of bullying. This will be done against the background of a literature study. Cognisance will be taken of their strategies concerning the prevention of bullying. The survey indicates that both direct and indirect verbal bullying are a problem in Free State schools. Important elements in the campaign against bullying include maintaining discipline; being conscious of the nature and extent of bullying; establishing a culture of caring, and involvement on the part of both learners and adults.
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    Tussen kolonialisme en postkolonialisme: Thomas Arboussets Excursion missionnaire dans les Montagnes bleues
    (University of the Free State, 2007) Zurings, Bert
    English: This article presents a postcolonial analysis of Thomas Arbousset’s Excursion missionnaire dans les Montagnes bleues. In his travelogue, Arbousset describes his experiences with King Moshoeshoe and the Basotho people, culture and country. Because Arbousset was not just a missionary, but also an explorer, natural historian and ethnographer, his relations to the “O/other” are strikingly diversified. In four different sections corresponding to Arbousset’s pursuits, these relations are critically analysed by making use of recent postcolonial insights. Before doing so, however, an introduction and a terminological reflection will be provided. The outcome of the article will be that, although Arbousset is not able to free himself from colonial views entirely, he adopts an unusually respectful attitude towards the Basotho.
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    Resiliency in South African and Belgian single-parent families
    (University of the Free State, 2007) Greeff, Abraham; Aspeling, Elmien
    English: This study focuses on the identification and comparison of resilience qualities in South African and Belgian single-parent families. The results reveal that the inherent strength of the family is one of the most important of these qualities. Other important aspects are a sense of control over the outcomes of life experiences; the family’s orientation with regard to challenges that have to be faced, and an active orientation with regard to adaptation in a stressful situation. Children from both countries affirmed the importance of using the support of family and friends to deal with stressors, and also perceived their communities as sources of social support.
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    Language and paranoia: a response to J M Coetzee’s reading of Kafka’s The burrow
    (University of the Free State, 2007) Horn, Anette
    English: This paper attempts an alternative reading of the temporal structure of Kafka’s last novella, The burrow, which was analysed by J M Coetzee in his essay ‘Time, tense and aspect in Kafka’s The burrow’. While Coetzee’s analysis has lost none of its cognitive value a quarter of a century after its first publication in 1981, a psychoanalytical reading of verbal aspect as a symptom of paranoia will be attempted here. I wish to suggest, further, that this paranoid structure is potentially to be found at the heart of all language and subjectification.
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    Random drug-testing: the duty to act against learners who use drugs
    (University of the Free State, 2007) De Waal, Elda
    English: This article explores educators’ duty in terms of running their own schools. It weighs the importance of a drug-using learner’s right to privacy against that of the school community’s security on the issue of random drug-testing. A comparison is drawn between the American and the South African situation. The point of departure is a pro-active stance on the sportsfield, leading to assistance in resistance training, the identification of the need for professional help, and the creation of a drug-free school environment. The ultimate issue is the random drug-testing of all learners.
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    Eastern Cape teachers’ views on their ability to equip learners to cope with life after school
    (University of the Free State, 2007) Olivier, Tilla; Wood, Lesley
    English: “Life skills education” plays an important part in the preparation of school-leavers for life after school, yet it is often neglected. In the light of the problems in the South African education system, the question arises as to whether teachers themselves possess the life skills with which they are supposed to empower their learners. A research project was therefore undertaken among a group of Eastern Cape teachers with the aim of exploring their perception of their ability to actualise life skills education in the classroom, and of equipping them better for this task. A qualitative research approach was adopted, making use of individual interviews with teachers. This study gives an account of the findings of the empirical research that was undertaken as the first part of a bigger project, highlighting the importance of preparing learners for life after school, and how teachers should be equipped for such life skills teaching.