Doctoral Degrees (School for Social Sciences and Language Education)
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Item Open Access Gender stereotypes and education in Lesotho(University of the Free State, 2006-06) Mosetse, Palesa; Coetzee-Manning, D.Although women in Lesotho are faced with almost all kinds of inequalities, this study focuses mainly on the inequalities faced by women in the education system. Two differing geographic locations (Maseru and Mokhotlong) were selected to create a comparative basis for the study, especially with regard to women’s cultural experiences. These locations represent the rural areas and the urban areas of the country. The basis for the selection of the research areas was that although women are discriminated against in many aspects, their experiences are likely to differ due to their geographic location. The investigation was done through the use of a triangular approach, where interviews and questionnaires were used in conjunction with an extensive literature study. Theoretical perspectives of contributing socio-cultural factors that perpetuate gender stereotypes in general such as the school, the parents, language, the church and the media, as well as biological factors were investigated in the literature study. This was done to create an understanding of the way in which stereotypes render women to be inferior. Socialisation theories namely the Social Learning Theory, Cognitive Development Theory, Psychoanalysis Theory and the Gender Schema Theory were thus explored. The ideology of patriarchy, which appears to be the umbrella tool used to relegate women to a position of inferiority, was exposed, as well as its counterideology (feminism). The conclusion of this exposition was that one ideology cannot be used to eradicate the effects of another, since all ideologies have the tendency of presenting a distorted view of reality by allowing certain values to dominate our experiences. Feminism was therefore not seen as a solution to patriarchy. Fundamental democratic principles were subsequently explored to provide the starting point for this research. These principles include equality, equity, respect of human rights and justice to all. The implementation of the draft Lesotho Gender Policy (2003) was further investigated and it was found that this policy has not been instrumental in rectifying the subordinate position of women in education in Lesotho. Some of the major findings in this investigation are the following: • The draft Lesotho Gender Policy (2003) remains a policy on paper only and one cannot even describe the current situation in Lesotho as a gap between policy and practice, because “practice” does not exist at all. • Although women in Lesotho have been enlightened with regard to their inferior position, and in most cases they reject the practices and structures of subordination, in practice very little has been achieved to facilitate equality and justice in education in Lesotho. • Patriarchy is still prevalent in Lesotho and is manifested in a culturallydetermined law system, which “legalises” discrimination against women. The effects of this is that women in education do not serve in decisionmaking positions and are subservient to their male counterparts. The implication here is that women, within the Lesotho education system cannot reach their full potential.Item Open Access Adjusting secondary teacher training programmes in Botswana to ensure effective support within inclusive education(University of the Free State, 2010-10) Mbengwa, Elizabeth Badirwang; Hay, J. F.Educational support to learners has for many decades followed the traditional modernist approach predominant in special education: learners were classified and categorized according to the medical model of need. The advent of inclusive education towards the end of the twentieth century, with a totally different approach to need and support, created a mammoth challenge to teachers in inclusive classrooms and staff within education support services, especially in developing countries. A leap had to be made from the medical model to a social and ecosystemic model of need, where the focus shifted to a holistic view of support needs, whether it is located in the learner, the family, the peer group, the school or the broader society – or the interaction amongst these systems that should be addressed. It is evident therefore that there is a need for teacher training programmes to undergo transformation that will enable ordinary or general education teachers or educators to function effectively within the inclusive education system. This study investigated whether secondary special or inclusive education teacher training in Botswana has taken the leap towards producing “diplomates” who can effectively support learners in their inclusive classrooms. Furthermore, the study endeavoured to propose a future model for secondary special/inclusive education teacher training. Participants in the empirical investigation included teachers from the two secondary colleges of education (Molepolole – MCE, and Tonota – TCE), teacher trainers, school heads as well as knowledgeable persons in the area of inclusive education and support. Questionnaires and interviews were used for collecting data. International developments on inclusive education teacher training and support were considered while conducting the empirical investigation. Examples of those include: international developments on the model of special or inclusive education teacher training; teacher competencies, knowledge and skills relevant for inclusive education and support; challenges to inclusive teacher training in institutions and factors to facilitate effective teacher performance in the field. Subsequent to studying international perspectives on special or inclusive education teacher training and investigating the status of special or inclusive education teacher training in Botswana secondary colleges, the researcher reached the conclusion that the current teacher training programme has to a large extent not taken the leap towards inclusive education teacher training. The programme would therefore not enable teachers to function effectively within the inclusive system of education. The findings included amongst others that the programme is predominantly focused on the traditional modernist approach – teachers are trained along the medical model. It was also established that there are other factors that contribute to the ineffectiveness of the programme, for example, unavailability and inadequacy of human and material resources and a lack of policy and guidelines on inclusive education and support at institutional and currently at national level (the national policy still being in progress). On the other hand, it has to be acknowledged that the programme has some positive areas that match international developments on special or inclusive education teacher training. These areas are that the programme is studied by all trainees and it is also broad-based. Moreover, there are programme components that are of importance to successful implementation of inclusive education support, such as the Individualised Education Programmes/Plans (IEPs). This study may be used as a basis for evaluating the current special or inclusive education teacher training programmes at the Botswana secondary colleges of education, namely MCE and TCE. It is also envisaged that the proposed teacher training model will be of great assistance during the reviewing and restructuring of these (and other international) programmes.